PANELISTS
Rosanna Maietta
Rosanna Maietta is AHLA’s president & CEO and is responsible for setting the organization’s strategic vision and championing the industry’s voice on Capitol Hill, within the administration, and beyond.
Rosanna is no stranger to the hospitality industry, having previously served at AHLA as executive vice president of communications & public relations and president & CEO of its Foundation for nearly eight years. In those roles, she was responsible for driving the strategic planning for all the association’s internal and external communications and increasing visibility for the industry in and outside Washington, D.C. At the Foundation, she oversaw its philanthropic mission, and supporting and growing the industry’s workforce.
More recently, Rosanna served as chief communications officer and senior counselor to the CEO at the American Clean Power Association, the largest trade association representing the clean energy industry. In this role, she led all marketing and communications, highlighting the critical work in the renewable energy sector and raising the profile of the organization and its leadership. She also oversaw a portfolio of eight industry conferences and events, driving millions of dollars in revenue for the organization.
Prior to her first stint at AHLA, Rosanna worked at global PR firm FleishmanHillard for nearly a decade and began her career working as a reporter in Rome, Italy.
JAN FREITAG
Mr. Jan D. Freitag is the National Director, Hospitality Analytics, for the CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP).
In his role, Mr. Freitag comments on the trends that shape the U.S. hotel industry. He is a sought-after public speaker and is frequently quoted in trade publications and the general news media such as The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Forbes, etc. He is a trusted source of timely insights for investors, owners, and operators.
Mr. Freitag is a member of the American Hotel Lodging Association Investment Roundtable and the Hotel Development Council of the Urban Land Institute.
He holds a bachelor’s degree, with distinction, from the School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University, and received his Executive MBA, with honors, from Vanderbilt University
Karen (“K.C.”) Gallagher
Karen (“K.C.”) Gallagher joined the Apple REIT Companies in 2003 and has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the Company since April 2020. Ms. Gallagher previously served as Senior Vice President of Asset Management for the Company since January 2012 and has held various management and senior management positions with the Apple REIT Companies since 2005. Ms. Gallagher’s leadership of the asset management team has been instrumental in fostering relationships with brand and management company teams and developing the Company’s analytical and benchmarking of property-level performance methodology, each helping to maximize profitability. Prior to joining the Apple REIT Companies, from 2000 to 2003, Ms. Gallagher served as Senior Assurance Associate with Ernst & Young LLP, where she specialized in real estate clients. Within the industry, Ms. Gallagher serves as a member of the Hilton Technology Owner Advisory Council, as well as the Global Finance Committee for the lodging industry sponsored by the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals and American Hotel & Lodging Association. Ms. Gallagher holds a Master of Science degree in Accounting and a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, and a second major in Economics from the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia. Ms. Gallagher is a Certified Public Accountant.
Patrick Schumm
Patrick Schumm serves as Senior Vice President, Franchise Operations & Owner Relations – Americas for Hyatt Hotels Corporation. In this role, he supports franchise owners and operators across the Americas, with a focus on hotel performance, owner relationships, operational strategy, and brand execution across Hyatt’s portfolio. Schumm has held several franchise operations and owner relations leadership roles with Hyatt, including Vice President, Franchise Operations & Owner Relations – Select Service and Regional Vice President of Operations – Franchise Operations. His Hyatt career has also included operations innovation, property-level leadership, and food-and-beverage operations experience at hotels including Hyatt Regency Boston Cambridge, Grand Hyatt New York, and Grand Hyatt Washington, D.C. He brings a practical owner-operator perspective to the panel, informed by experience across franchise performance, select-service operations, brand standards, and hotel-level execution.
MAX WENDER
Max Wender is the Senior Technical Account Manager at Lighthouse, where he helps lead the account management team overseeing enterprise relationships across North and South America. A former Revenue Manager at Hilton responsible for $100M+ in annual revenue, Max combines firsthand operator experience with data-driven strategy to help management companies, ownership groups, and hotel chains scale. His background sitting on both sides of the table gives him a unique perspective on executive alignment, value realization, and building long-term technology partnerships.
Karen Rosenstrom
Karen Rosenstrom is a Director of Commercial Performance in Hyatt’s Americas Franchise division. Since joining Hyatt in 2021, she has helped launched the company’s first Commercial Services support focused on franchised hotels, helping owners, operators and above-property leaders make effective use of Hyatt’s commercial tools and resources.
Karen brings more than 20 years of hospitality experience across hotel operations, sales, brand performance and portfolio management. Before Hyatt, she held leadership roles at Hilton, including responsibility for a portfolio of more than 500 hotels. At Hyatt, she has helped educate 388 owners, operators and asset managers through Commercial Services orientations and currently supports a portfolio representing $1 billion in room revenue. Her perspective combines enterprise experience with the practical insight of a former hotel General Manager and Director of Sales. Having spent 5 years with McKibbon as a General Manager, she is proud to have been a part of their 100 year legacy of excellence.
J.B. Mckibbon
J.B. McKibbon, IV, the fourth generation of McKibbon leaders, serves as President of McKibbon Equities, a newly developed arm of the company responsible for development and management of McKibbon-owned assets as well as the McKibbon Family Investment Fund. McKibbon joined the company in 2017 as Asset Manager and was promoted to Vice President of Asset Management in 2021, leveraging his more than 10 years of professional hospitality experiences as well as a lifetime living in and around the business to the company to oversee all aspects of existing McKibbon investments as well as sourcing and underwriting new investments, including acquisitions and ground-up development. Prior to joining the family business, he worked as Senior Asset Manager for Apple Hospitality, consulting with multiple third-party management organizations including Marriott International, InnVentures and more to ensure strong financial results for their respective Apple-owned portfolios. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Managerial Sciences from the Georgia State University J. Mack Robinson College of Business.