WASHINGTON— Michael A. Leven, president/CEO, Las Vegas Sands Corporation, will be honored with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS), January 22-24, 2013, in Los Angeles.
Leven is a veteran hospitality executive with more than 50 years in the business who holds a distinguished and well-recognized record of success. Prior to joining the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, he was the president/CEO of U.S. Franchise Systems, Inc., a company he founded in 1995 that developed and franchised the Microtel Suites and Hawthorn Suites hotel brands.
Leven has served with many industry organizations throughout his career, including co-founding the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, which started with 12 members in 1989 and now has more than 9,300 members. Additionally, he is the former international president of the Hotel Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI), and former chairman of the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Government Affairs Committee.
Leven is a recipient of the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers Lifetime Achievement Award and was previously named to HSMAI’s Hot List of 25 Most Extraordinary Sales & Marketing Minds in Hospitality & Travel. He has also received the American Jewish Committee Selig Distinguished Service Award, UJA Federation of New York Hotel and Hospitality Award, and the Georgia Hospitality & Travel Association Spirit of Hospitality Award.
Leven currently serves as a board member for the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas and the Birthright Israel Foundation. He is also a member of the Georgia Aquarium Board of Directors, and a trustee of the Marcus Foundation.
“We are thrilled to honor such an industry icon,” said Jim Burba, president, BHN, and chair of ALIS. “Not only was he a pioneer in the area of franchising, but he has made numerous contributions to the hospitality industry and the community during a career that has spanned more than 50 years.”
Co-hosted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) and Burba Hotel Network (BHN), the two-and-a-half-day ALIS event features an extensive array of seminars and panels hosted by leading experts and investors discussing important trends and identifying new opportunities. The conference attracts the lodging industry’s leading hotel executives, investors, lenders, developers and professional advisory community. Proceeds from ALIS benefit the educational, research, and training missions of the American Hotel & Lodging Education Foundation (AH&LEF), AH&LA’s nonprofit affiliate.
