On‑Campus Capstone – Advanced Hospitality ManagementImmersion Program

Mary MacAusland is a Professor of Practice of Accounting at the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration in the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, where she teaches courses in financial and managerial accounting, financial statement analysis, and hospitality financial management. Prior to joining Cornell, she was actively engaged in both academe and industry, serving in senior positions in several organizations.

Professor MacAusland is a member of the Global Finance Committee of HFTP with responsibility for the content of the 12th edition of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI). She has served as treasurer of the Community Foundation of Tompkins County and was a longtime member of the investment committee for the Berks County (Pennsylvania) Community Foundation, where she was also integral in establishing a permanent fund with the foundation to provide grants for tennis programs for at-risk youth.

Professor MacAusland previously worked in life-care management and development and has held numerous positions with the United States Tennis Association (USTA), most recently as vice-chair of the audit committee. She served on the executive boards of USTA Middle States and the Berks County Chapter of the American Red Cross for many years, chairing several special events raising significant amounts for local charities.

Professor MacAusland received her Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University and her MBA from St. Joseph’s University. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Temple University.

Alex Susskind is a Professor of Food and Beverage Management and is currently serving as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Professor Susskind earned his Ph.D. in Communication from Michigan State University with a specialization in organizational communication and his MBA with a concentration in personnel and human relations. He earned his undergraduate degree at Purdue University in Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management and is also a trained chef with a degree in Culinary Arts from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Prior to starting his career in academia, Professor Susskind was a chef and restaurant operator for both independent and multi-unit restaurant companies in the Northeastern and Southeastern United States.

Dave Roberts retired from Marriott in 2019, after 23 years with the company. Most recently, he was the Senior Vice President of Revenue Strategy and Solutions; in this role, he was responsible for revenue management strategy and execution for around 7,000 hotels worldwide. He also led revenue analytics, providing top-line analysis for the company, as well as sales systems, providing strategy, development, and deployment of technology to manage meeting and event business. Prior to this role, he led consumer insights, providing consumer research and analytics for regional and corporate stakeholders. Mr. Roberts has also been Regional Vice President of Market Strategy for Marriott’s Eastern Region as well as Vice President of Global Pricing, in addition to several other roles in the company.

Prior to Marriott, Mr. Roberts was a manager in the Finance Department at American Airlines, working on airplane purchases and route economics. He was also a technical consultant on missile defense for the U.S. Department of Defense, as part of the “Star Wars” initiative. Mr. Roberts has a B.S. and an M.S. in Operations Research from Cornell University, as well as an MBA with majors in Finance and Economics from Northwestern’s Kellogg School. He holds a U.S. patent on a software product (a “data matching” algorithm) and has published several academic papers on such topics as forecasting, options pricing, and customer choice modeling. Mr. Roberts was on IBM’s Business Analytics Advisory Board for six years and on Cornell’s Center for Hospitality Research Advisory Board for five years. He has been a frequent speaker at industry events as well as several top universities. In his spare time, Mr. Roberts enjoys martial arts and astronomy.