Ownership in the Family

Andy Ingraham is a current resident of Broward County, Florida and a native of Nassau, Bahamas. He launched his first company, Horizons Marketing Group Intl., to provide car rental, hotel, and flight packages for Caribbean travelers to South Florida. As president and CEO of Horizons Marketing, Mr. Ingraham has been instrumental in expanding its marketing and public relations, with special emphasis on African-American and multicultural tourism. He founded the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators & Developers (NABHOOD), Inc., in 1999 and is now its president and CEO. He has created partnerships with many hotel brands, including Marriott, Hilton, Choice, Starwood, Wyndham, IHG, Best Western, and La Quinta, with a purpose to grow African-American ownership. Today, NABHOOD members have more than 525 hotels both domestically and internationally, with an expectation of that number increasing to over 1,000 hotels in the next five years.

Crystal V. Thomas is a brand marketing professional with over 10 years of international experience driving brand innovation and operational excellence, crafting memorable guest experiences, creating global brand marketing campaigns, and executing branded events and partnerships. She currently heads up Lifestyle & Luxury Brands at Hyatt Hotels Corporation – including Park Hyatt, Thompson, Alila, Andaz, Hyatt Centric, and Caption by Hyatt – guiding the strategy and vision of an ever-growing portfolio. A veteran hotelier and alumni of Cornell University’s Hotel School, Ms. Thomas held several brand leadership roles with W Hotels Worldwide and most recently served as senior brand marketer for Beats by Dre @ Apple, Inc., overseeing the NBA partnership and all things sports. Based in Los Angeles, when not honing her tasting skills as a wine and whiskey consumeoisseur™, Ms. Thomas is a passion-led seeker of all things awesome; craver and creator of unforgettable travel moments; and, more personally, a lifestyle + culture enthusiast obsessed with TV, singing, and Oprah.

Victor B. Younger is the Director of Diversity & Inclusion at The Hotel School, SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University. Mr. Younger’s work involves creating an engaging and inclusive environment so that faculty, staff, and students can thrive professionally, personally, and academically. His work includes creating, designing, and delivering D&I critical thinking workshops; facilitating individual and group conversations; and bringing global industry leaders to the constituents he supports.

Warren Thompson is the President and Chairman of Thompson Hospitality Corporation, the largest minority-owned food service and facilities management company in the U.S, providing a wide range of services in 48 states and six foreign countries. He founded the company in 1992 when he completed a leveraged buyout of 31 Bob’s Big Boy restaurants from his previous employer, Marriott Corporation. In 1997, Mr. Thompson forged a strategic partnership with Compass Group. Additionally, he provides food service to many of the nation’s HBCUs, becoming the largest player in that segment. Mr. Thompson has had the honor of serving on UVA’s Board of Visitors and PepsiCo’s African-American Advisory Board, as well as the Boards of Directors for the Darden School Foundation, Hilb Rogal & Hobbs, FRIT, Compass Group, Duke Realty, Performance Food Group, and Hampden-Sydney College. He has a B.A. degree in Managerial Economics from Hampden-Sydney College and holds an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration.