Power of Intelligent Data Stitching

David Oppenheim joined IHG in August 2020 as SVP of Global Insights, Analytics, and Data. Most recently, Mr. Oppenheim headed sales and distribution for Alaska Airlines. Before that, he held various roles in loyalty, revenue analytics, and sales at United Airlines.

Mr. Oppenheim started his career at the Boston Consulting Group in Chicago, where he served clients in a variety of industries. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and Bachelor’s degrees in Computer Engineering and Music Performance from Northwestern University. Mr. Oppenheim recently relocated to Atlanta with his wife and three daughters.

Karan Girotra, Professor of Operations, Technology and Information Management (OTIM), is the recipient of the Charles H. Dyson Family Professor of Management chair, for a 5-year term. This chair was given by Rob Dyson, MBA ’74 to support a founding faculty position for Johnson instruction at Cornell Tech, in honor of his father, the founder of the Dyson-Kissner-Moran Corporation.

Karan Girotra is a Professor at Cornell Tech and in the Johnson School at Cornell University. Karan collaborates with companies building new business models in the areas of urban living, smart transportation and e-commerce, helping them build rigorous research based solutions.

Karan’s research team has been recognized by multiple awards including the prestigious Wickham Skinner Early Career Research Award and multiple best paper awards. He has also won teaching awards for his teaching on entrepreneurship and new business models and was featured in the Poets and Quant’s Best 40 under 40 business professors lists.

In addition to his academic work, Karan was one of the founders of Terrapass Inc., which the New York Times identified as one of the most noteworthy ideas of 2005. Since then, TerraPass has helped businesses and individuals reduce over hundred million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Karan holds PhD and AM degrees from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Based in Philadelphia, Liesl Smith is FreedomPay’s Senior Vice President for Marketing, Communications, and Sales Enablement. In this role, she is responsible for driving revenue growth and launching new products and services while leading the strategy to increase global brand awareness. In the past two years, Ms. Smith has increased traffic to the FreedomPay website by 40%, delivered 1500% more PR value, and launched a sales enablement process to enhance lead-gen activity by 500%. She drives the global sales collateral and enablement program and reseller partnership strategies to improve retention and acquire new customers.

Ms. Smith arrived from tech giant Verifone, where, as the Vice President of Europe for Marketing and Communication, she applied both indirect and direct B2B strategies across several growth markets, including the Nordics, France, Germany, Russia, and the U.K. Prior to her role at Verifone, Ms. Smith led Global Payments Communications at Western Union Business Solutions across five major countries, including the U.S., the U.K., and Australia. She increased press coverage by 100%, strengthened the WU brand, and launched a global B2B cloud-based accounting platform at Money 2020 Copenhagen in 2016.

Ms. Smith also worked for the Federation of Small Businesses in the U.K., representing the interests of 200,000 small and medium-sized businesses. She worked with governments, policy makers, and industry leaders in both Europe and the U.S. to ensure the voice of small business was heard. She dealt with issues such as late payments, access to finance, exporting, business rates, and Brexit. In addition, Ms. Smith’s career spans a long stint with the BBC in several capacities, including journalist, producer, and award-winning multimedia newsroom editor. 

In 2018, Ms. Smith was selected by PR Week as one of the most influential industry professionals in the U.K. while also graduating from Ashridge Executive Education – Hult International Business School, acquiring a Master’s in Management focusing on marketing, people, and strategy.

Michael Partridge ’92 is Vice President of Sales and Revenue Analysis at Marriott International. In this role, he is responsible for global revenue performance analysis and analytical studies related to new initiatives, as well as goal setting and analytical support for Marriott’s global sales organization. Prior to this, Mr. Partridge was Vice President of Sales and Marketing Analysis, and he has held various roles in Marriott’s revenue management and finance disciplines since 2000.

Prior to Marriott, Mr. Partridge worked in investment banking at Lazard Frères and in publishing and economic consulting on Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union at Dixon & Company.

Mr. Partridge earned a Bachelor of Arts at Cornell University, majoring in economics, and an MBA at Georgetown University with a focus in finance. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his family and various pets.

Shane O’Flaherty is the Global Director of Travel, Transportation, and Hospitality for Microsoft, focused on leading the hotel, airline, cruise, and logistics industries in driving innovation that will enhance the customer and employee journey while fostering increased productivity and cost compression with the use of Microsoft’s technology and its ecosystem of travel solution partners. Prior to joining Microsoft, Mr. O’Flaherty held many senior executive positions, including CEO and President at Forbes Travel Guide (formerly Mobil Travel Guide). At Forbes Travel Guide, he successfully modernized the hotel, restaurant, and spa five-star ratings system that defines the global consumer experience and spearheaded its global expansion around the world. In addition, Mr. O’Flaherty created and grew Forbes Travel Guide Consulting Services into the leading global provider of customer experience measurement and training for the top hospitality brands in the world. He has spoken at many industry and client conferences around the globe and appeared on the Today Show, Fox & Friends, Bloomberg, Channel NewsAsia. He has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and many other publications.