People Over Profits

Aaron Adalja is an Assistant Professor of Food and Beverage Management at the School of Hotel Administration and a Faculty Fellow at the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future at Cornell University. He holds a Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics from the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Adalja’s research draws on consumer theory, industrial organization, and marketing to examine empirical questions in food and agricultural economics related to food labeling and quality certification, food safety, sustainability, and food and agricultural marketing. His current research includes studies on the responses of both consumers and firms to voluntary non-GMO food labeling, the role of collective reputation in produce food safety, grower trade-offs between farm conservation and food safety, and pricing and labeling strategies to mitigate fluid milk food waste.

Abigail Charpentier joined Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts as the Vice President of People and Culture for the Americas in December 2018. In this role, she is responsible for the human resources function for over 50 hotels across North America, South America, and the Caribbean. These responsibilities include driving the talent strategy key in supporting the company’s growth and evolving the position as a great place to work for all. Prior to joining Four Seasons, Ms. Charpentier worked for Aramark Corporation. Over the course of her tenure, she has held a variety of progressive roles in both human resources and operations, including leadership positions in diverse markets. Ms. Charpentier is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a Bachelor of Science from the School of Hotel Administration.

After decades in the hospitality industry, Barbara Lang founded B. Lang Consulting. Committed to being of service to nonprofits providing wraparound hospitality training, Barbara’s priority is to provide life skill workshops and staff training that enable a person to discover the best of who they are so they may better engage with the people around them. Barbara currently works and connects with a variety of incredible hospitality training nonprofits. Successfully transitioning her platform from on site to online, Barbara is now able to offer her services to anywhere in the world. Prior to the pandemic, Barbara produced and co-chaired industry city-wide roundtables in partnership with the S.C. Johnson College of Business Hotel School’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, focusing on connecting industry employers with nonprofit hospitality training providers. Barbara is the mother of two daughters who claim she is an “all-around bad—, but in a good way.” Neither her eight-month granddaughter, nor her husband, have shared their opinions.

Jamie Perry is an Assistant Professor of Human Resources Management at Cornell University’s S.C. Johnson College of Business. Her research focuses on how to lead effective organizational teams, with a specific interest in demographic diversity, power and status structures, and conflict management. Jamie has published in top management and psychology research outlets such as Personnel Psychology, American Psychologist, Psychological Bulletin, and Academy of Management Annals. Her work has received international media attention, with coverage from BBC World News, Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times, among others. She has received awards for her research from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and has served on the boards of professional associations such as the Conflict Management Division of the Academy of Management and the SIOP. Jamie received her B.S. in psychology from University of Houston, and her M.A. in psychology and Ph.D. in organizational management from Rutgers University.