A Black Hospitality Executive Drives Hyatt’s Community-Centric Push
Crystal Vinisse Thomas wants to see more who look like her in the boardroom.
Crystal Vinisse Thomas at the Park Hyatt New York.
Photographer: Christian Rodriguez for Bloomberg Pursuits
When Crystal Vinisse Thomas’s alma mater, the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration, invited her to deliver a talk in October for the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series, she remembers being briefly struck by impostor syndrome.
“It’s been a tradition for the last 100 years: Every Friday the freshman course has to dress up and go and listen to an industry leader for a lecture.” Thomas shares names of visiting speakers when she was an undergrad, conscious she was following in the footsteps of legends—such as Sheila Johnson, chief executive officer of Salamander Hotels and Resorts and the first African-American female billionaire, and Marriott International’s late CEO and Executive Chairman Bill Marriott.