Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> April 7, 2003
MICHAEL A. LEVEN is Chief Executive Officer and President of U.S.
Franchise Systems, Inc. Mr. Leven has spent his entire 42-year
career in the hotel industry. Prior to forming U.S. Franchise
Systems, Inc. ' which franchises the Microtel Inns & Suites,
Hawthorn Suites and Best Inns & Suites hotel brands ' in 1995, he
was President and Chief Operating Officer of Holiday Inn
Worldwide. During his five-year tenure, the new Holiday Inn
Express brand grew from zero to 330 open hotels, with a backlog
of some 500 units. From 1985 to 1990, he was President of Days
Inn of America. Mr. Leven also served as President of Americana
Hotels. Mr. Leven was appointed to the Tourism Committee of the
Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism in 1998 by the
Governor. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the
American Red Cross and its Executive Committee, and Chairman of
its Biomedical Services Board. He is a Trustee of National Realty
Trust, The Marcus Foundation and The Chief Executive Leadership
Institute. He has served on the Boards of Starwood Hotels and
Lodging. He is presently on the Hersha Hospitality REIT Board.
Mr. Leven co-founded the Asian American Hotel Owners Association
which now has over 7,000 members, and has lectured at most of the
hotel schools in the US. He is a former international President
of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association International and a
member of HSMAI's Hall of Fame. He chaired the Millennium
Occupancy and Revenue Effort task force, a marketing arm of the
American Hotel and Motel Association, the AH&MA Government
Affairs Committee, and also serves on the AH&MA's CEO Council. He
is also Chair of the United Jewish Communities Marketing and
Public Affairs Committee. Mr. Leven holds a Bachelor of Arts from
Tufts University and Master of Science from Boston University. Profile
Systems?
Mr. Leven: The company was founded October 2, 1995, so we're
about seven and a half years old. We started the company with
