San Diego Tourism Boom

Kerri Verbeke Kapich is the COO for the San Diego Tourism Authority, one of the nation’s leading destination marketing organizations. The SDTA represents over 900 hospitality organizations and serves as the San Diego region’s tourism marketing engine. Kapich is a frequent guest speaker at industry conferences nationwide as well as a guest lecturer at the San Diego State University School of Hospitality and for LEAD San Diego. In 2001, she was named as one of the “Top 100 Marketers” in the nation by Advertising Age magazine and is the recipient of numerous marketing, advertising and tourism awards including San Diego County Hotel-Motel Association Gold Key “Allied Person of the Year” Award, San Diego Daily Transcript “Women of Influence” Recognition, San Diego Magazine “Woman of the Year” Honoree, San Diego Business Journal Women Who Mean Business Finalist and Multi-Cultural Conventions Services Network “Women In Tourism & Hospitality” Honors. In 1997, Kapich joined the San Diego Tourism Authority. In her role as COO, she is responsible for strategic planning, brand stewardship, community engagement and revenue development. She is the driving force behind the SDTA’s integrated marketing program and partnerships including major initiatives such as the National Geographic “World’s Smart Cities” San Diego documentary. Currently, Kapich serves on the Visit California Marketing Advisory Board, Friends of Balboa Park Board of Directors and CalPoly SLO Experience Industry Management Advisory Board. Past board positions include the California Travel Association, California Restaurant Association San Diego Chapter, Junior League of San Diego and the Advertising Club of San Diego. She is a graduate of the LEAD Influence San Diego class of 2017. A San Diego native, Kapich was featured as one of the “50 People to Watch” by San Diego Magazine. She is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara.

As the president of the newest addition to the MFG consortium, Manchester Texas Financial Group, Douglas W. Manchester represents Manchester Financial Group and all Texas holdings in the capital city of Austin, Texas. Manchester earned his BA in Political Science with a minor in Business from Wake Forest University. Following graduation, he has applied his business knowledge in all aspects of the hotel, insurance and real estate industries. This career path has led him to Austin to engage the firm in commercial real estate ventures and hotel development.

As President and Chief Executive Officer of The Robert Green Company, Mr. Green is responsible for managing all activities of the company. His responsibilities and areas of expertise include acquisition and feasibility analysis, transaction structuring, finance, development management, entitlement processing, design supervision, construction management, and operator interface and coordination. Formerly the Director of Development for Hillman Properties, his experience includes the design, construction and development of large-scale mixed-use, commercial office, and hospitality projects. Hotel and resort development have been the most notable project types that Mr. Green has developed or constructed throughout his career, and have been the focus of his activity. Mr. Green launched The Robert Green Company during the successful completion of the Four Seasons Resort Aviara in Carlsbad, (currently Park Hyatt Aviara), a 650,000 square foot resort complex with three restaurants and an 18-hole golf course. His other projects include the Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley in Palo Alto, and the Four Seasons Resort, Jackson Hole. Projects currently under construction are the Pendry Hotel San Diego in the Gaslamp Quarter, the Kimpton Hotel in Hollywood, CA, Saggio Hills Resort & Residences in Healdsburg, CA and SilverRock Resort & Residences in La Quinta, CA. Projects currently in planning are the Fifth Avenue Landing Convention Center Hotel in San Diego, CA and Joie de Vivre Hotel in Mountain View, CA. Mr. Green has been a member of the Board of Management of the Magdalena Ecke YMCA in Encinitas for eight years, and served a two-year position as its Board Chairman. A husband and father of four children, Mr. Green also served for four years as member of the Nativity School Advisory Board in Rancho Santa Fe, and served for two years as its Board Chairman. Mr. Green graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He also received a Master of Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California.

Michael Fuerstman is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Pendry Hotels, the new luxury brand from Montage International. In this role, Mr. Fuerstman oversees the development of the brand and its execution in design, guest experience, programming, and new development. Prior to his current role, Mr. Fuerstman was the corporate director, acquisitions and development, for Montage Hotels & Resorts, responsible for new business development and acquisition opportunities for the company. Mr. Fuerstman joined Montage Hotels & Resorts in 2009 as the residential sales operations manager at Montage Beverly Hills, where he led a team of sales associates in the strategic planning, marketing, and sales for Montage Residences Beverly Hills. Prior to joining Montage Hotels & Resorts, he was an assistant project manager with The Athens Group, a luxury resort developer, and was the co-founder of www.socialmonkey.com, one of the web’s first location-based, mobile social networking websites. Mr. Fuerstman was honored with Boutique Design’s 2018 Up-and-Coming Hoteliers Award and HOTELS magazine recognized Mr. Fuerstman as one of its 20 Rising Star Hoteliers all 40 and under. Mr. Fuerstman is a graduate of Tufts University, with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

Tiffany Cooper is the Senior Vice President, Development for the Americas for The Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group. Tiffany is responsible for delivering growth to The Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group by expanding the development pipeline and footprint for the Americas via quality hotel projects to include conversions, adaptive reuse and new build opportunities. Tiffany is a hospitality professional with over 20 years of experience, having begun her career working in sales & marketing/hotel operations for The Kimpton Group in early 1995. Tiffany joined Starwood Hotels & Resorts in 1999 and continued working in operations, leading sales teams for various Starwood properties until 2005 when she transitioned to the Real Estate Development Group for Starwood. During this time, Tiffany extensively grew Starwood’s portfolio, more than doubling the footprint throughout the Western Region. In September, 2016, following the Marriott acquisition of Starwood, Tiffany joined the Marriott International development team, focused on full service and luxury hotel development until moving to Kimpton in April 2018.

Jennifer is a dynamic leader and marketing executive with extensive experience in the commercial real estate industry. As Business Development Manager for Swinerton, she maintains relationships with key contacts within the industry including brokers, architects, owners, municipalities, engineers and developers. Jennifer has proven to be successful in building new business, creating strategic partnerships, securing customer loyalty and forging strong relationships with external business partners.