EV Hotel Executive Team
Ken Patel
Founder, Chairman and CEO EV Hotel
- 25 Years of hospitality and Founder of EV Hotel, EV Smart, EV Human, EVHG and Hospitality 360 Live. He is a visionary and with the mindset that the industry needs a major overhaul.
- Frequently referred as the Elon Musk of Hospitality
- 2021 Hospitality Power Index TM as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Hospitality leaders Globally
- The goal is to revolutionize the hospitality Industry with technology innovations that will create centric experiences for our guests and employees. 2022 is my 26th year in Hospitality. I graduated from the #1 Hospitality school in the world where I obtained my MBA in international Hospitality Management.
- Originally from the NYC area as I have spent almost 34 years there and currently reside in the Atlanta area. I have been in hospitality since I was 15 years old working 7am to 7pm every Saturday and Sunday at a hotel in my Junior & Senior year of high school. Ever since then I have been in the world of hospitality and have worked from the ground up to where I am today. My belief is you have to earn your goals to achieve them and don't stop till you conquer them.
Brian J Esposito
Chief Strategy Officer EV Hotel
- Ranked among the world’s Top 10 CEOs for 2020 in The World CEO Rankings Awards by Adria Management, LLC, Brian J. Esposito is the founder and CEO of Esposito Intellectual Enterprises, LLC, (EIE).
- An award-winning serial entrepreneur and business leader, he is recently renowned for being a core part of an innovative team to build Nodle—the world’s largest wireless network and ecosystem of connected devices and for one of his early businesses, which ranked among The Fastest-Growing Private Companies by Inc. 5000 for six consecutive years. In December 2019, he was featured in The Corporate Investment Times, the next-gen investment magazine in the Middle East.
Calvin Stovall
President EV Hotel
- Armed with more than 25 years of experience in the hospitality and non-profit services industries. Calvin designed a practical and systematic technique called The ICONIC Framework™ to help organizations achieve and maintain iconic status in the eyes of their customers. The ICONIC Framework was built based on nearly two decades of practical branding and leadership experience, and countless hours of readings from secondary research of iconic brands over the years.
- Calvin also served as CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, a Memphis-based non-profit built on the rich legacy and tradition of the iconic soul recording label, STAX Records. Calvin also served as marketing and brand strategist for the fundraising arm, ALSAC, for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
- The pinnacle of his hospitality career was his promotion to vice president of brand marketing with Hilton Worldwide where he was responsible for the marketing and public relations efforts for more than 150 Homewood Suites by Hilton hotels. While under his leadership, Homewood Suites by Hilton was voted best in class by numerous consumer advocacy publications, including Consumer Reports and recognized four times by J.D. Power and Associates for its unwavering commitment to customer service quality.
Jeff Driskel
Chief Impact Officer EV Hotel
- Jeff Driskel is currently a versatile NFL football player who plays both Quarterback and Tight End due to his unique skill set. He currently plays for the Houston Texans and finished up his sixth NFL season after also playing for the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos, and the San Francisco 49ers where he was drafted in the 6th round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
- In addition to his on field success, Driskel has been also named recipient of multiple off field awards.
- Driskel was named the 2018 Ed Block courage award after his teammates voted him as the candidate to represent them. The award recognizes 1 player from each team who has battled injury and overcome adversity. “The Ed Block Courage Award recipient symbolizes professionalism, great strength and dedication. He is also a community role model.”
- Driskel was most recently named the Houston Texans Impact Team Newcomer of the year, after attending numerous community service events and projects throughout the year. He remained committed to serve others despite the demanding schedule that goes along with the rigors of the season. The impact team is responsible for connecting the community and organization and giving back. The impact team focuses on assisting players in their community service efforts.
- Prior to the NFL, Driskel played football at the University of Florida where he helped the Gators reach the Sugar berth and 11-2 record as starting QB. After finishing his undergraduate degree in sports management, Driskel transferred to Louisiana Tech where he earned his MBA and was named team captain. He was also named offensive player of the year and the Davison Family Community Service award winner.
- While at Hagerty High School, Driskel played football and baseball. He was named the Gatorade Player of the year for the state of Florida and the Maxwell Award National player of the year as a senior in football. He also was drafted in baseball by the Boston Red Sox.
- Driskel currently sits as a board member for the Orlando Health Foundation where he has supported the foundation through the NFL’s “My cause my cleats” initiative.
Nancy Patel
Global Head of Investment Stewardship EV Hotel
- As the president of LPS she enriched value and culture efforts in the United States and around the globe. She has been a staple name in the hospitality industry as an Advocate, Owner, Leader, and leading the front line for women in hospitality.
- LPS of USA - President
- Board member of Corpus Christi Hotel Association
- Coastal Bend Indian Association – Executive Board – Secretary
- Chamber of Commerce of Mount Pleasant TX, Pittsburg TX, Dangerfield TX, Mount Vernon TX.
- Over twenty years ago, my life was personally affected by being the victim of a tragic car accident that rendered me with several uncertainties and a disability resulting in paralysis. Now, I am proud to say that after twenty years of fear of my paralysis getting worse and proving the doctors wrong as they said I will never walk again, I am able to resume my desires and push my will forward and follow my passion to help others in need. Life is very uncertain and has a way of throwing surprises at you when you least expect it. In order, to be fully prepared to deal with the contingencies in life, insurance strategies and financial planning is very essential as it was for me.
Chris Maier
Director of Acquisitions EV Hotel
- He is the founder of Contractors Closers & Connections with current chapters in Atlanta, Richmond, Tampa Bay, Orlando, Savannah and Miami.
- Earned his M.B.A from University of the Rockies Colorado Springs and a phenomenal community leader where his consistent message about "Making Business Personal Again".
- Special Consultant with Yukon Ventures
- Chris formerly served 501c3 non-profit charities in the capacity of Board of Directors Member for Mentor Me North Forsyth to mentor young men and women in the community where he was raised, and as Vice President of Hands Across Atlanta 501c3 to assist the less-fortunate homeless population in Atlanta. He received his undergraduate degree from Georgia Southern University.
- The Contractors, Closers & Connections (CCC) was established to provide a deliberate forum for professionals who serve the commercial real estate & construction industries to network, create introductions, build lifelong relationships, send referrals, share new ideas and promote the overall advancement of the industries.
-The CCC consists of multiple national chapters which organize and host professional industry events to include clientele from various market designations: real estate developers, entrepreneurs & building ownership groups, owner’s representatives & management firms, special consultants, traditional lending partners & private capital investment firms.
Stefan Schulz
VP of Entertainment EV Hotel
- Stefan Schulz is the CEO and co-founder of Bitfury Surround. He has spent more than 25 years in the music industry, pioneering the use of technology for the benefit of artists. In 2001, Stefan became the founding member of Universal Mobile, a Vivendi business unit that went on to dominate the mobile music market. Later, while working in Universal Music’s Digital Business in Central and Eastern Europe, he led milestone deals with large technology players such as Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Nokia, Verisign, Apple, NTT DoCoMo, Deezer, Spotify and more.
- For both Universal Music and Vivendi, Stefan actively designed and developed new business models around audio and video content as well as license for equity programs and consumer platforms. From 2010, he was the Co-CEO and Founder of Vivendi’s Watchever, a European OTT video platform with 1mio. paying subscribers that preceded Netflix in Germany and worked with all major Film Studios globally.
- In 2016, Stefan joined Simon Fuller (XIX Entertainment) in his project Now United, the first self-sustaining global pop group entirely based on social media and audience engagement. Most recently, he has led the design of digital live entertainment rights (Broadcasting, Social Media, Streaming) for promoters, artists and music labels. As Member of the Management Board at Bitfury (a global leader in the Bitcoin mining industry), Member of the Global Blockchain Business Council and participant at the Milken Blockchain Group, Stefan has been at the forefront of driving the music and entertainment marketplace to higher levels through decentralization, tokenization and AI technology.
- He has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and has worked with numerous Top-tier artists and managements in Europe and the US.
Jeremy Gutierrez
Chief Crypto Officer EV Hotel
- Mr. Gutierrez brings a large portfolio of vetted national suppliers along with a comprehensive back office contract workflow management engine to ensure fast, accurate analysis to contract execution with best available pricing and products. His firm continually monitors and evaluates your sourcing strategy in light of continuous market change. Mr. Gutierrez’s dedicated Energy Advisors assist their clients in preparing, negotiating, and selecting the key supplier contracts to optimize costs and align with organizations risk profile.
- Leveraging their proprietary analytical tools, extensive market knowledge and variable price discovery strategies, their clients can time purchasing decisions and negotiate terms for maximum advantage. Mr. Gutierrez began his energy career in the highly competitive ERCOT market as a young energy adviser through strategic alliances with retail electric providers such as Stream Energy, First Choice Power , ENGIE, and NRG Business. His early successes paved the way to the formation of a number of competitive energy businesses including brokerage firm Imperium Energy Resources, Sherpa Energy Services, Leuva Energy, Bhakta Energy, PSF Energy, SAVANT Energy, as well as a revolutionary self-service online platform, Scan N Quote, where small business owners can shop and contract for the best energy plan among a number of competing suppliers across the nation using Artificial Technology to extrapolate the information and streamlines to procurement process for small business owners and hoteliers across the United States.
- Due to his vast experience in the energy sector in Texas and understanding the power grid struggles with fluctuating energy prices and sporadic service, mining for cryptocurrencies, like, Bitcoin, is the computationally intensive process by which new tokens are created and transactions of existing digital coins are verified, can fix this problem by adding another electricity factor into the mix—a buyer who will take as much power as they’re give, whatever the time of day, and are just willing to power down within seconds’ notice, reduce the strain on the grid and then get compensated for that shift, shape and shedding of load. This, at its core, is called Energy Arbitrage through mining Bitcoin. He now uses this knowledge and applied this to a crypto mining farm in Sugar Land Texas
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