Kathleen Hollis
Hired September, 2014

First Evo Position: Analyst, Business Development
Current Evo Position: Director, Business Development

How did you come to work with our company? Tell me your story.

I grew up working at a local bakery, so the service industry has always been in my blood. I went to the Hotel School at Cornell for undergrad—the more I continued to learn about the industry, the more I loved it. I tried out various internships over my four years, from operations to asset management. I ultimately gravitated more towards the real estate investments discipline, and I actually graduated with a minor in Real Estate.

My first job after college was with Wells Fargo in their Hospitality Finance Group in San Francisco as a financial analyst. Basically, we provided debt on large hotel acquisitions/development throughout North America and Europe. Was a great learning experience, but I was ready to make the move to Evolution Hospitality after about a year to learn another side of the business.

Things you like about your job or working for Evolution Hospitality

• Autonomy – my team is quite small, so I have a lot of responsibility and often work on projects independently.
• Flexibility – I work from home, and my team is great about allowing for flexible work days (e.g., I feel comfortable spending an hour at lunch working out, knowing I can just finish up my work a little later in the day).
• Challenge & Reward – Evolution is still a fairly small company (especially at the corporate office); so, if you take on more responsibility/ challenges and perform well, you can move up the corporate ladder very quickly. There is very little “red tape.”
• Collaboration – Business development is only one side of the business. I love being able to work closely with other discipline leaders—sales, revenue management, marketing, etc.—and improve my knowledge in those areas as well. It actually make me better at my job & provides a more complete picture of the hotel business.

Favorite Guiding Principle: Celebrate Success Wildly

Why? Life’s too short, gotta stop to have fun every once in a while!

Most interesting thing about you that’s not work-related

I am not that interesting. I like to travel and work out and eat. Doesn’t everyone?? For “fun facts” I normally use (i) I was born on Friday the 13th or (ii) I don’t have any piercings—not even my ears.

Feel free to make something up :)