Where Innovation Meets Intel

Kim Sims has over 40 years of experience in the hospitality industry working in all phases of hotel operations. He represents a third generation in the industry following his grandfather who owned two motor hotels in the Washington/Baltimore area in the 1930’s and his parents who opened their first hotel in College Park in the 1950’s. While Sims has played a vital role in affirming Chesapeake Hospitality’s soaring vision and establishing its next-generation management principles and practices, his leadership is a reminder of the company’s rare and compelling combination of tradition and innovation.

As President, Sims is responsible for the overall health of Chesapeake Hospitality, working closely with the Executive team to set financial goals, develop policies, and articulate long-term strategic objectives. He has helped deploy the company’s sophisticated sales and marketing tactics, utilizing innovative web-based sales and marketing tools to drive highest possible results, and he manages Chesapeake’s industry-leading revenue management strategies that control costs and optimize revenue across all distribution channels. In addition, he is actively involved with property ownership to assure that performance goals are accomplished.

A graduate of Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia with a Bachelor of Science in Business, Sims is also a member of the American Hotel Lodging Association, the University of Maryland Terrapin Club and All Saint's Church in Chevy Chase, MD.

Chris Sims began his career in the family business and has never left it. He has played an instrumental role in shaping and maintaining Chesapeake’s professional culture and traditions of innovation and operational excellence. Under the guidance of the company’s core principles, Sims is tasked with providing leadership to initiate, plan and execute Chesapeake’s mission and strategies for growth and development. He is operationally accountable for corporate marketing, communications and the institution of corporate giving programs. Under Sims’ leadership, property revenues have grown from less than $10 million annually to well over $100 million a year in just a decade. Today Chesapeake Hospitality is ranked among the top 50 largest independent operators in the industry–and Sims’ marketing and communications expertise plays a central role in driving the company’s continuing strategic expansion.

A graduate of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in management economics, Sims is past president and current board member of the Prince George’s County Conference & Visitors Bureau and a member of Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International. He also is actively involved in the community as a volunteer youth sports coach for Washington DC CYO, a passion he has pursued for more than two decades.

Steven McD. Smith has more than 30 years of experience in Hotel Operations with Chesapeake Hospitality, specializing in systems implementation, operational effectiveness, Food and Beverage operations and design, asset maintenance, business development and corporate strategy. Smith plays an integral role in Chesapeake’s philosophy of selective growth and strategic hotel and restaurant acquisitions.

A graduate of Washington & Lee University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics, Smith remains active in the National Restaurant Association and is the immediate past Chairman of the Restaurant Association of Maryland (RAM). Smith received the prestigious Schellhase Award from RAM in recognition of his significant contributions to the organization. He is also a member of the American Hotel Lodging Association and the Society of Human Resource Managers, and serves as an advisory board member of AACC Hotel Culinary Arts and Tourism Institute (HCAT).

Chris Green brings more than a quarter century of successful hospitality operations experience to Chesapeake’s corporate team, including nearly a decade in the field at various Chesapeake-managed properties. He is responsible for all field operations of the Chesapeake managed estate, a portfolio of properties that continues to evolve to reflect the contours of a changing marketplace. Under Green’s leadership, Chesapeake has demonstrated a proven ability to deliver industry-leading financial results across a wide range of markets and hospitality concepts. Green understands how to balance a property’s long-term strategic vision with the practical immediacy of day-to-day operational demands, and he takes a leading role in actively managing, improving and protecting every asset.

Prior to joining the Chesapeake, Green held a variety of key operational positions with three national hospitality chains. He has a strong F&B background, including supervising more than 40 restaurants with RMS Restaurants, S&A Restaurant Corporation and Brinker International.

Green attended Florida State College at Jacksonville with a concentration in management. He holds the Certified Hotel Administrator designation from the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) and has served as president and board member for various CVB, Tourism development, and Hotel & Motel associations in the markets in which he has worked.

Clifford Ferrara has more than 27 years of experience in the hotel business. As Chesapeake’s Senior VP of Sales, Marketing and Revenue Management, Ferrara manages and oversees the daily direct sales, catering, advertising, marketing and revenue management strategies for the company’s portfolio of properties.

He is an enthusiastic leader who has developed a successful track record of meaningful accomplishments throughout his career. His career travels have carried him to Charleston SC, Baltimore MD, Washington DC, Charlotte NC, Jacksonville FL, Houston TX and Hollywood FL.

Ferrara holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Hampden-Sydney College.

As Chesapeake Hospitality’s CFO, Louis Schaab is responsible for all aspects of hotel and corporate finance and accounting functions, including hotel accounting and reporting. He regularly consults with clients to develop innovative and successful strategies to drive asset value and optimize returns, and oversees Chesapeake’s full-service accounting platform that provides complete payroll, accounts payable, cash flow management, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and financial statements.

With more than 20 years of finance and accounting experience, Schaab has extensive and recognized experience within the hospitality industry, most notably serving as senior vice president of finance at MeriStar Hotels and Resorts in Washington, D.C., where he built and managed a team of 15 finance and accounting professionals. Schaab also served as the principal/operating partner of portfolio management for Washington-based Allied Capital Corporation, successfully managing a portfolio of 40 hotel and real estate assets.

Schaab is a CPA licensed in Virginia and graduated with honors from James Madison University with a bachelor’s in accounting. He has also held Board of Directors seats at seven Allied Capital portfolio companies, is a member of the Board of Advisors for Therapeutic Recreation and Riding Center in Glenwood, Maryland, and has held board and advisory positions with several regional charitable organizations.

Brenda McGregor has played an instrumental role in the Chesapeake Hospitality story for more than three decades. In her current position as the Senior Director of HR, McGregor is responsible for overseeing and managing all aspects of Human Resources services and support within the organization. She works closely with senior leadership to strategically cultivate a collaborative and cohesive workplace environment that reflects Chesapeake’s unique culture and supports the healthy growth and development of Chesapeake employees.

McGregor provides comprehensive and timely support for and supervision of all HR field personnel and General Managers, ensuring consistent adherence to Chesapeake’s culture, policies and procedures, as well as full and complete compliance with all local and federal laws. Her work is vitally important to maintaining Chesapeake’s culture of inclusivity, entrepreneurship and accountability, helping to solidify its reputation as a place where employees are encouraged to pursue their goals, contribute their own perspectives, and achieve both personal and professional fulfillment. McGregor is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and her efforts have helped Chesapeake to achieve one of the highest employee retention rates in the industry.