Management

Allen Ruffin, CPA, Vice President And Chief Financial Officer For Cooper Hotels

Mr. Ruffin directs the finance and accounting functions for corporate and the hotels. He has 39 years of experience in finance and accounting. Prior to joining the company in 2000, he was senior vice president of Medshares, Inc. Mr. Ruffin's background also includes an accounting post with the national CPA firm of Pannell Kerr Forster, where he consulted with numerous hotel clients.

Geoff Thompson, Vice President Of Operations, Cooper Hotels

Mr. Thompson joined Cooper Hotels in 1994, after graduating from the University of Mississippi. He has held management positions at several properties and served as regional director of development and operations. Mr. Thompson directly supervises the Cooper Hotel properties in Florida, Michigan and New York

Andy Laubscher, Corporate Director Of Operations, Cooper Hotels

Mr. Laubscher oversees all corporate food and beverage operations and directs the operations of the Tennessee region hotels. Prior to joining Cooper in 1997, he spent 10 years with Swissotel in executive chef and sous chef positions at the Lafayette Hotel in Boston, the Drake Hotel in New York City and the International Hotel in Zurich, Switzerland. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Chad D. Udovich, Area Manager and DoubleTree by Hilton Implementation Specialist

Mr. Udovich joined the Cooper Hotels in 1992, holding management positions at several hotels, including general manager of the Holiday Inn Select St. Charles, Missouri, and DoubleTree by Hilton hotels in Johnson City and Jackson,Tennessee. He attended the University of Tennessee and Lambuth College after graduating with an associate's degree from Jackson State.

Ginger Brown, Director of Purchasing

With over 26 years of procurement experience, Ms. Brown is responsible for the purchasing process and project management for new hotels and renovations. Prior to joining Cooper Hotels in 2015, she held purchasing management positions with Allen & O'Hara, Inc., Hilton/Promus Hotels in Memphis and Hilton Equipment Corporation in Beverly Hills, California. She is a graduate of the University of Mississippi.

Shannon Dilworth, Director of Revenue Management

Mrs. Dilworth supports and oversees the revenue management process for Cooper Hotels. She is a graduate of St. Norbert College in DePere, Wisconsin. Since joining the Cooper Hotels team in 2001, Mrs. Dilworth has held positions in sales administration, sales management and revenue management.

Debbie Clark, Regional Director of Revenue Management

Ms. Clark joined Cooper Hotels in 1987 on the opening front desk team at the former Crowne Plaza Fort Myers at Bell Tower Shops (now DoubleTree by Hilton Fort Myers at Bell Tower Shops). She was promoted to front office manager, rooms division manager, and assistant general manager, before being promoted to revenue manager for the hotel and its sister hotel, Homewood Suites at Bell Tower Shops. Most recently, she served as general manager of Homewood Suites by Hilton Fort Myers Airport/FGCU.

Horia Vese, Regional Director of Revenue Management

Mr. Vese originally joined Cooper Hotels in 2003 as a member of the Hilton Naples, Florida, banquet department team. He also served in the guest services department and held the position of on-property revenue manager at Hilton Naples until 2021, while completing his bachelor's degree at Florida Gulf Coast University. In November 2023, Mr. Vese rejoined Cooper Hotels.

Anthony Troxel, Regional Director of Sales & Marketing

Mr. Troxel began his career at Cooper Hotels in 2016, serving as director of sales and marketing at DoubleTree by Hilton Memphis. In March, 2023, he was promoted to regional director of sales and marketing for Cooper Hotels. Mr. Troxel previously held multiple managerial and director level roles in hospitality sales and operations with companies in Tunica, Mississippi, and Memphis for eight years. He is a graduate of the University of Memphis and holds an MBA in marketing from Christian Brothers University in Memphis.

Lisa Vinciguerra, Regional Director of Sales & Marketing

Ms. Vinciguerra joined Cooper Hotels as a member of the Hilton Naples, Florida, team in 2001, where she held positions of catering manager, director of catering and director of sales and catering. She is a graduate of New York Institute of Technology with a hospitality management degree.

Amy Witney, Corporate Sales Analyst and Regional Director of Sales & Marketing

Ms. Witney joined the company in 2007 as sales and catering manager for Cooper Hotels' three Hilton brand hotels at Detroit Metro Airport. She was promoted to director of sales, catering and marketing, and in 2012, promoted to corporate sales analyst for Cooper Hotels. Ms. Witney's over 25 years of experience includes positions with Dolce International, InterContinental and Marriott.

Hugh Ladd, Director of IT

Mr. Ladd joined Cooper Hotels in 1989 in the company's computer systems and technology department. He is responsible for the technological requirements and operations for company headquarters and all hotels. Previously, he served as lead department engineer at Matsushita Electronics and data processing manager for White Stores, Inc. Mr. Ladd holds a BS degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee.

Amy Hall, Accounting

Ms. Hall performs the corporate accounting functions, which include general ledger, accounts payable and payroll. She also assists in administering human resources and benefit programs. Ms. Hall has prior experience as a controller at Rheogistics, LLC/IGI.

Candace Selecman, Accounting and Benefits Manager

Candace Selecman handles accounting duties including the preparation and review of hotel accounting, accounts payable, and management of various hotel and accounting systems and audits. She also provides strategic direction to all hotel controllers. In addition, Ms. Selecman oversees the company's 401(k) and medical insurance benefits program for the company's headquarters and hotels. She served as general manager of DoubleTree by Hilton Memphis for three years. Prior to that, she had a 14-year tenure at Cooper Hotels' Hilton Knoxville Airport.