Greg Dawes and Monika Nerger will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at HITEC Toronto

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) is pleased to announce that Greg Dawes and Monika Nerger will be inducted into the HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame at the 45th Annual Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®) in Toronto, Ontario Canada next month. Both were recognized for their generous knowledge-sharing, using their expertise to collaborate with industry professionals outside their organizations to further advance industry practices and move hospitality technology forward. Both will be recognized on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 in a ceremony at the commencement of that morning's keynote session.

The International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame is HFTP's highest level of recognition in the area of technology. Since 1989, 42 individuals have received this award as a reflection of their contributions to the hospitality industry. Dawes and Nerger were nominated and selected by their peers for representing the best in innovation and application, and for being leaders in their profession.

Greg Dawes is currently solutions architect/technical director at VT Group. He has 30+ years of experience in the communications industry with more than 15 years building relationships in the hospitality, education, government and healthcare verticals. He is a true GPON expert, and has been involved with optical LAN almost since the inception of the technology; his strength lies in designing and promoting Passive Optical LAN as the preferred infrastructure of choice in these markets. Dawes is an active member of Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG), where he has authored a wide range of published works including: white papers, best practice guides, case studies, webinars and more. In 2012, he founded HTNG's Fiber to the Room (FTTR) workgroup, and has been the chairman or co-chair of the group ever since.

"In technology, one must keep looking forward and embracing the next big challenge while learning from our past," says Dawes. "The challenge is that most of the time we are asking others to follow us to places we ourselves have never been."

Monika Nerger is currently CIO at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group where she is responsible for navigating the company through the wide-ranging challenges and innovations that are brought on with technology. Most recently she has overseen the development and is in the process of executing a five year strategy at Mandarin Oriental, "IT 2020," which includes the transformation of core systems to cloud and mobile-based solutions, in conjunction with a rapid deployment of a guest-centric digital strategy. Over her career she has held multiple technology roles in different hospitality areas including: gaming/casinos, cruise lines, consulting and luxury hotels. Nerger is very active in the hospitality industry, and holds leadership positions for different organizations including: HTNG president; HITEC Toronto advisory council member; Gaming & Leisure advisory board member; CHTA advisory board member; Jardines CIO council member. She is a frequent speaker/panelist at hospitality industry events and contributor to industry publications such as Hospitality Upgrade, Hotel Yearbook and Gaming & Leisure magazines.

"I'm excited and honored to be included in the HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame, alongside many distinguished peers and mentors in our industry," said Nerger. "To be recognized amongst so many talented and committed leaders is truly humbling. I'm especially grateful to receive this honor in Toronto, where I began my career in hospitality!"

This year's larger North American event HITEC Toronto, HFTP's second HITEC of 2017, will take place from June 26-29 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario Canada. HITEC Dubai, the third and final HITEC of 2017, will take place from November 14-15 at the Conrad Dubai in Dubai, UAE in partnership with Naseba. In 2018, HFTP will bring back HITEC Amsterdam on April 11-14 in addition to HITEC Houston on June 26-29.

For more information about HITEC and HFTP's other global activities, contact the HFTP Meetings & Special Events Department at [email protected] or visit www.hftp.org and www.hftp.org/hitec/. Stay updated with HFTP and HITEC on social media for conference updates: HFTP Connect; HITEC Bytes; HFTP Club Bytes; HFTP Finance Bytes; HFTP News; Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter; Instagram; YouTube; Flickr.