The Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance is honoring distinguished leaders of diverse background whose achievements have contributed to the advancement of the food and hospitality industry. In May, during the Asian Pacific American Heritage month, MFHA is celebrating successful leaders of Asian descent by releasing its 2nd Annual Tribute to Asian Pacific American Leadership in Hospitality media campaign. 

Asian hoteliers are a dominate force in the hospitality industry with nearly 37 percent of hotels in the U.S. owned by them, according to American Hotel & Lodging Association. In addition, Asians own 8.9 percent of all franchises, the highest percentage compared to all minority groups in the United States, according to the International Franchise Association.

According to the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance, the tribute not only recognizes senior-level individuals who exhibit excellence in their fields, but also aims to communicate the industry’s efforts to advance multicultural talent to executive levels in companies.

Participating corporate members of the alliance for this tribute include: Darden; McDonald’s Corp.; Yum! Brands Inc. (KFC Corp.); Morrison Management Specialists; Sodexo; The Elliot Group; Hyatt Hotels Corp.; Pepsico Foodservice; Burger King Corp.; Choice Hotels International; The Kellogg Co. (Kashi Co.); MGM Resorts International; Clipper Corp.; and Oakwood Temporary Housing.

The leaders in this year’s tribute rank among the country’s elite in foodservice and hospitality, according to the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance. Among the 22 profiled Asian leaders, there are eight chief officers, six senior vice presidents and eight vice presidents. Eleven of all featured individuals are women.

Notably, the tribute showcases five leaders of South Asian heritage that are chief officers. South Asian honorees include: Indra K. Nooyi, chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo; Harmit Singh, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Hyatt Hotels Corp.; Gopal Krishnan, senior vice president at Darden; and Rohini Anand, senior vice president and global chief diversity officer at Sodexo.

The featured leaders are a true inspiration to multicultural youth and professionals who want to pursue a successful career in the food and hospitality industry, the alliance said.

The Tribute to Asian Pacific American Leadership in Hospitality can be found at: http://mfha.net/files/pdfs/Asian_Heritage_Month_2012.pdf.

The Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance supports multicultural opportunities in the food and hospitality industry. The organization educates, advocates for, and connects its members with opportunities to build their cultural intelligence in order to effectively engage multicultural employees, customers and communities. It will continue to honor successful multicultural leaders by releasing at least two more tributes in 2012: first, a tribute to Multicultural Allies in Hospitality (July release), featuring White leaders with outstanding accomplishments and contributions to multicultural initiatives; and then, a tribute to Latino/Hispanic Leadership in Hospitality (September release).