A hotel is a building until someone decides how it runs. This list collects fifty people whose decisions shape what it is like to arrive in Boston, stay a few nights and eat somewhere: hotel managers, chefs and restaurateurs, bartenders, the architects and investors who put the rooms up, the people who run the convention business and the harbor boats, and the guides who explain the city.
The order is thematic, not a ranking. There is no first place and no last place; the numbers exist only so you can point at an entry. Six families: hotel operators, chefs and restaurateurs, bars and drinks, the people who build the rooms, tourism and transport, and the people who tell the story. If you have not chosen a neighborhood yet, our neighborhood picker is a faster way in.
How this list was built
Names in hospitality move faster than pages get updated, and most "who's who" lists are wrong within a year. So we worked backwards from dated sources: appointment announcements from 2025 and 2026, current rosters at Meet Boston, the Massachusetts Lodging Association and Massport, company leadership pages, the James Beard semifinalist list of January 2026, and the first Boston Michelin guide of November 2025. Anyone we found only on a résumé aggregator was left out.
- Verifiable on a dated source. A press release, a staff page, an awards list — not a directory scrape.
- Currently in the role. Where we could confirm the work but not the present title, we say what the person did, and when.
- Greater Boston, and hospitality. Work that changes what a visitor meets: a room, a table, a bar, a boat, a tour.
- Public work only. No biography, no anecdotes — what they do, on the record.
- Links go to the business, not the person. Where we had no confirmed URL, the name appears unlinked.
Hotel operators
1. Carlos Bueno · General manager, Raffles Boston
Runs the Back Bay tower that gave Raffles its first North American address.
2. Robert Rouleau · General manager, The Newbury Boston
Joined in 2021 as director of food and beverage, promoted to general manager in June 2025.
3. Shane McWeeny · General manager, InterContinental Boston
Named in June 2026, after twenty-five years in Boston luxury rooms including The Lenox.
4. Todd Gagnon · General manager, Seaport Hotel Boston
Appointed in autumn 2025 to the convention-district hotel that runs without a chain flag.
5. David Colella · Vice president and managing director, The Colonnade Hotel
Leads the independent Huntington Avenue hotel with the seasonal rooftop pool.
6. Jonathan Crellin · General manager, Boston Park Plaza
Runs the 1927 Park Square landmark, among the largest hotels near the Public Garden.
7. Michael Jorgensen · Managing director, Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport
Hired in 2020 to open Omni's Seaport convention hotel, and still its managing director.
8. Adam Sperling · General manager, The Charles Hotel
Harvard Square's anchor hotel, and the address of Henrietta's Table and the Regattabar.
9. Gary Saunders · Chairman, Saunders Hotel Group
Chairs the family firm behind The Lenox, after ten years as that hotel's general manager.
10. Paul Roiff · Owner, Columbus Hospitality Group
Owns XV Beacon and the Inn @ St. Botolph alongside the group's restaurants.
Chefs and restaurateurs
11. Jamie Mammano · Owner and chef, Columbus Hospitality Group
Mistral, Sorellina, Ostra and the Mooo steakhouses; Ostra was a 2026 James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Hospitality.
12. Ken Oringer · Chef and owner, Uni
Uni sits inside The Eliot Hotel — a hotel dining room with its own following.
13. Tim Cushman · O Ya
His Leather District omakase room was the state's only 2026 James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant.
14. Wei Fa Chen · Chef, 311 Omakase
Cooks at the counter that took Boston's only star in the city's first Michelin guide.
15. Karen Akunowicz · Fox & the Knife, Bar Volpe
Both of her Italian restaurants carry Bib Gourmands — the only Boston chef with two.
16. Tracy Chang · Chef and owner, Pagu
Her Cambridge Spanish-Japanese restaurant holds a Bib Gourmand.
17. Garrett Harker · Restaurateur, Eastern Standard
Reopened Eastern Standard in Kenmore Square in 2023, added Standard Italian in December 2024.
18. Nia Grace · Owner, Grace by Nia
Opened the Seaport supper club with Big Night Entertainment, then Uptown Social in 2026.
19. Sāsha Coleman · Comfort Kitchen
A 2026 James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef: Northeast, in a former streetcar comfort station.
20. Amarilys Colon · La Padrona
A 2026 James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef: Northeast; La Padrona is also Michelin-recommended.
21. Sumiao Chen · Founder, Sumiao Hunan Kitchen
Founded the Cambridge Hunan restaurant that took a Bib Gourmand in the first guide.
22. Joseph Milano · President, Union Oyster House
Runs the Union Street dining room serving since 1826.
Bars and drinks
23. Jackson Cannon · Beverage director, ES Hospitality
Built the bar programs behind Eastern Standard and The Hawthorne; the group's Equal Measure placed 81st on 50 Best's extended list in 2025.
24. Eliza Hoar · Bar principal, Equal Measure
Runs the art-deco cocktail room in Fenway's Bower building day to day.
25. Oscar Simoza · The Wig Shop
Runs the drinks at the Temple Place basement bar, 86th on 50 Best's extended list for 2026.
26. Chompon "Boong" Boonnak · Co-owner, Mahaniyom
Won Michelin's Exceptional Cocktails Award in 2025, one of five prizes in the Northeast guide.
27. Nader Asgari-Tari · Zurito
A 2026 James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service.
28. Alyssa Mikiko DiPasquale · The Koji Club
Named with the Brighton sake bar as a 2026 James Beard semifinalist in the same category.
29. Paul Butler and Kelcey Rusch · Co-chefs, Spoke Wine Bar
The Somerville wine bar they cook for was a 2026 James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Bar.
30. Demetri Tsolakis · Krasi, Hecate
Opened Krasi in 2020 and the cocktail bar Hecate beneath it in 2022; Hecate placed 88th on 50 Best's extended list for 2026.
The people who build the rooms
31. David P. Manfredi · CEO and founding principal, Elkus Manfredi Architects
Co-founded the firm in 1988; its work includes The St. Regis Residences and much of the Seaport.
32. Elizabeth O. Lowrey · Principal, Elkus Manfredi Architects
Has led the firm's interior studio since 1988 — the discipline that decides what a room feels like at 7am.
33. Kevin Colket · Founder and CEO, Global Hospitality Investment Group
His joint venture won zoning approval in February 2026 for a hotel opposite the convention center.
34. Kairos Shen · Chief of planning, City of Boston
Chairs the Planning Advisory Council created in 2023; his department reviews what becomes a hotel room.
35. Laura Gregoriadis · Chief financial officer, Redgate
Redgate is a Boston development and advisory firm; she is treasurer of Meet Boston's board.
36. Darryl Settles · President, Catalyst Ventures Development
Development company president and a vice chair of Meet Boston's board, after years in South End hospitality.
Tourism, transport and the city
37. Martha J. Sheridan · President and CEO, Meet Boston
Leads the destination marketing and convention bureau that decides how the city is sold abroad.
38. Christina Pappas · President and CEO, Massachusetts Lodging Association
Runs the trade body speaking for the state's hotels on taxes and short-term rentals.
39. John Barros · Interim executive director, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority
Took over on January 14, 2026. The MCCA runs the two buildings that fill Boston's hotels midweek.
40. John Raftery · Chief marketing officer, Massachusetts Port Authority
Massport runs Logan and the cruise terminal: most visitors' first hour happens on its property.
41. Cindy Brown · CEO, Boston Duck Tours
Runs the amphibious tour company; also on the Meet Boston and convention authority boards.
42. Bob Lawler · Regional vice president, Boston Harbor City Cruises
Dinner cruises, whale watching, the Harbor Islands and Salem ferries, the Provincetown boat.
43. Jenny Holaday · President, Encore Boston Harbor
Leads the Everett resort and casino, the area's biggest block of new hospitality jobs in a decade.
44. Thomas Kershaw · President, Hampshire House
The Beacon Hill mansion he runs contains the pub that became Cheers.
The people who tell the story
45. Devra First · Restaurant critic and food writer, The Boston Globe
At the paper since 2000, previously its food editor; her reviews still move reservation books.
46. Marc Hurwitz · Boston Restaurant Talk
Writes and edits the openings-and-closings blog the local food press reads first.
47. Samantha Nelson · Executive director, Boston By Foot
Has led the volunteer-guided nonprofit since 2012: close to a hundred tour titles.
48. Nat Sheidley · President and CEO, Revolutionary Spaces
Runs the Old State House and Old South Meeting House; won federal funding in 2026 to stabilize the former.
49. Suzanne Segura Taylor · Executive director, Freedom Trail Foundation
Its costumed guides walk the route, seventy-five years old in 2026, that structures most first visits.
50. Sue Cronin · Vice president of publications, Meet Boston
Heads publications at the destination organization — the guides many visitors read first.
How this list is maintained
People here change jobs faster than pages get updated, which is why there is no year in the title. We revise as we find things: an appointment, a departure, an award. If an entry is out of date, tell us and we will fix or remove it — the same rule governs our other rankings. Anyone who has left the role we listed them for comes off the page.
How to get added
We add people because the work warrants it, not because someone asked — but we read everything. Send facts we can check: the title, the date it started, the property, and a page we can open. Adjectives do not help; a dated press release does.
If you are on this list
You are welcome to say so, and to link here when you do. That is the whole mechanism: the link keeps the page visible, and visibility is how corrections reach us. If your title here is wrong, send the right one.
Frequently asked
Is number one the most important person in Boston hospitality?
No. The list is grouped by what people do and numbered so entries can be referenced. Position one and position fifty carry the same weight.
Why so many general managers and not more famous chefs?
Because the subject is hospitality, not celebrity. A general manager sets the standard several hundred travelers meet every night. We included chefs whose restaurants sit in hotels or draw visitors, and left out any we could not verify were still in the kitchen.
Are people from Cambridge and Somerville eligible?
Yes, where the work shapes a Boston visit: Harvard Square hotels, Cambridge restaurants on the Michelin and James Beard lists, Somerville bars. The visitor's Boston does not stop at the Charles — but it stops short of the rest of New England.
💡 The practical companion to this list is the other half of the job: where to actually sleep. Start with our hotel coverage, and for corrections and new entries as they land, join the club.
