Cornell Hotel School grad leaves Hyatt to become Statler's general manager

The Statler Hotel and J. Willard Marriott Executive Education Center on the Cornell campus has a new general manager. Richard Adie, a 1975 graduate of Cornell's School of Hotel Administration, begins his new position July 1. The 150-room Statler is the world's largest and most renowned teaching hotel.

The announcement was made by Hotel School Dean David Butler, who noted that Adie was the unanimous choice of the search committee, made up of Hotel School faculty, administrators, students, alumni and industry professionals.

Adie has worked for Hyatt Hotels for the past 27 years. He began as a management trainee shortly after graduating from the Hotel School and moved into management roles in housekeeping, stewarding, front office, restaurant and rooms administration with Hyatt before becoming the first general manager of a new hotel, the Hyatt Regency West in Houston in 1983. He was the opening GM for two more Hyatt properties, in Denver and San Francisco.

In 1990, he was named GM of the renowned Hyatt Regency in Chicago and in 1993 moved to his current position, GM of the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Under his leadership, the Kansas City Hyatt achieved top-tier convention hotel status within the Hyatt corporation, as evaluated by the Gallup Organization. In addition, it was one of only three hotels in the state of Missouri to earn AAA
4 Diamond and Exxon/Mobil four-star status. Adie also was recognized as Hyatt Hotels' "General Manager of the Year."

Adie replaces James Hisle, who has been managing director of the Statler Hotel and Conference Center on Cornell's campus since 1991.