A lifelong member of the IS community, Michael Israel began his career in technology sales and rapidly progressed to the position of chief operating officer for a high-end, solutions based systems integration consulting firm. After gaining a wealth of experience consulting clients on best practices for IS management, in 2006 Michael joined Six Flags Entertainment Corporation as their Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer with the goal of putting these practices into action. Since coming on board with Six Flags, Michael has applied his more than 25 years of consulting expertise to rebuilding the IS infrastructure of this high profile, publicly-traded entertainment corporation. After totally redesigning the Six Flags IS structure, Michael has moved on to delving into every aspect of business operations. With a truly hands-on approach that has taken Michael into intimate contact with the challenges of the industry, he has championed a broad array of creative technology solutions, which have consistently contributed to improved efficiency, revenues, and profits of the corporation. Michael leads by example, mentoring his team, and building collaborative partnerships with executives throughout the organization. With unrelenting enthusiasm and energy, Michael has inspired all those who work with him to continually strive to achieve new heights of performance. Along with his industry experience, Michael’s skills as a business leader have been further enhanced through his participation in the MIT Executive Program in Corporate Strategy as well as his completion of the Executive Management MBA Program at St. John’s University. Michael resides in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey with his wife of 18 years Elizabeth and their 16-year old son Andrew and 12-year old daughter Rachael. Less   View all posts

Morgan Geddie is the Department Chair and a Professor of Resort and Lodging Management in the Department of Recreation, Hospitality and Parks Management at California State University, Chico. He is also Associate Dean of the College of Communication and Education at California State University, Chico. Professor Geddie received his doctorate from Oklahoma State University in Occupational and Adult Education with an emphasis in Human Resources Development. He also has an MBA with an emphasis in Marketing from the University of Central Oklahoma and a BS in Hotel and Restaurant Management from Oklahoma State University. Before joining the faculty at Chico State, he taught at the University of Houston, Oklahoma State University, Eastern Illinois University and Arkansas Tech University. He also has several years of hotel experience in the New York City, New York and Charlotte, North Carolina markets. Professor Geddie specializes in the areas of Lodging and Cruise Line Management. He has published in many journals, textbooks and trade magazines as well as being a featured speaker at several conferences. Less   View all posts