The Atlanta Hospitality Alliance, the peer-to-peer learning and networking organization for current and future hospitality investment leaders in Atlanta, names its 2025 board of directors with James Savier as president for the year.
“James is a leading voice in CBRE’s Atlanta office, growing his reputation to become the go-to expert for hotel investment sales,” said Colin Macdonald, vice president of operations, IHG Hotels & Resorts, and outgoing AHA president, in a statement. “Atlanta has been his home for his entire professional career, and James seems to know everyone within the hospitality industry. He brings a fresh perspective that I am confident will excite and engage our membership.”
The 2025 executive board members include:
- Caroline Royster, 2026 president, events oversight
- Colin Macdonald, 2024 president, sponsorship oversight
- Di Chen, corporate secretary, marketing and communications oversight
- Will Woodworth, treasurer and director of operations.
Savier currently serves as a senior vice president at CBRE Hotels. Prior to joining CBRE, he served as vice president at JLL where he was involved in the sale of more than 20,000 hotel rooms totaling over $5 billion. Previously, he worked at Deloitte Consulting as a consultant with a core focus in financial modeling.
The AHA also named the following board members:
- Frank Phair, vice president of operations, Legacy Ventures
- Mike "Woody" Woodward, chief growth officer, HVMG
- John Schellhase, assistant vice president, Peachtree Group
- Max Carr, vice president – acquisitions and business development, Davidson Hospitality Group
“This year, we strive to take the AHA to new heights by creating more opportunities for connection points within our tight-knit community,” Savier said. “We’ve already started by hosting our first ever AHA Young Professionals meet-up tailored towards professionals new to the industry and city. In addition to our quarterly networking events, we are planning to roll out a few smaller formats that will create a more intimate and engaging setting for high-quality networking and professional relationship building. We welcome any ideas or thoughts from the broader AHA community, and we encourage participants to respond to the membership engagement survey.”