Executives from Cisco, IBM and Microsoft will present their views on the future impact of technology within the hospitality industry at an invitation-only “Top of Technology” fundraising event that will benefit HFTP-supported hospitality schools. .The panelists will include Michelle Miller, marketing, Cisco Systems; Dwayne Ingram, vice president of Travel and Transportation Industry, IBM Global Services; and Matt Muta of Microsoft’s Retail and Hospitality Industry Unit. The panel will be moderated by Fraser Hickox, general manager of research and technology for HongKong and Shanghai Hotels, Ltd.

The event will be held Monday, June 19, 2006 at the “Windows on Minnesota,” managed by The Marquette Hotel, a Four Diamond AAA Hilton Hotel in Minneapolis, Minn.

The event will coincide with the 2006 Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC), June 19-22 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The event begins with cocktails at 6 p.m., the expert panel presentation from 6:30 * 7:30 p.m. and will be followed by an elegant dinner.

“Since HFTP’s inception, a major focus of the association has been to provide educational support to the hospitality industry, including endowments at major hospitality schools,” said Frank Wolfe, CAE, HFTP executive vice president and CEO. “The Top of Technology fundraiser will be an opportunity for today’s industry leaders to support tomorrow’s leaders, and build relationships with each other.”

Due to space limitations, invitations to purchase the $100 tickets will be limited to the “Top of Technology” power buyers of technology products and services, and their counterparts; and vendor executives who own and manage the companies, and who supply these technologies and services.

Upon arriving, guests will be greeted by the renowned expanse of the Windows on Minnesota vista seen through 11-foot high floor-to-ceiling windows, and a room illuminated by the night sky.

All profits from this fund-raising event will be distributed to hospitality schools that are supported by HFTP.
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