ALEX ATTIA
General Manager, The Charles Hotel
     Alex Attia, General Manager for The Charles Hotel, Harvard Square has a unique background to match the distinctiveness of The Charles Hotel itself. Mr. Attia's extensive hospitality experience and international background bring a renewed sense of passion and focus on service. Under his leadership, The Charles Hotel has raised the bar for area hotels in service, design, amenities and guest satisfaction.
     Prior to joining The Charles Hotel, Mr. Attia was General Manager at The Jefferson, a Loews Hotel in Washington, D.C. While at The Jefferson, Attia led a team that helped acquire the distinction of being named one of "The World's Best Hotels" by TRAVEL & LEISURE in 2003. Additionally, he was responsible for the hotel's rebranding and repositioning in the Washington market beginning in 2001.
     Previously, Attia served as general manager at the Loews Hotel Vogue in Montreal as well as executive assistant manager at the Loews New York Hotel. Attia has worked with Omni Hotels and Sheraton Hotels, as well as an independent property in Chicago, before joining Loews Hotels in 1993.
     With all of his experience, Mr. Attia recognizes the Boston/Cambridge market as one of the most exciting in the country and The Charles Hotel's dynamic space, location and leadership in the marketplace. He continues to promote the hotel's well-deserved reputation for being a leader in the market where the best and brightest love to stay.
     Attia, a native of Tunisia, is married and has twin sons. He was educated at the University of Villetaneuse in Paris and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1981. He is fluent in French.
     For more information contact Jennifer McMahon, jmcmahon@charleshotel.com or 617.661.5046

JENNIFER MCMAHON
Director of Sales & Marketing, The Charles Hotel
     Jennifer McMahon, Director of Sales and Marketing for The Charles Hotel, Harvard Square, is a veteran in hospitality sales and marketing. Ms. McMahon has extensive experience in opening new hotel properties that fill innovative marketing niches in the marketplace. She has strategically and successfully marketed some of the top hotels in the Northeast.
     Prior to joining The Charles, she successfully opened Nine Zero Hotel in Boston, the city's first boutique property and the only hotel to be built in more than a decade at the time of its opening in June 2002. She also served as opening Director of Sales and Marketing for The Muse in New York, a 200-room, AAA Four-Diamond property that was launched in August 2000. Before she opened The Muse, she was Director of Group Sales for The Roosevelt Hotel also in New York, positioning the 1,013-room midtown Manhattan hotel after a two-year, $65 million renovation. Both the Muse and Roosevelt hotels are managed by Interstate Hotels & Resorts, the same parent company that manages The Charles Hotel.
     Ms. McMahon is not only familiar with the Boston market, but is extremely well versed in the workings of The Charles having served as Director of Group Sales and Director of Catering at the hotel from 1991 - 1997, Director of Catering at the Hyatt Regency, Cambridge, from 1989 - 1991 and Catering Manager at the Royal Sonesta, also in Cambridge, from 1986 - 1988.
     Recognition achieved by Ms. McMahon throughout her 22 years of experience in hotel management includes being named Interstate Hotels' Director of Sales of the Year, Region One in 1997 and 1999 and Director of Sales of the Year, Region Two in 1998. Shortly after her arrival at The Charles, she was appointed to the Council of 12, Interstate Hotels' sales and marketing council that governs the policies and procedures of corporate sales and marketing efforts.
     Ms. McMahon presently serves on the Harvard Square Business Association Board, and the committees for Jane Doe, Inc. and The Heart Ball. She was also on the planning committee for the 2004 Massachusetts Lodging Association's annual Meeting and Conference. She resides in Boston with her husband, Bob.
         For more information contact Jennifer McMahon, jmcmahon@charleshotel.com or 617.661.5046

PETER DAVIS
Executive Chef, Henrietta’s Table
    Chef Peter Davis has created a popular, beloved culinary destination and a cult following with Henrietta’s Table, located in the Charles Hotel, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Honored by The James Beard Foundation as one of “The Best Hotel Chefs in America”, Chef Davis has been recognized nationally for his commitment to sustainable agriculture. In 2007, he was honored by the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture and two of his redefined New England classics were rated as outstanding by Food & Wine Magazine. In October 2007, Gourmet Magazine recognized Henrietta’s Table as one of America’s Best Farm-to-Table restaurants.  The restaurant is a perfect complement to The Charles’ hybrid culture of contemporary energy and awareness blended with traditional New England style.
The restaurant features unpolished wood floor, mission-style chairs, an unpretentious ambiance, and a working market stocked with a mix of organic vegetables, fruits and flowers at the entrance. The menu features daily and weekly specials, using the best of open market ingredients. Chef Davis uses organic and native ingredients from local producers throughout and beyond Massachusetts, creating an original and simple approach to classic New England cuisine. “Our main priority is the taste of the food,” says Davis “so we try not to put more than 3 or 4 ingredients on a plate.” Davis’ keen awareness of the integrity of food in its natural state, eye for color and instinct for balance of tastes has earned him critical acclaim by Travel & Leisure Magazine, USA Today and the TV Food Network. Recently, Henrietta’s has been awarded “Best Power Breakfast” by Boston Magazine, and “Best Brunch” by The Improper Bostonian Magazine.
Chef Davis, whose motto is “fresh and honest” as in (“fresh from the farm and honest to goodness New England cooking”), came to The Charles Hotel with impressive credentials from around the world. After working in highly-ranked international hotels including the Hyatt-Singapore, the Bali Hyatt and the Grand Hyatt in Hong Kong, and a stint at The Beverly Hills Peninsula as opening Executive Chef, he returned to his native city of Boston to become Executive Chef at The Charles Hotel in 1995. He is an avid conservationist with close ties to the fishing and farming communities of New England, and a true Working Chef, heavily involved in the daily operations of the restaurant. The opening of Henrietta’s Table was a lifelong ambition. He was also one of the first proponents of the use of organic products, and will not use any genetically engineered foods or products at Henrietta’s Table.
Chef Davis is married with two children and currently lives close to the ocean in his native Nahant, Massachusetts.
For more information contact Jennifer McMahon, jmcmahon@charleshotel.com or 617.661.5046