‘Creating fun, memorable experiences’ for guests began when Julian MacQueen was just a young boy on vacation himself. That summer in Florida, he told his parents he wanted to stay at the beach forever. “Get a job,” they told him.

That he did. And he never left the hospitality industry. Hitchhiking the shore, Julian found a job at the Jack Tar Beach House. He worked there during summers until college, when he took up Night Auditing positions at hotels back home in Alabama.

In 1985, after dabbling in hot air balloons before working his way to an executive position with Family Inns of America, Julian founded Innisfree Hotels out of room 201 in the first hotel he developed and owned.

A charismatic leader, he inspires loyalty in his team and a companywide commitment to service. Work, as he says, is worship – if it is done in the service to mankind. And hospitality is a way to change the world, one guest at a time. By these and other principles, Julian has cultivated his team and grown the Innisfree portfolio along the Gulf Coast and beyond.

Julian has been married to Kim MacQueen for more than four decades. They share two children, Skye and Jonathan, and two grandchildren. A lover of aviation, Julian recently piloted his HondaJet for a trip ‘Around the World in 80 Stays,’ breaking boundaries and world records while discovering new ways to be hospitable.

Transitioning to an active Chairman of the Board position in 2018 after more than 30 years at the helm of Innisfree Hotels, Julian is still deeply involved in the operations of the company he founded – and the culture by which it is defined.

AWARDS

2012 Business Leader of the Year – Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce
2016 Hotelier Hall of Fame Award – Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association
2019 Elvin McCorvey Education Award by NAACP
2020 Florida Trend 500’s Most Influential Business Leader in Hospitality

AFFILIATIONS

Present

Certified Hotel Administrator
Escambia Children’s Trust – Founding Chairman
Pensacola State College Board of Trustee Member

Past

33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base – 2004 Honorary Commander
Baha’i of Chile – Endowment Committee
The Baha’i Chair for World Peace, University of Maryland – Advisory Board Member
Baha’i World Centre, Haifa, Israel – Investment Committee
Beach Community Bank – Board Member and Investor
Best Western International – Advisory Financial Committee
MacQueen School of Hospitality at the University of West Florida – Founder
Pensacola Five Flags Rotary – Honorary Member
Sacred Heart Hospital – Advisory Board Member
Take Stock in Children – Advisory Board Member
Tocqueville Society of United Way – Member
University of South Alabama MacQueen Alumni Center – Distinguished Alumni and Contributor
WICAB (a medical device that allows the blind population to see with their tongue) – Founding Board Member and Investor
Institute of Human and Machine Cognition – Foundation Board Member
Independence for the Blind of Northwest Florida – Founding Chairman and Board Member
From The Ground Up Community Garden – Founder
Chattanooga, Tennessee Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA) – President and Charter Member
First American Bank of Pensacola – Founding Board Member and Investor
Escambia Destination Marketing Organization – Chairman
Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association – Board Member
Florida’s Western Gate Economic Development Council (FWG-EDC)
Hotel Sales and Marketing Association of Alabama – Founding Board Member
International HSMA
North American Brain Injury Society – Secretary and Founding Board Member
Pensacola Chamber of Commerce – Committee of 100
Pensacola Naval Aviation – Museum Advisory Council
Pensacola State College – Foundation Board Member
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee Tourism Bureau – Vice President and Advisory Board Member
Quality International Franchise Advisory Board, Region III
THNK School of Leadership Graduate
University of West Florida College of Business Advisory Council – Financial Resource Committee
WSRE (PBS) Wine and Food Classic – Event Chairman

Contact:

Ted Ent joined Innisfree Hotels as Chief Executive Officer and President in 2018, bringing nearly 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry – beginning with a summer stint as a pot washer at a state park.

While working toward his B.B.A. Degree in Management at Southwest Texas State University, Ted worked as an executive chef and ran his own catering business. Over the course of his distinguished career, Ted has worked in many preeminent destinations – as Corporate Director of Food and Beverage at Canyon Ranch Resorts and Health Spas, Director of Food and Beverage at the Hyatt Gainey Ranch Resort and in various properties and corporate positions with Hilton Worldwide, culminating as Vice President and Managing Director of Development. His diverse experience in the industry most recently led him to serve as president and COO of the Texas-based MH Hospitality.

He has been a guest lecturer at the University Nevada Las Vegas Hospitality School, Penn State University School of Hospitality and Conrad Hilton School of Hospitality at the University of Houston, as well as a regular panelist at the New York University Hotel Investment Conference, American Lodging Investment Summit, The Lodging Conference and many other hotel industry events.

Ted believes in the power of hospitality to change lives. His commitment to doing things that matter is not only professional, but also personal. Ted and his family give back through what they call the ‘Three Ts of Philanthropy’ – time, talent and treasure.

P.S. Ask Ted about ‘Milkshake Fridays.’

Jason joined Innisfree in 1996 as an Assistant General Manager, swiftly climbing the ranks to assume his current position as Vice-President, Hotel Operations in 2015.

His superb command of revenue management strategies, operational efficiencies and a keen eye for detail have brought significant gains for the numerous hotels which he has helmed as General Manager and Regional Director. While he was the General Manager at the Hilton Garden Inn in Orange Beach, AL, the property was ranked No. 1 for service delivery among 500 of the brand’s hotels.

An innovative thinker, Jason has guided hotels through rebrands and rebuilds while improving operations and exceeding expected outcomes. He oversaw brand renovations for numerous properties, as well as hurricane rebuilds in 1998, 2004 and 2005, increasing the gross room revenue by 100% within two years of Innisfree’s purchase of the hotel.

Jason also preserved outstanding bottom line profits during the hurricane impacts of 2004 and 2005, U.S. recession of 2008 and the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010.

Jason has served for many years on the Board of Directors for the Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce. In 2015, he was appointed to the Visit Pensacola Board of Directors.

Brooks joined the Innisfree team in 2011, bringing with him an extensive background in corporate and commercial real estate finance. 

He began his professional career in 1998 with Zions Bank’s National Real Estate Group and was later promoted to Director of Business Development. Brooks also worked as a publishing securities analyst with the investment banking firm FBR Capital, where he covered high yield bonds and entertainment/leisure equities. 

He holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Utah and an MBA with an emphasis in finance and corporate accounting from the University of Rochester. 

Curious by nature, Brooks never sits around and is always up for an adventure.  He has developed a love of aviation and looks for any excuse to travel.  

A self-professed ‘deal junkie,’ Brooks loves meeting with industry leaders and making deals that change lives. Between acquisitions, development and financing, he has orchestrated more than a half billion dollars in transaction volume since joining Innisfree, which has resulted in 400% growth in managed revenue over the same period. 

Perhaps the ultimate adventure, Brooks has been married to his wife, Jessica, for more than 25 years. They share five children and love boating, beaching, surfing, skiing and traveling together.

Kevin joined the Innisfree team in 2013 as a Development Project Manager and quickly rose to the position of Director of Construction. A Pensacola native, Kevin was born and raised on the beaches of the Gulf Coast where he graduated from the International Baccalaureate program in 1990 and went on to earn an Associate of Science Degree in Organic Chemistry in 1994 and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Building Construction in 1999. Kevin is a Certified General Contractor in multiple states and brings a strong background in construction and project management to Innisfree.  

As Director of Construction, Kevin manages Innisfree’s Project Management staff and executes all projects with a wide variety of designers, planners, contractors, vendors and suppliers from initial concept to design and procurement to final execution and closeout. Kevin takes pride in creating strong project teams and ensuring that all team members are given the opportunity to fully achieve their potential through strong communication and coordination throughout all phases of the project.  

When Kevin is not dedicating his time to his wife of 28 years, Kellie, or his three sons, he enjoys boating, fishing, visiting potential hotel sites and participating in community enrichment projects within the Pensacola area including many of Innisfree’s Hive’s community projects with the Dixon School of Arts & Sciences and other professional organizations, such as the Associated Builders and Contractors NW Florida chapter (ABC).  

Kevin has touted his time with Innisfree as the most rewarding phase of his career. Kevin states… “Innisfree’s commitment to our community and the genuine caring and compassion that Julian and Kim have demonstrated for the people of Pensacola and for the health and wellbeing of their employees is unparalleled in the hospitality industry. I am proud to be a part of team Innisfree, and I look forward to my upcoming years of service within our community.”

Jack’s experience in cultivating culture and organizational strategy is his life’s work, beginning in the 1960s. He met Innisfree Hotels founder and CEO Julian MacQueen and his wife, Kim, more than 25 years ago through the Baha’i community.

Jack facilitated a weekend retreat attended by the MacQueens, focused on bringing people together on the personal and spiritual side. But Julian recognized that the work could translate to organizational development, so he invited Jack to enact the same experience for his small company, the beginning of Innisfree Hotels.

For a while, the growing team came together every year or two, sometimes twice a year, to go through the tools and exercises that would become Genesis – a culture toolkit for working together and doing business.

Jack joined Innisfree Hotels on a more official basis in 2012 as Director of Corporate Culture. For a long time, he says, Innisfree has been an ‘organization on the run,’ in a constant state of building and creating. With many challenges along the way, much of the company’s energy was spent on surviving and growing.

Today, Innisfree is moving into a different space, where there is room for doing something more than just surviving. With Jack’s arrival, we begin to look closely at the culture of our organization – the spirit and tools and principles and values that will guide us into a new chapter. Now, it is Jack’s task to systematize the work so it becomes more organized and understood company-wide.

Jack considers himself lucky to have shared his work with institutions, church foundations and social organizations throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. What he has learned from Innisfree, he shares abroad. What he learns in his travels, he brings back to us.

Hailing from Valdosta, Georgia, Lusharon Wiley joined the Innisfree team as Director of Culture in 2017. Lusharon holds an undergraduate degree from Tuskegee University, a master’s degree from the University of Illinois Chicago and a doctorate from the University of West Florida in Diversity Studies. She also is a graduate of the Social Justice Training Institute, the Leadership Challenge, Donald Gehring Institute and Leadership Pensacola.

Lusharon worked in both Academic Affairs and Student Affairs at the University of West Florida, eventually ascending to the Senior Associate Dean’s position. She founded and participated in multiple inclusion and diversity groups and committees during her long and successful career with the University of West Florida including and Military Connections and the Inclusion Spotlight. Lusharon was also the founder of the Argo Pantry, a program that focused on making sure University of West Florida students always had access to food and personal care items.

In 2021, Dr. Wiley was promoted to Vice President of Corporate Culture.

Away from her professional work, Lusharon wrote and starred in a one-woman show called “Lusharon: Unleashed (2016).” In addition, she is a distinguished speaker, storyteller, and emcee.

Rusty Branch is the VP of Community Engagement for Innisfree Hotels and the Executive Director of the Hive Foundation. In these roles he is responsible for the organization’s philanthropic efforts and all aspects of community engagement. Prior to this he spent 5 years as the Executive Director of the Escambia County Destination Marketing Organization (DMO). In his role with the DMO, Rusty advocated on behalf of the hotel/lodging industry for the sustainability and promotion of tourism, which is an industry that represents 20,000 plus jobs and over a billion dollars in economic impact to Escambia County. Before his jump into the hospitality and tourism space Rusty spent 14 years with Lakeview Center Inc. where he worked in multiple roles ranging from children welfare specialist to strategic planner. During this time, he led a Quality Work Environment initiative that won a national award. Rusty has also advocated at the federal, state, and local level for the advancement of job opportunities for persons with significant disabilities and led six (6) members of congress to become “Congressional Champions for Disability Employment.”

Rusty is an alumnus of Univ. of West Florida where he received a bachelor’s degree in Social Work and has completed executive education programs through the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and Cambridge Judge School of Business. He has mentored youth in Big Brothers/Big Sisters as well as the Take Stock in Children programs and currently serves on the boards of the YMCA of Northwest Florida and Parent University. Rusty resides in Cantonment, FL with his wife Laura and has four children Emma, Elizabeth, Allen & Kuyper.

Gabe assumed his current role of Regional Director in 2012, continuing a successful career at Innisfree Hotels. He joined the company in 1999 as a night auditor and front desk clerk at Beachside Resort, Pensacola Beach, FL. After completing his degree from the University of West Florida, he was promoted to the position of General Manager at the Days Inn in Orange Beach, AL.

Gabe’s unique talents include his steadfast ability to calm the troops and get the job done. Equally competent in a hard-hat overseeing construction of a hotel project or leading a sales team to outstanding results, his focus and resolve inspire others.

In 2004, he became the General Manager at the Hilton Garden Inn in Orange Beach, AL, and was tasked with reopening the hotel after the devastating Hurricane Ivan hit the Gulf Coast. During the first full year of operation, the hotel’s gross revenue increased by 41% and the property was awarded the ‘Highest Increase in Customer Loyalty’ award.   

In the winter of 2010, Gabe became the opening General Manager of the Hampton Inn & Suites in Orange Beach, AL. Under his direction, the sales team booked $1.1 million in group sales during construction and achieved an occupancy rate of 99% within 60 days of opening.

Pat Sidler has been in the hospitality industry since 1987. Starting as a housekeeper, she has truly worked her way through the ranks. Pat started with Innisfree Hotels as a bench manager and quickly transitioned into the role of General Manager at the Hampton Inn on Pensacola Beach. From her years of experience as a property manager to her hands-on approach to leadership, Pat brings a myriad of skills and unique perspectives to our team of Regional Directors. Pat currently sits on the TDC Board as well as the PSC Academic Advisory board.

Jeremy Skinner hails from North Texas. He first joined the Innisfree team with the opening of the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Walton Beach as a Task Force General Manager in 2016.

With a deep background in restaurant management and banquet services, Jeremy has filled multiple roles in the hospitality industry, including convention services, catering, sales, and marketing. Jeremy brings over 15 years of experience with both IHG and independent hotels.

After his stellar work at the Hilton Garden Inn, Jeremy quickly rose to the position of Regional Director of Operations, joining the corporate team in Gulf Breeze and bringing a high level of management expertise and a dedication to the Innisfree Hotels culture.

Carol Ruben got her start at Innisfree as an Accounts Payable Clerk in 1988, when Innisfree owned only three hotels. Over the course of her career with the company, she has enjoyed roles as Accounting Supervisor, Human Resources Administrator and Payroll Supervisor – all while serving as Executive Assistant to founder and CEO Julian MacQueen. In her latest position, she also serves on the committee for 401k, Health Insurance and Property & General Liability Insurance coverage.

After studying Business Administration at Pensacola State College, Carol worked for 9 years as Payroll Supervisor for Ashland Chemical Company before joining National American Corporation (NACO), an RV resort and timeshare company, where she gained experience in the hospitality industry, hiring new managers and setting up new parks across the United States.

Carol says she enjoys hospitality because the people you make contact with are on vacation and having a good time. Perhaps this is why she connects with our Innisfree motto of ‘creating fun, memorable experiences.’