Charlie
Palmer

Co-Founder &
Chief Executive Officer

Since the beginning of his celebrated career, master chef, restaurateur and hotel entrepreneur Charlie Palmer has received critical acclaim for his signature progressive American cooking and unparalleled hospitality.

Over the years, Chef Palmer combined his creative cooking spirit and flair for business to open dozens of notable restaurants across the country, including Manhattan Flagship Aureole. Charlie’s celebrated cuisine, authentic hospitality and award-winning beverage service are anchored in premier hotels including: Hotel Healdsburg, Archer Hotels, The Knickerbocker, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, MGM Resorts International and Grand Sierra Resort and Casino.

With the launch of Appellation, Chef Palmer continues to be recognized as one of the most distinctive and influential figures in hospitality today.

Christopher
Hunsberger

Co-Founder &
Chief Operating Officer

The operating team at Appellation is led by one of the most seasoned executives in the hospitality industry. Christopher Hunsberger brings with him 35 years of luxury hotel operations and management experience at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. During his tenure there, Christopher served in multiple roles spanning from General Manager to President of Hotel Operations for the Americas and Global Executive Vice President of Human Resources. He also led the Innovation Practice as Vice President of Innovation which led to new developments in the areas of information technology, food & beverage management, and service standards and deployment.

Christopher maintains a service-forward approach not just in the guest experience but in employee relations as well. He’s a solution-oriented leader with a keen eye for detail – the perfect architect for Appellation’s approachable luxury positioning in the market.

Richard
Femenella

Chief Financial Officer

Richard Femenella has 40 years of restaurant and hotel experience and has also served as the Senior Vice President of Operations for the Charlie Palmer Group for the past 21 years. Beginning his career with a culinary degree he went on to acquire a business degree from Bernard M. Baruch College and passed the CPA exam in 1995.

Femenella’s hospitality operational skills combined with his managerial financial skills renders him uniquely qualified as an executive member of the Appellation team.

Richard is also a member of the Forbes Financial Council and was named Restaurateur of the Year by the Nevada Restaurant Association in 2017.

Ed
Skapinok

Chief Commercial Officer

A hospitality veteran since 1988, Ed Skapinok is recognized for his accomplishments leading the commercial disciplines at some of the industry’s most notable ownership groups, global hotel brands, and third-party management companies. 

Prior to joining Appellation, Ed worked as Senior Vice President for Aqua-Aston Hospitality where he led the sales, marketing, revenue, and reservations teams for an international portfolio of leisure hotels, resorts, and vacation rental properties. His career also includes leadership roles at Hostmark Hospitality Group, Larkspur Hotels & Restaurants, InterContinental Hotels Group, and Sheraton hotels.

With a long track record of building and developing winning sales and marketing teams, he is credited with innovations in pricing and revenue management, e-commerce, database marketing, and corporate communications. In 2016 Ed was named one of the Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality Sales, Marketing & Revenue Optimization.

Courtland
Palmer

Chief Development Officer

Growth is Courtland Palmer’s specialty.  In his role as Chief Development Officer, Courtland leads the fundraising and capitalization efforts for Appellation’s hotel projects and oversees the company’s real estate investments. Prior to joining Appellation, Courtland served as Director of Finance for The Robert Green Company where he led the underwriting efforts for several notable hotel projects with brands like Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Montage, Pendry, Marriott, and more. Prior to joining the hospitality industry, Courtland spent three years as an investment banker where he oversaw more than $4.0 billion in transaction volume and managed banking relationships with some of the largest publicly traded F&B and Consumer & Retail companies in the U.S.

Courtland also currently serves as the President of Charlie Palmer Collective (Appellation’s sister company), one of the largest and longest-running independent fine-dining restaurant companies in the country. With an upbringing in hospitality, a foundation in finance, and as a Fellow of the Culinary Institute of America, Courtland brings unique value to the Appellation team.

Jennifer
Clay

Vice President, Hotel Operations

Creative thinking and results-oriented leadership are the hallmarks of Jennifer Clay’s record as a hospitality pro. Jennifer currently oversees guest experience design and execution across the Appellation portfolio: prioritizing service, creating long-term loyalty, and solidifying Appellation’s position as a leader in the hospitality space.

Jennifer brings a powerful combination of international experience and local know-how to her role at Appellation. She’s worked on brand compliance with luxury global hotel groups, including Mandarin Oriental Hotels, The Peninsula Hotels, and Six Senses; and held leadership positions at several Napa Valley resorts.

Jennifer’s skills, from managing multi-asset operations to content creation, are highlighted in her work defining guest experience standards and touchpoints, forging brand partnerships, and directing Appellation’s experiential learning program.

Dustin
Hinkle

Director of Finance & Human Resources

Dustin Hinkle has the unique ability of being able to manage Appellation’s accounting and finance activities while also leading the company’s human resources effort. A longtime hotelier, Dustin brings over a decade each of accounting and hotel operations experience to the team. He spent four years as Assistant General Manager of the 237 room Hilton Seattle where he oversaw the Rooms, F&B, and Accounting departments. Most recently, Dustin led the HR, Finance, and Accounting functions at an online retail brand. There he facilitated a doubling of headcount and guided financial strategy to exceed ambitious revenue growth expectations. Dustin enjoys making budgets and then assembling and leading a team to exceed the even the most ambitious expectations. Dustin attended the University of Denver, where he earned a BSBA in Hospitality and an MBA in International Business.  

Charles
Pouchot

Food and Beverage Operations Director

Charles Pouchot was educated at the Formation Hoteliere CFTH in Chambery, France where he pursued a degree in hospitality that was followed up by further certification from the Lycee Hotelier in Nice. Famed Chef Daniel Boulud recruited Charles to work for the Dinex Group. He moved to New York City where he spent ten years of his career rising through the ranks to the position of Assistant Director of Operations. Charles joined the Charlie Palmer Group in 2008 to oversee flagship restaurant Aureole’s relocation to the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park.