Giorgi Di Lemis is vice president food & beverage for Benchmark Hospitality International, a leading privately-owned hospitality management company. A native of Venice, Italy, Mr. Di Lemis brings a rich heritage of culinary excellence to Benchmark Hospitality, gained through experience in Europe and the United States. He is responsible for overseeing the entire food & beverage and culinary operation for Benchmark Hospitality´s portfolio of hotels, resorts and conference centers.
Upon joining the company, Mr. Di Lemis said, “My mission at Benchmark is to impress our company’s guests one plate, one drink, and one gesture at a time.” For him, success is in the details of the dining experience, delivered one customer at a time. Mr. Di Lemis was previously corporate vice president of food & beverage for Gaylord Hotels of Nashville, Tennessee. In this role, he led the conceptualization, design and development of 21 cutting-edge food & beverage venues across the company, generating over $360 million in annual revenues. As vice president, he engineered brand standardization and innovative promotional programs for the company’s food and beverage outlets, and launched strategic alliances and sourcing initiatives that dramatically enhanced P & L goals. Prior to this position, Mr. Di Lemis held the title of corporate vice president of food & beverage for the luxury resort division of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Giorgi Di Lemis was employed by Hyatt Hotels Corporation in executive food & beverage and hotel manager positions for properties in the Midwestern, Southern and Southwestern United States. He launched his culinary career in Europe, working for Hotel Rigel in his hometown of Venice, for Peppermint Park in London, and for Hilton Hotels in Greece and Turkey. Giorgi Di Lemis is a graduate of the Accademia di Venezia, Ca’ Foscari of Venice, Italy. He is a certified Hotel Executive through A.H.M.A. Mr. Di Lemis has participated in numerous leadership, marketing and culinary training programs within the United States and Italy. He is a member of the President’s Club for Toastmasters International, of the prestigious Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, of the renowned Slow Food Movement of Milan, Italy, and the World Association of Chefs Societies.