Winnow, the AI food waste technology company, has appointed Paul Whetsell (CEO, CapStar Hotel Company) and Gregory Maliassas (CEO, Driftwood Hospitality Management) to a new Advisory Board. The board is designed to help Winnow scale its food waste AI across hotel and resort portfolios globally.
Chicago, 6.23.26 — Winnow, the AI food waste technology company trusted by leading hospitality brands including Hilton, Marriott, and Accor, today announced the formation of a new Advisory Board with the appointment of two seasoned hospitality executives: Paul Whetsell, Chief Executive Officer of CapStar Hotel Company, and Gregory Maliassas, CEO of Driftwood Hospitality Management.
The Advisory Board has been established to bring deep operational and strategic expertise to bear on Winnow's product development and go-to-market strategy, as the company scales its technology across the global hospitality sector.
Paul Whetsell brings more than 45 years of hospitality industry experience. He founded the original CapStar Hotel Company in 1987 and has since led some of the industry's most prominent organisations, including as Chairman and CEO of Interstate Hotels and Resorts, and President and CEO of Loews Hotels & Resorts. He currently serves as a Non-Executive Director on the boards of Boyd Gaming Corporation and Hilton Grand Vacations.
Gregory Maliassas brings three decades of international operational leadership, with particular depth in the resort and all-inclusive sector. In April 2026, he was announced as CEO of Driftwood Hospitality Management. Previously, as Chief Operating Officer of Playa Hotels & Resorts, he oversaw branded all-inclusive properties across the Caribbean and Mexico in partnership with Marriott, Hyatt, IHG, Hilton, and Wyndham, leading a team of more than 15,000 employees. He has also held senior roles with Accor across luxury brands including Raffles, Fairmont, and Sofitel.
Looking ahead, Winnow plans to deepen its partnerships with the world's leading hospitality operators as it works toward an ambitious goal: helping the industry prevent more than $1 billion in food waste. The newly formed Advisory Board will play a key role in shaping this next phase of growth, providing operational insight to help Winnow scale its AI-powered technology across complex hotel and resort environments, accelerate adoption in key markets, and ensure the company continues to deliver measurable financial and environmental results for operators worldwide.
Marc Zornes, Founder and CEO of Winnow, said: "Paul and Greg bring the kind of hard-won operational experience that can only come from running large, complex hospitality businesses at the highest level. Their perspectives will help us build technology that works in the real world - in busy kitchens, across large portfolios, and in environments where margins are tight and the pressure is constant."
Paul Whetsell said: "Food waste has always been a cost that the industry accepted as inevitable. What Winnow has shown is that with the right data, it isn't. For a business running hundreds of hotel rooms, the numbers are significant - money that falls straight to the bottom line when you get it right. That's a straightforward case to make to any operator, and it's why I think the timing for this technology is exactly right."
Gregory Maliassas said: "Having spent years running all-inclusive resort operations, I've seen first-hand how difficult it is to get food waste under control at scale. The data speaks for itself - almost half of resort operators are still measuring food waste manually, and nearly as many aren't measuring it at all (Source: A Practical Guide to Reducing Food Waste in Resorts, Winnow). That's an enormous blind spot, both financially and operationally. Winnow's technology addresses exactly this gap, and I'm looking forward to helping bring it to more properties across the sector."