Hospitality Design - June/July 2021 - 48

perspectives interview
Tiana Webb Evans
Owner, ESP Group
By Christine Gachot, Principal, Gachot Studios
For me, inspiration is oſt en an intimate experience, shaped from the
process of working with and bearing witness to the eff orts of close friends.
Tiana and I have been friends and collaborators our entire adult lives. We
met at Studio Sofi eld-both of our fi rst jobs-and since then have been
at each other's side for weddings, children, entrepreneurship, etc. Our
friendship is built on these shared experiences, but also in a shared passion
for hospitality in the deepest, most elemental sense of the word. Tiana
understands the importance of building culture and making people feel
cared for, and she understands how to wield these virtues in powerful ways.
Tiana is the owner and principal of ESP Group, a brand strategy and
communications agency working across the art, design, and hospitality
industries. She has developed an approach to brand building that centers
on the immutable human desire for personal connection and community.
It's a philosophy that pervades her business strategy and encompasses a
larger approach to life that is exemplifi ed in myriad artistic and academic
pursuits. She recently launched Jamaica Art Society, an initiative that
honors her own heritage in cultivating the next generation of visual artists
and leaders, and she is the founder of YARD Concept, a multimedia
platform that is part journal and part gallery with an expansive approach to
cultural exploration and critique. In short, Tiana does her homework. The
result is deeply engaging, nuanced storytelling.
Jerry Inzerillo
CEO, Diriyah Gate Development Authority and Vice Chairman of Forbes
Travel Guide
By Margaret McMahon, Senior Vice President and Global Director, Wimberly Interiors
Jerry heads up the redevelopment of Diriyah Gate in Saudi Arabia (DGDA), which covers an area
larger than Manhatt an. The project includes everything from residential, municipal, public works,
and hotel development. It's also the home of the fi rst Saudi capital and recognized as the birthplace
of the nation. Jerry has been entrusted to build the future of Diriyah on the foundation of its past-
reinforcing and enhancing the social and cultural values that have shaped modern Saudi Arabia.
He is a true champion of the hospitality industry and commits to everything 200 percent. His
career and time spent working with Isadore Sharp, Ian Schrager, and Sol Kerzner-three of our
great industry visionaries-is helping to redefi ne hospitality in Saudi Arabia. He is also one of the
smartest and loveliest guys I know. Even though we are on opposite sides of the globe, whenever I
reach out for advice, he is always there to help. That speaks volumes.
I've known Jerry and his wife, Pru, for more than 30 years. I designed their duplex apartment
on Sutt on Place in New York when they fi rst bought it, and you really do get to know people on a
diff erent level when you design their residence. Jerry has met a lot of people throughout his years
in the hospitality industry, but he has also developed relationships with a lot of people. I always
joke with him: 'Who don't you know?' I've had dinner with Stevie Wonder, I've met Archbishop
Desmond Tutu, Hugh Jackman, Clive Davis, and Tony Bennett -just to name a few-all with Jerry.
I've been in Europe to meet with hotel managers, in Asia with hotel owners, in Syria at the Four
Seasons, and all these people know Jerry Inzerillo. He is a citizen of the world, and a true champion
of our fabulous industry.
048
June/July 2021 hospitalitydesign.com
Photos courtesy of JERRY INZERILLO and TIANA WEBB EVANS

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Hospitality Design - June/July 2021

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