Tyler Birchfield
President & COO
Tyler is a 30+ year veteran of the hospitality industry, and has a vast range of experience including managing Hilton, Holiday Inn, Best Suites of America and Independent franchises. He formerly served as area general manager for Embassy Suites Ayrsley, Homewood Suites Ayrsley and Hilton Garden Inn Ayrsley helping those properties become top performing hotels for RevPAR. Tyler has an entrepreneurial spirit with ownership in two successful restaurant/bar concepts operating in Charlotte. Graduating from Southwest Minnesota State University, Tyler holds a Bachelor of Science degree in hotel and restaurant administration and a minor in business.
Thomas B. Henson
Chairman
Mr. Henson is the founder and chairman of American Spirit Media, LLC, the owner of six different Network-affiliated television stations in six different states. Mr. Henson started his career as an attorney with Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A. (1980 through 1999), specializing in mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Henson is currently a director of Cato Corporation, a NYSE traded specialty retailer with 1,371 stores in 33 states. In addition, he was a founding director of Park Sterling Corporation, a publicly traded bank with $3.5 billion in assets and operations in four states prior to its sale to South State Corporation (SSB) in 2017. He also served for seven years on the board of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, the entity responsible for management of Charlotte’s city-owned hospitality venues (Convention Center, Spectrum Center, Ovens Auditorium and Bojangles Coliseum). Mr. Henson is also currently an investor in over 25 privately owned real estate, hospitality and leisure related businesses.
Blair Henson
Director of
Marketing & Communications
A Charlotte native with a background in all things creative, Blair loves bringing his experience in Advertising and Television Marketing to his role at H&B. After working in Advertising in NYC, and in Marketing at local CBS affiliate WBTV, Blair joined H&B to help enhance Marketing and Communication efforts both internally and externally. Outside of work, he is soaking up every minute with his young son Beau, and beautiful wife Kaley!
Laura Fortner
Corporate Controller
Laura has 17 years of management experience with the last 11 years focusing on accounting, finance, and HR. Laura began her leadership career as a store team leader in retail and used those skills to move into supply chain management. During her 5 years in supply chain management, Laura excelled in finance and HR, which propelled her into bigger roles. Her accounting experience includes AP/AR, vendor compliance, month end close, budgeting, forecasting, and year end close. Her HR experience includes recruiting, training, enforcing company policies, investigations, and mediating employee issues. She joined the hospitality industry 6 years ago and has played a major role in helping implement new and more creative procedures in both HR and finance. When not at work Laura spends time with her 3 children supporting them in their sports and academic endeavors.
Kathy Hendrickson Finance Clerk
Kathy is a native New Yorker who relocated to Charlotte with her husband in 2010. She brings along 20+ years of experience which includes payroll, commission and piece work calculations as well as onboarding new employees and benefit administration. While her children were attending school, she could be found working as an office administrator to the Assistant Principal. Her involvement with daily student, teacher and parental interactions resulted in smooth day-to-day operations. She is enthusiastic and looking forward to being a contributor to the success of our operation. In her leisure time she enjoys being “Nena” to her 3 grandchildren, gardening, reading and walking.
Courtney Williams
Corporate Director of Sales
A North Carolina native, Courtney relocated to Charlotte in 2014 after graduating from Western Carolina University with a degree in Hospitality Tourism and Management. She quickly found her niche in Hotel Sales, gaining experience under the Marriott, IHG and Hilton brands. She has a passion for an industry where every day is unique, and the challenges constantly keep her engaged, and on her toes. When not at work, she is in full mommy mode! You will find her in the stands, or on the sidelines cheering on her son with her daughter on her hip!