As President of Commonwealth Hotels, Jennifer Porter oversees the company’s strategic, operational, financial, and cultural expectations. Jennifer most recently served as the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Before joining the company in 2020, she spent 25 years in the hospitality industry in key leadership roles with Winegardner and Hammons, Pyramid Hotel Group, and SunStream Hotels and Resorts. Ms. Porter’s experience spans lifestyle, all-suite, conference-style hotels in urban, suburban, airport, and resort locations across the country. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Kent State University.
Shawn Kvernen serves as Vice President of Development at Commonwealth Hotels, where he plays a key role in driving the company’s growth strategy and expanding its hotel portfolio. With a wealth of experience in the hospitality industry, Kvernen brings a strong track record of leadership and success in both operations and business development.
Before joining Commonwealth Hotels, Kvernen was Senior Vice President of Operations and Senior Vice President of Business Development at Aimbridge Hospitality. In these roles, he led initiatives that enhanced operational efficiencies and supported strategic growth. Prior to his time at Aimbridge, he served as Chief Operating Officer at both Terrapin Hospitality and KPartners Hospitality, where he contributed significantly to their operational success and expansion.
Kvernen’s background also includes leadership roles at Sage Hospitality, where he gained a comprehensive understanding of hotel operations and development. He holds a degree in Criminal Justice from Moorhead State University in Minnesota.
Business development and finance professional with several years of diversified experience and a proven ability to increase revenue and drive profitability through effective financial management. Demonstrated success in finance, business development, and marketing strategy. Recognized as an effective, goal-oriented leader and problem solver with a results-driven approach. Successfully acquired or developed 35+ hotels.
Jon Gustin joins Commonwealth Hotels with a distinguished career spanning more than 20 years in senior leadership positions. Most recently, Jon served as Senior Director of Operations for Placemakr, where he was instrumental in driving operational efficiencies and helping grow the company from a start-up. Prior to that, he held key roles including Director of the Hotel Division for Blue Water Hospitality, Regional Director for Dimension Development, and Area General Manager for TPG Hotels and Resorts. Jon has also held various leadership positions with White Lodging, contributing significantly to the company’s operational success. Jon is a graduate of Michigan State University with a B.A. in Business and also holds a Juris Doctor degree from Thurgood Marshall School of Law.
Kim is a senior human resources executive with more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, most recently serving as Vice President of Human Resources at Commonwealth Hotels. She brings deep expertise in benefits administration, employee relations, compliance, and HR operations, with a pragmatic, people-focused approach that supports both organizational performance and employee experience. Kim holds a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification.
Barbara Willen is a dynamic, results-driven hospitality executive with more than 20 years of progressive leadership experience in sales, marketing, and revenue strategy. As Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Commonwealth Hotels, Barbara oversees the commercial strategy for a diverse portfolio of more than 50 hotels, generating over $175 million in annual revenue.
Since joining Commonwealth Hotels in 2007, Barbara has played a pivotal role in driving market expansion, strengthening brand positioning, and delivering sustained revenue growth. She leads a high-performing team of more than 50 sales professionals, field directors, and task force leaders while maintaining a portfolio-wide RevPAR Index exceeding 107%. Her customer-centric approach has resulted in significant gains in group pace and long-term market share.
Barbara brings extensive experience across major hospitality brands, including Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and IHG, with deep expertise in revenue management, owner relations, brand development, and multi-channel marketing strategies. She has successfully led numerous hotel openings and transitions and is known for building strategic partnerships that enhance visibility and profitability.
Barbara holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Economics from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Debbie Farrell brings more than 30 years of accounting and hospitality experience, including over two decades with Commonwealth Hotels. She has extensive expertise across both full-service and select-service properties, supporting multiple hotel brands and markets.
In her current role, Debbie leads companywide budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning efforts, partnering closely with hotel leadership teams to drive performance and support informed decision-making. She also works with the development team on proformas for new hotel projects, helping evaluate opportunities and guide investment strategy across the portfolio.
In addition, Debbie oversees payroll operations and supports labor management initiatives, ensuring alignment between financial goals and operational execution. Known for her collaborative leadership style, she works closely with hotel management teams to implement best practices in financial reporting, labor tools, and performance analysis—bridging operations and finance to translate complex data into actionable insights that support both day-to-day execution and long-term growth.
Linda Sarno brings more than 40 years of experience in both public and private sector accounting. Since joining Commonwealth Hotels in 2017, she has overseen finance operations for full-service and select-service properties across multiple brands and markets. In her current role, Linda leads companywide financial reporting and analysis, accounts payable, treasury, and financial controls. She has extensive experience leading teams and implementing best practices. Linda holds a BBA in Accounting from Adelphi University and is a Certified Public Accountant and an active member of the AICPA.
Lisa has 30+ years of purchasing experience with Commonwealth Hotels working directly with architects, designers, general contractors, as well as brand design and construction teams, providing turnkey services. Lisa, along with the purchasing team, facilitates all aspects of budgets, procurement, delivery, installation and final budget reconciliation for each project while maintaining the highest level of quality with superior financial results.
Tom Joined Commonwealth as Vice President of Food and Beverage in May of 2021, Tom brings a diverse Food and Beverage background including private country clubs, fine dining restaurants and 20 plus years in full service hotel management that began with Commonwealth in 2000. His most recent position was Lead Executive Corporate Chef with Winegardner and Hammons. In 2016 he achieved a lifelong goal and assisted Team USA in winning 3 gold medals at the Culinary Olympics in Germany.
Dan's background encompasses over 35 years of experience in hotel management includes Stouffer, Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott brands. Dan's experience shows exceptional strengths in the areas of financial controls, sales and marketing, and food and beverage. Operations for which Dan is responsible typically have strong operational margins and lead the market in terms of occupancy and rate. Managing from an owner's perspective has brought inherent strengths to the forefront of the businesses he operates resulting in tightly controlled and profitable businesses.
Bryan joined Corporex in 2020 as Managing Director of Corporex’ s two hotel companies, Commonwealth Hotels, Inc and the Commonwealth Collection Inc. Prior to joining the Company, he spent over 35 years as an executive in the hospitality industry. Most recently Bryan was the Chief Operating Officer on Northwest Indiana based White Lodging. During his tenure as COO, he successfully led the company to double its revenues and profits in a six year period. Prior to White Lodging Bryan served as the Senior Vice President of Franchise Operations for Hyatt Hotels, where he successfully led the development and launching of the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands for Hyatt. Mr. Hayes has also served on various advisory councils for Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt. He has served on the Strategic Alliance Council of Purdue Universities Hospitality department and the Business Advisory Board of Edinboro University School of Business. He is a graduate of Edinboro University’s School of Business with a degree in Business Administration.
