Kimberly Christner

Founder, President & CEO

In 2012, Kimberly Christner created a partnership to develop Cornerstone Hospitality. As President and CEO of Cornerstone Hospitality, Kimberly oversees the day-to-day corporate operations as well as property development, management and financials of the firm's portfolio. Cornerstone Hospitality started with two hotels and has grown to include both owned and third-party managed properties including branded select-service, upscale boutique and independent hotels as well as full-service hotels with multiple restaurants and conference space.

Prior to forming Cornerstone Hospitality in 2012, Kimberly worked for Beck Company for more than 19 years and led the company as its CEO. Since that time she has been instrumental in the design and development of many hotels including adaptive-reuse projects, converting historic buildings into hospitality complexes. These projects are located throughout Virginia, North Carolina, Louisiana and Indiana. Historic projects are a passion for her and she excels in not only the financial complexities of these developments but in curating the culture, creating authenticity through storytelling and design and bringing the project to life. As such, she is sought after to both assist developers on these types of projects both as a development partner and/or as a consultant or speaker. Many of these projects have won awards for design, historic preservation and guest experience.

Christner earned her bachelors of Business Administration Degree from St. Leo University and several Executive Education certifications from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell. She is a previous winner of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) State Leadership Award and the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging and Travel Association's (VRLTA) Hotelier of the Year award. She has served in leadership roles on numerous boards and committees for both civic and professional organizations including VRLTA, Rotary International, the YMCA, Proclaiming Grace Ministries and city and state tourism boards. She currently serves on the Marriott Owners Advisory Council for the Tribute Portfolio and the Hilton Owners Advisory Council for the Tapestry Collection.