Robert H. Gleason
President and Chief Executive Officer
Robert Gleason was appointed President and CEO of Evans Hotels in 2014, becoming the first executive outside of the Evans family to run the day-to-day operations of the company. Mr. Gleason oversees and directs all aspects of business strategy and performance growth for Evans Hotels, which includes The Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla as well as the Bahia Resort Hotel and Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa on Mission Bay. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Gleason spent the previous 15 years as the Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel of Evans Hotels. Having dedicated more than half of his life to the company, he first joined Evans Hotels as a reservations agent at the age of 17 and gradually worked his way up to CFO prior to earning his law degree.
Outside of his work, Mr. Gleason serves on the Board of the California Travel and Tourism Commission, which does business as Visit California, developing and maintaining marketing programs that keep California top-of-mind as a premier travel destination. In addition, he is immediate past Chair of the San Diego County Lodging Association, Director of the San Diego Tourism Marketing District, and Chair of the Arts Advisory Committee for San Diego International Airport. He serves on Advisory Board for the L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at San Diego State University, where he taught hospitality law and policy for many years, as well as on the California State University Hospitality & Tourism Alliance Council, the University of San Diego School of Law Board of Visitors, the Promises2Kids CEO Advisory Council, the American Cancer Society’s CEOs Against Cancer San Diego Chapter, and the Advisory Council for World Design Capital San Diego-Tijuana 2024.
Prior civic commitments include serving as Chair of the Los Angeles Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Chair of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, Chair of World Trade Center San Diego, Chair of Francis Parker School, Chair of the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, Director of the San Diego Convention Center Corporation, Vice Chair of The Old Globe, Chair of the San Diego LGBT Community Center, Commissioner for the California Film Commission, and an Executive Committee Member of the Alumni Council of Princeton University and Chair of its Committee to Nominate Alumni Trustees.
Mr. Gleason received an A.B. in Economics from Princeton University and a J.D. summa cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law. He is a licensed attorney and real estate broker in California as well as a Certified Hospitality Accountant Executive.