ALIS LAW LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD TO BE PRESENTED TO SIMONE WU
Former Choice Hotels International executive will be honored during the 2027 event
Simone Wu, Former General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Senior Vice President, External Affairs of Choice Hotels International, Inc., will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award during the 13th annual ALIS Law conference on Sunday-Monday, January 24-25, 2027, in Los Angeles. This prestigious award is presented to an individual who has made significant strides and notable impacts in the legal field as it relates to the investment and development transaction processes and their post-deal implications.
Simone Wu is an accomplished independent director and C-suite executive with deep expertise in corporate governance, enterprise risk oversight, strategic transactions, and regulatory compliance across public and private companies, start-ups, and non-profit organizations. Her experience spans multiple industries, including hospitality, franchising, technology, telecommunications, and media, providing a broad, cross-industry perspective on risk, strategy, and long-term value creation.
She currently serves as an Independent Director of Alarm.com, a Nasdaq-listed technology company and leading platform for intelligently connected properties, where she is a member of the Compensation Committee and previously served on the Audit Committee. She is also a member of the board of directors of Reading is Fundamental, the largest and oldest children’s literacy non-profit in the U.S. celebrating its 60th year in 2026, where she has served on the Strategic Initiatives and Governance Committees.
Ms. Wu was for more than 14 years an executive with Choice Hotels International, Inc., a NYSE-listed global hospitality company with over 7,500 hotels worldwide. In this role, she served as a strategic advisor to the Board and CEO and led multiple business functions including legal, governance, board operations, compliance, risk management, government affairs and advocacy, external communications and public relations, corporate events, and procurement services. She oversaw enterprise-wide frameworks for ethics, crisis management, insider trading and Reg FD, anti-corruption, privacy and cybersecurity, disaster recovery, and business continuity, and has led significant M&A, strategic, and capital markets transactions, including the $675 million acquisition of Radisson Americas.
Prior to joining Choice Hotels, Ms. Wu was general counsel of XO Communications (acquired by Verizon), a Nasdaq-listed, Icahn controlled telecommunications company, and held business and legal roles at AOL, MCI Communications (acquired by Verizon), and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, developing deep expertise in complex transactions, international operations, and regulated industries.
She has been recognized for her leadership and impact, most recently by Corporate Counsel Women of Color, the Financial Times, WomenInc., the Washington Business Journal, and the National Law Journal. Ms. Wu has also previously served on a number of other non-profit and industry association boards, including the American Hotel & Lodging Association, International Franchise Association, Minority Corporate Counsel Association, American Corporate Counsel Association – National Capital Region, and The Inkwell, a non-profit incubator focused on developing playwrights and new plays.
“Few legal leaders have had a greater impact on the hospitality industry than Simone Wu. Throughout her distinguished career, she has combined exceptional legal expertise with strategic vision, guiding some of the industry's most significant transactions while advancing the highest standards of corporate governance, ethics, and leadership. Her influence extends far beyond the boardroom, having helped shape the next generation of legal and business leaders. We are proud to recognize Simone with the ALIS Law Lifetime Achievement Award”, said Jonathon S. Zink, COO of The Hotel Investment Group by Northstar, which operates ALIS, ALIS Law, and ALIS DESIGN+.
The 13th annual ALIS Law conference is scheduled for Sunday-Monday, January 24-25, 2027, at the Courtyard/Residence Inn Los Angeles L.A. LIVE, and will be the first of three exciting ALIS events happening that week. Additional information is available on the ALIS Law website. For ALIS Law sponsorship opportunities, contact Associate, Valerie Feng. Please visit the ALIS and ALIS DESIGN+ websites for additional information about those programs.
ALIS Law is produced by Northstar Travel Group, in association with the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and The Hotel Investment Group by Northstar. The event focuses on current legal matters of interest to hotel owners and operators. Attendees include general counsel teams of hotel ownership companies, management companies, and brands, as well as law firms that advise hoteliers.