Mike Leven is a veteran hospitality executive with over fifty-five years of experience in the hotel industry. Prior to joining Las Vegas Sands Corporation--a global developer of destination properties such as the Venetian in Las Vegas--he founded US Franchise Systems, which franchises the Microtel Inns & Suites, Hawthorn Suites, and Best Inns and Best Suites hotel brands. He also has served as president and chief operating officer of Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts, where, during his five-year tenure, the new Holiday Inn Express brand grew from 0 to 330 open hotels. Leven also served as president of Days Inn of America and as chairman and CEO of the Georgia Aquarium. Leven is a native of Boston and holds a Bachelor of Arts from Tufts University and a Master of Science from Boston University. He and his wife, Andrea, have three sons and five grandchildren.
