Ronald J. Naples holds a B.A. and B.S. from Montclair State University. He also attended the
Lubin School of Business at Pace University. He co-authored Planning Successful Meetings and Events with Ann J. Boehme a former colleague at NYU. The publication has been translated into multiple languages by the American Management Association. He has also authored articles on the meetings and events industry focusing on non-residential conference centers, budgeting, and planning from the host’s perspective.

A pioneer in the professional meetings industry, Professor Naples is President of Maple Mountain Hospitality and has managed hospitality, including meetings and events, food and beverage and presentation technology for fortune 500 and international organizations in New York City, Connecticut, Colorado, and Washington DC. He owned and operated a classic country inn in Manchester, Vermont from 1998 to 2002. Naples teaches entrepreneurship at the New Jersey Coffee School.

His restaurant experience includes Director of Development, managing Food and Beverage, at the Millennium Broadway which included Restaurant Charlotte and the Hudson Theater in NYC and Vice President of Operations at Naples Franchising which includes Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli with franchises from California to Maine.

He is active and has spoken for multiple industry associations. He is a former Board member of Meeting Professionals International Greater New York Chapter (MPIGNY) and The International Association of Conference Centers (IACC). He is the recipient of the IACC Pyramid Award for excellence in training and education and the Mel Hosansky Award, the industry’s highest honor, for service excellence. He is also a member of the National Restaurant Association.

Professor Naples was a part of the early development of the Meetings Certificate program at NYU and has been on the adjunct faculty since 1990. He has been named one of the 25 most influential people in the Meetings Industry by Meeting News Magazine and was the recipient of the NYU School of Professional Studies Distinguished Teaching Award in 2000, the School’s highest teaching honor and the Distinguished Service Award in 2017.