Ted Kleisner

Background

About Ted Kleisner

Ted J. Kleisner, a third-generation hotelier, is Retired Chairman of the Board, President & CEO of Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company. Ted is also retired President and CEO of CSX Hotels, Inc, the Greenbrier Resort and Club Management Company, and The Greenbrier Sporting Club Development Co. Ted serves as an Emeritus Trustee of The Culinary Institute of America and, since 2001, has served on the board of directors of Allegheny Energy (AYE/NYSE). In 2011 AYE merged with First Energy ( FE/NYSE), and Ted was elected to the board of FE. As a member of the AYE board of directors, Ted served on the AYE audit and finance committees and served on the management compensation and development committee, and the executive committee. He also served as the board's presiding director from 2006 to 2008. In addition, Ted served six years on the First Energy Nuclear Committee and was chairman of the FE Management Compensation Committee. He retired from the First Energy board in 2017. Ted is an honorary member of The Gridiron Club of Washington DC, Washington's oldest and most prestigious journalistic organization. In addition, Ted served ten years on the Executive Advisory Board of his alma mater, the University of Denver, Daniels College of Business. In 2020 Ted became President of The Rotary Club of Savannah. Appointed by the Mayor and City Council of Savannah, Ted currently serves as a commissioner of The Savannah Hilton Head International Airport Commission and as a Downtown Savannah Authority board member. Ted is the Past Chairman of the board of trustees for The Telfair Museums of Savannah. Ted also serves on the board of directors of The Savannah Music Festival, Inc and chairs its nominating committee. Over the years, Ted has mentored many in the hospitality industry, notably his Godson, Randal Z. Williams, General Manager, Fairmont Hotel Vancouver Airport, who has continued the Kleisner family tradition of hotelkeeping since 1906. An avid golfer, Ted was elected in 1998 to membership in The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland. He and his wife of fifty years, Karen, reside in Savannah, Georgia's Landmark Historic District. Karen and Ted have two children, Kerry (Cornell' 94) and Colonel Teddy,(USMA, West Point' 97), and five grandchildren.