Michelle has more than 30 years of practical, hands-on experience with hotels, restaurants, resorts, convention centers, real estate, and finance. She has worked on thousands of hotel assets across the United States and in 2003, founded Hotel Asset Value Enhancement. While Russo oversees the practice, she is very involved in defining the forward outlook that establishes how the company manages its portfolio to maximize results, strategic asset positioning, management contract negotiations, and interacting with senior-level brand and management executives on behalf of the portfolio.

Michelle has been named one of the 30 Influential Women in Hospitality by Hotel Management Magazine (October 2017), one of 20 Women in Lodging by Lodging Magazine (September 2015) and one of 15 Women of Hospitality Finance by Hospitality and Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP).  hotelAVE is a 100% Women Owned Business Entity certified through the Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE).

Prior to founding hotelAVE, Michelle was Vice President, Senior Leisure Analyst for Deutsche Banc Alex Brown where she garnered capital markets experience covering lodging and leisure (including cruise, ski and golf industries). Michelle also managed a $500M portfolio for John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company where she improved the portfolio and achieved 20% cash-on-cash returns.

Michelle is a regular guest lecturer at Cornell University and has appeared on CNBC and CNN to provide commentary on the hospitality and leisure industry. She is a regular guest speaker at NYU, ALIS, ULI, Boston University, BLLA, Distressed Hotel Summit, Hunter Hotel Conference IHRSA National Convention, and Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention.