Neal F. Bermas, Ph.D.
Neal Bermas sees right to the heart of issues, whether they're about business or humanity. And then he works to improve things in ways that effectively change the world.
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Bermas is the founder and chairperson of STREETS International, an innovative social enterprise that provides hospitality and culinary training programs for disadvantaged youth in Vietnam and Cambodia. The success rate is 100%: Every graduate of STREETS finds employment, typically at an upscale international hotel.
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His vast business experience extends from hospitality to healthcare to management consulting. Bermas served as a consulting services director at PricewaterhouseCoopers and as a national practice director for Ernst & Young. He has owned and operated notable restaurants in New York, Colorado, and Vietnam.
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In tandem, Bermas applies his expertise to consulting globally for hotels, resorts, restaurants, and other businesses. His clients have included the Walt Disney Company, Sheraton, Le Meridien, Danny Myer's Union Square Hospitality Group, and Vietcombank, to name a few.
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He has held faculty and board positions at NYU, USC, Brandeis University, St. Joseph’s University New York, the Culinary Institute of America, and New York’s Institute of Culinary Education. Bermas has lectured widely on leadership, business strategy, entrepreneurship, hospitality, and tourism.
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His exceptional work has earned him awards from the Clinton Global Initiative, Mekong Tourism, Hyatt Hotels, Consular Affairs U.S. Department of State, and the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam. In 2018, Bermas was honored to be named a CNN Hero of the Year.
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Bermas is the subject of frequent media coverage, including in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, National Geographic, Gourmet Live, AsiaLife, Thanh Nien News, Vietnam News, and most recently, Authority Magazine.