Ethan
Hawkes
Hospitality commercial operator. Founder and principal of Revenue Impact Partners, the cruise and hospitality strategy practice he runs with Dr. Rob Kwortnik of Cornell as Hawkes & Kwortnik. Formerly Vice President of Onboard Revenue at MSC Cruises, CEO of PlacePass, and an Associate Partner at McKinsey.
What he operates
- Revenue Impact Partners (Hawkes & Kwortnik)
- Founder and Principal. Cruise and hospitality commercial strategy with Dr. Rob Kwortnik of the Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration. Principals only, fixed-fee, evidence-based. hawkeskwortnik.com
- Signalry
- Founder. signalry.ai
Record
- 2025
Vice President, Onboard Revenue, MSC Cruises
Onboard commercial strategy for U.S. guests and the Caribbean market. May to December 2025, Miami.
- 2021 to 2025
Head of Partner Success and Experiences, Hopper Technology Solutions, Hopper
Joined with the PlacePass acquisition. Partner success and the experiences business for Hopper's B2B platform.
- 2016 to 2021
CEO and co-founder, PlacePass
A marketplace for tours and activities, founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts with Emily Bernard. Acquired by Hopper in October 2021.
- 2007 to 2015
Associate Partner, travel practice, McKinsey & Company
Growth, customer experience, and distribution work for travel and hospitality clients and investors.
- Before McKinsey
E-commerce and marketing for small travel suppliers, USAID tourism projects
Lebanon, Zambia, and Jamaica, with ministries of tourism and the private sector.
Education
Published
- Positioning a Place: Developing a Compelling Destination Brand, with Robert J. Kwortnik. Cornell Hospitality Report, Center for Hospitality Research
- Connecting with the Culture: A Case Study in Sustainable Tourism, with Robert J. Kwortnik. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 47(4), 2006
Coverage
- Startup Snapshot: A World of Adventures (Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, 2017)
- How a kayaking trip helped get PlacePass off the ground (Built In Boston, 2018)
- Local online travel company sees big opportunity in tiny trips (The Boston Globe, 2020)
- Hopper acquires PlacePass (Hopper newsroom, 2021)
Reach him
Email ethan@hawkeskwortnik.com or connect on LinkedIn. For a working session on a live commercial question, book through Hawkes & Kwortnik.