JULIAN MACQUEEN

CHAIRMAN & FOUNDER, INNISFREE HOTELS, PENSACOLA

MacQueen founded Innisfree — which develops, owns and operates beach-oriented hotels — in 1985 with one hotel and 11 employees. With 2,000 employees and 4,000 rooms today, it’s the largest hotel owner in Northwest Florida and the 35th largest hotel company in the U.S. The company supports a “Parent University,” which helps underserved families in the Pensacola region learn new skills, and started a local Bail Project to pay bail for those who do not qualify for bonds due to their economic status.

EDUCATION: University of South Alabama (BA)

FIRST JOB: I was a busboy at 15 and never left the hospitality business for 60 years. This was followed by a server job and dining room manager by the time I was 17 at the Jack Tar Beach House in Destin during the summer season. I loved it and eventually went into a night audit position putting myself through university at the Admiral Semmes Hotel in Mobile.

DREAM ALTERNATE CAREER: I would fly. My first entrepreneurial venture was a hot air balloon business giving rides, advertising and training. I have always been involved in flying since I was 16 as a hobby culminating in a license to pilot Flying Boats and solo flying jets.

SOMETHING SURPRISING: I volunteered for three years in Israel at the Baha’i World Centre as the general manager of buildings and grounds. Moving my family there was life-changing for us all. Our daughter became a world citizen, and my wife and I did work for our faith that was incredibly rewarding while keeping the business at home going. On the ridiculous side, I learned how to barefoot ski two years ago, and I can still make it through a slalom course and still snowboard.

HOBBY
“I decided to become a captain of a trawler last year. Operating a 65-foot boat weighing 42 tons has been a great experience.”