Anthony Anton is President and CEO of the Washington Hospitality Association, representing the region's restaurant, hotel, and entertainment industries. When the pandemic pushed roughly 100,000 hospitality workers out of the industry, Anton mobilized the association and its members to stabilize businesses, preserve jobs, and keep up with evolving safety requirements.
His leadership style draws on lessons from mentors such as former Boeing CEO Alan Mulally, favoring direct communication paired with kindness, decisions grounded in data, and genuine recognition of individual contributions. He keeps an open-door policy that encourages members and staff to raise concerns directly rather than let problems fester.
Under his leadership, the association held onto roughly 95% of its members even as the industry collapsed around them, and he has since set a ten-year vision to double the organization's size, expand its government affairs work, and build out new programs beyond its established workers' compensation offerings.
