Starfleet Command
Jeff Zabin
Founder and CEO
Jeff Zabin oversees Starfleet Media’s strategic direction and growth. He also serves as research director at Starfleet Research, our IT market research arm, and as managing editor of our industry-leading publications Hotel Technology News and Restaurant Technology News. A widely-recognized speaker and writer on next-generation business technology, his bestselling books — The Seven Steps to Nirvana (McGraw-Hill), Precision Marketing (Wiley) — have been translated into more than a dozen languages.
His experience includes serving as vice president / research fellow at Aberdeen Group Strategy & Research, heading up product marketing at FICO (a billion-dollar big data analytics software company) and building potable water systems as a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Bolivia.
Paulina Hubli
COO
Paulina Hubli has co-piloted Starfleet Media since its launch in 2013. She has a long track record of success in ad agency and marketing services as well as in managing business operations and launching new companies, including Qwirly Enterprises and Timely & Timeless (an authorized dealer of high-end German clocks).
Her other entrepreneurial ventures include a leading online hotel booking company, later acquired by Hotels.com, and a foreign passports and visas processing company that was the leading player in its space for 15 years. Her previous experience includes serving as director of marketing at Polygram Records and account executive at the global advertising agency BBDO. As a senior executive at Viacom, she spearheaded the launch of MTV in Russia.
Marianna Rosen
Director, Research & Content Strategy
Marianna Rosen leads cross-vertical research and content strategy for Starfleet Research, directing research analysts, overseeing project management and helping shape custom market research and thought leadership deliverables. She comes to Starfleet Media with extensive experience as a senior research analyst, with subject matter expertise across multiple industry sectors.
She previously served as a senior investment banking research analyst at Citigroup’s Corporate Bond Research Division, with over 100 published research reports and notes, including company initiations, industry pieces, and earnings recaps. As a labor of love, Marianna is pursuing a Ph.D. at the CUNY Graduate Center and is also a co-founder and editor-in-chief of Fine Art Globe.
Marv Allen
Director, Business Development
Marv Allen leads Starfleet Media’s business development and sales activities, responsible for the company’s team of business development and account managers. A senior sales executive with more than 30 years of experience, he previously managed teams at major corporations like GE Healthcare and Allstate Insurance.
He is responsible for achieving sales and revenue goals for Starfleet Media’s hospitality, retail and healthcare IT practice areas (securing 80% sponsorship renewals of Smart Decision Guide titles over the past decade) while working to ensure continued client success. He also supports business development for Starfleet Media’s industry-leading publications Hotel Technology News and Restaurant Technology News.
Gavriel Shohet
Director, Starfleet Velocity
Gavriel Shohet oversees the development and day-to-day operation of Starfleet Velocity, Starfleet Media’s next-generation demand generation platform. His responsibilities include AI-powered prospect intelligence, audience segmentation, data enrichment, personalized outreach, campaign sequencing, lead scoring and performance optimization. He works across research, content, data and campaign operations to align programs with client-defined targeting criteria and qualified-lead goals.
Gavriel attended UCLA and brings a strong background in technology, analytics, AI-enabled workflow automation and digital campaign operations. His focus is on applying data, automation and artificial intelligence to improve targeting precision, campaign efficiency and measurable client results.
Debbie Gelner
Director, Industry Publications
Debbie Gelner leads the charge on Starfleet Media’s industry-leading trade publications Hotel Technology News and Restaurant Technology News. Her responsibilities include content development and editorial oversight of staff, freelance writers and other contributors as well as overseeing production details and distribution of email newsletters to 20K-plus opt-in subscribers.
Debbie came to Starfleet Media from FCB (Foote, Cone & Belding) Global, part of Interpublic Group, where she managed editorial, media production and other projects in the company’s broadcast, print, and digital departments. She began her career in the hospitality sector, as a corporate travel consultant at Hillgate Travel and other global agencies.
Daniel Hyam
Director, Performance Marketing
Daniel Hyam leads paid digital acquisition and performance marketing for Starfleet Media, overseeing paid search, paid social, display, retargeting, landing-page optimization and campaign analytics. A Google Ads-certified search marketing expert, he develops and optimizes programs across Google Search, Google Display, LinkedIn and other digital channels.
He previously worked as an account manager for Google, helping clients meet online advertising goals. His focus on audience strategy, bid and budget management, creative testing and conversion-rate optimization complements Starfleet Velocity’s prospect intelligence, personalization, data enrichment and lead orchestration.
Alisha Goldberg
Director, Business Operations & People
Alisha Goldberg manages day-to-day business operations and people processes across Starfleet Media, while also overseeing campaign operations, lead verification and client lead distribution. Her responsibilities include workflow coordination, performance tracking, internal systems and process improvement, collaboration with IT, and management of the company’s opt-in database and affiliate partner networks.
Her background includes marketing, content development, data operations and team coordination in the hospitality sector (Hilton Hotels) as well as in financial services (Citibank, the consumer division of Citigroup).
Rick Wilcox
Director, Hospitality Data & Intelligence
Rick Wilcox oversees the team behind Preopening Restaurants Resource, the restaurant industry sales intelligence platform for identifying restaurants under development, preparing to open and changing ownership. His responsibilities include research operations, data quality, verification workflows, contact enrichment, database strategy and the systems that turn restaurant activity into timely, actionable intelligence for technology solution providers and other suppliers.
A strategic information leader with a 20+ year track record of delivering advanced solutions and implementing both technical and business strategies, Rick also serves as CEO of Restaurant Activity Report, which powers key services on which Preopening Restaurants Resource is built.
Adam Mogelonsky
Hospitality Industry Research Fellow
Adam Mogelonsky serves as resident guru for our hospitality technology practice. His experience encompasses properties around the world ranging from luxury and boutique to select-service. He is also a partner at Hotel Mogel Consulting Limited, a Toronto-based consulting practice focused on helping hotels solve critical issues, where he specializes in hotel technology and marketing, working closely with property owners, operators and industry suppliers.
He is coauthor, with Larry Mogelonsky, of seven books, including: In Vino Veritas: A Guide for Hoteliers and Restaurateurs to Sell More Wine (2022), More Hotel Mogel (2020), The Hotel Mogel (2018), The Llama is Inn (2017). Adam is a regular contributor to Starfleet Media’s industry publications Hotel Technology News and Restaurant Technology News.