Meet our Team
Mike Akahoshi
Senior Vice President, Hospitality
Mike Akahoshi joined LAZ Parking in 2000 as a Valet Attendant while attending Chapman University in Orange County, CA. In 2004, Mike became the Parking Manager for the Beverly Hilton hotel, where he developed a passion for the hotel and hospitality division. In 2007, Mike was promoted to General Manager of Orange County, where he assisted in building a market presence from four locations to 25 by the end of 2009.
In 2010, Mike took the opportunity to help build the Los Angeles Hospitality Services where we expanded from one hotel to over 50 today. Mike is now the Senior Vice President of Hospitality Services assisting in oversight of over 230 hotels nationwide, along with supporting the continuous growth of our hotel services.
Morgan Van Liew
National Director of Hospitality Operations
Morgan has held varying leadership roles in the hospitality industry for over 20 years, and joined the LAZ family in 2016 as the General Manager of Dallas, TX. During this time, Morgan’s successes and approach to the hospitality space led LAZ to establish a new role leading LAZ’s hospitality operations nationally. Presently, as the National Director of Operations for LAZ Hospitality Services, Morgan oversees all operational facets of our hospitality partnerships, endeavors, and opportunities.
Morgan resides in Dallas and regularly visits and interfaces with all markets nationwide. Additionally, Morgan supports and provides guidance to regional teams in operational planning, underwriting, resource support, and transition oversight. Morgan is a true believer in living the LAZ way and believes that by helping people LAZ will continue to grow expeditiously and is grateful to be apart of such an intentionally compassionate, people first, company.
Morgan is an avid fan of world travel and he hopes to impart a passion and reverence for travel unto his daughter, Malia. Through such travel, he has found many friendships and relationships one of which is a strong bond and tie he has to family in Costa Rica whom he, his wife and daughter visit annually.
Al Pernas
National Assistant Director of Hospitality Operations
Al Pernas is an accomplished Hospitality Professional with over 25 years of experience in different Leadership roles.
It all started in the coveted Leisure and Travel Industry across Europe, where, after 11 years of service with the United Nations in different capacities, his passion for working with people led him to the Hospitality Industry.
Al has extensive experience leading Hotel and Commercial parking operations across the nation, supporting staff numbered in the thousands, and overseeing projects varying in scope and facet from in-house compliance to nationwide operational improvement programs.
Al’s eye for talent and passion for Training, has led to the discovery and development of numerous young Leaders, he considers this to be his greatest achievement.
Avid fisherman, nature lover, and motorcycle enthusiast, Al recently relocated to Nashville, and he can’t wait to explore the beautiful landscapes Tennessee has to offer.
James Christie
National Business Development Manager
James began his career in 2007 as hotel valet attendant in downtown Orlando. He says, “I fell in love with valet parking because it was such a critical touchpoint in a much broader experience. It was more than just parking cars. We were the first and last impression of a guest’s entire stay. I enjoyed that responsibility, and the platform the job provided for creating positive impacts and opportunities.”
James became an Operations Manager in 2009 and then an Area Manager in 2014 - a position he held for just fifteen-months before being promoted to Vice President, where, addition to several high-profile accounts he held oversight for parking operations across the U.S., leading from the front in multiple states/regions with a sharp focus on sales, new business development, and profit optimization. He has worked directly alongside many of the country’s leading hotels, ownership groups, and management companies.
For James, some of the more important keys to success are consistency, attention to detail, and passion. As he describes, “Valet parking is more than just a car business, it’s a people business. And our people are our most important asset. Each valet attendant must not only provide a convenient and highly efficient parking experience, but they must also be passionate about people and providing acts of service. It’s not only about the ‘how’ we do what we do, but also the ‘why’ we do what we do.”
Markus Schindelegger
National Task Force Manager
Markus, originally from Vienna, Austria, came to the United States in 2011.
From 2005 to 2017 Markus was working in the hotel and cruise industry including some of the most renowned names in hospitality.
At Uniworld Boutique River Cruises Markus was working on the cruise ships in the position as Hotel Manager and Cruise Director, planning, organizing, and managing onboard and onshore guest activities, before elevating his hospitality career by joining Crystal Cruises as Director of Program Services, developing cruise itineraries and shore excursions, including contracting and budgeting, leading Crystal Cruises to a successful launch of river cruise operations in Central Europe.
In 2017 Markus left the cruise industry and started a career in parking. From Hospitality Manager to Area Manager Markus developed the required skillset and joined the LAZ Family as National Task Force Manager in March 2022.
When not on the road, assisting with hotel valet operations around the country, Markus is passionate about soccer, football, tennis and pretty much any sport out there.
AJ Derry
National Business Data Analyst
Llewellyn Derry (AJ) was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. He graduated with an undergraduate degree in Marketing from Texas A&M university in 2017; then I received his Masters in Data Analytics from University of Texas at Dallas in 2021.
AJ spent the majority of his career in the data mining/analysis field. He worked at Vistra Corporation as an Analyst in their Marketing department where his job consisted of providing statistical analysis using platforms like SQL, SAS, and Python to present his findings as a visual presentation, this truly helped AJ to improve his analytical skillset.
He now looks forward to showcasing my skills at LAZ to help this company in any way possible, gathering, organizing, analyzing, and presenting data to help our company to make business decisions. AJ is currently working with National Hospitality providing his services for all accounts across the country.
One of his favorite hobbies is traveling across the world to different countries and states, also love watching the Dallas Cowboys during the football season, Super Bowl coming to Dallas in the near future!