Hospitality Leadership: Meet Our Executive Team

The Visionary

Joel Carver is a nationally recognized entrepreneur, executive, author, and hospitality strategist with more than three decades of success driving revenue growth and transformational leadership across the hospitality industry. As President and CEO of The Carver Companies, he leads an organization specializing in sales, marketing, revenue management, executive search, and talent development for premier hospitality brands nationwide.

Joel has held senior leadership roles at both franchise organizations and Fortune 500 companies, including Vice President of Sales and Marketing for CSM Corporation. His leadership philosophy centers on people, performance, and purpose — helping organizations attract great talent and achieve lasting success.

Joel is also an author and leading voice in leadership strategy, co-authoring The People Effect: Find, Grow, and Retain the Best of the Best and authoring Peace Is About to Cease and All Hell's Gonna Break Loose.

In 2025, Joel received the Joseph R. Biden Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award. With his husband, Dr. Van Millin, he supports charitable organizations through the Carver-Millin Donor Fund, including Point Foundation and Human Rights Campaign. Learn more at meetjoelcarver.com.

The Empire Maker

Charlene Carter is a powerhouse hospitality executive, transformational leader, and talent strategist with a proven ability to drive organizational growth and elite talent acquisition across the hospitality industry. As a senior leader with The Carver Companies, Charlene is known for building high-impact relationships and developing exceptional teams that position organizations for long-term success.

With a career defined by leadership and people development, Charlene brings operational expertise, executive insight, and strategic vision to the executive team. She has earned the trust of hospitality leaders nationwide through her ability to identify transformational talent, strengthen organizational culture, and align recruitment strategy with business growth.

Charlene's leadership style is rooted in authenticity, integrity, and results. She's known for building meaningful partnerships, mentoring emerging leaders, and helping organizations navigate growth with confidence. Her deep understanding of hospitality operations and human capital strategy allows her to deliver solutions that don't just fill positions — they elevate entire organizations.

At The Carver Companies, Charlene continues to shape the future of hospitality leadership, connecting premier organizations with exceptional talent and helping professionals unlock career-defining opportunities nationwide.

The Force Multiplier

Susan Hart is an accomplished financial executive, certified public accountant, and strategic business leader with extensive experience driving financial performance and organizational growth across various sectors, including hospitality staffing.

As Chief Financial Officer of The Carver Companies, Susan provides executive oversight of the company's financial strategy, accounting operations, compliance, forecasting, and long-term fiscal planning.

Known for her analytical expertise and disciplined, results-driven approach, Susan has built a reputation for strengthening financial infrastructure, optimizing profitability, and guiding organizations through complex challenges with clarity and precision. Her ability to align financial strategy with organizational objectives has been instrumental in supporting sustainable growth.

As a CPA and trusted executive advisor, Susan brings deep expertise in corporate finance, budgeting, risk management, and strategic planning. She's recognized for her integrity, attention to detail, and collaborative leadership style, which have earned the respect of colleagues, clients, and business partners alike.

At The Carver Companies, Susan continues to shape the company's financial vision, helping position the organization for long-term stability, scalability, and growth.

The People Magnet

Peggy Olson is Managing Director of Search and Vice President of Human Resources at The Carver Companies, where she leads executive search, talent acquisition, and HR strategy across the firm's hospitality staffing, senior living, and adjacent service sector practices.

With a career built on the belief that the right leader changes everything, Peggy brings deep expertise in identifying and placing transformational talent across full-service hotels, restaurant groups, senior living communities, and high-growth hospitality enterprises. She's known for reading an organization's culture and growth trajectory, then matching it with leaders who raise the standard, not just fill a seat.

Peggy works directly with ownership groups, boards, and C-suite teams to build search strategies that go beyond job specs — considering brand positioning, guest experience, team dynamics, and succession planning. In hospitality, fit isn't a soft metric. It's a business outcome.

Her dual role in search and HR gives her a uniquely integrated perspective: she knows how to find exceptional talent and how to build the structures and cultures that let that talent thrive. Clients trust her with their most sensitive searches because she delivers outcomes, not just candidates.

At The Carver Companies, Peggy sets the standard for how executive search and HR leadership should be done — with precision, integrity, and a deep understanding of what exceptional leadership looks like on the floor, in the boardroom, and everywhere in between.

The Numbers Whisperer

Darrnell Long is the financial backbone of The Carver Companies — a key member of our executive team and the steady hand behind every number, every forecast, and every decision that keeps the business running with precision and integrity.

As Financial Controller, Darnell brings a sharp analytical mind and an unwavering commitment to accuracy. He’s the kind of professional who doesn’t just manage the books — he protects the mission and enhances our talent acquisition strategy, ensuring we have the right people in place for hospitality staffing.

Outside of the office, Darnell is exactly who you’d want on your team in life too. A proud girl dad, he shows up for his wife and daughter the same way he shows up for work — fully present, deeply invested, and built on values that don’t waver. His faith and involvement in his church community keep him grounded and remind him daily that the work we do is always in service of something greater.

At Carver, we don’t just count ourselves lucky to have someone who can run the numbers. We’re grateful for a man of character who makes the whole team better.

The Growth Catalyst

Nelly Chiwala doesn't just understand the hospitality industry — she lived it. From the front desk to the back of house, Nelly built her career on the frontlines of hotel management, where she learned that excellence isn't a policy — it's a practice, repeated daily under pressure.

That hard-won experience is exactly what makes her exceptional in her role as Director of Taskforce at The Carver Companies. Nelly sees every client request and every candidate with the eyes of someone who has actually been there — someone who knows what a property needs, what a team feels like when it's right, and what it costs when it isn't. This insight is invaluable in hospitality staffing and enhances the effectiveness of the executive team she supports.

She moves with urgency because she knows the stakes. She places with precision because she understands the intricacies of talent acquisition in this competitive landscape.

Off the clock, Nelly is a proud mom — fiercely supportive of her accomplished daughter and deeply devoted to her furbabies, who keep her humble and her heart full. She brings that same warmth and loyalty to everything she touches at Carver.

When things need to get done — and done right — they call Nelly.

The Brand Builder

Carly Alford is the creative force behind The Carver Companies' brand — shaping the stories, strategies, and campaigns that connect exceptional hospitality talent with the opportunities that change careers and strengthen businesses.

As Marketing Manager, Carly wears more hats than most people realize. From social media and content creation to lead generation, branding, recruitment marketing, events, public relations, and executive communications, she's the voice behind Carver's presence and the strategist ensuring every message serves a purpose. 

She doesn't just create marketing — she builds relationships, inspires trust, and helps position Carver as the hospitality industry's partner of choice.

Outside the office, Carly's greatest title is mom. Whether she's cheering on her daughter Amelia, planning their next adventure, or finding joy in life's everyday moments, family is at the center of everything she does. Her faith, resilience, and optimistic spirit shape both her leadership and the way she approaches every challenge—with empathy, creativity, and determination.

At Carver, we're grateful for more than Carly's marketing expertise. We're thankful for a leader whose passion, heart, and unwavering commitment help move our company forward, one story, one relationship, and one opportunity at a time.