Steve Mendell serves as an Advisory Board Member for the Creative Defense Foundation. He is a global hospitality leader and longtime principal at HVS, where he led international expansion and played a central role in advising governments and investors across Israel and the Middle East. With over four decades of experience, including hotel ownership and advisory roles in Israel and strategic engagement through the Abraham Accords, he brings a vital private-sector and geopolitical perspective to CDF’s mission of aligning innovation with national security strategy.