John Ott is responsible for overseeing the design and development of new cafes, live venues, retail stores, hotels and casinos, as well as overseeing Hard Rock Memorabilia. He leads the design and development teams for projects representing our brand to ensure the product offering meets our brand strategy and standards. John has a broad knowledge of the development business and brings over 30 years of experience in construction and real estate to the Hard Rock team.

He previously worked with a large commercial contractor, a project management consultant and several real estate developers. John led teams in the design and construction of resorts in Disney World, Orlando for 5 years, and has worked on projects in Belize, Anguilla, and the Dominican Republic.

When not leading Hard Rock's charge in the 21st century, John enjoys spending time at the beach and kayaking the Intercoastal with his wife Susie and their three children. He's the coach of his 5th grade son's soccer team and his twin girls help keep his music tastes fresh and iPod loaded when they're home from college. John's favorite bands include Dave Mason, Eric Clapton, U2, Bon Jovi and Maroon 5.