Lyman Phillips ’16 to Receive 2025 Hospitality and Tourism Management Department’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Lyman Phillips says he’s motivated by the opportunities he has been given: Adopted from an Indian orphanage at age 3 by “amazing” parents, he grew up in Natick, Mass., before attending Isenberg and graduating with a Hospitality and Tourism Management degree in 2016.  

“I essentially won a lottery ticket, and I want to make the most out of the opportunity that was given to me,” he says.

As founder and CEO of Palm Beach-based Golden Lion Capital Investments, Phillips is developing and implementing his company’s overall strategic initiatives and plays the primary role in its investment activities, which include real estate and early-stage startups. Under his leadership, Golden Lion Capital has brokered and closed over $300 million in transactions since inception with many more deals in the works.

In recognition of his outstanding professional and personal success in the HTM industry, Phillips will receive this year’s HTM Outstanding Young Alumni Award, which will be presented to him April 7, 2025, during the HTM Annual Awards Dinner at the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport.

“I am extremely honored to have been chosen this year among a great group of candidates,” says Phillips. “I owe a lot of credit to my wife and family as well as the amazing faculty and staff in the HTM department for putting me in position to win this award. I have had some great mentors as well as lifelong friends who are working in all different areas within hospitality but stem from the HTM program.”

He insists that the award is about more than his personal success.

“It is about everyone in my life who has played a role to help me grow, learn from my mistakes and failures—there have been plenty—and provide ongoing support to get me to where I am today,” he says.

Keeping the Isenberg Connection Strong

Phillips wanted to become a general manager for a platinum country club, so he majored in HTM, and he hit the ground running after his 2016 graduation. Persuaded to move to Florida by his mentor, HTM alumnus Matt Lambert ’92, Phillips’s goals evolved to making a distinctive mark in commercial real estate investments. In 2018, he became founding principal and CEO of Golden Lion Capital Investments. 

“I went into the commercial real estate brokerage and investments space as I had a lot of interest in big buildings and scalability and learning how many opportunities there are in the real estate world,” says Phillips. “I still use many of the things today that I learned from my Isenberg/HTM experience, including networking, leading a team, problem solving on the fly, thinking outside the box, and handling rejection.”

He stays connected to Isenberg faculty, students, and events, with a particular interest in the HTM Department. In fact, Phillips and Golden Lion Capital Investments recently established an endowed scholarship for the HTM Department.

“Most definitely the strong faculty keep me connected, as they are always very engaging and they make a strong effort to connect with alumni,” he says. “Also, I want to give back in many ways, so I try to connect with the students each year and make it out to the HTM Career Day and provide my expertise and knowledge to both seniors looking for tips on handling the post-graduate experience as well as the younger students looking for internship and growth advice.”

HTM students have a strong, well-balanced academic experience with many networking opportunities and career advancement support that they may not be able to enjoy at other schools, according to Phillips.

“For me, networking was my focus, and being a part of many organizations on campus for HTM was a huge factor in my success,” he says. “Isenberg and the HTM program are the best in the nation, and the quality of students is only getting stronger. On top of that, Dean Anne Massey is taking Isenberg to new heights, and the faculty have extensive experience and true dedication to making sure students get to where they want to be, even years after graduating.” 

Secrets of Success

Phillips offers the Class of 2025 some tips as they embark on their careers:

• Learn how to network.
• Do uncomfortable things.
• Record your goals.

On networking: “The biggest one I preach is learning how to network efficiently and often. I can't emphasize just how many opportunities and experiences open up by getting yourself out there and talking to people, both in a professional and social setting. Just as important, but you learn a lot about how people act, things they are driven by, solutions to problems they faced, etc.”

On doing uncomfortable things: “I would challenge seniors to do things that may be uncomfortable for them, as comfort is the enemy of growth. One of the best ways to do this is to move to a different state or a place where pretty much no one knows you. You learn a lot about yourself that way and meet a whole new group of friends and connections. You can do that when you are younger, as you don't have as many responsibilities quite yet.”

On recording your goals: “Write out your goals, both professional and personal (one-year, five-year, 10-year), and tape it to a wall or area that you see every day. It is very easy to get lost in daily work tasks and personal experiences and completely forget your goals. By doing this, it helps keep you accountable while imprinting in your head what your goals are and if they need to be tweaked. Don't lose sight of your goals.”

Speaking of goals, Phillips shares his for the future.

“I’m planning to continue to grow the team at Golden Lion and relocate to a new headquarters in West Palm Beach,” he says. “I will expand the services we offer on the brokerage side as well as ramp up our investments with our partners to acquire value add real estate in Florida and the southeast. I would love to reach $1 billion in total sales by 2027 as well as amass a real estate portfolio of $100 million AUM (assets under management) by 2030.”

Phillips also plans to continue singing the praises of Isenberg’s HTM Department and the university.  

“This award shows the reach of the UMass Amherst alumni network as well as the great work being done on campus. Isenberg—and the HTM program—was one of the best decisions I have made, and the award is a way of proving just how much the HTM program set me up in a position to succeed for the long term,” he says.

If you are interested in a sponsorship for the event, donating a charity auction item, individual tickets, or how your firm could be more involved with Isenberg HTM, please contact HTM Department Chair Melissa Baker at mbaker@isenberg.umass.edu.

Click here to register to attend and/or sponsor the HTM Annual Awards Dinner.

More About Lyman Phillips ‘16

• Read the 2023 Leaders of Impact profile on Lyman Phillips ’16.
• Watch this video of Lyman Phillips.