Jason Strauss

Jason Strauss is a well-known and highly regarded hospitality industry veteran with well over 20 years of hands-on experience as an operator and developer of premium hospitality venues. A native New Yorker, Strauss, and his partners are the masterminds behind some of the most successful and innovative nightclub and restaurant brands of the past 20 years including Marquee, Tao, Lavo, Beauty & Essex, Cathédrale, Koma, and Avenue.

In 1997, entrepreneurs Strauss and Noah Tepperberg started a full-service marketing, special events, public relations, and consumer promotions company that grew a roster of Fortune 500 clients including Coca-Cola, LVMH, and Playstation. After finding early success in the marketing and events industry, the young partners sold their marketing company to focus on their hospitality business. The duo opened Marquee nightclub in New York City in 2003, which rapidly became the epicenter of the worldwide nightlife scene. Along with Tao co-founders Marc Packer and Rich Wolf, the foursome opened Tao at the Venetian Las Vegas shortly followed by Lavo Las Vegas. Coming o􀈨 the launch of these two successful venues – Strauss, Tepperberg, Packer, and Wolf o􀈩cially formed Tao Group in 2009. Tao Group expanded its reach over the years in Vegas and New York and opened additional venues in Chicago, Los Angeles, Sydney, and Singapore including indelible nightclubs, restaurants, and hotels. With the record success of Tao Group, Strauss and Tepperberg were honored by Harvard Business School in March 2009 with a published case study about the dynamic duo’s myriad of businesses entitled “Marquee – The Business of Nightlife.”

In February 2017, Strauss and his partners announced a first-of-its-kind deal to sell a majority stake in Tao Group to The Madison Square Garden Company. Strauss and Tepperberg retained a substantial stake in the organization and stayed on to operate the company day-to-day. In 2021, shortly after being named Co-CEOs of Tao Group Hospitality, the two orchestrated the acquisition of the Hakkasan Group adding brands like Omnia, Yauatcha, Ling Ling, Wet Republic, and others to their portfolio creating a global hospitality powerhouse. The newly combined company now operates over 70 branded restaurants, nightclubs, lounges, and daylife locations in over 20 markets across five continents and features a collection of widely recognized hospitality brands.

Among Strauss’ many endeavors, he prioritizes charity work by volunteering with InspiringChildren and Tao Group Hospitality Cares. He graduated from Boston University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications and Hospitality Management and currently resides in Las Vegas.