HVS Alumni: News


Jin Lee	Jin Lee currently serves as Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director for Thayer Lodging Group, based in Annapolis, Maryland. Jin enjoys negotiating, problem solving, and setting strategic direction using techniques learned throughout his 20-year career. Prior to Thayer, Jin gained extensive hotel investment experience at HEI Hotels & Resorts as Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Development, at Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group as Vice President of Acquisitions and Development, at Marriott International as Director of Development Planning and Feasibility, and at HVS as a Vice President. He worked in the HVS San Francisco office for five years, where he completed feasibility analyses, market studies, and valuations of hotels, resorts, and mixed-use developments. Jin is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and has an MBA from the University of California, Irvine. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute and the Cornell Hotel Society. Outside of work, Jin is devoted to his family, enjoys fine wines and cooking, and fancies a good poker game.

Michelle Russo	Michelle Russo grew up surrounded by the hospitality business and listening to stories from her father, an executive in the industry. Inspired by her surroundings, she studied at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. Following graduation, she worked in the HVS Mineola office for six years before transitioning into hotel asset management at John Hancock. Because of HVS, Michelle was able to maximize the value of hotels that she managed by effectively and efficiently identifying operational opportunities, conducting contract negotiations, and performing ROI analyses. She then moved to Wall Street as an analyst covering lodging and leisure stocks. After advising many hotel owners, she looked for opportunities to leverage her skills against hotels that she owned and began to acquire roadside motels throughout New England. Concurrently, industry professionals sought her help with their own hotel assets. As a result, Michelle started her company Hotel Asset Value Enhancement (www.hotelave.com) in 2003. The company has grown to be one of the largest independent hotel real estate asset management firms in the country, with over $2 billion of assets currently under management and advising on over $4 billion of hotel real estate annually. She also co-founded StepStone Hospitality Management (www.stepstonehospitality.com) in response to client requests to be an operating partner. Because of this success, she was recently named a New England semi-finalist in Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award. On the personal side, Michelle is devoted to her family; spending time with her children relieves the stress of work. Before children and HotelAVE, she was an avid cyclist, having competed in the PanMass Challenge for 14 years and riding across Italy and Iowa. She has taken up the sport once more and now enjoys riding with her family.

Suzanne Frey	Suzanne Frey is delighted to share the arrival of her baby boy, Savin, on June 3, 2011. Savin stands 1 foot, 7.75 inches tall and weighs 7 pounds, 14 ounces. He is complete with a mix of genes that has him showing up early like a Swiss (12am for a 5pm C-section), crying like a French, bossing his parents around like a German, demanding his mama like an Italian, eating every two hours like an American, and sitting on his diapered tush waiting for bribes like an Indian.

Michelle Weiss	Michelle Weiss is currently part of the hotel team at Aareal Bank AG, one of the leading debt financing providers within the hospitality industry. The bank currently holds a portfolio of approximately €4 billion of hotel financing in more than 25 countries across Europe, North America, and Asia. She worked in the HVS London office at the start of 2006, but after two months of training, she transitioned into the HVS Madrid office. While in Madrid, Michelle conducted feasibility and market studies and performed hotel valuations for major hotel clients in and outside of Spain. In June of 2007, she joined the brokerage team at HVS Hodges Ward Elliott in London and focused on the financing and sale of hotels as well as operator searches within Europe and the Middle East. Prior to working at HVS, Michelle gained insights in international luxury hotel operations by working in various departments at the Grand Hotel Heiligendamm in Germany and the Hôtel de Paris in Monaco. However, her first experiences in hotel operations came much earlier in her life, observing and assisting as a little girl at her parents’ hotel in Bern, Switzerland. Michelle graduated from Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) in 2005 and holds a Bachelor of Science in International Hospitality Management. She has served as President of the Great Britain Chapter of the Alumni Ecole hôteliàre de Lausanne (AEHL) and remains involved with the alumni network in Frankfurt. Michelle recalls her time with HVS and HVS Hodges Ward Elliott as a great experience, having had the opportunity to work in such an international environment, and is looking forward to staying in touch with the HVS team. The HVS Madrid office hopes to welcome her back to Madrid again very soon to share some delicious Spanish tapas and wine, which she enjoys and misses greatly.

Tommy Nigro	After leaving HVS, Tommy Nigro joined Stonebridge Companies as Development & Portfolio Manager. Stonebridge Companies is a hotel developer / owner / operator based in the Denver metro area. Currently, Tommy is the Vice President of Real Estate at Stonebridge Companies. To learn more about this company, please visit the website at www.sbcos.com.

Lasse Ristolainen	Based in Cape Town, South Africa since July of 2011, Ristolainen is responsible for sourcing new management and franchising opportunities for the growth of Hilton Worldwide portfolio of brands throughout Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. Prior to this role, Lasse was part of the pioneer team of Hilton Worldwide’s Feasibility and Investment Analysis for Europe & Africa; later, he directed the team in the Middle East and Asia Pacific. He earned an MBA from Cornell University and IMHI-ESSEC Business School in Paris and has previously worked in both consulting and general hotel management roles. A former competitive boxer, Lasse enjoys yoga, wakeboarding, and exploring new destinations.

Carter Wilson	Carter is a thriller writer, and his debut novel FINAL CROSSING is scheduled for release in June 2012 by Vantage Point Books. In addition, Carter is currently Director with STR Analytics in Boulder. STR Analytics leverages the unparalleled STR database of hotel performance metrics to provide new analytics, reporting tools, and advisory services to their clients.

Christian Yang	Christian has been occupied with his wonderful family and entrepreneurial adventures, as he owns and operates multiple restaurants. His passion for the culinary arts has led him to open three restaurants to date; in the process, he has gained an appreciation for all the work it takes to open and operate his own business. On a personal note, Christian is dedicated to his wife Judith and his daughter Amberlie. Christian looks forward to the adventures that lie ahead and sharing them with his family.

Ekaterina Gill	Ekaterina has continued her career outside of the hospitality industry as a Deputy Manager with Norilsky Nickel investment fund leasing division. Norilsky Nickel is the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium and one of the leading producers of platinum and copper. Continuing her interest in physiology and training, Ekaterina is in the process of completing her intensive neuro-linguistic programming course and will soon be awarded the certificate needed to organize trainings throughout Russia.

Michael Pajak	Michael Pajak currently serves as Manger of Feasibility and Investment Analysis for Hilton Worldwide, based in McLean, Virginia. Michael recently joined Hilton Worldwide and is quickly settling into his role.

Saurabh Gupta	HVS Alumnus Wins HICSA Award Former HVS India Associate Director for Consulting and Valuations, Saurabh Gupta, was honored at the HICSA conference held in Mumbai April 7th and 8th. Saurabh is the General Manager of the first Premier Inn in India in Bangalore. In his current role, he has been responsible for the pre-opening of the hotel and is actively involved with the strategic decisions of the group. Prior to joining HVS, Saurabh was with the Taj Group in various hotels and also tried his hand as an entrepreneur. He has written numerous articles on the hospitality industry in India, some of which have been widely quoted. Congratulations, Saurabh!

	Erik Warner and Rebecca Ruf Erik and Rebecca here writing to touch base with everyone since we moved on from HVS in 2001 and 2000, respectively. As many of you know, Rebecca went off to Starwood and worked in their international development group under Karen Rubin, and I was hired by Art Adler of Jones Lang LaSalle to do national hotel brokerage. Fast forward to 2003, and I was hired by a Cargill-backed entity called RHF to oversee hotel investment underwriting, and then in 2004, Rebecca left Starwood to pursue her masters in International Development and Advanced International Economics at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Bologna, Italy. By then, Bec and I had been dating for over three years, and our relationship was put to a test as bi-monthly travels to and from Europe became routine. As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and by 2007, we were married in a little town in California called Napa at a little property called Auberge du Soleil. Within a year, we had our first child, Jakob, and moved out of Tribeca to our current home in Brooklyn, near the Brooklyn Bridge. Presently, I am still with RHF but now as a partner (our outstanding portfolio of hotel investments stands at about $200mm). Our business plan has evolved from being a lender to the industry to a buyer. Over the past four months, we have actively bid on over ten deals and $500mm of hotel assets; sadly, not converting any of those bids to purchases. Rebecca switched gears a bit and is now in the capital markets group of Women’s World Banking (“WWB”). Her organization is the godmother of women’s micro-finance initiatives, supporting a network of 40 microfinance providers and banks in 28 countries that provide financial services to low-income women. What is extremely interesting about WWB is that through loans the size of less than $500, her group has been able to serve over 20 million women, helping them move out of poverty. In general, we are both doing well and look forward to hearing from those of you we have not spoken to in awhile. Should you want to reach us our websites are: http://www.ramsfieldrealestate.com/ and http://www.swwb.org/.

Gustav C. Bjoern	Hooked, Booked and Soon to be Cooked HVS New York alumni Gustav C. Bjoern and fiancé Alexandra, a doctor in general medicine working in Copenhagen, have known each other since play school. Romance finally bloomed over New Year’s Eve champers in 2006 when he returned from Boston for Christmas with the family. Gustav and Alexandra have spent much of their courtship in two different cities but all that is set to change after their wedding in May 2010 when Alexandra will move to Wiesbaden where Gustav is currently VP Property Finance with Aareal Bank.

Susanne Frey	New York Nuptials HVS New York alumni Susanne Frey and Sunil Hariani tied the knot on July 11, 2009. They are now back in New York after a honeymoon filled with bicycle rides in Maine. The happy couple is looking forward to Honeymoon Part Deux in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam over the forthcoming Christmas holidays.

Carine Bonnejean	Welcome Baby Hugo! HVS London alumni Carine Bonnejean and husband Guillaume Thevenot are delighted to share the arrival of their son Hugo who was born on 3rd July. Mummy and baby are doing very well!

Karen Rubin	Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has appointed Karen Rubin SVP/Global Development-Feasibility and Development Policy. She now works with Starwood's divisional development, finance, legal, franchise operations and global brand teams and reports to Simon Turner, president/Global Development. Since joining Starwood in 2000, Karen has held both divisional and global leadership roles in feasibility. Most recently, she supported Starwood's North American division with it feasibility needs. Prior to joining Starwood, Karen worked in a number of senior roles during her 18-year tenure with HVS in New York.

Linda Yang	HVS New York Alum Linda Yang married Garrick Yau in Tarrytown, NY on September 27, 2008. Many HVS alumni were in attendance to help celebrate the big day, including Yoo Mee Pak, Mark Owens, and Alison Tan, as well as Petr Kulic and Lucienne Anhar who traveled all the way from London and Bali. It was a perfect day and the rain held out just long enough to get outdoor photos. After the wedding, the happy couple left for a two week honeymoon, spent at two of Lucienne's amazing Indonesian resorts - Hotel Tugu Bali and her newest resort, Hotel Tugu Lombok. They had a wonderful time and praise Lucienne and her family for their luxury accommodations and amazing hospitality.

GISLE SARHEIM	Gisle Sarheim, HVS New York alumni currently working for the Feasibility & Investment Analysis Hilton International team in London, and Lara Sarheim, who works for HVS London are expecting a little baby boy in late November. Gisle and Lara met at the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne and married in Norway in July 2004. We wish them all the best in their new adventure!

LAURENT DE KOUSEMAEKER	In August 2008, Laurent de Kousemaeker was appointed Senior VP Development Latin America & Caribbean for Marriott International based out of the headquarters in Washington D.C. Previously, Laurent was Vice President in charge of development for Spain and Portugal for Marriott International. Before joining Marriott, Laurent worked with HVS for six years. In 1999, Laurent joined the HVS London office, and in 2002 he successfully opened and managed the HVS Madrid office. On a personal note, Laurent and his wife Paula just had a second child, a baby daughter called Felicia who was born on June 21st. Laurent and Paula also have a son, Sascha, who is about to turn three.

GERARD GREENE	Gerard Greene, CEO and partner of Yotel recently participated in the Tri For Life inaugural triathlon in the United Kingdom. The event was conceptualized to raise money for several charities that help children who are terminally ill and other worthwhile causes. Some of these charities are Rays of Sunshine Children's Charity, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Teenage Cancer Trust. Gerard helped raise over £1700 to date! If you haven't sponsored him yet, get online and make your donations at www.justgiving.com/gerardgreene. On a mission to revolutionize the hotel industry and save consumers from expensive and boring hotels, Gerard gave up work after five years as a hotel analyst, sold his home and joined forces with Simon Woodroffe, founder of the YO! Group to develop YOTEL, "the world's most radical hotel". Gerard's vision for YOTEL is to provide a first class experience at an affordable price. As a director at HVS International, Gerard has worked on consultancy projects throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia advising groups such as Goldman Sachs and Kingdom Holdings with brands from Four Seasons to Express by Holiday Inn. Previously, Gerard worked at an operational level for Hyatt International, Marriott Hotels & Resorts and Conran Restaurants. You may find him on his bicycle training for a triathlon, scuba diving or even snooping around hotels, checking out the competition.

CHRISTOPHER BALFE	Christopher Balfe (Eco Services, New York) is currently working as a freelancer based on environment initiatives for the hospitality industry clients including Tishman, Mario Battali, Gemstone Resorts, The French Culinary institute among others. He is married with two kids and resides in Bergen County.

NICOLE PHILIPS	Riikka Moreau (Consulting and Valuation, London) an alumnus of the London Office, returned to work at the beginning of January after six months maternity leave following the birth of her son Alexis. Riikka currently works for Marriott as a manager in their feasibility department, where she works alongside another HVS Alumnus, Nicole Philips. Nicole Philips (Consulting and Valuation, London) has been married to her husband Ian Philips since September 20, 2008. They are the proud parents of two little boys - Matthew who is 2, and Dennis who is 1 (as of September 2011). Nicole is a Vice President, International Hotel Development Planning Europe & MEA, with Marriott in London.

Kate Henriksen	HVS New York alum Kate Henriksen (Consulting and Valuation, New York ) can now add "mommy" to her list of responsibilities! Kate and her husband Keith Ohlinger are the proud parents of Ms. Gabrielle Marie, born October 2, and weighing 8 pounds 13 ounces. We wish Kate, Keith and little Gabrielle all the best. Kate is with RLJ Development in Bethesda, Maryland, as Director (Development).

PATRICK & LIAM (BOGDAN VASILESCU)	Bogdan Vasilescu (Consulting and Valuation, New York) has been at Starwood in Feasibility for almost 3½ years now and was promoted to Senior Director in August of last year. On the personal level - most of his time away from work is spent taking care of the boys; that is very labor intensive, so, unfortunately, at the end of the day, he and his wife are too tired to do anything else other than rest. They took their first vacation together, as a foursome, last June; spent a week at Rocking Horse Ranch, a family-resort in Highland, NY, about an hour NW from Scarsdale. They haven't decided what they want to do this year. His wife, Maura was talking about a Disney cruise with the extended family.

PHIL GOLDING	Phil Golding (Consulting and Valuation, London) formerly an Associate Director with the London Office and now Vice President with Cedar Capital where he works alongside another HVS Alumnus, Ramsey Mankarious, has just returned from his honeymoon. The happy couple were married on 8 December 2007 in St Pauls Cathedral, London and spent their honeymoon in India and Sri Lanka.

JUSTIN LANZKRON	London Office Alumni Philippa Bock (HVS, London) and Justin Lanzkron (HVS, London) are both expectant parents in 2008. For Philippa and her husband Mark this will be their first child, and is due in the beginning of April. For Justin and Louise its third time around as they already have two boys who were both born on the same day - 31 July - but two years apart ! Their third child is due in the middle of May. Both former research analysts who worked their way up to be senior consultants, Philippa is currently working as an Investment Manager for Dawnay Day Structured Finance and Justin is now a Development Manager at Louvre Hotels. Both are still based in London.

	Katerina Giannouka (Consulting and Valuation, London) alumni of the London Office, was thrilled to announce her recent engagement to Patrick Finn. Katerina is currently working at Starwood Hotels and Resorts in Brussels, where she is in charge of hotel development for Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and CEE countries.


ALISON TAN	Alison Tan serves as an Associate at Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman, specializing in financing and investment sales for hospitality assets. Since 2007 she has advised on over USD $2 billion of transactions representing a variety of institutional and opportunistic investors as well as ownership/management companies. Prior to joining Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman, Alison worked as a Senior Associate for HVS New York. Her experience includes feasibility analysis, market studies, acquisition due diligence, and the valuation of hotel, resort, and mixed-use developments for a variety of institutional, corporate banking and individual clients. Alison has also held various management positions with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts at the Four Seasons Hotel New York. Alison holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration and is a member of the national chapter of the Cornell Hotel Society.

DAMIEN GREENWOOD	Damien Greenwood came to HVS Boston as a Senior Associate in March of 2006. During his tenure with us he was engaged in many notable assignments. Highlights of his career with HVS included being the point person on a 28-asset portfolio acquisition by Rockwood Capital from Ocean Properties, the appr>aisal of a proposed hotel at the Gillette Stadium (home of the New England Patriots), and the due diligence for a proposed water park hotel in Upstate New York. In May of 2007, Damien left HVS to pursue his MBA at Cornell University's Johnson School of Management. He was a recipient of the Park Fellowship, which is a merit-based, two-year full tuition scholarship and stipend. Selection of this fellowship is based on leadership, professional achievements, public service, and academics. Damien is scheduled to receive his MBA in 2009. Damien is currently working on a start-up real estate investment fund with several of his peers at the Johnson School. The target fund size is $2 to $3 million. The goal is to teach real estate focused MBA students how to analyze real estate investments in both the public and private markets, with a long term vision of creating a real estate investment fund that allows students to invest in public real estate companies and place direct investments. We expect great things from Damien and will update you in the future as to his progress!
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DEREK OLSEN	Derek Olsen, an alum of the HVS Miami office, is presently a Director with Capital Hotel Management, Beverly, MA. Prior to this he was working as a Director with O'Connell Hospitality Group in Boston and performed portfolio analyses, provided transaction services for major financial institutions, implemented disposition plans of national real estate companies for non-strategic assets, evaluated alternative land uses and sourced financing for hotel and resort acquisitions and development projects. With HVS, Derek completed consulting assignments involving projects with a market capitalization in excess of USD $3 billion. Derek is also an alum of Cornell University, School of Management (Class of 1992) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Class of 2000). He co-authored 'The Impact of E-Commerce on Commercial Real Estate'.
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ELIF BALI Vice President, Hotel Acquisitions & Development Loews Hotels	In her role at Loews Hotels, Bali is responsible for growing the company through acquisitions, management contracts and new developments. Most recently these have included the development of the Loews Atlanta Hotel slated to open in 2010, the acquisition of the Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort in Henderson, NV (formerly a Hyatt Regency) and the addition of The Madison, A Loews Hotel in Washington DC to Loews Hotels' managed portfolio. Prior to joining Loews Hotels in 2003, she was a Vice President at Sonnenblick-Goldman Company, a real estate investment banking firm where she participated in the marketing, structuring and closing of over USD $2 billion dollars in hotel capital transactions. Earlier in her career, Bali focused on appraisal and valuation work at the private hospitality consulting firm HVS International, as well as hotel operations with Hyatt Hotels. Bali is a graduate of the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. She has recently completed her third year of teaching a graduate level Hotel Market Analysis class at NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies. Professional affiliations include New York Commercial Real Estate Women (NYCREW Network), where she served on the Board for five years, as well as Women's Hospitality Investment Network (WHIN), where she is a member of the leadership committee. Bali lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband Fred Holland.
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GEORGE COMITOS	George Comitos an alumnus of the HVS San Francisco office, is presently a senior analyst (commercial real estate appraiser) at Integra - San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. George is a California State Certified, Commercial Real Estate Appraiser. Prior to his current position, George was employed at Washington Mutual Bank, Specialty Finance Group, and Hulberg & Associates, Inc. (a San Francisco Bay Area commercial appraisal firm). George received the Appraisal Institute’s MAI designation in 2009, and appraises a variety of commercial real estate property types, including: retail; office; industrial; and of course, lodging and hospitality properties. Thanks to Susan Mellen, and Stephen Rushmore, both fellow MAIs, for the chance to enter this profession and to follow in their footsteps! While at HVS, George completed numerous appraisal, and appraisal consulting assignments and wrote several articles involving hospitality and lodging properties located within nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. George is also an alum of Cornell University (SHA Class of 1999 - the last graduating class of the 20th Century). George A. Comitos CA OREA #AG029752 Integra - San Francisco East Bay Office 200 Pringle Avenue, Ste. 325 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 (925) 938-2600, ext. 102 (925) 930-6880 FAX gcomitos@irr.com

KIMBERLY MOFFITT HEHIR	Kimberly Moffitt Hehir has served as Vice President of strategic planning for The Leading Hotels of the World Ltd. since 2003. She is responsible for managing the company's 11 joint ventures and ancillary businesses, and acts as a liaison between each department within the organization to ensure that all goals are consistent with the company's strategic plan. Kimberly is also responsible for sourcing and evaluating new business opportunities and implementing those which yield a substantial return on investment, deliver value to the shareholders, enhance member benefits, and will achieve the company's overall goal of becoming an all-inclusive provider of goods and services to the luxury marketplace. Prior to joining The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd., Kimberly was a Senior Investment Analyst at Shaffer & Company, which owned and asset managed over USD $1 billion of luxury hotel properties. Kimberly was a senior investment analyst at Shaffer & Company, which owned and asset managed over USD $1 billion of luxury hotel properties, many of which are members of The Leading Hotels of the World. Prior to that, she was the global director of marketing and corporate communications for Sonnenblick-Goldman Company, an international real estate investment-banking firm averaging USD $10 billion in annual transactions. Before joining Sonnenblick-Goldman, Kimberly was the director of strategic marketing for HVS International. Recently named as one of Travel Agent Magazine's "Most Powerful Women in Travel," Kimberly has authored numerous articles; lectured at various universities, including Cornell University, Pennsylvania State University, Sacred Heart University and NYU where she was an adjunct professor; spoken at a number of conferences, including the World Congress for Tourism, the NYU Investment Conference, the Lodging Conference, the AH&MA Annual Conference, European Leisure Real Estate Symposium and the Relais & Châteaux Annual Conference; and organized large industry events including the Asia's Hotel Investment Conference and the United Nations Conference for Tourism. A graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, Kimberly is a member of the President's Council of Cornell Women, has served as the Cornell Hotel Society's New York City Chapter President since 2003, and is a member of the Board of Directors for HMS World Supply, LLC, a technology company that provides electronic commerce solutions to global companies. Look out for more updates on Kimberly in this space!
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LINDA YANG	Linda serves as a director of The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group, specializing in financing and investment sales for hospitality assets. Previously with Sonnenblick Goldman, Linda completed USD $2 billion in hotel transactions, representing a variety of institutional and opportunistic investors, in addition to owner/operators. While at HVS International, Linda consulted and appraised in excess of USD $2 billion in hospitality real estate. Her experience included feasibility analysis, market studies, acquisition due diligence, and the valuation of hotel, motel, resort, and mixed-use developments for a variety of institutional, corporate banking and individual clients. Linda has also held various management positions with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia. Linda is a graduate of Cornell's School of Hotel Administration and is a board member of the Cornell Hotel Society's New York City Chapter.
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LUCIENNE ANHAR	After graduating with a BSci from the Lausanne Business School of Hospitality Management, Lucienne Anhar worked for HVS in New York, where she was in charge of appraising over 60 hotels and worked on hospitality consulting projects and feasibility studies. After almost three years in HVS, she rejoined her family business in Bali and Java, Tugu Hotels Group (www.tuguhotels.com). She developed and operates four luxury art hotels and two private villas in Bali and Java, as well as four independent fine dining restaurants in Jakarta. For her, Tugu, the group of hotels and restaurants, is very special - They are small but quite well known now for their unique hospitality and artful design. It's really something she is very proud of.
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MARK OWENS	Mark Owens serves as a Managing Director of Ackman-Ziff and is responsible for the origination and placement of hospitality related transactions, including debt, equity, joint venture equity and transaction sales. Mark was formerly a Vice President at Sonnenblick Goldman and closed USD $3 billion in transactions representing a variety of institutional and opportunistic investors as well as ownership/management companies. Mark also worked at HVS New York office, where he consulted on more than USD $2 billion in hospitality real estate, including expert testimony, valuations, feasibility analysis, operational consulting and strategic marketing initiatives. Mark Owens is a graduate of Cornell's School of Hotel Administration, is an active participant in the Cornell Hotel Society's New York Chapter, and has been a frequent guest lecturer at New York University.
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PHILIPP VON BODMAN	Philipp von Bodman joined the head office of Grand City Hotels & Resorts in December 2008. In his role as Corporate Analyst, he analyses the performance of individual properties within the hotel portfolio on a monthly basis and reports back the results directly to the owners. Furthermore, he also evaluates and assists in the acquisitions process of new properties. The company has shown rapid growth in the last 3 years, starting with 15 properties in 2006 and has now grown to owning and operating 60 hotels under its own brand and under various international franchise brands. Prior to joining Grand City Hotels & Resorts, Philipp was Asset Manager at Mountain Capital Ltd., a private equity investor based in London with a hotel portfolio of 20 properties within the European market. He also worked at Hotel IQ as a mystery shopper and assessed the quality of more than 120 hotels within the 4&5-star markets in over 120 countries. At HVS London Philipp performed a number of valuations and feasibility studies in Europe and Africa. He describes his time with HVS as this "stepping stone to the hospitality industry". Philipp graduated from IMHI-Paris in 2004 with an MBA in International Hotel Administration and joined the exchange program with Cornell University's MMH program for one semester in 2003. Philipp says, "I have fond memories of my work experience with the HVS team in London, which offered me the opportunity to work with and learn from a vast group of young professionals from all over the world."
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PEGGY YIP	Peggy Yip joined the Hong Kong office of Horwath HTL in June 2006. Since that time, Peggy has conducted a number of feasibility and market studies as well as renovation and repositioning studies throughout Mainland China and North Asia. Peggy has also been involved with management selection process for prominent developers in Asia. Prior to joining Horwath HTL's consulting team, Peggy worked at the global headquarters of Hotel Valuation Services (HVS) in New York, United States and has worked on nearly 100 projects ranging from valuations to market studies throughout North America. These projects encompass all industry segments including 5 star city hotels, resort properties, mid-scale regional hotels, budget hotels, and mixed-use developments. Peggy has also authored several hotel related articles in international lodging trade journals. Peggy has a Bachelors and Masters of Science in Hospitality, Tourism and Travel from New York University, New York, United States of America.
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SEAN A. HEHIR	Based in New York, Hehir is Managing Director of Trinity Investments, LLC, a global real estate investment firm with offices in New York, Honolulu, Mexico City and Tokyo. He is responsible for overseeing the firm's investment activities including sourcing and executing investment opportunities, formulating investment strategy, structuring acquisitions and dispositions, and asset management. Hehir has more than 12 years of comprehensive experience in North American and international real estate investments, primarily hospitality related. While at Trinity Investments, LLC and its predecessor company, Trinity Investment Trust L.L.C. Hehir has executed over of USD $3 billion of hotel/resort and commercial real estate investments. Prior to joining Trinity, in 1998, Hehir worked for HVS International as a Senior Associate performing in-depth market studies, financial analyses, income and expense projections, valuations and feasibility studies, competitive market and property positioning studies, and operational reviews for hotels ranging from limited service to full service corporate and resort properties. Hehir, an Irish citizen, was raised predominantly in Botswana and also lived in South Africa, Australia and Switzerland. He holds a Diploma in Hotel Administration from the Hotel Institute Montreux, Switzerland and is a graduate of Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration.
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WENDY L. PONG	Wendy Wendy joined the corporate headquarters of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in August 2004. She currently serves as a Director of Owner Services for the North America Division. Prior to this role, she served in various other roles within Starwood, including positions within Real Estate Investment Management, Sheraton Brand Standards & Compliance, and Joint Ventures & Dispositions. Prior to working at Starwood, Wendy spent a number of years working in both hotel operations and hotel consulting, both domestically and internationally. The hotels in which she has worked include: The Mayfair Regent in New York City, The Regent Hong Kong, Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Hamburg, Germany, and La Samanna in St. Martin, French West Indies. Wendy also spent several years working as a Senior Associate for HVS International in Mineola, New York, providing hospitality consulting and appraisal services. Wendy is a Valedictorian of Brooklyn Technical High School. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, where she graduated with Distinction and was named a Cornell National Scholar and a Cornell Tradition Fellow. Wendy also holds a Master of Science degree from New York University's Real Estate School. Born in Hong Kong, Wendy immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 10 and spent her teenage years growing up in Staten Island, New York. Wendy currently resides in Fort Lee, New Jersey with her daughter Allison and her son Ryan. Wendy has served as a Board Member of the New York City Chapter of Cornell Hotel Society and has been involved with the Cornell Alumni Ambassador Network. Wendy is fluent in Cantonese and is proficient in German. Her passions in life include food and travel.
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