I was later promoted to Senior Vice President of Operations, taking over the Southeast portfolio. My team of operators, sales and revenue management did an outstanding job transforming the southeast division into the most profitable and best performing division in the company for three years in a row. I was then presented with the opportunity replace the company’s COO as the Executive Vice President (EVP) of Operations. I oversaw all operations for Extended Stay America, including training, standards, guest relations, and procurement. It was a fantastic and humbling experience.In 2019 I joined Aimbridge Hospitality as the SVP of Operations with an assignment to turnaround a very important portfolio of over 200 hotels spanning across all major hotel brands. After a successful transition, my role and portfolio continued to grow and expand to EVP of Operations and now Divisional President, Select Service. It’s been a remarkable journey working with such a great organization with talented and deeply experienced hospitality leaders.

With regards to my education, I earned my bachelor’s degree in finance, Economics and Marketing from the University of Colorado Denver and a master’s degree in finance. Post graduate school, I was an adjunct professor at Metro State University in Denver. I also completed an executive leadership course from Harvard Business School.

Then what specifically led you to hospitality as I believe you could have gone a whole host of different routes? Is it true that you went directly into the hospitality right after that? Is that correct?

No, as I mentioned, I started working at the hotel to earn money and never left the hospitality industry. I loved and enjoyed what I was doing, and who I was doing it with. It is all about people; and people build, transform, and shape people. I thrive and enjoy every interaction with people. That is what drives me, and I saw the window of opportunity to be able to change lives by giving people opportunities to work, giving people an environment where they can come and give their best. Through this journey and experience, I in turn gained a lot from being able to give my employees career progression and growth. That is what life and leadership is about, and I knew this was something I could see myself doing for a long time.

I was willing to take the risk and take a different path away from my master’s degree in finance, I continued to pursue my hospitality career. I had an offer to work for Standard & Poor’s in New York. I remember this was before 9/11, and I did not take it and I was glad I didn’t. Fast forward to 2013-2018, I was at Extended Stay America, I was now overseeing a publicly traded company. At that point in my career, my finance background really came into play. I understood the language, understood what was important to the investors, I spoke the language and walked the walk. So, it all came full circle. It was a very good and gratifying feeling.

And so, when you are working particularly within hospitality, at Extended Stay America, did you envision that it was going to lead to a specific career within real estate? Hospitality has components of real estate for sure, so how did that transition into real estate transpire for you?

At a certain point in my career, I found myself involved in the decision-making process of real estate acquisition, and development. Now, in the 3^rd party hotel management space, on a very frequent bases, I interact with owners, investors and private equity firms seeking my advice and recommendations on hotel real estate investments. The discussions range from markets, location, choice of brand, product type, etc.

As you speak it makes me obviously wonder about your experience with COVID and the hospitality industry and how you were able to meet that NOI and exceed expectations. And secondarily, as I think about the real estate industry at large, did you ever consider gaining experience in another asset type, I.e., multifamily, industrial, etc.?

Yes indeed, COVID was a challenge globally, but I see it as an experience that taught us something too. It was one of the most difficult moments for me was, as I mentioned to you earlier, I gain personal satisfaction from creating opportunities and careers for my team, right? Unfortunately, at a very difficult time, we had to make some hard decisions when the world shut down. The hospitality industry was especially affected, and it was necessary to reduce our staff by 70%. It was terrible.

This hit me personally and it was a very somber period of my life. However, many lessons were learned during COVID; especially how to react quickly and flex operations based on rapidly changing business cycles; we improved tracking trends, and accurately forecasted while in unchartered territory.

But as you speak more about the extended stay experience specifically, as a hotel type within the hospitality industry, is there an obvious ESG component here, is there a social service component that is itself to extended stay clients rather than just the regular business client? I would think that for these individuals would be more non-traditional hotel guest.

Absolutely! That applies to the entire industry. Even in the extended stays space ESG comes into play. The choice of environmentally friendly products, utility/water conservation, waste management, laundry cycles, etc. becomes even more pertinent when it comes to the extended stay because these hotels have higher occupancy levels than your typical hotel.

For example, a guest staying longer would reuse their towels or go a day or two without exchanging their linens, so the hotel runs lesser laundry cycles, you use less chemicals, you waste less water and conserve energy. The long-term guest stay pattern enables you to include the guest in the process, train and influence the guest in your ESG processes because they are your guest for an extended period.

Thank you for sharing that. And so, as we think about your career, what has been the best business decision you have made?

The best business decisions made, was first was understanding that my success is through people. I believe that the day your employees stop working for you is the day you lose your job. Therefore, as a leader I always invest in people. You must create an environment where people feel like they can really thrive, where you can help bring the best out of them. An engaged, trained, and empowered team is a very powerful force. I’m of the strong belief that my success depends on the people I lead; it’s proven to be the case time and time again, and it’s a life, and business, lesson for me.

The second decision for me was taking the job that no one wants.

When you take the less popular or glamorous assignments and you turn things around, you make a name for yourself; you stand out. It shows your leadership skills defines your resume. It really puts your name out there in the organization, to be seen as a strong leader and individual who can deliver results.

Thank you for sharing.

And as you speak, I recognize that this area of work sounds like your life’s calling to me. Did this area of work for you just transpire out of your own interests and inspirations or did you have individuals in your life who pushed you into this specific field?

Great question, I have been influenced by great individuals. I have been incredibly blessed to have positive experiences in my life, even from a young age. There were people who, without family relations or ties, developed an interest in my education or career path and took the time to invest in me; either through financial support or just serving as a mentor to me. They made me believe in what I can do, encouraging me to do more, and to expect more from myself. Being able to receive that kind of gift is both fortunate and humbling. I am now able do the same for others. That’s my essence of life, and I want to continue to do more of that.

And so, what has been your specific involvement within ULI (Urban Land Institute) and what made you become involved with the Dallas Fort-Worth District?

I think firstly, ULI supports local real estate developers and investors. Everything starts at home, so the level of community engagement and support in Dallas is strong. Second, ULI promotes environmentally friendly and sustainable projects. That is important as we understand manufacturing and lifestyle affects on the planet. We need to be environmentally conscious of how we incorporate the environment into our new developments. Finally, I was interested in new developments, schemes, and designs. Our collaboration with the city and private partners is strong and prioritizing these important matters makes me pleased to be involved with ULI.

And when did you become involved?

I believe in 2020, when I began attending events and serving on a Product Council.

And what advice would you give to someone entering the CRE (Commercial Real Estate) industry?

Take time to educate yourself; be curious, and invest in continuous learning, never settle. Get a mentor; because there are great ideas, specialists, and ability out there and it will be a missed opportunity not taking advantage of it. Finally, invest in diversifying your skillset, even in the industry, there are multiple areas of concentration and expertise. Do your best to learn at least two or three areas. It enables you to be well-rounded and which could be the key to your success.

And then my last question here, as you think about your career, even though you have experienced your fair share of success, you still have a lot to look forward to. What do you believe your legacy will be when it’s all said and done? What would you like your legacy to be as you continue along and continue your career from this point?

I want to impact many lives, beyond what I can count. I want to help the youth in terms of giving them education opportunities for self-advancement that is beyond their current vision. I want to transform their lives and create generations of success. Only then will I feel satisfied and know that I have accomplished what I was brought in this world to do.