NYC Hospitality Investment and Development Summit

A 20-year veteran to the luxury hospitality industry, Bill provides Viceroy Hotel Group with a truly global perspective, bringing extensive senior management experience with leading international hospitality companies, including Jumeirah Group, The Doyle Collection and Kempinski Hotels and Resorts. As the CEO of the Doyle Collection, Bill led the brand through its reinvention into a modern luxury urban hotel group that includes eleven hotels in the USA and Europe. Prior to The Doyle Collection, he served as Chief Marketing Officer for Dubai based Jumeirah Group at a time of tremendous growth for the international luxury hospitality group. Bill's international experience and recognition as a leader within the industry will enable him to lead the continued growth and development of Viceroy Hotel Group.

Mr. Eric A. Danziger has been Chief Executive Officer of The Trump Hotel Collection since August 11, 2015. Mr. Danziger served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Hampshire Hotels Management, LLC since April 7, 2015. Mr. Danziger served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Wyndham Hotel Group LLC, a subsidiary of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation from December 1, 2008 to March 28, 2014. Mr. Danziger served as the Chief Executive Officer of WhiteFence, Inc. from August 14, 2006 to December 2008 and its President since October 2006. He served as the Chief Executive Officer and President at ZipRealty Inc. from June 2001 to August 1, 2006. He is a hotel industry leader for more than 30 years. Prior to joining ZipRealty Inc., from February 1998 to June 2001, Mr. Danziger served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Carlson Hotels Worldwide, a hotel and resort management company including the hospitality brands Radisson Hotels Worldwide, Regent International, and Country Inns and Suites. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Strictly Direct, Inc. a Portland-based marketing agency. Mr. Danziger also held a number of Senior Executive roles at Doubletree Hotels Corporation. From June 1996 to August 1998, Mr. Danziger served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and from September 1990 to June 1996, he served as President of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. He also spent ten years with Digest as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. Mr. Danziger has in the hospitality industry with more than 45 years of experience, is charged with overseeing global operations, brand strategy, and the expansion of Trump Hotel Collection, one of the fastest growing luxury hotel companies in the world. He serves as Chairman of Radisson-Olympus Capital Partners. Mr. Danziger served as the Chairman of the American Hotel and Motel Associations Strategic Planning Group. He serves on the Board of Trustees of American Hotel Foundation and Motel Federation. He is a Member of the Advisory Board of Northern Arizona University School of Hotel and Restaurant Management. He served as a Director of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc., since April 2000. He served as a Director of WhiteFence, Inc. since June 2001. He served as a Director of ZipRealty Inc. since June 2001. In 2011, he was the UJA Federation Honoree and in 2012, he received the coveted Arthur Landstreet award from HSMAI. He was honored as a Northern California Ernst and Young (E&Y) Entrepreneur of the Year for 2005 in the category of Real state/Hospitality/Construction. Mr. Danziger has been featured by CNN, The Bloomberg Report, The Wall Street Journal and The San Francisco Chronicle. He is a Member of the prestigious IREFAC (Hotel Industry Real Estate Council). Mr. Danziger is a member of the prestigious Industry Real Estate Financing Council and the Urban Land Institute and He is active with major universities, being featured as a distinguished lecturer at Cornell, to his role as visiting professor at Johnson and Wales University, where he holds an honorary doctorate.

Daniel H. Lesser brings more than 30 years of expertise in a wide range of hospitality operational, investment counseling, valuation, advisory, and transactional services. He provides services to corporate, institutional, and individual clients as well as public agencies on all facets of hospitality real estate including: litigation support and expert testimony, site evaluation, highest and best use analysis, appraisals for mortgage, acquisition, and portfolio management, workout strategies, operational analysis, property tax assessment appeal evaluations, economic impact studies, deal structuring, and fairness opinions. Mr. Lesser is a leading authority on hotel feasibility and valuation, and is highly sought after to speak at lodging and real estate events, as well as lectures at prestigious institutions of higher education, including Cornell University, Columbia University and New York University. He is widely published and quoted, and serves as a quarterly columnist for HotelNewsNow.com and GlobeSt.com. Most recently, Mr. Lesser created and served as the Senior Managing Director - Industry Leader of the Hospitality & Gaming Valuation Advisory Services Group at CB Richard Ellis Hotels (CBRE). Prior to joining CBRE, Mr. Lesser founded and led the Hospitality & Gaming Group at Cushman & Wakefield and was a founding member of the team at HVS International. Mr. Lesser has also held operational and administrative positions with Hilton Hotels Corporation and Eurotels - Switzerland. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration from Cornell University, and also attended the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, Switzerland and Baruch College - City University of New York. Mr. Lesser holds the following professional designations: MAI (Member of the Appraisal Institute), FRICS (Fellow of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), CRE (Counselor of Real Estate), and CHA (Certified Hotel Administrator). Mr. Lesser is a member of and has served on numerous committees for the Counselors of Real Estate, the Appraisal Institute, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, and the Board of Directors of the New York City Chapter of the Cornell Hotel Society. He is a former Advisory Board member and member of the Fundraising Subcommittee for the New York University Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management. Mr. Lesser is a founding member of the Lodging Industry Investment Council (LIIC), the hotel industry “think tank.” Furthermore, Mr. Lesser served as an Honorary Committee Member of the annual UJA - Federation New York Hotel & Hospitality Division Dinner, and is a member of the AIPAC Real Estate Division.

Russ Shattan is the Senior Vice President of Acquisitions & Development of MCR Development. He is responsible for acquisitions, dispositions, development, asset management, and capital markets activities. Prior to MCR, Mr. Shattan was a Senior Manager in the Real Estate Group at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, where he was involved in development, dispositions, and capital planning efforts for Starwood’s North American Development and Feasibility teams. Mr. Shattan is a graduate of Cornell.

Mark J. Gordon has over 30 years of experience in the hospitality and real estate industry and is widely regarded as an ndustry expert. During his career, he has been actively in development, operations, asset management, acquisitions, renovations, design, construction management, capital raising, financing, sales and advisory. In 2021, Mark co-founded a travel technology platform known as Pinktada. The company has developed game changing technology that uses NFTs and the blockchain to fundamentally enhance the way hotels are marketed and reservations are procured for leisure hotel and resort travel. Mark was most recently Managing Partner of Intrinsic Hotel Capital and Tribeca Associates where he focused on over $1.5 billion of acquisitions and development in Manhattan. Notable projects include the conceptualization, development and ultimate sale of the super luxury Baccarat Hotel & Residences. In addition, he oversaw the adaptive reuse of an office building conversion into the Marriott Residence Inn World Trade Center with destination retail, the development of the 298-key Moxy Hotel Downtown, a mixed-use 30-story hotel and retail tower and the complete renovation and repositioning of two officer towers, 130 West 42 nd Street and 30 Broad Street. Prior to his focus on development and acquisitions, Mark was one of the leading advisors to the hotel industry. He was Managing Partner and Head of the Hospitality Group at Sonnenblick-Goldman, a national real estate investment banking firm. As partner, Mr. Gordon was responsible for overseeing management, sales growth and the ultimate sale of the firm to Cushman & Wakefield. Upon the sale of the company, Mr. Gordon was appointed to head Cushman & Wakefield‘s National Hospitality Practice, a position he held until 2010 when he decided to take his own advice and become a hotel developer and investor. During his advisory career, Mark oversaw many of the hotel industries’ most complex projects including the adaptive reuse and conversion of the Hotel Delmonico to the Trump Park Avenue, creating a joint venture between Loews Hotels and Universal Studios to develop five hotels at Universal Studios Resort in Orlando, recapitalizing Ian Schrager Company, restructuring Denihan Hospitality Group, and the complex sales and financings of hundreds of landmark hotels and resorts located throughout the U.S. Mark has won numerous awards for his accomplishments in the real estate industry including Crain’s “40 under 40”, Americas Lodging Investment Summits “Deal of the Year” and Commercial Property News “Stars to Watch” and is a frequent speaker at hotel and real estate industry events. Mr. Gordon holds a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Finance from New York University and a B.S. in Finance from Ithaca College.

Peter Berk is President and founder of the Hotel Finance Group at PMZ Realty Capital LLC. He has played an integral role in establishing the firm’s hospitality practice as a national leader in hotel financing with an emphasis on the limited and select service hotel markets. Berk’s primary responsibilities include raising debt and equity capital for hotel owners. In that capacity, he has financed in excess of $2 billion worth of hotel assets for both entrepreneurial and institutional clients representing over 20,000 hotel rooms; both full and limited service brands for every major hotel chain, including: Hilton, Marriott, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Starwood, Choice Hotels and Wyndham. Some recent financing transactions, include: the $26 million loan for the Hilton Silver Spring, Maryland, $200 million recapitalization loan comprised of 18 properties for JHM Hotels, $52 million portfolio loan for Kinseth Hospitality and a $35 million loan for DoubleTree JFK Airport in New York. Prior to founding the Hotel Finance Group, Berk was President of AFC Hotel Finance Group, Director of Capital Markets at Sonnenblick-Goldman Company and previously worked at Jones Lang LaSalle in the acquisitions area. Berk received his Bachelors of Accountancy from George Washington University and his Masters in Real Estate Investment & Development from Columbia University. He is active in the New York Hospitality Council, Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He has written numerous articles on hotel financing for industry publications and is a frequent speaker at hotel conferences on current financing trends.

Kimpton’s Chief Development Officer is responsible for overseeing real estate development and management contracts across the brand. This is accomplished through leading a team of dedicated and knowledgeable development executives to sign new management agreements. Allison Reid is a tenured hotelier, with a history of success in development, real estate investment, finance, brand management and operations. Prior to Kimpton, Allison worked for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Most recently, Allison served as the senior vice president of North America Development overseeing development and acquisition efforts for all 11 Starwood brands in North America, the Caribbean and French Polynesia. During her tenure, Allison was instrumental in the launch of three new brands at Starwood, signing 600+ new hotel deals. Over the course of her career, Allison has been involved in strategic asset management responsible for the repositioning and/or sale of a $3.5 billion-dollar global joint venture and leasehold portfolio. Allison also stepped into the role of chief financial officer for W Hotels, driving strategic operating and brand growth initiatives. She has a deep bench of experience across owner relations, investor relations, and creative financing for new brand launches to established lifestyle brands. Prior to Starwood, Allison worked at Interstate Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in various regional and property level finance and operating roles. Allison is a graduate of Bryant University where she majored in Accounting/Finance and Hospitality Management. She and her husband Gene live in New Canaan, CT. They can be found at the beach in the summer and skiing in the winter.

Naveen Kakarla is the President and Chief Executive Officer and also on the Board of Directors of HHM, which manages over 120 hotels in the Northeast, Florida, and California. These hotels range from three to five star properties in urban and leisure resort destinations. Naveen is responsible for HHM’s investment and fund management, acquisitions and development, finance and accounting, human resources, and capital projects. He prior led HHM’s New York City region and also oversaw its construction and technical services division. Prior to joining Hersha in 2005, Naveen worked with a private equity firm and its portfolio companies on early stage investments and "roll ups" in various industries. Naveen had been an active real estate investor in the multifamily space prior to joining Hersha. Outside the real estate sector, Naveen was previously a partner specializing in corporate and securities law at the national law firm of Jenkens & Gilchrist, P.C., and was previously associated with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer Feld, LLP in Washington D.C. Naveen earned a Bachelor of Arts from Austin College and a law degree from Cornell Law School.

Noah Silverman is Chief Development Officer, North America Full Service Hotels for Marriott International, Inc. He is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the development process in the United States and Canada for the Marriott, JW Marriott, Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Sheraton, Delta, Gaylord, Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, EDITION, W and Bvlgari brands and The Luxury Collection, Autograph Collection, and Tribute Portfolio. Prior to his current role, Mr. Silverman served as Senior Vice President, Global Asset Management, where he led Marriott's asset management efforts on a worldwide basis. Before that, he was Senior Vice President, Development Asset Management, providing overall global leadership in managing hotel deals from the time a transaction is signed through opening. Before that, Mr. Silverman was Senior Vice President, Project Finance, where he led a variety of complex transactions, including seeking outside investors to own Marriott’s company-owned hotels subject to long-term management agreements. Mr. Silverman joined Marriott in July 1997 in the Marriott Law Department. In June 2002, he became Vice President, Global Asset Management, where he negotiated a number of transactions to preserve and enhance the stability and value of Marriott’s long-term management and franchise agreements. Prior to joining Marriott, Mr. Silverman was an associate with the law firm of Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. He holds an A.B. from Princeton University and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Matt Livian is a Managing Partner and the Chief Investment Officer of The Sydell Group, an owner, developer and manager of unique hotels deeply rooted in their location and architecture. Sydell Group’s diverse portfolio of award-winning properties includes NoMad New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas; the LINE LA, DC and Austin; Freehand New York, LA, Miami, and Chicago; The Ned, London; and Park MGM, Las Vegas. Since April 2011, Matt has lead Sydell’s acquisitions efforts and has overseen the acquisition and financing of over $1.5 billion worth of hotel real estate in major markets including New York, Los Angeles, Miami and London in addition to overseeing the Company’s successful sale of the Freehand brand and real estate portfolio to Queensgate Investments in October 2019. Prior to joining The Sydell Group, Matt served as the Vice President of Acquisitions & Development at the Ian Schrager Company from July 2006 through April 2011. The Ian Schrager Company is an owner, developer and manager of hotel & residential projects in gateway cities. During his tenure, Matt was responsible for all transaction execution, origination, coordinating market & property due diligence, financial underwriting and various development initiatives. Matt started his career in the investment banking division at Bear Stearns focusing on mergers, acquisitions and financings for real estate, gaming and lodging companies. Matt graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2004 with concentrations in Finance, Accounting and Entrepreneurship.

Jack Pulvirenti, an Audit Partner, member of the Executive Committee, and the Hospitality Practice Leader at Berdon LLP, has been with the firm since 1988. A specialist in the hospitality and real estate industries, with a focus on closely held businesses, he also advises clients in retail, distribution, and professional services.

Bruce Bronster, Partner with Windels Marx, represents prominent restaurants, investors, night clubs, celebrity chefs, prominent food purveyors and distributors, industry personalities, fashion designers and supermodels, actors and others on hospitality projects and legal concerns. Follow Bruce on Instagram @brucebronster for pictorial insights on his world of travel, flavor and noteworthy friends.