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GEORGE RUFF
Senior Principal |
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Mr. Ruff’s primary focus at Trinity is to utilize his thirty years of comprehensive experience in real estate and hotel investments to execute Trinity’s business plan. His experience encompasses all phases of the investment process, including: risk/reward and market analysis, finance, partnership structuring, negotiations, asset management, dispositions, and extensive hotel business expertise. His accomplishments span the U.S. and international markets. As a principal during his professional years, both independently and with various firms, he has engineered, negotiated, and closed transactions valued over $3.0 billion.
Before the formation of Trinity, Mr. Ruff: (1) managed the business and operational affairs of Chicago-based Seymour N. Logan Associates, Inc. as Chief Operating Officer, and oversaw its portfolio of commercial and hotel real estate; (2) advised the founding partners of VMS Realty Partners, and later as a partner, co-founded the autonomous hotel division of VMS, where he directed all of the divisions disciplines, including: acquisition, asset management, finance, disposition, development, and joint-venture relationships of VMS’ 56 hotel and resort investments; (3) co-founded Ruff, Callaghan & Hemmeter Company, a Hawaii real estate investment firm; (4) engineered the global growth of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company from 14 to 25 hotels while he was Executive Vice President and partner; (5) pursued a variety of independent investment opportunities including the acquisition and reorganization of an international trade finance bank, the acquisition and privatization of NextHealth, Inc., the owner of the widely acclaimed Miraval Resort and Spa and the highly respected drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, Sierra Tucson; (6) established Fall Creek Partners, Inc., an investment advisory firm providing real estate and hotel asset management services; and (7) co-founded and served as the Chief Executive Officer of Trinity Investment Trust L.L.C., where he directed its real estate and hotel investments across North America, Asia and Europe.
Mr. Ruff was a finalist for the Illinois Entrepreneur of the Year Award (1989). He graduated from DePaul University with a B.S. degree in Commerce (Cum Laude) and is a Certified Public Accountant. He is a founding member of the Real Estate Center at DePaul, where he sits on the Center’s Executive Committee, serves on the College of Commerce Dean's Advisory Council, chairs DePaul’s Physical Plant and Property Committee, serves as a Trustee of DePaul University and is a member of the University’s Executive Committee. |
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Mr. Kelsey joined Trinity in 2003, focusing on acquisitions and asset management. He has 18 years of real estate and lodging investment and advisory experience. Prior to joining Trinity, Mr. Kelsey was with the Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.'s Real Estate & Lodging investment banking group as a senior Vice President, serving public and private clients. At Bear Stearns, Mr. Kelsey's experience included extensive mergers and acquisitions assignments for European and domestic clients, private equity placements, and public equity, preferred and debt issuance. Prior to joining Bear Stearns investment banking group in 1998, Mr. Kelsey worked as an equity research analyst from 1996 to 1998 following lodging and real estate REITs both at Prudential Securities and Bear Stearns. He also served as a commercial real estate lending officer at M&T Bank in New York. Mr. Kelsey received an B.A. in History modified with Geography from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management. |
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Mr. Frazzini is responsible for portfolio asset management as well as sourcing and structuring acquisition opportunities. Mr. Frazzini has over 15 years of real estate experience with a focus on asset management and hospitality investment. Prior to joining Trinity, Mr. Frazzini was Vice President with Wafra Investment Advisory Group, a U.S.-based pension fund advisor to the Social Security Trust Fund of the State of Kuwait, where he was involved in all aspects of the firm's $1.5 billion real estate portfolio. Mr. Frazzini has been an adjunct associate professor and a frequent guest speaker at New York University's Real Estate Institute. Mr. Frazzini holds an M.S. in International Real Estate Investment from New York University's Real Estate Institute, a Certificate in Hospitality Asset Management from Cornell University, and a B.A. from St. Thomas University. |
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ROBERT GREENBERG
Chief Financial Officer |
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Mr. Greenberg is responsible for supervising internal accounting and control functions as well as external audits. His involvement with all accounting processes is wide ranging and includes close interaction at the individual asset level with regional and onsite accounting teams, portfolio accounting and consolidations, as well as execution of platform level accounting and consolidation. Mr. Greenberg is a Certified Public Accountant with over 21 years of public and private accounting experience including complex partnership and entity level tax accounting. Prior to joining Trinity, Mr. Greenberg was a manager with RSM McGladrey Inc., a national public accounting firm where he was a member of the Real Estate Group which provides audit and tax services to a wide variety of institutional and private real estate investors. Prior to that, Mr. Greenberg was a manager with The Blackstone Group, a private equity investment firm in New York. Mr. Greenberg holds a B.S. in Accounting from Brooklyn College in New York. |
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MARCOS CASILLAS
Vice President |
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Mr. Casillas is Vice President of Asset Management and is responsible for supervising the team executing the various investment strategies for the individual hotels and portfolios. Mr. Casillas has over 15 years of hotel asset management and operations experience which includes 10 years as general manager at various luxury resort properties such as the 324-room Karmina Palace, the 450-room Kea Lani Resort and the 100-room L'Auberge de Sedona, among other branded and independent hotels. Prior to joining Trinity, Mr. Casillas was Vice President of Operations and Asset Management with the Woolley Hotel Company where he asset managed a diverse hotel portfolio which included several independent resort and select service hotels, as well as several branded hotels. Many of his assignments have included significant repositioning efforts that involved brand and manager changes, renovations, and destination marketing. Mr. Casillas holds a B.S. in Hospitality Management from Florida International University. |
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Mr. Ruff works directly with the principals to source, evaluate and structure potential investment opportunities and investment financings. Mr. Ruff oversees the underwriting and due diligence process for potential acquisitions, and also assists in asset management. Prior to joining Trinity in 2005, Mr. Ruff worked at Blackheath Financial, a CMBS consulting firm where he served as the firm's hospitality underwriting specialist. Prior to Blackheath, Mr. Ruff held positions with Hotel Consulting International (HCI) and Fall Creek Partners. Mr. Ruff received his Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. |
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Mr. Weimer is engaged in portfolio asset management and sourcing new business opportunities for the firm. Prior to joining Trinity, Mr. Weimer spent six years with the Hampton International Group, a Chicago-based boutique real estate investment banking firm where he led their New York office and their international hospitality practice. Under his leadership, the group arranged $250 million of hotel equity and debt financing on behalf several institutional clients. Additionally, Mr. Weimer was also part of a team that asset managed, on behalf of a private client, a $300 million hotel/commercial real estate portfolio which included branded and independent hotel assets, as well as retail and parking assets. Mr. Weimer has a Masters Degree in Real Estate Finance and Investment from New York University's Real Estate Institute and a Certificate in Hotel Investment and Development from Cornell University. |
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JOHN LABRUZZO
Director of Operational Asset Management |
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Mr. LaBruzzo is responsible for strategic business plan execution and onsite supervisory management where he specializes in improving profitability through effective team building and specific profit enhancement strategies in branded and independent environments. Mr. LaBruzzo brings over 40 years of hotel operating experience across all product segments located throughout the U.S. and is recognized as a "hands-on" expert at hotel turnaround efforts. Prior to joining Trinity, Mr. Labruzzo was employed in a variety of operationally-focused leadership roles and worked with several notable hotel brands and institutions in various capacities including Hyatt, Starwood, Hilton, Marriott, InterContinental Hotel Group, Hard Rock Hotels and Resorts, Tishman Hotels, Mutual Benefit Life Assurance Corporation, Boeing Corporation and Connecticut Teachers Retirement Pension Fund, among others. He led the opening of several ground up developments including the 900-room Orlando Peabody, the 758-room Swan and 1,510-room Dolphin resorts at Walt Disney World and the Ritz Carlton Washington, D.C. Mr. LaBruzzo holds a B.S. from Southeastern Louisiana University, is a Certified Hotel Administrator and is a frequent guest speaker at universities and industry seminars.
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Mr. Efron joined Trinity in 2007 as a Portfolio Asset Manager and Acquisitions Analyst. Prior to joining Trinity, Mr. Efron's real estate experience included acquisitions and project management with KB Home and Lennar Communities where he was involved in developing vacant land tracts into marketable single family lots later sold to developers. Mr. Efron began his career as an auditor for Deloitte after obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of South Florida. Mr. Efron also holds a Graduate Certificate in Commercial Real Estate Investment from New York University's Real Estate Institute and is currently completing a CPA designation. |
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Ms. Chan joined Trinity in 2008 as a Portfolio Asset Manager. Prior to joining Trinity, Ms. Chan was a Senior Associate at CIT Commercial Real Estate where she was a hotel underwriter in the Structured Finance Group. Prior to that Ms. Chan was involved in hotel investment sales, financing, brokerage, and hotel advisory with InnVest Hotel Brokers in New York. Ms. Chan began her career in hotel operations with tenures at Warwick Internationals' 425-room flagship hotel in New York City and the 89-room historic Hotel Wales. Subsequently, she became Director of Sales and Marketing for Warwick International where she was responsible for the sales and marketing efforts for 33 hotels worldwide. Ms. Chan holds an M.S. in Real Estate Finance from New York University's Real Estate Institute and Certificates in Hotel Asset Management and Hotel Revenue Management from Cornell University. |
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KRISHNA MISRA
Director of Architecture & Construction/Project Management
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Mr. Misra brings over 45 years of diversified global experience as an architect, planner and project manager and is experienced in managing all phases of the design, budgeting, construction and project management processes for all types of commercial real estate asset classes with a focus on hotel design, development and renovation. Mr. Misra is a recognized expert in converting stated goals and objectives into cost effective designs and programming that range from cosmetic renovations to highly complex adaptive reuse projects as well as significant experience in ground up construction. Mr. Misra is a member of the American Institute of Architects, is a registered architect in New York, New Jersey and California and is a graduate of the University of Roorkee where his honors included the University Silver and Gold medals and the French Government Scholarship Award. |
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ROHIT MISRA
Architect & Project Manager |
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Mr. Misra is responsible for project planning, cost analysis and field management, among a variety of other design and construction disciplines. Mr. Misra brings over 20 years of experience in all phases of project management including financial feasibility analysis, design and space planning, program and budget analysis, construction scheduling, administration, and inspection. His wide ranging planning, project, and construction experience assures successful program development, appropriate situational field adjustment, and effective construction execution in all real estate asset classes including hotels. Mr. Misra is a member of the American Institute of Architects and is a registered architect in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Florida. Mr. Misra is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he graduated with Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Architecture degrees and holds a Masters Degree in Real Estate Investment from New York University's Real Estate Institute where he is also Adjunct Professor. |
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