Chartres Lodging - Advisory&Investment Group. LLC

The firm is organized into the following distinct disciplines: Asset Management (including Accounting and Construction), Acquisitions and Research. The professionals operating within these disciplines are fully integrated so as to deliver the institutional asset management service and entrepreneurial vision required by our clients and investors.

Robert D. Kline, President and Co-Founder, is a 20+ year veteran of the lodging industry and a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. He has led over $5.0 billion in transactions and is a pioneer in the development of Asset Management practices. Prior to forming Chartres Lodging (formerly known as 'Oxford Lodging') and serving with Chartres Capital Partners, Mr. Kline founded the Lodging Business for Lend Lease Real Estate Investments and was the founding Head of Acquisitions for Strategic Hotel Capital. Mr. Kline is also a Founding Director of the Hotel Asset Management Association and a frequent lecturer at universities and industry conferences.

Maki Nakamura Bara is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Chartres Lodging Group, formerly known as Oxford Lodging Advisory & Investment Group, LLC. Recently, in recognition of her extensive experience in the lodging sector, particularly in acquisitions and asset management, and her role in the growth of the company, Mrs. Bara received the "Best Executive" Stevie Award for Women in business and was named a "Woman of Influence" in commercial real estate by Real Estate Southern California magazine. Having worked on over 100 properties, she is a leading expert in redeveloping and repositioning luxury resorts, urban hotels, convention hotels and conference centers. Mrs. Bara gained this experience while participating in the formation and growth of the lodging activities of Lend Lease Real Estate, Strategic Hotel Capital and Chartres Lodging. She has also worked at Chartres Capital Partners, Inc. and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the hospitality industry's leading consulting firm. Mrs. Bara is a graduate of UCLA, fluent in Japanese and has extensive hospitality industry experience throughout the United States and Japan.

Bruce Blum, Partner, offers more than 25 years of principal-oriented hotel investment, acquisition, development, asset management and operational experience. Prior to Chartres Lodging's formation, he served as CEO of Doral Hotels & Resorts, five years as a private company and three years as president while a public division of MeriStar, formerly one of the nation’s largest publicly traded hotel companies. During his career, Blum has been instrumental in the acquisition, development, refinance and/or sale of more than $2 billion of hotel and resort projects in addition to his asset management and operating responsibilities. He graduated from the Florida International University (FIU) School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Administration, and was recently awarded the FIU Medallion by its Board of Trustees for exemplary professional and civic endeavors.

U.S. Team

Rich Musgrove, Executive Vice President of Asset Management, brings over 20 years of hotel and real estate experience to Chartres Lodging Group. Prior to joining Chartres he held senior positions with investment advisory firm Hospitality Real Estate Counselors and public real estate investment trust Ashford Hospitality Trust, where he founded that firm’s asset management department while overseeing growth from a 12 property, $300 million portfolio to 120 properties valued at over $5 billion within a three year period. Mr. Musgrove’s additional asset management experience includes positions overseeing multiple classes of real estate with Host Marriott Corporation, The Estate of James Campbell, and the Trammell Crow Company. He is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business.

Michael Chan, Chief Financial Officer, brings over 20 years of accounting and finance experience to Chartres Lodging. Mr. Chan began his career in public accounting, leaving Coopers & Lybrand, then one of the world’s leading public accounting firms, as an Audit Manager and a California-licensed CPA. Mr. Chan then served as Controller for Textainer, one of the world’s largest marine shipping container leasing and management companies. While at Textainer for over 13 years, Mr. Chan continued to develop his extensive financial experience which included significant responsibilities over internal and external accounting and financial reporting, risk and internal controls review, cash management, and Textainer’s $500+ million debt financing and $350+ million derivative programs. Mr. Chan is a graduate of California State University’s School of Business Administration located in Hayward, California and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Barry Nidiffer, Senior Vice President of Development Management, Mr. Nidiffer is a Real Estate Development Manager with over 20 years of experience totaling over $1.5 billion of project development. He has represented other leading Owner / Developer investment firms in managing and directing the design & construction processes of land and vertical construction. As a Registered Professional Architect, Mr. Nidiffer is experienced with various occupancy and construction types, with his major focus on complex hospitality projects which include; mixed – use urban and resort hotels, destination resort and residential properties. He is experienced in multi-state and international hospitality projects. He brings a disciplined and creative hands-on approach to the development process and is versed in all facets of the development and delivery process. Barry has managed all pre-development, development activities including; due diligence, planning and programming, budgeting, forecasting, scheduling, permitting, project documentation, consultant and contractor qualification and selection process, construction administration, operator facilitation, FF&E coordination, project completion and close-out. Barry is a graduate of California Polytechnic University – Pomona.

Dan Sheline, Senior Vice President, is a 20-year veteran of the hospitality industry and serves as one of Chartres Lodging’s primary asset managers. Prior to joining Chartres Lodging, Mr. Sheline asset managed several world-class hotels and resorts of all major brands located throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean, while at CHM and Lend Lease Real Estate Investment. He also served in a business development role for property management company, Hostmark, where he secured several new business deals. Mr. Sheline’s extensive hotel analysis and underwriting background also comes from his days at Banc One Capital Markets, Inc., US Realty Consulting, Inc. and PKF Consulting. Mr. Sheline is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

Maxine Taylor, Senior Vice President of Asset Management, has more than 20 years experience in the hospitality industry. She has consulted on a variety of international hospitality real estate projects for restaurants, hotels, marinas, golf courses, and clubs for both private and public sector entities throughout the US, Europe and the Caribbean. She also served as an operations manager in a five-star/five-diamond resort and as a professor of hospitality management. At her previous position at CHM she was Vice President, Asset Management. In addition to her asset management responsibilities, over the past four years, Mrs. Taylor has been responsible for overseeing major renovations and construction projects at two urban hotels and has executed several successful restaurant lease contracts.

Cody Bradshaw, Vice President of Asset Management, is active as a primary asset manager for the Company’s properties, as well as with Advisory and Acquisitions due diligence activities. Prior to joining Chartres Lodging in 2003, Mr. Bradshaw served with Hyatt Development Corporation where he undertook business development, underwriting, research and analysis responsibilities. Mr. Bradshaw was an active participant in Hyatt’s expansion activity both in terms of property development and acquisitions. He is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

Nir Liebling, Vice President, is primarily responsible for the acquisitions and due diligence activities of Chartres Lodging. Prior to joining Chartres Lodging, Mr. Liebling served with CNL Hospitality Corporation where he was involved in acquisitions and dispositions as well as with Ernst and Young’s Real Estate Advisory Services practice where he was involved in the due diligence and underwriting of over $1 billion in lodging transactions. Mr. Liebling graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Miami and holds a Master’s degree from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration.

Yolanda Liu serves as Chartres Lodging’s Vice President of Finance and Administration. She has extensive corporate finance experience and has served as Property Controller of the Pan Pacific San Francisco. Ms. Liu also served as Director of Corporate Finance for Pan Pacific Hotels & Resorts for North America. In her capacity with Chartres Lodging she oversees all investment fund tax and accounting, as well as overseeing cash management and operating results at the property level.

Wendy Ng, Assistant Controller, serves in San Francisco office and oversees internal accounting, financial analysis, and financial reporting. Prior to joining Chartres Lodging, Mrs. Ng was an Accounting Manager for Textainer, one of the world’s largest marine shipping container leasing and management companies. She has over 15 year’s financial experience in internal and external accounting, cash management, and financial reporting. Mrs. Ng is a graduate of San Francisco State University’s school of Business Administration in accounting.

Anjali Dusija, Senior Director, serves on the asset management team at Chartres Lodging, and also performs acquisitions due diligence and advisory activities. She graduated with distinction from the Masters program at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. Prior to joining Chartres Lodging, Ms. Dusija was a part of the Revenue Management team at Orbitz, LLC (now part of The Blackstone Group) where she executed significant revenue enhancements across nine states. Ms. Dusija also served on the Sales and Marketing team of Marriott International, Inc. where she set marketing strategy and negotiated valuable deals.

Deanna Quan, Director, serves on the asset management team and also supports the acquisitions team at the Chartres Lodging Group. With over 15 years of hospitality industry experience, Ms. Quan began her career in restaurant and hotel operations with companies such as Hilton Hotels Corporation, Omni Hotels and Doubletree Hotels. Prior to joining Chartres Lodging, she performed in both the acquisitions and asset management disciplines at Morgan Stanley Real Estate and its predecessor company, Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, where she asset managed a $70 million portfolio and supported a second portfolio valued at $600+ million. In addition, she was involved in the disposition of over $200 million of hotel assets. She also previously performed financial, market and investment analyses as a member of the development and acquisitions team at Carlson Hospitality Worldwide. Ms. Quan received her B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis and holds a Master’s degree from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

Derrick Yee, Senior Director, also supports the Asset Management team, as well as Research and Analysis activities at Chartres Lodging. Having spent two summers as an intern with Chartres Lodging, Derrick now joins the firm having completed both a Masters of Management in Hospitality from the Hotel School at Cornell as well as a Masters of Business Administration from The Johnson School, also at Cornell. Prior to graduate school, Derrick worked as a meeting planner for the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association. While there, Derrick was responsible for negotiating and booking over $6 million in hotel contracts, planning multiple executive conferences and overseeing banquet events at the Association’s annual trade show.

Vandana Ahuja, Operations Analyst, focuses on the New York assets. Before joining Chartres Lodging, she was with Starwood Hotels & Resorts as a Senior Analyst for Distribution Metrics and Strategy. Prior to that, Vandana worked in various capacities with the Airline Industry in India. She holds a Master’s from both the Indian Institute of Ecology and Environmental Studies, Delhi and Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

Luke Callinan, Analyst, serves primarily as a part of the Chartres Lodging acquisitions team. A member of the San Francisco office, Mr. Callinan focuses on underwriting, research and analysis of the group’s acquisition related activities. In addition, Mr. Callinan also assumes an active role in the firm’s portfolio management activities and advisory assignments. Prior to joining Chartres Lodging full-time he gained experience as an intern on the acquisitions team. He is a graduate of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.

Yun-Zhen Lei, Office Manager, also responsible for accounts payable. She is a graduate of Hotel Management Program from San Francisco State University. Prior to joining Chartres Lodging, Ms. Lei gained variety of experiences from Front Office management to Accounts Payable management for luxury hotel establishments in downtown San Francisco. She is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese.

Wing Leung, Partnership Accountant, serves in the San Francisco office and is responsible for all partnership accounting. Mrs. Leung has over 10 years of financial services experience in accounting, tax, and banking. Prior to joining Oxford Lodging Mrs. Leung was with Quellos Group, LLC in their Wealth Management and Financial Advisory group responsible for private clients accounting and financial reporting. She holds a Business Administration degree in accounting from the University of Texas, Dallas.

Kristine Woo, Accounting Manager, has more than 13 years of hospitality experience including hotel operations and revenue management, and has also held different positions with accounting in a luxury hotel. She served as a consultant for Marriott International Inc. during the post transition period after the sale of a Luxury hotel in San Francisco. She is a graduate of City College of San Francisco, Hotel and Restaurant Operations Program and San Francisco State University, School of Business Administration. Ms. Woo is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese.

Japan Team

Matthew Cox, Executive Vice President of Chartres Lodging Group Japan, GK, graduated from Cornell University School of Hotel Administration’s Master’s of Management in Hospitality program. Prior to joining Chartres Lodging, Mr. Cox gained experience at JHM Hotels and Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. He also founded the Tabibito Travel Agency in Tokyo, Japan in 2001 and, prior to that, worked at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in Tokyo between 1998-2001.

Yutaka Maruyama, Executive Vice President of Chartres Lodging Group Japan, GK. Mr. Maruyama oversees the advisory, operation, asset management, and investment activities of Chartres Lodging Group Japan. He has 27 years experience as a Hotelier and is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration majoring in Hotel Development and Real Estate Investment. Prior to joining Aetos Japan and Chartres Lodging, he has lead operations, development, redevelopment, new opening, and turn-around projects throughout the Pacific. His major roles in the hospitality industry include Manager of Development for the Westin Asia Pacific, Director of Development and Vice President of Operational Management for Caesar Park Hotels & Resorts Asia, Project Manager and General Manager for The Westin Awaji Island Resort and Conference Center, Executive Director of Operations for Sheraton Resorts Phoenix Seagaia, General Manager for The Westin Resort Guam, General Manager for LeoPalace Resort Guam, and Managing Director of Corporate Planning for the Hotel Management Division of Green House Group.

Ayako Tushiya, serves as Asset Manager with The Chartres Lodging Group Japan, GK. Ms. Tsuchiya has ten years of hospitality experience both in hotel operation and advisory service. Prior to joining Chartres Lodging, she was involved in underwriting and due diligence for numerous hotel transactions at KPMG FAS in Japan. Her operation career includes work in Guest Relations and Marketing at The Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa (a member of Leading Hotels of the World and host of the 2008 G8 Summit) and the Rihga Royal New York (currently the London NYC). Ms. Tsuchiya graduated from Keio University and was a university-sponsored exchange student to L’Insitute des Etudes Politiques in Paris.

Mikiko Kitamura serves as Senior Analyst in Tokyo with the Chartres Lodging Group Japan where she focuses on research, and assisting in asset management and investment activities. Prior to joining Chartres Lodging, Mikiko prepared appraisals and market demand studies for various hotels while employed with PKF Consulting in Los Angeles. She also previously served as Assistant Manager of Food & Beverage at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles for several years. Mikiko is a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration.

Kaori Hashimoto, Office Manager for The Chartres Lodging Group Japan, GK, has over ten years of hospitality experience in hotel operations and executive management in Tokyo and London with Hilton and Westin. Prior to joining Chartres Lodging, Ms. Hashimoto worked in office management, event coordination, and accounting with the Inter-Pacific Bar Association in Tokyo for over seven years.