Executive Team

RAMSEY MANKARIOUS 

Ramsey founded Cedar Capital Partners and was previously Executive VP of Acquisitions & Development for Kingdom Holding where he was jointly responsible for the company's $2.5 billion hotel investment and asset management activities within Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Ramsey developed and acquired numerous luxury hotels and was actively involved with the firm's investment in the following management companies: Four Seasons, Fairmont and Mövenpick. Ramsey was previously with HVS, a leading hotel valuation and consulting firm, in their London and New York offices. While at HVS he conducted valuation and advisory transactions in over 30 countries. Ramsey has authored numerous hotel investment articles and is a frequent lecturer. He received his MA in Property Valuation and Law from City University Business School in London and holds a BA in Hotel and Restaurant Management from Michigan State University, USA.

BENJAMIN LEAHY

Mr. Leahy is responsible for overseeing the firm’s investment activities in the United States. Mr. Leahy most recently worked as an advisor to PointState Capital focusing on a significant hotel and real estate investment in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Prior to joining PointState, Mr. Leahy was Managing Director and Global Head of Lodging at Goldman Sachs.  During his 11 years at Goldman Sachs, he focused on M&A advisory assignments, capital raising, mortgage lending and restructuring. He advised on over US$50 billion of hotel transactions and his work spanned multiple geographies and ranged from single assets to corporate level transactions. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Mr. Leahy worked at Banc of America Securities and began his career as a consultant for Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates. Mr. Leahy received his BA in History from Georgetown University. 

GIOVANNI FORNI

Giovanni is involved in the firm’s asset management and acquisition functions. He joined from Hilton Worldwide’s Feasibility & Investment Analysis team where he was responsible for conducting hotel management contract valuations and feasibility studies across Europe and Africa. He also supported Hilton’s Real Estate & Asset Management team in underwriting master plan renovations, acquisitions and disposals. Giovanni has worked in over 25 countries. He holds a B.Sc. in International Hospitality Management (Hons) from the École hôtelière de Lausanne, with a specialisation in real estate finance. During his studies in Switzerland, Giovanni co-founded YHS Global, an organization which acts towards improving professional opportunities for young talent in hospitality. He speaks Italian, German, English and French.

PAUL HARNEDY

Paul is responsible for the operational and commercial performance of the firm’s hotels.  Prior to joining Cedar Capital, Paul was Chief Operating Officer at Amaris Hospitality, overseeing performance across 30 internationally branded hotels as well as central functions including Food & Beverage, Leisure & Spa, Procurement and Information Technology.  During his time at Amaris Hospitality he was instrumental in the conversion to franchise of 18 Accor Hotels and the sale of 12 Hilton Hotels.  With over 25 years’ experience in hospitality, Paul has held senior leadership roles at Interstate Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotel Group and Barcelo Hotels & Resorts.  Paul studied Hospitality Management at University College Birmingham.

ALEX PENKUL

Alex is Cedar’s Finance Director and oversees the firm’s finance and accounting matters. Alex has over 30 years’ experience in global hospitality. Prior to joining Cedar, Alex was Finance Director at EQ Hotels which oversaw 5,000 hotel rooms. Previous to that, Alex was CFO at Jupiter Adria, a high-end hospitality investor, developer and operator, focused on Croatia.  Alex also worked with Kerzner International as Finance Director of One&Only Resorts.  In addition, he held various senior finance positions with Queens Moat Houses plc, which comprised some 200 hotels.  Alex is a chartered accountant and trained with KPMG.

MAURICE PETIGNAT

Maurice is involved in the firm’s capital expenditure programs and asset management functions. He joined from Principal Real Estate‘s Hotel and Leisure Division where he was responsible for the management of major capital expenditure projects across their portfolio. Previously he was responsible for capital expenditure projects across Hilton’s European owned, leased and joint-venture estate and he provided support to the Feasibility & Investment department. Maurice holds a BSc in International Hospitality Management (Hons) from the École Hôtelière de Lausanne, with a specialisation in real estate finance and a MSc in Construction Economics and Management from University College London. He speaks English, German, French and Italian.

JAMES MERCER 

Jim is responsible for overseeing the firm’s capital expenditure programs, with particular emphasis on hotel renovations and new builds. In his career he has accumulated over 30 years of specialist experience in the project management of some of the finest luxury hotels including the Ritz - Paris, the Four Seasons George V - Paris, the Park Hyatt - Milan and many others. Jim has a BS degree in Quantity Surveying and is a Member of the Royal Institution Of Chartered Surveyors. He speaks English and French.

MAURICE PETIGNAT

Maurice is involved in the firm’s capital expenditure programs and asset management functions. He joined from Principal Real Estate‘s Hotel and Leisure Division where he was responsible for the management of major capital expenditure projects across their portfolio. Previously he was responsible for capital expenditure projects across Hilton’s European owned, leased and joint-venture estate and he provided support to the Feasibility & Investment department. Maurice holds a BSc in International Hospitality Management (Hons) from the École Hôtelière de Lausanne, with a specialisation in real estate finance and a MSc in Construction Economics and Management from University College London. He speaks English, German, French and Italian.

FREDRIK ANDERSSON

Fredrik is involved in the firm’s asset management and acquisition functions. He has diverse experience across hotel investment, asset management, data analytics and operations. Prior to joining Cedar Capital Partners he worked for Hetherley Capital Partners investing in full and select service hotels across the UK and Ireland. Fredrik also co-founded MAV Analytics which provides hotel real estate data analytics services to hotel investors and FTSE 100 companies. He has advisory experience working for JLL and has held operational positions in China, Hong Kong, Sweden, Italy and Switzerland. Fredrik graduated with honours from the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, speaks fluent Swedish, French and English and is currently pursuing the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst qualification.

INA PLUNIEN

Ina is involved in the firm's acquisition and asset management functions. Previously, she was with Eastdil Secured in London, where she worked on over US$2 billion worth of hotel real estate sales in Europe. She has also worked in real estate advisory with EY as well as various operational positions in Germany, The Netherlands and Malaysia. Ina holds a B.BA (Cum Laude) in Hotel Management from Hotelschool The Hague in The Netherlands and speaks German, English, French and Dutch.

MANON DOISTAU

Manon is involved in the firm’s capital expenditure and asset management functions. She joined from KAC (a company owned by KEYS AM and ACCOR group) where she was responsible for the management of hotel capital expenditure projects across their portfolio. Previously she was responsible for development at Aegide Domitys across 10 projects in France and Europe from planning permission to completion and official handover to the operators (1,000 dwellings / €300M GAV). Manon holds a Diploma in Civil Engineering and Construction from ESTP Paris. She speaks English and French.

MARY MASSIH

Mary is in house legal counsel. Previously she worked as a solicitor for City law firms Withers, Farrers, Harcus Sinclair and Gouldens (now Jones Day). Her legal work has encompassed private client and corporate work. She has structured complex vehicles to minimise tax exposure and has advised domiciled and non domiciled clients. She is fluent in French and Spanish and took a First at Oxford University before embarking on a career in law. 

SAMANTHA BOYLE

Sam manages the financial functions for the company and is responsible for investor relations and HR. Previously she worked as an adviser to start-up companies setting up in-house systems of accounting and office management in the fields of web development, logistics, media and law.

JOHN BOTTS

John has more than 40 years of experience in investment banking, corporate finance, and private equity. John is Senior Advisor to Allen & Company, Chairman of The Ink Factory, and Advisor/Director to several early-stage tech platform companies. John is a former career banker and was previously Chairman of Citicorp Investment Bank  in Europe. John was formerly Chairman of UBM plc, Euromoney plc and a Director of Songbird (Canary Wharf). John is currently a Director of Glyndebourne (former Chair), Tate Foundation and Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2003, John was awarded an Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He received a BA from Williams College.

LEWIS WOLFF

Lewis (“Lew”) Wolff has been in the real estate industry for over 50 years and has developed more than 4 million sq. ft of real estate including hotels, office, retail and residential.  He is currently Chairman & CEO of Wolff Urban Management, a California-based commercial developer.  He is also founder and Chairman of Maritz, Wolff & Co, a hotel investment group that formerly  owned and asset managed luxury hotels around the world, including the Fairmont San Jose Hotel, the Fairmont San Francisco, the Carlyle Hotel New York and many others.  Lew was previously Co-Chairman of Sunstone Hotel Investors, a NYSE listed REIT, Vice Chairman of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts and Co-Chairman of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. Currently Lew is a Regent of Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California.

 

Lew is a shareholder of Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics and Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes.  Lew received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and an M.B.A. from  Washington University, St. Louis. 

PHILIP MARITZ

Philip (“Flip”) Maritz has been in the hotel and real estate business for nearly 30 years and has co-sponsored multiple investment funds with $7 billion worth of assets at Broadreach Capital and Maritz, Wolff & Co.  He has also chaired or co-chaired several owned hotel management companies (Rosewood, Fairmont and Dolce Hotels) and developed/redeveloped numerous iconic hotels including the Carlyle NYC, the Fairmont San Francisco, Four Seasons hotels in Toronto, Houston, Austin and Nevis, The Lanesborough London, Park Hyatt Sydney and Hotel Seiyo Ginza Tokyo,

 

Flip serves as a director of Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE: ABG, a $10 billion auto retailer) and numerous private companies. Additionally, he serves as a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the American University in Cairo, the Princeton University Art Museum, and the New York Landmarks Conservancy.  Flip is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He received a BA from Princeton University and a MBA from Stanford University.

EMAD SALIB

Emad Salib has over 35 years of experience in the technology, education, hospitality and management consultancy sectors. He has supported organisations in developing profitable and sustainable relationships with their customers and partners. Emad previously held senior roles with Siemens AG, where he was European General Manager of their Professional Services business and Senior Principal at IBM Global Services. Emad received a BA from London university and an MBA from the Open University Business School.