Andres Alfonso

SVP, Accounting & Reporting

Andres Alfonso is responsible for Gencom’s financial reporting, accounting functions and supports Gencom’s CFO on transaction related activities and tax matter

Prior to joining Gencom, Andres spent over 12 years in public accounting providing clients with assurance services. Andres was responsible for performing audits of operations, financial records, and internal control systems. In addition, Andres would provide assessments on the effectiveness of controls and procedures, accuracy of financial records, level of regulatory compliance, and efficiency of operations.

Andres is a certified public accountant, a member of the American and Florida Institutes of Certified Public Accountants and holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting from Barry University.

Peter Trujillo

SVP, Corporate Investments

As Senior Vice President of Corporate Investments Peter oversees Gencom’s corporate investment portfolio, leading all transaction and asset management responsibilities. Peter also supports the execution of capital strategies and strategic initiatives for Gencom Platform. Since joining Gencom in 2015, Peter has led a number of hotel acquisitions, dispositions, and corporate M&A transactions totaling over $1 Billion in capitalization.

Prior to joining Gencom as a second career, Peter was a fund accountant at Kaufman Rossin Fund Services providing back office accounting and valuation services for an array of hedge fund clients.

Peter is a native of Miami, Florida, is a graduate of the University of Florida with a Bachelors of Science in Finance, and holds an MBA from the University of California, Haas School of Business.

Blythe Pierre-Louis

SVP, Capital Markets

Blythe N. Pierre-Louis is Senior Vice President of Capital Markets. Since joining Gencom in 2006, Ms. Pierre-Louis has handled a wide spectrum of responsibilities but has primarily focused on investment analysis, execution of transaction closings including deal structuring (debt and equity), select investor relation responsibilities, as well as negotiation of key transaction documents. Over the last 11 years, Blythe has been directly or indirectly involved with over $1 billion of transaction volume in the form of project financing and recapitalization activity.

Prior to joining Gencom, Blythe worked as an Associate for Tishman Speyer Properties in their equity capital markets group providing analytical support to relationship managers.

Blythe graduated cum laude from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Marketing from The McDonough School of Business.

Gary Crocker

SVP, Construction

Gary Crocker, AIA, is an NCARB-certified architect with more than 35 years of design and construction experience. He has spearheaded building programs for diverse clients, including category leaders such as Marriott International, Wal-Mart and Albertson’s.

He has design and construction experience in 49 of the 50 states, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Europe.

After a career as a general contractor, Gary earned an architectural degree from the University of Arkansas and studied urban planning at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He was director of construction services for architectural firm BSW International — a position that required program management for hundreds of construction projects.

Gary was also quality assurance manager for Marriott International, Inc. One of his major projects was Grande Lakes Resort, Orlando — a resort complex including a Ritz Carlton hotel, a J.W. Marriott hotel, championship golf course, spa facility and convention facilities.

He was also selected by Marriott International to be their representative to oversee the reconstruction of hotel properties in and around the New Orleans and Gulf Coast areas in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Prior to joining Gencom, he was vice president of Florida and Caribbean operations for Gobbell Hays Partners, an architecture and engineering firm with offices nationwide.

Gary Crocker is currently responsible for all development initiatives for Gencom including acquisition due diligence, new hotel development, renovations and capital expenditures.

Gary is a member of the American Institute of Architects and is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). He is a licensed Architect in Florida, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

John Hogan

SVP, Architecture & Construction

John Hogan, AIA LEED-AP, is an architect with more than 25 years of design and construction experience. Having spent 26 years on the brand side of hotels leading teams and projects in over 50 countries, John has a proven track record of successful openings from the Caribbean to Tokyo and Dubai to Ireland.

Working for Marriott and Ritz-Carlton, John has a keen sense of quality design while designing to a budget achieving successful financial outcomes for the brand and the owners, while always focusing on the guest’s satisfaction. Additionally, having worked in varying cultures around the world, he focuses on bringing himself into the culture of the project location and not forcing a preconceived culture into an unfamiliar environment.

Prior to joining Gencom, John held varying positions of leadership responsibility at Marriott International, including leading Ritz-Carlton Design and Project Management worldwide and Full-Service Hotels in the Americas.

John is responsible for development initiatives for Gencom including acquisition due diligence, new hotel development, renovations, and capital expenditures.

John is a LEED Accredited Professional and a member of the American Institute of Architects. He is a licensed Architect in New York, Maryland, and Delaware.

Kenda Bailey

SVP, Design & Procurement

Kenda Bailey is Vice President of Design & Procurement for Gencom and has been with the company for over ten years. Kenda has overseen both new build and renovation on the design and procurement side of all Gencom’s luxury portfolio including Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and Rosewood brands.

Prior to joining Gencom, Kenda held various positions throughout the industry including design & procurement, project management as well as budgeting and accounting for owners, developers, architects and interior designers. With over 30 years of experience in the industry Kenda has a very diverse knowledge of the business and working with Gencom acquires more each and every day.

Kenda received a BS in Business from NC State University.

Laurens Fuchs

SVP, Asset Management

As Vice-President Asset Management, Laurens Fuchs oversees the asset management function of Gencom’s diverse portfolio of properties, working closely with the properties and brands to ensure that investment and operating objectives are achieved.

Laurens brings 20 years of hotel experience to Gencom. Prior to starting at Gencom in 2015, Laurens held senior leadership accounting and finance positions at The Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, Turnberry Associates and Sonesta, in the United States and the Caribbean. These assignments included new openings, condo-hotels, market oversight as well as overseeing a corporate centralized finance team.

Laurens graduated from the Heerlen School of Hotel Management in The Netherlands and holds an M.B.A. from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University.

Ignasi Puig

SVP, Acquisitions & Investments

Bio Coming Soon

Steven Pita

Corporate Controller

Steven previously worked at Ernst & Young LLP for eight years. In this capacity, he servedpublic interest entities and large multi-national privately held companies and was responsible for performing integrated audits over both financial statements and internal controls.

In this capacity, he served across a broad range of industries including real estate, data and wireless. consumer products, and healthcare. During his time, he gained experience in accounting for business acquisitions, revenue recognition, valuation of goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets, and accounting for income taxes in multiple jurisdictions. He has extensive experience with other complex accounting issues such as accounting for debtobligations, share-based payments, and foreign currency translation.

He also serves as a member of both the University of Miami School of Accounting Young Leaders group and the University of Miami Young Alumni Leadership Counsel, and remains active in the community previously serving on the United Way LINC Executive Committee.

Steven is a certified public accountant in the state of Florida and is a member of both the American and Florida Institutes of Certified Public Accountants. Steven graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration and a Masters degree in Accounting.

Tom Bezold

EVP, Chief Financial Officer

Thomas Bezold is responsible for all finance and accounting activities for the Gencom group. Thomas has more than 35 years of broad-based experience in finance, planning, insurance, employee benefits, information systems, accounting, financial reporting and income taxes, including 25 years in the hospitality industry.

Prior to joining Gencom, Thomas served as Senior Vice President of Finance for Carnival Hotels & Resorts and its predecessor, the Continental Companies. He also led the successful initial public offerings of DryClean USA and Healthinfusion while serving as the Chief Financial Officer for both companies. Additionally, Thomas worked for the international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche.

Thomas is a certified public accountant with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from St. Joseph’s College.

Julie Levitt

EVP, General Counsel

Julie M. Levitt is responsible for the legal operations of Gencom and its subsidiaries, and provides legal advice and counsel to the Company. Ms. Levitt’s responsibilities include: the negotiation and documentation of asset and equity acquisitions and dispositions; hotel management agreements; transaction and partnership structure determinations and related documentation; various hotel-level real estate and operating agreements; dispute resolution with partners, hotel vendors and third parties; the management of all aspects of the corporate legal function, including, selecting and supervising outside counsel and implementing company policies, and managing litigation at the corporate level; the negotiation and documentation of single-asset financings and a variety of joint venture investments; maintenance and simplification of the Company’s overall corporate structure; and the creation and maintenance of the Company’s legal document database.

Prior to joining Gencom, Ms. Levitt served as Senior Corporate Counsel – Finance for Technical Olympic U.S.A., Inc., a national homebuilder, where she was responsible for all aspects of that company’s finance practice including, negotiating, drafting and reviewing loan agreements, promissory notes and ancillary documents in connection with real estate financing transactions, including revolving facilities, joint ventures and acquisitions. Prior to joining Technical Olympic, Ms. Levitt was a senior associate in the Corporate and Securities department of the Miami office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP where she specialized in the securities aspects of condo-hotels. While at Greenberg Traurig, Ms. Levitt co-authored the article, “Condo-Hotels: Unregistered Securities?,” which appeared in Urban Land, November/December 2002. Ms. Levitt also had substantial involvement in all aspects of representing business entities in securities practice, including acquisition of capital, private placements, IPOs, registration of securities and acquisitions, transfers and dispositions of securities.

Ms. Levitt received her Juris Doctor and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Florida, where she graduated with honors. Ms. Levitt holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Ms. Levitt is a member of the bar of the State of Florida.

Alessandro E. Colantonio

EVP, Chief Investment Officer

Alessandro Colantonio brings nearly 20 years of experience in commercial real estate investment, specializing in the hospitality industry, and 15 years with Gencom, having developed a successful track record in and keen understanding of complex transaction structuring, corporate acquisitions and direct real estate investments. Over this time, Mr. Colantonio has also gained extensive experience in debt capital markets and joint-venture executions with both institutional and private/HNW capital sources.

As Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Colantonio is responsible for overseeing and implementing the firm’s investment strategy from underwriting through to execution and focuses on all partnership, acquisition and disposition related functions for Gencom. Mr. Colantonio leads, manages and develops Gencom’s investment and underwriting team, and works closely with Gencom’s Capital Markets, Asset Management, Finance and Legal teams. Mr. Colantonio’s primary functions include identifying, sourcing and underwriting new acquisition opportunities, corporate policy and risk management, diversification strategies, transaction, debt and equity joint venture structuring, investor relations and leading negotiations with brands, equity partners, debt providers and related 3rd parties.

Mr. Colantonio is a seasoned real estate professional with experience spanning a number of North American, South American, Caribbean and European markets, along with exposure across many of the industry’s chain scales and leading hotel brands. In his time with Gencom, Mr. Colantonio has been directly or indirectly involved in over $2.0 B of transaction volume including acquisition, disposition, recapitalization, financing and strategic platform investment strategies. Prior to joining Gencom, Mr. Colantonio was a lead underwriter for GMACCH Real Estate / Capmark Financial Group, focused on commercial lending strategies across the U.S. and Canada, specializing in hospitality.

At Gencom, Mr. Colantonio also plays an integral role in Gencom’s Executive Committee, Investment Committee, key operating platform oversight committees and is responsible for coordinating and presenting all investment and new business opportunities for approval by the firm’s Principal and key investors.

Originally from Boston, Alessandro moved to Miami in 2001 and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, concentration in Finance, from the University of Miami. He currently resides in Coral Gables with his wife and daughter.

Gary Lake

EVP, Asset management

Gary Lake is the EVP of Asset Management of The Gencom Group and oversees the operations and capital investments of existing hotel and condominium properties/developments, primarily related to Ritz-Carlton branded products. As it relates to development projects, Mr. Lake has been involved in all aspects of mixed use developments including feasibility study for the project, loan negotiations, deal negotiation and documentations, condominium association structuring, construction monitoring and deal execution. Lake currently serves on four condominium association boards.

Lake has held a variety of positions in financial, accounting, development, information systems, auditing and operational functions throughout the years. Prior to joining Gencom, he consulted with Grand Bay Hotels & Resorts in their development and acquisition group and prior to that he was senior vice president/operations of Miami-based Carnival Hotels & Resorts.

Prior to joining Carnival Hotels & Resorts, Lake served Carnival’s Crystal Palace Resort & Casino in the Bahamas as vice president/finance; Resorts International where he was director of corporate accounting and director of internal audit for its Bahamian operations on Paradise Island; and PriceWaterhouseCoopers for seven years where he served as an audit manager.

Donald McGregor

EVP, Managing Director - Latin America

Donald McGregor is an Executive Vice President of Gencom and Managing Director for Latin America & the Caribbean. Since joining Gencom in 2013, Donald has been involved in over $800 million of real estate investments and syndications across the hospitality, luxury residential, and mixed use development sectors.

Prior to joining Gencom, Donald worked at LNR Properties, where he was an Analyst in the Real Estate rotation program and the Special Resolutions Group.

Donald received a BS in Commerce from The McIntire School at the University of Virginia.

Karim Alibhai

Karim Alibhai has more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry. As principal of Gencom, Mr. Alibhai oversees all investment activity for the company he founded in 1987, including acquisitions, ground-up development, re-positionings, partial and full exits from investments, and capital market activities.

Through Mr. Alibhai’s vision and leadership, Gencom has consistently achieved results that have outperformed industry standards. Mr. Alibhai has led the company in some of the most successful luxury hotel and residential development ventures throughout the United States with more than $3.0 billion in funding from large institutional investors and lenders such as Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, Invesco, Credit Suisse First Boston, Wells Fargo, Carey Watermark, and MetLife, to boutique and opportunistic funds. Gencom’s extensive transactional track record spans throughout the Americas, Europe and the Caribbean. Gencom has participated in more than 150 hotel transactions over the past 30 years.

In 1995, through Mr. Alibhai, Gencom co-sponsored the initial public offering of Patriot American, the largest IPO of a hospitality REIT to be consummated at the time. From 2000 through 2016, Gencom developed or acquired nine Ritz- Carlton and seven Marriott properties, as well as a Four Seasons property and similar brands, most with significant hospitality real estate development and sales components.

Through its various affiliates and partnerships, Gencom and Karim Alibhai hold significant ownership interests in numerous hospitality and residential related projects. Currently, Mr. Alibhai has the company focused on the acquisition, development, and operation of luxury mixed-use hotels, including Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Rosewood, and Hyatt properties, with ancillary residential components in key resort and urban domestic and international markets, as well as growth of Gencom’s hospitality management services company investment, Benchmark Hospitality International.

Gencom is headquartered in Miami with a regional office in Houston.

Mr. Alibhai holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Rice University. He has served on the boards for Wyndham International, Interstate Hotels, and Benchmark. He lives in Coral Gables with his four children.

Our Team

Founder & Principal