Ron Burkle founded The Yucaipa Companies in 1986 and is widely recognized as one of the preeminent investors in the retail, distribution, technology, entertainment, sports and hospitality industries. Ron has served as Chairman of the Board and controlling shareholder of numerous companies including Americold, Soho House, Golden State Foods, Dominick's, Fred Meyer, Ralphs and Food4Less. Ron is Co-Chairman of the Burkle Center for International Relations at UCLA and is broadly involved in the community. He is a member of the Board of The Scripps Research Institute, the National Urban League and Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy. He is a trustee of the Carter Center, and AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA). Ron was the Founder and Chairman of the Ralphs/Food4Less Foundation and the Fred Meyer Inc. Foundation. He was a member of the board of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: OXY), KB Home (NYSE: KBH), Kaufman & Broad S.A. (Euronext: KOF), Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO), the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Music Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Ron has received numerous honors and awards including the AFL-CIO's Murray Green Meany Kirkland Community Service Award, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Man of the Year, the Los Angeles County Boy Scouts Jimmy Stewart Person of the Year Award and the APLA Commitment to Life Award.

Andrew Zobler founded Sydell Group in 2005. He has served as its CEO from inception to date. As an owner, developer and operator of unique hotels rooted in their location and architecture, Sydell identifies fresh talent within the hotel, food & beverage and retail communities and aligns them with best-in-class development, management and financial discipline to create compelling new business models. Sydell collaborations produced NoMad New York, Freehand Miami, Freehand Chicago, The LINE Los Angeles, Saguaro Palm Springs, Saguaro Scottsdale, Ace New York and Ace Palm Springs. New projects include The LINE DC, a joint project with Soho House in London and multiple developments in Downtown Los Angeles. Freehand DTLA will open in 2016 with NoMad Los Angeles following in 2017. Prior to founding Sydell Group Andrew served as a Partner, Executive Vice President, Chief Investment Officer and General Counsel of André Balazs Properties, a hotel management and hotel and residential development firm. During Andrew’s tenure the company developed: One Kenmare Square, 40 Mercer Street, Hotel QT, The Raleigh Hotel, and The Standard, Miami, and acquired the site for The Standard New York. Prior to joining André Balazs Properties, Andrew was Principal in the managing member of Lazard Freres Real Estate Investors, LLC, a real estate opportunity fund with in excess of $2.5 billion of invested equity capital. Before joining Lazard, Andrew was the Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Development for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. In such capacity, Andrew was responsible for overseeing acquisitions across all Starwood brands in North America.

Jeremy has over 12 years of experience in boutique hotel development. Since co-founding Sydell, he has been involved in the conceptualization and development of The Nomad Hotel New York, The Ace Hotel New York, The Ace Hotel Palm Springs, The Saguaro Hotel Palm Springs, The Saguaro Hotel Scottsdale and the premium hostel brand Freehand including the Freehand in Miami and Chicago. He is currently overseeing active developments in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and London. Prior to joining The Sydell Group, Jeremy worked at André Balazs Properties for four years, the last three years as the Director of Development. At André Balazs Properties, Jeremy was responsible for overseeing the development of The Standard, New York, William Beaver House, and a renovation of The Standard, Downtown Los Angeles. Jeremy was also involved in the development and renovation of the Hotel QT, The Standard, Miami, and The Raleigh Hotel among others. Before joining André Balazs Properties, Jeremy held the position of Vice President, Acquisitions and Development, at Knightsbridge Properties, a full service developer and operator of medical and other office buildings in suburban New York City.

Prior to joining The Sydell Group, Matthew served as the Vice President of Acquisitions & Development at the Ian Schrager Company for five years. The Ian Schrager Company is an owner, developer and manager of hotel & residential projects in gateway cities. During his tenure, Matthew was responsible for all transaction execution, origination, coordinating market & property due diligence, financial underwriting and various development initiatives. Prior to joining The Ian Schrager Company, Matthew worked in the investment banking division at Bear Stearns focusing on real estate, gaming and lodging. At Bear Stearns, Matthew worked on mergers, acquisitions and financings for public and private companies in a broad range of industries including gaming, hospitality and homebuilding.

Prior to joining The Sydell Group, Jinny was an analyst at CIM Group, an urban real estate and infrastructure investment firm based in Los Angeles. As a member of CIM’s Investments team and the Fundraising & Investor Relations team, Jinny focused on the acquisition of opportunistic and stabilized investments as well as the asset management of existing investments. She was also responsible for CIM’s capital raising and investor relations initiatives. Prior to joining CIM Group, Jinny was a financial analyst at Wells Fargo’s Real Estate Merchant Banking group, where she was responsible for underwriting various commercial real estate debt financings.

Garrett joins Sydell Group from Loews Hotels, where he was responsible for acquisition and development underwriting. Garrett played an integral role in supporting the successful completion of transactions in major strategic markets including San Francisco, Seattle, and Chicago. Prior to Loews, Garrett was a Financial Analyst at LaSalle Hotel Properties, where he focused on asset management of a portfolio of boutique hotels, as well as acquisition underwriting.