Aimbridge Hospitality has appointed a “refreshed, expanded” Board of Managers for the company. The board appointments follow the completion of the company’s previously announced balance sheet restructuring.
The four new managers—Glenn Alba, Rich Gomel, Carrie McIntyre and Emanuel (Manny) Pearlman—join current board members Steve Joyce and Craig S. Smith, CEO of Aimbridge Hospitality.
“We are excited to have Glenn, Rich, Carrie and Manny join the Aimbridge board at this important moment for the company,” said Smith. “They bring impressive track records and significant expertise across hospitality, real estate and finance, and we look forward to leveraging their leadership and unique insights to deliver best-in-class hotel operating performance, advancing our position as the hotel operator of choice.”
He added, “We’re now in a position of strength with one of the healthiest balance sheets in the industry. Looking ahead, the goal and game plan are clear—deliver results for our owners and brand partners. We’re doubling down on execution, ramping up investments and accelerating innovation in the services that set us apart. It all comes down to driving even better performance across our properties and portfolio and creating an even stronger Aimbridge.”
Alba is an established real estate and hotel investor with more than 23 years of institutional investing experience across all types of commercial real estate in the U.S. and abroad. He currently serves as cofounder/managing member, TMGOC Ventures, a real estate and development private equity firm with a focus on the hospitality and multi-family sectors. He previously founded and served as CEO of Opterra Capital. His experience also includes a 20-year tenure with Blackstone Real Estate, where he served as head, global portfolio management, and led the asset management of Blackstone Real Estate’s U.S. hotel investments. He previously served as a board member for CorePoint Lodging Inc. and La Quinta Holdings Inc., as well as on the Interstate Hotels and Resorts Owner Advisory Board and the Doubletree Hotels Owner Advisory Council.
Gomel has held multiple investing and operating leadership roles at global firms with experience across the major real estate asset classes. He is currently a partner and chief investment officer of Two Sigma Real Estate, where he manages the overall investment activities of the business. He previously worked at Starwood Capital Group and Starwood Hotels, most recently as managing director.
During this time, he served as CEO of Starwood Capital Group portfolio company Groupe du Louvre. Following Starwood, He served as senior investment officer and one of the original partners of J.P. Morgan Asset and Wealth Management’s opportunistic real estate business, Junius Real Estate Partners. Prior to joining Two Sigma Real Estate, He was the managing partner of ARK, the real estate investment platform of WeWork. Gomel has served on various boards, including Groupe du Louvre, Baccarat, Hersha Hospitality Management and 21c Museum Hotels.
McIntyre combines deep financial expertise with nearly 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry. She is currently a partner and the CEO at VIRIDIS Fund Solutions. Prior to joining VIRIDIS, she held leadership roles in the financial sector, including CEO of the third-party fund administration business at StepStone Group and CFO at Greenspring Associates, where she managed all fund accounting responsibilities for the venture capital firm.
Prior to that, McIntyre served in various accounting, finance and corporate leadership positions in the hospitality industry, including corporate controller of MeriStar Hotels and Resorts and treasurer/CFO at Interstate Hotels and Resorts, leading up to its merger with Aimbridge Hospitality. During her tenure at Interstate, she was responsible for multiple M&A transactions on the buy side and the sell side, operating under various ownership structures, both public and private. While serving as CFO, she worked closely with Interstate’s private equity sponsors and the management team to drive transformational strategic and operating initiatives that yielded revenue growth with expanded margins.
Pearlman has more than 35 years of experience in leadership positions in investing, executive finance, operations and advisory roles with publicly traded and private companies. He has worked in various industries, including hospitality, leisure, gaming, logistics, retail and wholesaling. He currently serves as the chair/CEO of Liberation Investment Group. He is a board member for MidCap Financial Investment Corporation, Diebold Nixdorf Inc. and LSC Communications LLC. He also serves on the advisory board of venture capital firm Sharp Alpha Advisors. He previously served as chairman of Empire Resorts and on the boards of Network-1 Technologies, Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel andJameson Inns Inc. among others.
