The Hardy Group (HARDY), the hospitality industry’s resource for the execution of development projects, has named Brent Hardy as president of the company. Brent is an energetic entrepreneur and accomplished business leader, bringing a wealth of experience and dedication to HARDY’s projects. Brent will assume responsibilities in January 2022. In turn, John Hardy will continue to oversee all aspects of the family business as chairman/founder, intensely focusing on investment and development activities. John remains a thought leader in the industry and will continue to extend HARDY’s capabilities and core services, offering an even greater value to the company’s clients.
Brent is a creative leader focused on the intersection of hospitality, commercial real estate development and technology. Seeking to undertake all responsibilities for the organization, Brent will continue to provide executive leadership and strategy, including business development, marketing, operational performance, client relations, project management and more.
“I am very pleased to announce Brent’s promotion to president,” said John Hardy. “Brent’s strategic focus, exceptional leadership and commitment to the company has been instrumental in HARDY’s growth. Over the past 14 years, Brent has worked his way up through the organization, truly learning the inner workings of the family business. I look forward to reaching new levels of success with his increased involvement.”
Prior to the position of president, Brent was the director of development and implemented strategic initiatives to expand the organization’s geographic footprint in key markets. Brent is responsible for opening HARDY’s Los Angeles and Honolulu offices and managing projects on the west coast and Hawaii. Brent joined HARDY in 2008 as a project director, initially based in St. Louis, focusing on the completion of the Hyatt Regency $63-million renovation. He then transferred to HARDY’s headquarters in Atlanta, rising to senior project director responsible for the renovation of The Revere hotel in Boston, renovation of the New York City Palace Hotel and the Hotel MDR in Los Angeles. Recently, Brent has overseen the adaptive reuse of the Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach, a ground-up TownePlace Suites in Nashville and is in the progress of two new-build ballroom expansions at the Hilton & Waldorf Astoria Bonnet Creek in Orlando. His development responsibilities also include capital formation, deal identification, feasibility analysis, JV negotiations and financial modeling for HARDY’s equity commercial real estate investments.
“I am excited and honored to transition into this new leadership role,” said Brent Hardy. “Over the last 30 years, my father has provided mentorship, which has allowed The Hardy Group to become the premier development services provider to the hospitality industry. I am thrilled to build upon that foundation as we look towards what new successes we can achieve in the next 30 years.”
Prior to HARDY, Brent spent three years with Rosemann & Associates Architects of St. Louis, working primarily on historic adaptive-reuse projects and multi-family architecture. Brent is the recipient of a Master of Architecture and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is Registered Architect in the State of Georgia and a member of the American Institute of Architects.
