Team — Waramaug Hospitality

Paul Nussbaum

Founder & Chairman

Mr. Nussbaum is the Former Chairman Emeritus of Wyndham International, Inc. and former Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Patriot American Hospitality (NYSE:PAH), which owned Wyndham and several other proprietary hotel brands, and which he grew into the fourth largest hospitality company in the U.S., with approximately $7 billion in total capitalization. Prior to forming Patriot American Hospitality, Mr. Nussbaum was the head of the real estate department of the Schulte Roth & Zabel law firm. Mr. Nussbaum received his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and received his J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

Leslie Ng

Vice Chairman

Mr. Ng co-founded the stand-alone iteration of Waramaug Hospitality with Mr. Nussbaum. He has held senior executive positions at some of the nation’s most prominent hotel companies, including a long and significant tenure as Chief Investment Officer of Interstate Hotels and Resorts. At Interstate, he helped triple the size of the company to over 500 hotels while also expanding its global footprint to 12 countries around the world. Prior to Interstate, Mr, NG was Head of Acquisitions for Patriot American Hospitality, one of the nation’s largest publicly traded REITs. Earlier in his career, he oversaw the global hotel portfolio for Tobishima Corporation, one of Japan’s largest construction companies. Mr. Ng holds a B.E. in Civil Engineering from The Cooper Union and an M.B.A. in Finance from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Evren Unver

Vice Chairman

Mr. Unver is the Chairman of HazelStream Capital and head of his family office, which has had investments in a multitude of assets and industries, ranging from construction and real estate development to automotive manufacturing. Mr. Unver has close to 30 years of experience in the acquisition and turn-around of various corporations, most notably including a construction firm focused on infrastructure projects with assets over $3 billion, a home builder with assets of $500 million, and over 90,000 homes built, and one of the leading bus manufacturers in Europe. Prior to these corporate acquisitions and turnarounds, Mr. Unver co-founded a private equity fund, which manages over $2 billion of private equity and real estate assets. Mr. Unver earned an MBA from INSEAD, France and a Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science along with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Ferit Ferhangil

Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Ferhangil is a veteran of the commercial real estate business, having first worked in the development of a shopping center more than 30 years ago. He is also the President of HazelStream Capital, which he co-founded with Mr. Unver. Mr. Ferhangil was previously Vice Chairman and CEO of Flagstone Property Group, a developer of large-scale mixed-use projects anchored by hospitality, where he was instrumental in the creation of the only all mega-yacht marina in the U.S. He has more than 3 decades of experience in acquisition, construction, design, development, and financing, including with key hotel brands throughout North America and Europe. He also has extensive workout and turnaround experience, having acted as chief restructuring officer of several industrial companies. Mr. Ferhangil earned an MBA from The Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a BA in Business Administration with honors from Bosphorus University.

Paul Stern

Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Stern is a founding principal of Waramaug LS Hotels, the firm’s select-service investment affiliate. He has deep hotel investment experience, ranging from luxury and boutique hotels to franchised select-service and full-service properties. He is the former head of Sonnenblick-Goldman Company’s lodging investment banking group, where he represented a wide range of hotel industry clients. Earlier in his career, Mr. Stern held positions at the Robert M. Bass Group and Lepercq Capital Partners, where he had responsibility for hotel investment analysis and acquisitions nationwide. Mr. Stern received his bachelor’s degree from New York University’s School of Business and Public Administration.

Cindy Pervenanze

Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice President – Finance

Ms. Pervenanze oversees Waramaug’s financial compliance, hotel reporting and treasury functions. A seasoned financial executive with a broad range of public and private company experience, she has specialized in the real estate and hospitality industries and has held senior positions at firms including Alvarez and Marsal, Apollo Advisors and Patriot American Hospitality. She was also a senior manager in Ernst and Young’s real estate group. Ms. Pervenanze has a Bachelor of Arts with a Concentration in Accounting from the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Nele Breitbart

Executive Vice President & Head of Asset Management

Ms. Breitbart serves as Executive Vice President and Head of Asset Management at Waramaug Hospitality, overseeing portfolio performance, strategic planning, and investment execution. A hospitality executive with over 25 years of experience in hotel operations and real estate, she has held senior roles across institutional platforms, including BRE Hotels & Resorts. Her career spans more than $1 billion in transaction activity and over $7 billion in assets under management. Ms. Breitbart earned a certificate in Hotel Management from Hotelfachschule Hamburg and a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.

Craig Nussbaum

Executive Vice President – Acquisitions

Mr. Nussbaum oversees all aspects of the company’s transaction activities including the acquisition pipeline, purchase and sale agreements, financing, due diligence, franchise licensing and dispositions. He also assists the executive team with asset management in areas including legal, financial compliance, and insurance. Since joining Waramaug in 2013, Mr. Nussbaum has handled over $750 million of hotel acquisitions. He is a member of the Lodging Industry Investment Council, and a former elected member of the Town Council and Board of Education of the town of Tolland, CT. Prior to joining Waramaug, he practiced law for thirteen years in the areas of corporate bankruptcy and labor law. Mr. Nussbaum obtained his B.A. from Bates College and J.D. from SMU Dedman School of Law.

Scott Hazle

Senior Vice President - Asset Management

Mr. Hazle serves as Senior Vice President - Asset Management. He oversees the operating performance of a cross section of the company’s portfolio and 3rd-party asset management contracts. Prior to joining Waramaug, he had served in a senior operations leadership role with Aimbridge Hospitality since 2014. He has worked with all major brands as well as boutique hotels. Mr. Hazle holds a bachelor’s degree from Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina and a master’s degree from Clemson University.

Sandy Singer

Accounting Manager

Ms. Singer has been an accounting consultant for Waramaug since 2020. She has a background in public accounting and private industry, primarily focused on financial reporting and accounting oversight for owners/operators of multifamily and hospitality properties. She. was an accounting consultant for both Patriot American Hospitality and its successor Wyndham International. Ms. Singer has a Bachelor of Business Administration with a Concentration in Accounting degree from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.

Alec Ulnick

Vice President – Acquisitions

Mr. Ulnick serves as Vice President – Acquisitions and is responsible for sourcing and underwriting new investment opportunities. A hospitality executive with over 10 years of experience in hotel investments and asset management, he has held roles across institutional platforms, most recently at Peregrine Hospitality (and its predecessor, KSL Resorts). Prior to KSL, Mr. Ulnick worked for Hotel Asset Value Enhancement (HotelAVE) as a senior director. Mr. Ulnick earned a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.

Billy Shen

Senior Director Asset Management

Mr. Shen serves as Senior Director - Asset Management and is responsible for overseeing the performance of a cross section of the company’s portfolio. With over 10 years of experience, he has held asset management roles across institutional platforms including Trinity Investments, HotelAVE and JLL. He has worked with all hotel asset classes in both urban and resort locations. Mr. Shen earned a Bachelor of Science from the Pennsylvania State University in Hospitality Management.

Chris Ng

Vice President – Acquisitions

Mr. Ng began his hospitality career in property operations, working at various New York City hotels, including the Waldorf-Astoria, Roosevelt Hotel, and Thompson LES. Prior to joining Waramaug, he performed underwriting, due diligence, and asset management for New Gables Capital, a private commercial real estate bridge lender, as a part of their originations team. Mr. Ng holds a B.S. in Hospitality and Tourism Management and a M.S. in Real Estate Finance from New York University.

Amy Swindell

Investor Relations and Accounting Manager

Ms. Swindell was a corporate accounting manager and consultant at Interstate Hotels & Resorts prior to joining Waramaug’s accounting and finance team in 2020, She has over 25 years of experience in corporate and public accounting, including positions at Ciraden, Perot Systems, and Deloitte. Ms. Swindell has a Bachelor of Science with a Concentration in Accounting from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.