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.

Rae Salling

Executive Vice President – Asset Management

Ms. Salling is Waramaug Hospitality’s Executive Vice President of Asset Management. She maintains oversight of the operating performance of the company’s hotel portfolio and is the principal liaison with the operating teams of the respective management companies. She brings over 20 years of successful hotel operations experience, holding prior senior executive positions at Interstate Hotels and Resorts and Alliance Hospitality. She maintains broad experience with all major brands and has been certified as a Marriott and Hilton operator. Ms. Salling attended the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

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.

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.

Ken Rego

Director – Acquisitions

Mr. Rego joined Waramaug as a financial analyst on the acquisitions team. He has held analytical and managerial positions in various industries, including private banking and law. Mr. Rego received his Bachelor’s degree from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and his MBA in Financial Management from Pace 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.

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.