To expand its portfolio and capital partner alliances, Meyer Jabara Hotels has hired Ian McAuley as chief investment officer. In this newly-created position, McAuley will source acquisition opportunities, equity investors, debt financing and third-party management contracts. His 30 years of extensive publicly-traded and privately-held real estate experience and hands-on hotel development, operations and ownership expertise will set the course for continued growth and profitability.
“Good things really do come to those who wait,” said Meyer Jabara Hotels President Justin Jabara. “Ian is the rainmaker we have been searching for—for well over a year. He spent his career raising capital from kitchen tables to Wall Street, co-founded a management company, operated hotels and knows where the money is made. His breadth of experience is profoundly unique in this space. With Ian running the investment side of our business, we can focus more closely on operations, profitability and growth. We welcome him aboard.”
McAuley will relocate from Toronto to the company’s office in West Palm Beach, Fla. Short term, he will focus on getting to know the people, culture and operating practices that drive margins and reap investment returns. Midterm, he will speak to the investment community about MJH’s vast differentiators and focus on securing sources of capital. Long term, McAuley will seek out capital partners that don’t know about MJH and introduce them to the company’s fundamental principles and buy/develop assets to add to the portfolio.
“Meyer Jabara Hotels' outstanding 47 year track-record of hotel ownership and third-party management coupled with my complementary history of hospitality capital markets and investment background will resonate with those fundamental real estate investors seeking exposure to the lodging sector within their real estate portfolios by partnering with time-tested, best-in-class management teams," McAuley told Hotel Management.
Over the years, McAuley has incorporated more than $2 billion in real estate transactions across North America. His extensive corporate finance experience with private equity and institutional capital partners includes more than 100 ground-up developments and acquisitions, along with several initial public offerings. He also has been instrumental in the growth and expansion of numerous international hospitality companies.
McAuley's prior posts include co-founder, CEO, president and director of VM Hotel Acquisition Corp., where he was successful in raising $100 million at the company’s IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange; Canadian president of Aimbridge Hospitality, where he more than tripled the number of Canadian hotel management agreements during his first six months; president of American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP; president and COO of Superior Lodging Corp.; co-founder and executive vice president of Royop Hospitality Corp.; and co-founder and vice president of InnVentures Hospitality Corp.
McAuley is a graduate of the University of Toronto – ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program and holds a Dipl T Hospitality, a bachelor of arts and an MBA. He is a long-standing board member of Northern Vision Development LP, current board member and executive of The Musical Stage Co., former two-term director of the Hotel Association of Canada and was a board member of Hilton Hotels Advisory Board, Hallmark Properties Ltd., Airline Hotels and Resorts Ltd., and Theatre Calgary.
“Timing is everything,” McAuley said. “Family-owned and operated companies like Meyer Jabara Hotels that span three generations are the ones that are successful. I’m honored that they were not afraid to let a visionary like me in. I look forward to being immersed in the exceptional MJ culture and articulating the MJ success story to the institutional investment community to achieve the company’s vision."