Building the Leadership Team for a North American Hospitality & Real Estate Investment Platform

HPG Advisory Services partnered with a leading European family office to establish the leadership team for a new North American hospitality and real estate investment platform. The appointment of a founding Partner enabled the business to move rapidly from investment strategy to execution, supporting acquisitions across the United States and laying the foundations for long-term growth.

At a Glance

Client
European Family Office

Sector
Hospitality & Real Estate Investment

Geography
United States & Caribbean

Investment Strategy
€500m+ Initial Equity Allocation

Assignment
Partner

Focus
Platform Launch & Investment Growth

Strategic Challenge

Our client is a Europe-based family office with more than 30 years of international investment experience, managing a multi-billion-euro real estate portfolio across Europe, North America and Africa.

With an established track record of backing entrepreneurial businesses and scaling investment platforms, the client was preparing to launch a new North American investment platform headquartered in the United States. The strategy centred on an initial equity allocation of more than €500 million, targeting opportunities across the hotel, hospitality and alternative living sectors throughout the United States and Caribbean.

Rather than recruiting into an existing organisation, the client required a senior executive capable of helping build a business from inception.

The successful individual would work alongside the board to establish the platform's investment capability, originate transactions, develop market relationships and implement the governance and operating disciplines required to support long-term growth.

Given the strategic significance of the initiative, the client sought an executive search partner with specialist expertise across hospitality investment, real estate and platform build-outs.

Our Advisory Role

HPG Advisory Services worked closely with the board to define both the organisational structure and leadership profile required to launch a successful investment platform.

Our role extended beyond executive search to advising on the capabilities needed to create a scalable business capable of deploying institutional capital across multiple markets.

The search focused on executives with:

• Extensive transaction experience across North American real estate.
• A proven track record of investing across hospitality, hotels and alternative asset classes.
• Experience operating within entrepreneurial, investor-backed businesses.
• Strong relationships with owners, investors, lenders and operating partners.
• The commercial judgement and leadership capability to establish governance, investment discipline and scalable operating processes.

Leveraging our international network, we mapped and assessed senior investment professionals from private equity firms, institutional investors, owner-operators and hospitality real estate platforms throughout North America and Europe.

Executive Appointment

Following a retained international executive search, HPG Advisory Services successfully appointed a Founding Partner to work alongside the board in launching the North American investment platform.

The successful executive brought significant transaction experience, deep market knowledge and an entrepreneurial approach ideally suited to building a new investment business from the ground up.

Commercial Outcome

The appointment enabled the client to move rapidly from strategy to execution.

Since joining, the new Partner has helped to:

• Launch the North American investment platform.
• Execute hotel and multi family acquisitions across the United States.
• Build an active investment portfolio spanning the hotel and co-living sectors.
• Establish governance, investment processes and organisational disciplines.
• Create a scalable platform positioned for long-term expansion throughout North America and the Caribbean.

The appointment provided the leadership foundation for what the client identified as its most significant international growth initiative.

Why This Engagement Matters

Launching an investment platform requires more than capital. Success depends on appointing leaders capable of executing transactions, establishing governance, building market credibility and creating an organisation that can scale over time.

This engagement demonstrates HPG Advisory Services' ability to advise family offices, private equity firms and institutional investors on strategic leadership appointments that support platform creation, investment execution and long-term value creation. By combining organisational advisory with executive search, we helped establish the leadership capability required to transform an investment strategy into a fully operational business.

Related Expertise

This engagement reflects HPG Advisory Services' expertise across:

• Family Offices & Institutional Investors
• Hospitality Investment
• Hotel Real Estate
• Executive Leadership Search
• Investment Platform Build-Outs
• Private Equity
• Asset Management
• Board & Partner Appointments