Meet Xenia

Marcel Verbaas is our Chair and Chief Executive Officer. Previous to this role, Mr. Verbaas served as President and Chief Executive Officer with Xenia or its affiliated entities from 2007 until November 2017. Mr. Verbaas has also served as a director of Xenia since August 2014 and was elected Chair in November 2017. From December 2004 to the successful sale of the company in April 2007, Mr. Verbaas was Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for CNL Hotels & Resorts, Inc., a real estate investment trust. In that capacity, he was responsible for the company’s investment activities, acquisitions and dispositions. Mr. Verbaas served as Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for CNL Retirement Corporation from June 2003 to December 2004, during which time he oversaw more than $2.5 billion in acquisitions in the seniors housing and medical office segments. From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Verbaas held the positions of Vice President of Real Estate Finance and Senior Vice President of Project Finance with CNL Hospitality Corporation, the former advisor to CNL Hotel and Resorts, Inc. Prior to joining CNL in 2000, Mr. Verbaas served as Director of Corporate Finance for Stormont Trice Development Corporation, a private hotel development company. Mr. Verbaas also held positions in real estate finance with GE Capital Corporation and Ocwen Financial Corporation where he primarily focused on the financing of lodging properties. Mr. Verbaas received his Master’s Degree in Business Economics from Erasmus University of Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Barry Bloom, Ph.D. is our President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Bloom held the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer with Xenia or its affiliated entities from July 2013 until November 2017 when he was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, Mr. Bloom is responsible for direct oversight of the asset management and project management functions as well as a variety of strategic and operational corporate functions of Xenia. From July 2011 to June 2013, Mr. Bloom served as an Associate Professor of the Practice in the School of Hospitality Administration at Boston University and from July 2010 to June 2011, Mr. Bloom served as an Instructor in the School of Hospitality Leadership at DePaul University. From 2008 to 2011, Mr. Bloom co-founded and was a Principal of Abacus Lodging Investors LLC, a hotel investment and advisory firm. Prior to pursuing an academic career, Mr. Bloom worked for a variety of leading hotel investment firms, most recently as Executive Vice President of Portfolio Management & Administration with CNL Hotels & Resorts, Inc. from 2003 to 2007, where he was responsible for oversight of the company’s $6.6 billion portfolio. Prior to CNL, he served as Vice President – Investment Management for Hyatt Hotels Corporation from 2000 to 2003. In addition, Mr. Bloom has worked for Tishman Hotel & Realty, VMS Realty Partners, and Pannell Kerr Forster (now CBRE Hotels). Mr. Bloom received his Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management as well as a Master of Business Administration degree from Cornell University and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Hospitality Management from Iowa State University.

Atish Shah has been Xenia’s Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since April 2016. Mr. Shah previously served as Senior Vice President – Strategy, Financial Planning & Analysis, and Investor Relations for Hyatt Hotels Corporation (“Hyatt”). He also served as Hyatt’s Interim Chief Financial Officer from April 2015 until March 2016. Prior to joining Hyatt in 2009, Mr. Shah served as a portfolio manager of a hospitality real estate private equity fund at Lowe Enterprises. From 1998 to 2007, he worked for Hilton Hotels Corporation in a variety of roles.  Prior to that he was an associate in the hospitality consulting practice of Coopers & Lybrand, LLP (n/k/a PwC). Mr. Shah serves on the Board of Directors of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. and Visit Orlando. He earned an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Management in Hospitality from Cornell University, and B.S. with Honors from Cornell University.

Shamir Kanji is our Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Kanji joined the company in 2012 and served as the Company’s Vice President of Investments from 2015-2021 and most recently  served as the Senior Vice President of Investments. Mr. Kanji’s primary responsibility is overseeing acquisitions, dispositions, and strategic reinvestment analysis.  Previously, Mr. Kanji was a Senior Financial Analyst with CNL Financial Group from 2010-2012 with focused responsibilities on Corporate Finance, Debt Capital Markets, Asset Management and Acquisitions.  Prior to CNL, Mr. Kanji was an Analyst with Tishman Hotel & Realty from 2007-2010 in Asset Management focusing on the Orlando & Puerto Rico owned assets. Mr. Kanji received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Hospitality Administration/Management from the University of Central Florida, Rosen College of Hospitality Management.

Taylor C. Kessel is our Senior Vice President and General Counsel and serves as the company’s Secretary. Mr. Kessel joined the company in January 2015. In this role, Mr. Kessel is responsible for managing the legal affairs of Xenia and its affiliates, including corporate governance, compliance with securities regulations, acquisitions and dispositions, loan transactions, litigation management, and providing legal support to the asset management and project management teams. Previously, Mr. Kessel served as Corporate Counsel for Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc., a publicly traded restaurant company and the operator of Ruth’s Chris Steak House, from 2011 through 2014. Prior to Ruth’s, Mr. Kessel served as Corporate Counsel for CNL Lifestyle Properties, a public REIT that invests in income-producing properties with a focus on lifestyle-related industries. Mr. Kessel is a member of the Florida Bar and a graduate of University of Florida Frederick G. Levin College Of Law and holds a Masters of Science in Real Estate and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management both from the Warrington College of Business at University of Florida.

Joseph T. Johnson is our Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer and has held his position since May 2015. In this role, Mr. Johnson has primary responsibility of overseeing accounting, SEC financial reporting and taxation. Previously, Mr. Johnson served as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of CNL Healthcare Properties, Inc. and CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc., each of which are public non-listed REITS. Prior to this, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of both of these entities after serving as Vice President of Financial Reporting for CNL Hotels & Resorts, Inc. a public non-listed lodging REIT. Mr. Johnson began his career in the audit practice of KPMG LLP. He is a graduate of the University of Central Florida and has a Masters in Accounting from the Kenneth G. Dixon School of Accounting at the University of Central Florida.