Rúben Paula has been appointed as Director of Asset Management & Investment for Southern Europe at HVS
HVS Southern Europe, with offices in Athens, Milan, and Madrid, welcomes Rúben Paula as Head of Asset Management and Investment, strengthening its regional platform and expanding its capacity to deliver specialized advisory services across Southern Europe.
Paula brings over 25 years of international experience in hotel operations, asset repositioning, and business transformation across Europe, the Caribbean, and Africa. He has held senior leadership roles with organizations including Cedargate, MGM Muthu Hotels, Hipoges (KKR fund platform), JJW Hotels & Resorts, Altis Group, and Vila Galé Hotels, and has served as COO overseeing portfolios of more than 50 hotels. He also serves as a board advisor to several family offices, supporting owners, investors, and institutional funds on asset strategy, repositioning, feasibility, and value creation.
Paula holds an MSc in International Hotel Management from the University of Surrey and is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. He is a professor of Business Strategy Management, Hotel Development, and Strategic Marketing Management on several Master's and General Management programmes, and is the former Vice President of both the Algarve Hotel Owners Association (AHETA) and the Algarve Tourism Bureau (ATA).
He will work in close cooperation with Managing Director Demetris Spanos and Senior Director Ezio Poinelli across the firm's Southern European offices.
Rúben Paula is an alumnus of University of Surrey | School of Hospitality and Tourism Management – Class of 2009.