New York, NY -- Leading hospitality investment banking firm RobertDouglas announced the promotion of two senior members of the firm to the level of Managing Director. Evan Hurd, based in New York, and Christopher Ropko, based in San Francisco, have each contributed significantly to the firm's rapid growth working as advisors to private and institutional clients throughout North America.

"I am delighted to welcome Chris and Evan to the highest rank of our leadership team," said Robert Stiles, Managing Director and co-founder of RobertDouglas. "They have each helped establish RobertDouglas as one of the leading hospitality transaction advisory firms in the nation. Douglas Hercher, Managing Director and co-founder of RobertDouglas added that "these promotions mark a milestone in their careers and evidence the depth of talent within RobertDouglas."

Evan Hurd focuses on advising clients in the sale, financing, and joint venture capitalization of institutional-quality hotel properties and portfolios throughout North America. Recent transactions led by Mr. Hurd include the sales of the 70 Park Avenue Hotel and Jade Hotel in Manhattan, the sale of the Ames Hotel in Boston, arranging the sale and subsequent financing of the Tarrytown House Estate on the Hudson in Tarrytown, New York, and advising in the restructuring of a significant hotel portfolio in New York City.

Prior to joining RobertDouglas in 2013, Mr. Hurd served as an acquisitions officer at Barings Real Estate Advisers (f.k.a. Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers), where he was involved in over $750 million of hotel acquisitions on behalf of a closed-end discretionary fund, Mass Mutual Financial Group, and other separate-account clients. Prior to that role, Mr. Hurd was a Director of Acquisitions at HEI Hotels & Resorts, and involved in numerous value-add transactions on behalf of HEI Hospitality Funds II & III. Mr. Hurd is a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and is a regular speaker at industry events.

Christopher Ropko specializes in raising debt and equity capital at the property, portfolio, and entity level for private and institutional clients. Recent transactions led by Mr. Ropko include the $820 million Denihan/Pebblebrook Joint Venture restructuring, the record-setting sale of the Capella Hotel in Washington, D.C., and the $670 million refinancing of a national portfolio of Courtyard by Marriott Hotels.

Prior to joining RobertDouglas at the firm's inception, Mr. Ropko was a portfolio manager at PIMCO focusing on public and private commercial real estate investments through the $2.4 billion Bank Recapitalization and Value Opportunities (BRAVO) Fund I at PIMCO. Prior to that, Mr. Ropko was an associate at Goldman Sachs in the Merchant Banking Division where he focused on hotel investments through the Whitehall series of real estate private equity funds. Mr. Ropko is a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and is a regular speaker at industry events.

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RobertDouglas is a real estate investment banking firm with offices in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco that specializes in the sale, financing and equity capitalization of hotel, resort and gaming properties throughout North America. Founded by two of the hotel industry's pre-eminent finance professionals, Rob Stiles and Doug Hercher, RobertDouglas offers exceptional domestic and international institutional investor and lender relationships. RobertDouglas combines the capital markets sophistication of top-tier investment banks with detailed hotel underwriting and asset management experience, providing the firm with unique capabilities in an underserved market. For more information, contact [email protected] or go to www.robert-douglas.com.

Douglas Hercher
Managing Director & Principal
+1 (212) 993-7424

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