Mr. Mankarios

Atef Mankarios

President

Mankarios Partnership

Atef Mankarios is considered one of the most renowned and respected professionals in the luxury hospitality industry. Over the course of more than three decades, Mr. Mankarios has established an outstanding reputation as a pioneer, a visionary and a business leader who has developed iconic brands and properties, as well as redefined the prevailing concepts of personal experience, personalized service, residential hospitality, elegance and sophistication and, above all, "sense of place." He believes that a hotel must embody and convey a unique character, which encompasses ambiance, architecture, environment and, most importantly, inspired service, enduring style and creative amenities.

Mr. Mankarios' guiding philosophy is that excellence is not an aspiration, but an ongoing commitment, and that to achieve and sustain excellence is a practice, not a belief, and that no aspect of the hospitality experience is ever trivial or inconsequential. He has a built a reputation for creating and operating the finest hospitality products in the marketplace, as well as for achieving exceptional financial results and maximizing asset value, which represents a combination of disciplines that are often elusive and antithetical.

Currently, Mr. Mankarios is head of the Dallas-based Mankarios Partnership, a leading visionary provider of asset management and technical services for the world's finest independent hotels and resorts. Mr. Mankarios formed the company in January 2004, after stepping down as President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Regis Hotels and Resorts.

Born and raised in Egypt, Mr. Mankarios began his hospitality career in 1970 when he moved to Paris and, subsequently, to other cities in Europe and in Canada, taking on various entry level positions in hotels and resorts, in order to absorb every facet of hotel operations. As his experience grew, Mr. Mankarios' performance distinguished him in the industry, and he was subsequently engaged in various senior management positions by both Four Seasons Hotels and Sonesta International.

After joining Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, Inc., in 1985, Mr. Mankarios became managing director of The Remington on Post Oak Park in Houston and, two years later, was transferred to The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas. As managing director, Mr. Mankarios is credited with The Mansion's transformation from a four-star hotel to its five-star standing as well as its 1991 ranking as "Number One Hotel in the United States" by Zagat's US Travel Survey.

In 1989, Mr. Mankarios was appointed president and chief executive officer of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, Inc., a position which he subsequently held for almost ten years. During his tenure with Rosewood, Mr. Mankarios was the driving force behind the renowned management company's dynamic growth and development, and most importantly, created its incomparable standards of excellence and entrepreneurial management philosophy.

He was responsible for building one of the most esteemed, acclaimed and profitable luxury management companies in the hospitality industry, as well as for developing a preeminent portfolio of iconic international luxury properties. He oversaw the creation, development and management of some of the world's most prestigious hotels, including The Lanesborough in London (now a St. Regis), Hotel Bel Air in Los Angeles, Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Los Cabos, Mexico, Rosewood's Caribbean properties, which included Caneel Bay, La Sammana and Little Dix Bay, as well as developments in Indonesia, Japan, the Middle East and Panama.

In 1998 Mr. Mankarios realized his entrepreneurial dream when he left Rosewood to form Foresthills Hotels & Resorts, an international hotel management company that specialized in residential-style luxury properties. Foresthills Hotels & Resorts developed, managed, operated and provided technical services for various luxury properties in the United States as well as in Barbados, Egypt, France, Italy, Monaco, Spain and Turkey.

In August 2001, Foresthills and its entire senior management team was acquired by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., and Mr. Mankarios was appointed president and chief executive officer of the company's St. Regis Hotels & Resorts brand. Mr. Mankarios' mandate was to establish St. Regis Hotels & Resorts as the foremost luxury hotel company in the world. The stature that St. Regis now enjoys in the luxury segment of the hotel and resort market, and its new development projects under construction, is a testament to how well the mandate was executed.

Since leaving St. Regis and forming the Mankarios Partnership in 2004, Mr. Mankarios has brought together some of the industry's most notable and successful hotel executives to lead the developing, planning, operating, managing and marketing of some of the finest independent hotels and resorts worldwide.

The Mankarios Partnership formed a business relationship with Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts in 2004. In September 2004, the Mankarios Partnership was engaged as the management company of the Kona Village Resort and as the asset manager of Las Ventanas al Paraiso, which are both owned by Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts. The Mankarios Partnership also serves as the Manager for the historic San Ysidro Ranch, and provides asset management services for the Four Seasons New York as well as the Four Seasons Biltmore, Santa Barbara. Each of the aforementioned properties is owned by Ty Warner Hotels & Resorts. In addition, The Mankarios Partnership has been engaged to provide development, planning, operational and service concepts, as well as technical assistance, for the inn and spa on Bay Creek, a 100 room exclusive resort and residential development on the Chesapeake Bay, as well as Cornelia Day Spa on 5th Avenue in New York.

Mr. Mankarios holds a Bachelor of Arts and an L.L.B. in law, and completed courses at Cornell University School of Hotel Management. In addition to English, he speaks Arabic, Dutch and French. Mr. Mankarios is past-chairman of the board of Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., a prestigious association of more than 120 independent luxury hotels, and was also a member of the board of the exclusive World Travel & Tourism Council. He frequently lectures internationally on various aspects of the luxury hospitality industry, and has delivered the commencement address to the graduating classes at the Cornell School of Hotel Management and the Hilton Hotel School, as well as moderates panel discussions and participates in as many industry events as his travel schedule will permit. Mr. Mankarios lives in Dallas, Texas.

Mr. Mankarios can be contacted at atef@mankarios.com