McKibbon Hospitality has appointed Matthew Ram as senior vice president of acquisitions and promoted James Merrihew to senior asset manager as the company expands its focus to include hotel acquisitions and new development projects in addition to third-party management.
“Well respected and connected industry leaders, Matthew and James will be instrumental in guiding our overall strategy and ensuring the performance of our newly acquired and McKibbon-owned assets," McKibbon Equities President J.B. McKibbon said in a statement.
Matthew Ram
Ram is responsible for managing deal sourcing, underwriting and investment analysis, acquisitions, dispositions, asset management, transaction support and investor relations. He returns to McKibbon in this new role having joined the company in 2019 as vice president of acquisitions before taking on a SVP of acquisitions role with Peachtree Hotel Group.
Ram was an investment manager for the Tampa-based commercial real estate investment, development and management company Liberty Group, where he oversaw real estate investment activity, conducting investment analysis and financial planning. He has also held financial analyst positions with companies including J.J. Haines and Co., Wells Fargo and The John Hopkins Hospital.
James Merrihew
Merrihew, who joined McKibbon in 2021 as asset manager, is responsible for monitoring and assessing the overall performance of 18 McKibbon-owned hotel properties, nine restaurant concepts, 11 vacation rentals, as well as office buildings and parking decks throughout the southeastern United States. In his new role, he is analyzing revenue and management data to implement a wide range of positioning strategies aimed at ensuring each asset maximizes their potential, including the execution of capital improvements and renovations.
Before joining McKibbon, Merrihew held a range of on-property hotel operations roles with White Lodging including assistant general manager of the 422-room, dual-branded Aloft-Element Austin Downtown. While working as GM of the Hilton Garden Inn Salt Lake City Airport, Merrihew was elected to White Lodging’s President Council in 2018 and 2019 based on overall performance metrics.