Kevin Davis Named JLL Hotels and Hospitality Americas CEO
By Andrew Coen December 15, 2021 7:00 am
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JLL has promoted Kevin Davis to Americas CEO of its hotels and hospitality division, Commercial Observer can first report.
A 20-year veteran of the hospitality industry and capital markets, Davis has been involved with more than $20 billion of hotel financing since arriving at JLL in 2013.
Prior to JLL, Davis worked in the commercial real estate groups at Merrill Lynch and UBS along with co-founding debt-fund business FundCore Finance Group following the 2008 financial crisis. He executed over $10 billion of transactions in hospitality, multifamily, retail, office and industrial assets in those pre-JLL commercial real estate roles.
“Having the ability to think holistically about a situation and provide advice that contemplates all potential paths to maximize value for our clients is key to maintaining our competitive advantage,” Gilda Perez-Alvarado, CEO of JLL’s hotels and hospitality global division, said in a statement. “Kevin brings a deep understanding of the entire capital structure and has been involved in every aspect of our business, including sales, financings, joint venture equity placement, restructurings, recapitalizations, loan sales and [Uniform Commercial Code] foreclosures.”
Before entering real estate finance, Davis worked as an attorney on Capitol Hill serving as a policy adviser to members of the House and Senate Banking Committees. He won the 2019 Jack A. Shaffer Financial Advisor of the Year Award at the American Lodging Investment Summit, which honors industry leaders that excel in fostering client relationships and closing deals that benefit both parties in a transaction.
JLL also announced Wednesday that Jeffrey Davis, a senior managing director, will oversee new business development for hotels and hospitality in the U.S. in addition to his current role as co-head of U.S. investment sales advisory. Davis will be particularly focused on deepening engagement and connectivity with JLL’s largest institutional clients.
“In a world where real estate investment is becoming more complex and lines are being blurred across asset classes, we recognize the importance of having a broader capital markets product offering for our hospitality clients,” Mark Gibson, CEO of JLL capital markets in the Americas, said in a statement.
JLL’s hotels and hospitality group spearheaded $83 billion in hotels and hospitality transactions worldwide over the past five years. The group’s 350-member global team, spread across 20 countries, has closed in excess of 7,350 advisory, valuation and asset management assignments.
Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com.
