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James J. Graves, CEO
James is the driving force behind
graves|hotels.resorts.
and has enjoyed over 25 years of
success in the hospitality industry
due to his innovation, foresight and
tenacity. His passion for Real
Estate has resulted in an impressive
portfolio of over 90 varied and
successful projects. Dedicated to
improving lives both within his
company and beyond has propelled
James to serve on numerous
non-profit boards, including the
United Way of Central Minnesota, St.
Benedicts Development Board,
Partners Across Boarders
International, the Salvation Army
Relief Board and the International
Lodging Association Board.
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Benjamin J. Graves, President
Benjamin directly oversees the operations of all graves|hotels.resorts. projects and is responsible for concept innovation, design direction, development execution and operational strategy. Actively involved in the hospitality industry for over 12 years, Benjamin has overseen, from inception to fruition, the development of 6 hotels and has led full remodeling projects of 7 other hotel properties. Benjamin’s operations experience includes over 6 years as General Manager and VP of Operations. This property-level operations experience positions him with a unique leadership edge in the design and development process. Benjamin is also responsible for advancing the expansion plans of Graves'-branded properties and development projects through securing debt and equity financing. Benjamin serves on the Metro State University Hospitality Program Board, Warehouse District Association Board, and Safe City Committee for Minneapolis. He has been an adjunct faculty member at Metro State University, Minneapolis.
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Sam Myers, Vice President, Finance
Sam directs the financial and
accounting functions for
graves|hotels.resorts. and its
numerous related companies. With
over 28 years of financial and
accounting experience in various
industries and public accounting
firms, Sam is an exceptional
resource on financial and
operational issues. Sam is the
company’s primary contact on
banking, legal, accounting and
insurance matters; he leads the
financial strategy in the
development and construction
processes for hotel and mixed-use
building projects. Sam serves the
community through his involvement in
several charitable causes including
leadership positions as Treasurer
for multiple non-profit
organizations.
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Scott Fischburg, Vice President,
Marketing and Sales
Scott is responsible for developing
and implementing all sales and
marketing strategies for Graves
Hospitality properties in the U.S.
Most recently, Fischburg served as
the company's Midwest Regional
Director of Sales & Marketing. With
more than 30 years of travel
industry sales experience, Fischburg
has served in executive-level
positions at several major hotel
companies, offering an aggressive,
proactive and detailed approach to
sales and marketing initiatives.
Adept at penetrating corporate,
association, government, and
marketing segments, Fischburg was
responsible for generating revenues
in both North America and Europe for
Radisson Hotels & Resorts and ITT
Sheraton prior to joining Graves
Hospitality in 2002.
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Shawn Nayyar, Vice President, Hotel
Operations
Shawn most recently served as
Midwest Regional Director of Hotel
Operations for Graves Hospitality,
serving on special task force teams
during hotel openings, conversions
and rebrandings. Shawn is
responsible for developing and
implementing the company's overall
operational strategies, policies and
procedures, as well as guiding the
property-level management of rooms
and food and beverage divisions.
Nayyar's extensive knowledge of
operational execution is due to his
20-plus years of hospitality
experience.
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Jetse Pottinga, Vice President, Operations
Jetse’s hospitality career spans nearly 30 years. He has held positions with many of the hotel industry's most well-known brands. Most recently, Jetse was Regional Vice President, Full-Service Hotels for Minneapolis-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide. In this position, he had responsibility over brands such as Regent, Radisson and Park Plaza hotels. As Vice President of Operations for Commonwealth Hospitality, he was responsible for the operations and profitability for 28 hotels under the Crowne Plaza, Radisson and Holiday Inn brands. Jetse began his career as a guest service manager at a Holiday Inn hotel in Frankfurt, Germany.
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Tom Gallagher, Corporate Controller
Tom pilots the back office systems
for graves|hotels.resort. He
executes behind the scenes support
and control systems that assist the
operation and revenue team’s
success. Tom assists in opening
Accounting and Human Resource task
force teams for
graves|hotels.resorts. projects. He
has over 25 years of executive level
hospitality experience, and has
served on the Local 17, Health
Welfare and Pension Trust Fund.
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Stephen Trojahn, Executive Chef
Stephen Trojahn is the Corporate Executive Chef for Graves Hotels Resorts overseeing all food and beverage operations at the company’s owned and managed properties. In this role, he is also Executive Chef of Cosmos restaurant in the Graves 601 Hotel Minneapolis. Chef Trojahn has nearly 20 years of professional experience that spans fine-dining establishments in the U.S., Jamaica and Puerto Rico. He served as the Executive Chef of the Daufuskie Island Resort in South Carolina, the renowned ‘21’ Club in New York City, and The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch on Beaver Creek Mountain in Colorado. During his tenure with The Ritz-Carlton organization, he also held chef positions at hotels in Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Florida. Throughout his career, Chef Trojahn has received many honors and awards, including Golden Fork and Bronze Fork awards from the Gourmet Diners Society of North America; a JD Powers’ ranking that rated the restaurant within The Ritz-Carlton San Juan #5 in the company worldwide; a feature in The Great Chefs of Puerto Rico Cookbook; appearances in local and national magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times; and television appearances, including a cooking segment on NBC’s Today Show. In addition to his career responsibilities, Chef Trojahn remains active in local and national charity events for Children’s Home Society and Share Our Strength.
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