Paul Nisbett is a high-performing senior hotel executive with over 20 years in the industry and a proven track record in the management and construction of financial services. Paul recently held the role of CFO of the Hotel Collection from April 2012 till February 2015, and was appointed as acting CEO to manage the group’s transition from Barceló to Puma Hotels Collection.

Whilst in this role, Paul was instrumental in establishing a focused entrepreneurial management team and repositioned the Hotel Collection as a leading four-star provincial hotel company.

Prior to joining the Hotel Collection, Paul spent four years at Principal Hayley Hotels, initially as Chief Operating Officer and then as Special Projects Director. This was preceded by five years as Commercial and Finance Director at Malmaison and Hotel Du Vin Hotels where he developed a six hotel, £150m business into a 28 hotel, £500m business in five years.

Paul’s earlier career included positions with Le Méridien Hotels, Forte and Hilton.

Casey joins Valor with over 26 years of hospitality experience. Prior to joining Valor, Casey worked for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in various executive leadership roles in the key cities of New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Atlantic City. Most recently, Casey served as Operations Manager for the new builds and transition team where he assisted in opening both full and select-service hotels for multiple Starwood brands.

Casey has a strong background in all aspects of operations, and he is a certified black belt in Six Sigma. At Starwood, he was a member of the Lean Hotel Operations Team, as well as a member of the Food & Beverage Council. Casey operated hotels under numerous brands, including Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, Aloft Hotels and Four Points where he worked in many different markets including convention, airport hotels, downtown and resort properties.

Casey holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Providence College.

With over 20 years of working in the hospitality industry, Jon has a wealth of experience in senior development and leadership roles, across various hotel brands. Jon joined the team at Valor following his most recent role at PPHE Hotel Group, where he held the position of Executive Vice President of Acquisitions & Development. Prior to that, Jon was Head of Development – UK and Ireland for InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®).

By focusing on great projects, with high quality partners and contracts, Jon works with Valor’s leadership team to strengthen the business’ position as the preferred management partner in the UK, Europe and beyond.

This includes leading the delivery of Valor’s growth strategy, identifying new opportunities and partnerships, to help our organisation reach its target of managing a quality portfolio of 60-plus hotels across the UK.

Jon is also passionate about sustainability and as part of his role, is working with Valor to seek further green investment opportunities, as well as aiming to provide a fully operational social impact supply chain within our hotels.

Brian joined the Valor team in August 2017 as Special Projects Manager. He possesses more than 15 years of hospitality experience in various roles and has a Bachelor's of Science degree in Business Management.

Beginning in August 2002, he joined Euan McGlashan at Barnsley Gardens Resort as a Guest Services Representative. Soon after joining Barnsley, Brian was promoted to a role assisting Euan with special projects and initiatives at the property. He also has experience with event planning, catering, and private country club management.

Brian’s role as Special Projects Manager at Valor focuses on the successful execution of tasks necessary to prepare new hotel properties for opening under Valor management. Brian utilizes exemplary communication and software skills to track project tasks and keep the team as a whole connected.

Michael joins Valor with over 29 years of Finance and Operational experience ranging from small private clubs to large, complex resorts as well as centralized corporate management experience. His successes have centered on focusing to create value in hospitality assets by conceiving and executing innovative strategies to drive revenue and EBITDA through a unique combination of expertise in finance, operations and sales and marketing. Michael started his career working in the highly complex and regulated Casino industry in Atlantic City, NJ, working his way quickly through the finance ranks, and after working at various resorts including the Boca Raton Resort & Club, Ostego Club & Resort and helped guide the sale of PGA National Resort to a private equity firm for a then record price for Palm Beach County, FL. After the sale, he moved into the corporate realm, guiding the finance team at Becker Lodging, Driftwood Hospitality and Pyramid Hotel Group. While at Becker, he oversaw the sale of The Paramount Hotel in NYC and while at Driftwood and Pyramid, he oversaw countless sales, purchases, receiverships and refinances with complex debt covenants and significant financial restrictions.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and Accounting from Villanova University. Michael was born and raised in the Philadelphia area and is a lifelong Philadelphia sports fan. On his days off, he enjoys golfing and going to the beach and is also involved in volunteer work with his local food bank and animal rescue.

Karli joined the Valor team in October 2022 supporting the Corporate Accounting team. She obtained her Bachelor of Science Degree from Kennesaw State University in Culinary, Sustainability, and Hospitality in December 2019 and is excited to finally be in the hospitality industry. In her free-time, she loves playing with her dog, making candles, and spending time with family.

With nearly 30 years of practical experience in some of the finest properties such as the Connaught, Berkeley and Stafford Hotels in London, Huka Lodge in New Zealand and ECHO Resorts in Sabah Borneo, Tomas is well poised to oversee the operations of Valor Asia. Tomas has a proven and solid 5-star hotel and resort upbringing with both branded and independent properties all around the world. Besides a sound operational understanding, Tomas brings with him the cultural knowledge of what it takes to successfully manage a multi-national human resource from around the world.

In January 2000, Tomas joined the famous Huka Lodge in New Zealand as General Manager. Huka Lodge is consistently rated amongst the best small luxury resorts in the world, and its attention to detail is second to none.

In 2009, Tomas began a new position which brought he and his family to East Malaysia. For the next nine years, he oversaw the operation of three luxury island resorts off the coast of Kota Kinabalu under the banner ECHO Resorts. Tomas also acted as the spokesperson for all sustainable practices within ECHO Resorts, especially the Marine Ecology Research Centre.

Having worked with different owners for the past 20 years, Tomas has learned the art of listening, negotiating and carrying out difficult tasks on behalf of owners. Harnessed with all this experience and understanding the importance of running a business on behalf of owners, as well as appreciation for staff and their different cultures, Tomas leads the Valor Asia operations.

McLean T. Wilson is a principal of Kemmons Wilson Companies, and in that role he provides oversight to the company’s hotel and real estate development interests.

He is President of Valor Hospitality Partners, our hotel management company based out of Atlanta, as well as the Chief Investment Officer of Kemmons Wilson Hospitality Partners, a hotel fund. And for the better part of the past decade, McLean co-led the redevelopment efforts of the 1.5 million square foot and $250 million Sears Crosstown Redevelopment Project in Memphis, now known as the award-winning Crosstown Concourse.

McLean’s professional board involvement includes Valor Hospitality Partners, Kemmons Wilson Hospitality Partners, as well as Billy Reid. He is also a former board member of the InterContinental Hotel Groups Owner’s Association, and was previously a chairman of the Revenue Performance Committee and Holiday Inn Committee (IAHI).

Kemmons ‘Kem’ Wilson, III joined KWC in 2005 as a Principal. He is currently the President of Kemmons Wilson Hospitality Partner Funds.

After college Kem grew his investment experience as a research analyst for a hedge fund of funds and as a financial analyst for an investment consulting firm.  He then spent two years working with the disabled community at a 501(c)(3) where he gained some invaluable life skills.

For his first couple years at KWC, Kem’s primary focus was on the company’s private investment endeavors.  He then transitioned to help build out KWC’s wealth preservation  functionality by focusing on the individual marketable securities portfolios for the family and a selection of Wilson-related corporate & charitable entities. With over 20 years of investment experience, Kem’s expertise in private equity initiatives and hospitality investment opportunities is instrumental throughout the KWC portfolio.

In addition to his seat at KWC, Kem serves on the Boards of Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Valor Hospitality Partners, Kemmons Wilson Hospitality Partners, Peak + Energy Solutions and Wilson Investment Management. He is actively involved in philanthropy as Chairman of the Board for Repairing the Breach and serves on the Board of Trustees for Furman University where he is the current Chairman of the Investment Committee.

Kem holds a BA in Business Administration from Furman, a Master of Management in Hospitality from Cornell and an MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell.

Michela’s career began at Sun International’s legendary Sun City Resort in South Africa’s North West Province where her passion for hospitality was truly ignited.

Between 2011 and 2014, Michela held the position of Revenue Manager at One & Only Cape Town where she was responsible for maximising revenues through analytical evaluation of market conditions, driving revenue generating projects, and preparing the annual budget. She also worked closely with the Sales and Marketing team on targeted campaigns.

These experiences have honed an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of the global, national, regional and local political and economic markets, demand generators, and opportunities for optimizing revenue growth in the hospitality sector.

Joep was born in the Netherlands, starting in the hotel trade at a young age, prior to completing his degree at the International Hotelschool in Leeuwarden. As part of this education, he completed his management traineeship at the then Dutch owned the Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West, South Africa, which is where he discovered a love this continent. Joep’s career in the hospitality industry has seen him specialising in restaurant projects, F&B management, hospitality real estate and hotel management. These roles were completed at a variety of companies, such as the Arabella Sheraton Westin Grand, Pam Golding Hospitality and the Table Bay Hotel, which included the opening of the Maslow Hotel in Johannesburg. Joining Valor South Africa from day one, he was first involved as GM for Spier in Stellenbosch before heading up operations for Valor which included the opening of the first voco in Africa in Johannesburg.

Joep lives in Cape Town with his wife, Samantha, and two daughters, Natasha and Isabella and enjoys sailing the oceans, as well as trail running in the mountains.

Christina grew up in Port Elizabeth where her hospitality roots were established as she helped in the family business. After graduating from UCT in ballet, where she pursued her passion for dance and a short stint working for a tour operator, she joined Cape Grace as a guest liaison. During her time there, she oversaw the full refurbishment programme and the building of the Spa. She was also part of the team which won Cape Grace Conde Nast Traveler’s Best Hotel in the World in 2000.

In 2008, she joined the opening team of One & Only Cape Town as EAM Rooms where she was instrumental in realizing international brand expectations in the South African environment. From 2010, Christina has been acting as an independent consultant to a number of projects and she is currently working on several projects for Valor Hospitality Africa.

Trish started her career in the financial field, which changed when she joined the Southern Sun Group of Hotels. In 1995, she joined the Cape Sun InterContinental team where she worked with Michael Pownall. During her time, she played an instrumental part in rebranding the hotel. During this rebrand, she found herself heading up the external catering contracts for the Southern Sun Group. Her dedication to projects saw her head the Southern Sun-Nederburg contract, which led to the opening of her own event company, specializing in large events.
In 2012, Trish joined Michael Pownall at the Taj Hotel in Cape Town, and continued to drive various projects under his leadership. Then in 2016, Trish joined Valor Hospitality Africa as part of the business development team and support role for the partners. Her tenacity for procedures and systems ensures she delivers the best to the team.

In her off time she loves the outdoors, travel and spending time with family and friends

Barry has known that the hospitality industry was where he should be since attending a career guidance event given by an “Old Boy” of the school he attended in King Williams Town, in the Eastern Cape. Barry has worked in Human Resources at both Group (Sodexo Southern Africa and Legacy Hotels & Resorts) and at Unit level, as Human Resources Manager at the prestigious Cape Grace Hotel. It was here that he rediscovered the “old-school” hospitality that he had dreamed of as a hotel school student. He still loves rolling up his sleeves and becoming “operational.” Barry's work passion lies in the areas or Organisational Development and Leadership.

Barry also holds a National Diploma - Hotel Management, a Bachelor of Commerce (Industrial Psychology and Business Management) and a post-graduate diploma in Futures Studies.