Biography
Alan Kanders ’87 led hospitality equity and debt investments totaling more than $200 million at Three Wall Capital on behalf of institutional and individual investors. These transactions include the 30-room Five Diamond, Five Star Mayflower Inn & Spa in Washington, Connecticut, which the firm operates, and the 200-room Buckingham Hotel redevelopment at 57th Street and Sixth Avenue in New York City.
From 1997 to 2008, Kanders was a managing director in the global real estate group at Lehman Brothers, where he originated approximately $8 billion in hospitality equity and debt transactions. He has worked with leading hospitality sponsors, operators and franchisors, including Marriott International, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Gencom Group, Hampshire Hotels & Resorts and Highgate Holdings, on acquisitions, new construction, recapitalization, redevelopment and brand development. In 2007, Kanders led the restructuring and sale of Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts, one of the largest hotel restructurings to date.
Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Kanders was vice president of development for Wingate Inns, where he developed more than 100 hotels. Earlier in his career, he developed a gaming facility in Barbados and worked on efforts to expand Hard Rock Cafe into the former Soviet Union. He also served as vice president of development for North America and the Caribbean for Rank Plc, a European gaming company.
Kanders earned a Bachelor of Science in hotel administration from the School of Hotel Administration (now the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration) at Cornell University.