CHICAGO, Ill. – June 9, 2016 – Kokua Hospitality, LLC, a hotel management firm based in Chicago, today announced that the company’s Board of Directors has named Kirk Pederson as the company’s President, effective immediately. Simultaneously, the firm declares its decision to relocate the corporate headquarters from Chicago to San Francisco, a strategic move to align resources with its sister company, Chartres Lodging Group, LLC, and to enhance its presence on the West Coast. ”We are not only excited to move Kokua to San Francisco, we are thrilled to have Kirk in this role of President at Kokua Hospitality because he specializes in business development, operations, and asset management. His diverse background in both the public and private sectors has resulted in the direct oversight of over $5 billion of independent and branded hotels & resorts throughout the United States and Mexico,” said Rob Kline, Co-Chairman of Kokua Hospitality and CEO of Chartres Lodging. “With more than 25 years of hospitality experience, he is the perfect person to oversee all corporate initiatives with a specific focus on growth and owner relations.” In his previous role, Pederson was responsible for all new acquisitions, operations and asset management for Chartres Lodging. Prior to joining the San Francisco-based Chartres Lodging, he spearheaded acquisitions and asset management for West Coast and Hawaii lodging investments on behalf of Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds, Prime Property Fund and Morgan Stanley separate accounts. He also spent 10 years in various development and asset management roles with American General Hospitality, MeriStar Hospitality Corp. and Interstate Hotels & Resorts. A member of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association, Pederson received a Bachelor of Science from the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at The University of Nevada Las Vegas. ”We have extensive experience operating and developing properties across the U.S. and are dedicated to expanding our West Coast managed portfolio,” stated Pederson. We are delighted to move Kokua to San Francisco later this summer as it allows us the opportunity to deepen the strategic relationship and collaborative culture between Kokua Hospitality and Chartres Lodging Group. I look forward to working together to find operational synergies.” In partnership with Chartres Lodging, a hotel investment and advisory company, Kokua Hospitality maintains a portfolio of high-performing and well-situated hotels in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Hawaii, Long Beach, Houston, and San Francisco. The new San Francisco headquarters will house departments including: Development, Operations, Human Resources & Accounting. Phil Tufano, Partner and Chief Operating Officer at Kokua Hospitality will continue to oversee all operations for the firm. The remaining Kokua Hospitality team, comprised of operations associates, will remain in Chicago and in the field. To learn more, please visit KokuaHospitality.com.
