Atlanta, Georgia (January 5, 2021) – Today, Noble Investment Group (“Noble”) announced senior management appointments as the firm enters its twenty-eighth year as a leading real estate investment manager. Ben Brunt has been named Chief Investment Officer, Jim Conley has been named Chief Compliance Officer, and George Dabney has joined the firm as Chief Financial Officer. Together with longstanding Noble principals, Adi Bhoopathy, Executive Vice President of Capital Markets, Kevin Grass, Executive Vice President of Development, and Steven Nicholas, Executive Vice President of Asset Management, they have each been named to Noble’s Management and Investment Committees.
“Noble’s diverse and cycle-tested team has been together an average of nearly twenty years and has helped us achieve industry-leading investment performance with a fully-realized track record spanning multiple decades,” said Mit Shah, Noble CEO. “We remain committed to investing in our next generation of leadership as we advance our growth and ensure our lasting success.”
Ben Brunt joined Noble in 2005 and has helped develop and lead the organizations’ highly successful team responsible for investment sourcing, research, due diligence, and execution across its institutional platforms.
“Ben is a driven, results-oriented leader who has been instrumental in guiding our value-creating investment efforts. Having worked closely with him for over sixteen years, I am confident that he will continue to provide strong judgment and diligent stewardship as we broaden the depth and breadth of our investment strategies,” said Shah.
“I am proud of our team at Noble and the success we have achieved together over many years,” said Brunt. “I am honored and excited to continue to work closely with Mit and my colleagues as we maintain our disciplined approach in performing and providing for our investors while making an impact on the communities in which we live, work, play, and stay.”
Jim Conley joined Noble in 2006 as Chief Financial Officer. In his new role, he will oversee the administration of the firm’s regulatory and compliance function. He will also support the data collection and measurement of Noble’s environmental, social, and governance initiatives along with the firm’s duties as a signatory to the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment.
“Well-informed and profitable investment decisions which incorporate sustainability, community stewardship, and good governance have been Noble core values since our founding,” said Shah. “Jim and our entire team remain deeply committed to promoting strategies that help us make a measurable difference.”
“I look forward to supporting Noble’s longstanding commitment to ESG while continuing to enhance our reputation as a leading real estate investment manager and fiduciary,” said Conley.
George Dabney joins Noble’s team as a Principal and Chief Financial Officer. Since 2001, George has served as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Brookfield Hotel Properties (formerly known as Thayer Lodging), the hospitality platform for Brookfield, a $575 billion global alternative asset manager, where he was a member of the firm’s Investment Committee and had primary responsibility for financial administration, treasury, and investor relations. George earned his MBA in Financial Management from the University of Maryland, holds a BA in Accounting from Penn State University and started his career at Ernst & Young as a CPA. In 2019, Penn State’s School of Hospitality Management honored him with their Alumni of the Year Award.
“George is a highly respected leader with a strong track record of financial oversight, business strategy, and investor relations,” said Shah. “Throughout his impactful career, he has been instrumental in developing and implementing initiatives which have created new businesses, expanded assets under management, and helped to deliver strong investment performance.”
“I am thrilled to join Noble’s team of outstanding professionals and support the firms’ endeavors to accelerate innovation and organizational growth,” said Dabney. “Noble’s combination of hospitality expertise, investment track record, and world-class institutional partners are unmatched in our industry.”
