Matt Balcik

Responsible for Hotel Operations of directly managed hotels, Asset Management, and Shareholder Representation, as well as Hospitality Advisor to Pasha Real Estate. Portfolio of hotels directly managed and operated: * Marriott Hotel Baku Boulevard * Sheraton Baku Intourist * Courtyard by Marriott Baku * Pik Palace, Shahdag, Autograph Collection * Park Chalet, Shahdag, Autograph Collection * Bilgah Beach Hotel, Baku * The Merchant Baku, Baku * Boutique 19 Hotel, Baku * Art Gallery Hotel, Baku * Allium Villas Resort, Bodrum / Turkey, member of L.V.X. (Preferred Hotels & Resorts) * Yasemen Hotel, Shusha * Shusha Hotel & Conference Center, Shusha / Azerbaijan * Portonovi Montenegro Under development/construction: * ART Hotel, Tbilisi / Georgia Portfolio of hotels externally managed: * Four Seasons Hotel, Baku * JW Marriott Absheron, Baku * One & Only Portonovi, Montenegro * The Ritz-Carlton, Baku * The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Baku * Crescent Development Project, Baku (residences under The St. Regis brand) * The Ritz-Carlton, Tashkent (under construction) * Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum

Report directly to the Group Head of Operations, lead hospitality operations in the Red Sea Project and Amaala, the world's most ambitious regenerative tourism project: a luxury destination created around one of the world's hidden natural treasures. Managing portfolio of 6 owned and managed resorts spread out through Red Sea. Manage all aspects of our future owned and self-managed commercial properties by overseeing the definition of their identity, operational touchpoints, culture and standards for these new upcoming hotels and resorts. Work in close collaboration with the Asset Management team, to set the ground for a sophisticated operating environment for our future hotel partners by planning for every aspect of their operational and organizational needs. Ensure a smooth mobilization and provide them with efficient and cost-attractive shared services and facilities, in line with our regenerative tourism approach. Key role in the development of the future generation of hospitality leaders by working in close collaboration with our education team in defining the skillset required that outlines our education and vocational programs and manage the on-boarding process for the entire hospitality portfolio. Lead the Centralized Services planning such as Catering, Laundry, Bakery, Purchasing and Logistics functions for 16 Resorts within the Red Sea project.

Leading the Operational organization of Baha Mar Resort, a master planned $4.2billion integrated resort development with 3034 rooms and residences managed by 4 global branded hotel operators, 40 restaurants and lounges, 100,000 sq/ft Casino, 200 million dollar Water Park, 18 hole Championship Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course with offshore island and future development of amenities, entertainment and lodging product.

Leading the Operational organization of Baha Mar Resort, a master planned $4.2billion integrated resort development with 3034 rooms and residences managed by 4 global branded hotel operators, 40 restaurants and lounges, 100,000 sq/ft Casino, 18 hole Championship Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course with offshore island and future development of amenities, entertainment and lodging product.

Headhunted to provide specialized hospitality expertise, develop and rollout a new, contemporary lifestyle brand, and oversee all aspects of the opening and management of at least 25, international hotels within ten years. Communicate the vision, strategy, and luxury and lifestyle experience to the executive committee, asset owners, government authorities, and international deal-makers, while recruiting and mentoring general managers and project teams, allocating a high revenue operational budget, and ensuring smooth pre-opening phases and all P&L, brand development, marketing, and performance activities of the hotels deliver phenomenal results. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬► ➤ Widely credited for delivering an exciting, unique brand (Venu Hotels), creating a new, group-wide mindset, and producing a robust business/operations strategy to drive the company forward. ➤ Work with creative teams/interior designers and lead all facets of brand development and launch, including identity, name/logo, feel, language, colors, music, website, marketing, online, and PR efforts. ➤ Forged loyal business partnerships due to integrity, energy, and diplomatic skills; respected as trusted, reliable partner and group representative with owners, developers, and global management teams. ➤ Instituted a unified group identity based on new lifestyle approach and built motivated, cross-functional teams after recruiting outstanding new talent, sharing best practice, and coaching/developing GMs. ➤ Gained buy-in and exceptional forecasted returns after delivering five-year business plan, outlining key factors for success, and creating celebrated, distinctive brand to enable market leading position. ➤ Manage numerous projects/teams concurrently, serve as contact point for any problem escalations, and ensure open communication to maintain maximum efficiency and enable all milestones to be achieved.

Oversaw daily operations, performance activities, and strategic development of the hotel, with responsibility for 147 staff, 136 rooms, 26 suites, spa, two restaurants, the W Lounge, and ensuring guest experience is second-to-none. Maintained productivity and efficiency in a wide range of capacities and processes, emphasizing development of standards and best practice solutions, while supervising 13 direct reports, managing $15m p.a. budget, and leading on numerous new improvement initiatives and business strategies to ensure exceptional service delivery, increase in revenues, control of costs, and enabling staff to continually meet KPI objectives. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬► ➤ Improved overall YTD occupancy by 10%, ADR by 5%, total revenue by 8%, & year-end GOP by 52%. ➤ Boosted hotel productivity by 8%, pushed guest satisfaction loyalty composite scores from 7.89 to 8.34, and improved external Clifton audit to 100% with zero reds compared to 39 reds three years previously. ➤ New measures in place increased hotel’s LRA standard compliance scores to: Welfare and Security (100%), Product and Services (95%), Brand Identity (88%) Conditions (95%), and Cleanliness (96%). ➤ Saw major business uplift and surge in new guests after opening unique, high scale OKKA restaurant. ➤ Reputation led to board member appointment to TUROB (Touristic Hotels & Investors Association).

Headhunted as luxury and lifestyle expert to conduct upper-level analysis and spearhead broad-based initiatives and improvement activities for the Renaissance brand throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe; leading on multiple group-wide efficiency projects and ensuring on-strategy activation of core brand voice elements, delivering best practice methods for operational performance, hotel openings, guest experience, HR, food and beverage, marketing, and communications, and turning around all underperforming assets. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬► ➤ Traveled extensively and resided in Miami, Washington DC, Sydney, Hong Kong, London and provided leadership and support to GMs, marketing teams, developers, owners, and executive committees. ➤ Delivered business assessments and efficiency reporting, brand immersions, strategy planning, training, workshops, as well as presenting to potential developers and identifying new investments. ➤ Closed eight ‘dead wood’ assets, realigned unprofitable parts, and restructured, rebranded, and renovated hotels to focus on core profitable elements, improved guest care, and enhanced brand identity. ➤ Introduced benchmarking/productivity measures and dramatically increased guest satisfaction levels after rolling out whole scale change programs including culture, structure, branding, and communications. ➤ Ensured best practice for new builds and opened several first in region hotels in Asia Pacific. ➤ Greatly increased brand profile by managing $multimillion marketing campaign: ‘Live Life to Discover’. ➤ Acclaimed for creating a culture of ownership and drive for excellence; surpassing awareness goal of 8%, pushing hotels’ KPI percentages from low 40s to high 80s, and meeting all region-wide targets.

Recruited by the owner to manage the entire island operations and tasked with challenge of lifting standards, re-positioning the resort as a commercial business, implementing new targets of excellence, turning a loss-making operation to one of profit and ensuring the resort could continue to run self-sufficiently. Recruited and managed a cross-cultural team of >200, prepared and allocated a $60m operating budget, and developed and implemented new action plans and business strategies to raise the resort’s profile, improve operations, bring long-term revenue and business growth, and ensure highest quality standards and once-in-a-lifetime guest experience. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬► ➤ Massively boosted operations/efficiencies by delivering first-time, professionalized operations framework, including new systems for asset management, finance, marketing, HR, & customer service. ➤ Personally trained senior staff and introduced innovative practices in team building and development, including individual performance goals and new training and development programs. ➤ Created/introduced the island’s first auditing program to sustain a continued standard of excellence. ➤ Appointed as key board member of the British Virgin Island Hotel and Tourism Association (BVIHTA). ➤ Successfully oversaw $multimillion renovation project and ensured on time, under budget delivery. ➤ Enhanced own and the resorts reputation and earned listing on Conde Nast Traveler’s Gold List, Travel and Leisure’s Top 500 Hotels in the World, and Travel and Leisure’s Top 10 Hotels in the Caribbean.

Promoted and tasked with corporate challenge of turning around this 481-room, busy hotel and casino. Oversaw rollout, training and large-scale and varied initiatives aimed at improving guest experience, increasing profits, streamlining daily operations, and ensuring cross-functional teams continually met performance objectives and quality expectations, while managing the full renovation of the resort’s lobby as well as vacation ownership sales gallery, and 20,000 sq.ft. of meeting space to complete the conversion of the hotel to a Westin branded property. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬► ➤ Improved overall YTD occupancy by 15%, ADR by 11%, RevPAR by 28% and total revenues by 31%. ➤ Commended for achieving y-o-y GOP flow-through of 76% and catapulting overall GOP to 97.5%. ➤ Increased brand awareness, boosted resort’s productivity by 14%, took Guest Satisfaction OSAT scores from 7.32 to 7.88, and pushed Guest Satisfaction Service composite scores from 7.95 to 8.63. ➤ Notably recognized for delivering improvements in the first month and for improving the resort’s brand compliance y-o-y from all six categories in non-compliance to all six categories in compliance. ➤ Compliance scores: Welfare & Security (12 to 100%), Product & Services (87 to 98%), Brand Identity (51 to 99%), Service Culture & Delivery (89 to 98%), Conditions (60 to 96%), Cleanliness (87 to 100%). ➤ Served as board member of Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association and Animal Rights of Aruba. ➤ Widely recognized for transforming guest experience and service delivery and creating a reputable business with healthy profits that is considered one of the highest quality luxury resorts in the industry.

Promoted and oversaw bottom-line management and day-to-day operations and performance activities of this high profile hotel and vacation ownership property; providing leadership to a large-scale team and with a focus on renewed profitability, cost control, streamlined operations, and improved guest satisfaction and productivity. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬► ➤ Successfully managed the full lifecycle conversion of 108 hotel rooms into 54 vacation ownership villas. ➤ Delivered future operations strategy and oversaw $40m CAPEX investment and management projects. ➤ Ensured satisfied owners by working with the board of Vacation Ownership Homeowner Association. ➤ Oversaw new brand efforts and maintained over 95% compliance rating with all Westin standards. ➤ Pushed ‘06 Hotel Occupancy to 84%, gained Occupancy Index of 109%, & RevPAR index of 176.6%. ➤ Received highest ratings for business acumen, motivational skills, and guest/employee relations’ abilities; winning 2007 ‘Best in Class’ award for Associate Satisfaction & ‘Hotel of the Year’ award twice.

Provided leadership that ensured effective and efficient hotel operations including all F&B outlets, while acting as GM during the Area MDs absence and serving as a head of the hotel executive committee. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬► ➤ Integral with Starwood Development Group on future Caribbean developments, including scouting reports, due diligence, financial projections, opening/conversion start-up costs, and feasibility studies. ➤ Improved GSI to: 7.8 (2000), 8.08 (‘01), 8.59 (‘02) and ASI to: 56% (2000), 97% (‘01) and 93% (’02). ➤ Improved LRA to: 84% (2000), 87.4% (’01), 88.91% (’02), 95.6% (’03).