We are pleased to announce the continued growth of our Investment Banking Group with the addition of three new professionals. David F. Martinez and Leonardo R. Fernandez, Jr. have joined the firm as Managing Directors and Jordan D. Nelson has joined the firm as an Analyst. Below are their respective bios.
David F. Martinez, Managing Director
Mr. Martinez has 20 years of operations, finance, development, and international transaction experience. Most recently, he served as EVP of business development for Tarsadia Hotels, a private developer-owner-operator based in Newport Beach, California, and before that he spent more than ten years with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, where he served as Senior Vice President of Acquisitions & Development and played a key role in the company's growth (now nearly 1,000 properties in 100 countries under 9 brands) with particular focus on international expansion and mixed-use developments in the luxury and upscale arena. During his tenure at Starwood, Mr. Martinez led teams that successfully completed over 100 transactions in the US and abroad including hotel and land acquisitions, share purchases, joint ventures, mezzanine loans, management agreements and licensing deals representing total asset value in excess of $5.0 billion.
Prior to Starwood, Mr. Martinez served as Director of Business Planning for ITT Sheraton Corporation (sold to Starwood in 1998), which at the time consisted of 430+ properties across 65 countries. Mr. Martinez also worked with GE Capital and was a member of the launch team that expanded GE's private-label credit card business to Latin America, and prior to that he was engaged in private legal practice in California, focusing on complex corporate, real estate and litigation matters. Along with his financial and transactional experience, Mr. Martinez has extensive expertise in the area of global organization and process design, and post-merger business integration.
Mr. Martinez earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Utah, a law degree from the UCLA School of Law and an MBA from Stanford University.
Leonardo R. Fernandez, Jr., Managing Director
Mr. Fernandez has 14 years of experience in corporate and investment banking, including acquisition finance, real estate finance, financial advisory and debt underwriting and distribution. Mr. Fernandez has over 11 years of gaming and lodging experience, including working with Native American tribes domestically and in Canada.
Prior to joining Columbia West Capital, Mr. Fernandez was the co-head of CIBC World Markets' West Coast Leveraged Finance and Gaming, Lodging and Leisure practices. In Mr. Fernandez' ten years at CIBC, he worked actively with numerous strategic companies and private equity firms to originate, structure and distribute high yield issues, bank financings and private placements in various industries. Prior to joining CIBC, he was a bond analyst for Trust Company of the West's High Yield Bond Group as well as a generalist in the Specialized Finance group at Union Bank of California.
Mr. Fernandez holds degrees in Economics and History from Claremont McKenna College. Mr. Fernandez is registered with the FINRA (formerly NASD) and has his Series 7 and 63 securities license.
Jordan Nelson, Analyst
Mr. Nelson previously worked at Credit Suisse in Los Angeles. As a generalist investment banking analyst, Mr. Nelson worked on a wide variety of transactions ranging in product and industry. Mr. Nelson has experience in mergers and acquisition, leveraged finance, private placements and equities in industries such as Oil and Gas, Gaming, Engineering & Construction and Media - Telecom.
Mr. Nelson earned a BA in Business Management with an emphasis in Finance from Brigham Young University in 2007. Mr. Nelson is registered with the FINRA (formerly NASD) and has a series 6, and 63 securities license.