Peel Hotels PLC

Nick is a proficient Director with more than 30 years’ experience in Institutional Asset Management, Investment Management and Business Development, having worked for various financial institutions in London, including Bank of London and The Middle East, Mercury Asset Management and Barclays Global Investors.

Nick earned various financial services qualifications, including Islamic Finance, Investment Management and RDR Level 4 Compliancy at the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) before launching his career. As a financial expert his extensive experience ranges from developing innovative sales, client services and marketing strategies to demonstrating proficiency in converting new business opportunities into lucrative business, by enhancing their returns and lowering volatility and risk.

Nick’s wealth of financial investment knowledge and global trends, as well as his above-par work ethics and proven performance, seamlessly compliments OPENs diverse network of expertise, adding valuable insight, support and expertise to the OPEN leadership team.

With 30 years’ in Distribution and Account Management within the Financial Services industry under his belt, Neil brings a wealth of experience to OPEN and a level of expertise that can only benefit us and our clients.

He has been working closely with OPEN since January 2016 and as OPEN move into the next stage of their growth it was quickly realised by both parties that there was a natural fit in aligning Neil’s skills and experience with OPEN´s growth objectives. His career has shown an impressive upward progression - he spent many years with Aviva, progressing from a regional Sales Consultant to National UK Director of Distribution, before becoming Sales Director for Norwich Union International Ltd.

Neil was responsible for the Tied Distribution Channel which secured exclusive tied relationships with 22 of the UK’s largest Banks and Building Societies, making Aviva the market leader in this area. In addition, Neil also had full responsibility for the internal Direct Salesforce which had 200+ sales advisers.

In 2004 Neil became Director of Distribution, responsible for the business relationship with National accounts and 10,000 Key Regional IFAs through a network of 32 Regional offices as well as managing the companies’ Investment and Pension Specialist teams and Account Management teams.

In 2005 Neil become a Board member of Norwich Union International Limited and in his role as Sales Director was responsible for distributing NUIL Investment Bonds through the Aviva salesforce to Distributors in both the UK and Europe. Neil also played a leading role representing the UK Board in understanding and implementing strategies designed to increase retention from Aviva’s existing client bank which quickly delivered significant additional profit.

Neil has extensive knowledge of the International financial intermediary market and has built many relationships during that time at all levels of organisations; knowledge and skills that will hugely benefit OPEN.

Hector joined OPEN in May 2016 as CEO of the Americas. He joins us from ALS Bioenergy, where he was the Senior Partner and CEO, responsible for leading the development and execution of the Company’s strategy in the integration of green and sustainable technologies, focusing on biofuels and biochemical.

Hector previously held the post of President and CEO for GE Central America and the Caribbean; developing their business by enhancing the overall strategy and developing new market opportunities. Hector was the VP Human Resources, for GE Latin America before his promotion to President.

During his 23 years’ experience, Hector has held several senior positions within HR in multinational companies including The Gillette Company, British Petroleum & Baxter Laboratories. In addition, Hector has been keynote speaker at several international forums and has worked as a University professor and a Human Resources and Business Development Consultant.

In 2009, the Mexican Business Magazine “Expansion” nominated Hector as one of the top Promising Talents under the 40s. In addition he has received several excellence awards and recognitions from different universities and organizations due to his participations on conferences and congresses.

Hector holds a B.S. from the Valle de Mexico University, an Executive MBA from Golden Gate University in Palo Alto, CA and three Certificates in Marketing, Leadership and Top Management from several U.S. and Mexican institutions. He is currently finishing his Doctorate on Business Administration at Grand Canyon University.

Pablo is a highly driven financial executive and entrepreneur, with strong background and experience in increasing company growth and providing strategic financial insight.

Pablo has built on the excellent results he achieved from 1990 to 2005, with multinational consumer goods company, Unilever, as Andean Food Division Finance Director.

Between 2005 and 2014 he led the financial growth across North Latin America for Syngenta, innovators in sustainable agriculture solutions. He developed and implemented business strategies including international market expansion, merger integration, and divestments. Pablo was responsible for significant market share growth in certain markets, built up a strong Finance team and delivered substantial tax benefits.

Bringing more than 25 years’ successful experience in financial markets to the OPEN team; he has a keen ability to assess key market opportunities and create both short and long term financial targets and international growth strategies. He was a key player in the creation and implementation of a business development plan for biofuels in Panama, including a restructuring plan for a new biodiesel and a biogas plant.

Pablo has a degree in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Oklahoma, and post graduate courses from Wharton (Finance), INSEAD (Marketing) as well as advanced studies in Private Equity & Venture Capital.

He has consistently proven his strength in identifying and implementing solutions, showing core values which are at the base of OPEN.

Giovanni is an executive manager with 15 years’ experience in financial management in the investment fund and financial services industry, having worked for such prestigious and international companies as Deloitte, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. He studied Economics and Management at the University of Luxembourg before launching his career.

Giovanni’s extensive experience ranges from back office, entrepreneurship and project and fund management to client relationships, team leadership and consulting. His top skills include a proactive talent for identifying and resolving issues to maximise the best in sales trends, legal and compliance issues, and delivering profit increases. He is accredited in France by the AMF as a Wealth Manager/Financial Investment Advisor as well as in Luxembourg by the CSSF as Conducting Officer and holds multiple Director mandates in several investment funds and holding companies (SOPARFI, SPF, SPV). His fluency in English, French, Italian, German and Luxembourgish bring added value and depth to the OPEN leadership team.

Giovanni is an executive manager with 15 years’ experience in financial management in the investment fund and financial services industry, having worked for such prestigious and international companies as Deloitte, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. He studied Economics and Management at the University of Luxembourg before launching his career.

Giovanni’s extensive experience ranges from back office, entrepreneurship and project and fund management to client relationships, team leadership and consulting. His top skills include a proactive talent for identifying and resolving issues to maximise the best in sales trends, legal and compliance issues, and delivering profit increases. He is accredited in France by the AMF as a Wealth Manager/Financial Investment Advisor as well as in Luxembourg by the CSSF as Conducting Officer and holds multiple Director mandates in several investment funds and holding companies (SOPARFI, SPF, SPV). His fluency in English, French, Italian, German and Luxembourgish bring added value and depth to the OPEN leadership team.

Luciano joins the OPEN team with more than 15 years’ experience as a Financial Advisor and European Representative for numerous international companies. His experience includes the identification and selection of renewable energy projects for investment funds, private equity firms and utilities based in Europe and USA.

His broad experience in projects and financing include positions such as European Business Development Manager for Orenco Hydropower, with a procurement pipeline of 200 MW of projects; European Advisor to TFGH Fund on Wind and PV investments located in Europe, ranging in size from 6MW to 100 MW and as the Italian Business Development Manager for WindEnergie, involved in Wind and PV projects of 300 MW in operation with a further 95 MW underway.

Having graduated from Brunel University in Sports Science and Business, former athlete Iain brings nearly 20 years of financial services experience to the table. Iain has held positions in London, the Middle East and Far East all in commercial roles. Iain has built, trained and managed various sales teams across different financial sectors including Real Estate, Forex, Hedge Funds, Alternative Investments and Private Placements.

Iain demonstrates high levels of enthusiasm and commitment, which he combines with accurate market knowledge and conducting in-depth due diligence of products and providers before taking investment solutions to market. Within OPEN, Iain is responsible for managing the sales and distribution of the funds and investment vehicles towards both the retail market as well as to OPEN´s extensive network of professional intermediaries and distributors.

Expedito is President of Tec2B Corp, a technology based company specializing in industrial operations in the chemical and energy sector, based on innovative green technologies, particularly bio lubricants and high added value bio products.

Before founding Tec2B, Expedito was the Vice President of Technology and Operations for ALS Bioenergy Corp, developing technology for the production of bio products, responsible for the development of an innovative production process for biodiesel.

His thirteen years’ experience with biofuel companies in technological development, engineering, implementation and management of industrial operations at chemical processing units and his skills and knowledge in the fields of bio fuels, bio products, renewable energy, green chemicals and agribusiness, along with his lateral knowhow and skills in corporate management, business vision and strategic thinking, make him a huge asset to OPEN.

Expedito is the author of more than a dozen publications in scientific periodicals with over 40 co-authors and the author of industrial patents; he has been recognized by two international awards.

Guillermo is the President of Biogas and Energia SA and Consultant with ALS Bioenergy. He held the position of Minister of Agricultural Development in Panama during the years 2006 to 2009. He negotiated for the inclusion of Panama’s inclusion in the World Trade Organisation and for the constitution of the Free Trade Area of the Americas.

Guillermo graduated in Economy from the University of Panama in 1974 and has a Master’s degree from the University of Habana, Cuba (1980).

Guillermo’s passion for the agricultural success of Latin America and his specific experience in the field of bioenergy adds enormous insight and expertise to the OPEN team.

Luis is a Business Development and Financial Consultant, focused on the renewable energy industry and sustainable development, with over 7 years’ experience in Latin America arranging funding for more than 1.5 GW in several projects.

Luis has a passion for community affairs, sustainable development and infrastructure and a complete knowledge and understanding of project financing, structure and business development. He has been a key element in the introduction and development of several projects in Chile, including NSL Power (India) and First Solar and on the final structuring of 500 MW in Nigeria.

Rafael Diaz-Granados is an accomplished Fortune 10 Senior Executive, leading innovation, strategy and multi-billion dollar P&Ls, growing, restructuring and optimizing international businesses. Leveraging his strong leadership, operations and Six Sigma/Lean background, Rafael has consistently driven transformational change in business units across the world, capturing market share and delivering high-performance financial and business team results. Rafael currently focuses on investing in early stage companies, providing operating advice in the PE space and guiding entrepreneurial leaders in strategic business development.

From 2000 to 2014, Rafael transformed key General Electric (“GE”) business operations, leading country P&L’s of up to $3B+ in the consumer, industrial and financial sectors. Most recently, as Simplification Leader for GE Healthcare, Rafael drove the transformation of GE’s global $18B healthcare business, instituting a completely new organization structure, to streamline operations, speed-up innovation, and reduce $1B of SG&A. His key positions within GE included Chief Commercial Officer, GE Latin America, President and CEO, GE Spain and Portugal, President and CEO, GE Mexico and General Counsel, GE Latin America; during which time he increased Latin America industrial revenues by $3.6B, and sourced $25B incremental key account opportunities for the region.

He holds a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Harvard University. Rafael currently resides in Miami with his wife and family.