James is the driving force behind graves|hotels.resorts. and has enjoyed over 25 years of success in the hospitality industry due to his innovation, foresight and tenacity. His passion for Real Estate has resulted in an impressive portfolio of over 90 varied and successful projects. Dedicated to improving lives both within his company and beyond has propelled James to serve on numerous non-profit boards, including the United Way of Central Minnesota, St. Benedicts Development Board, Partners Across Boarders International, the Salvation Army Relief Board and the International Lodging Association Board.

Benjamin directly oversees the operations of all graves|hotels.resorts. projects and is responsible for concept innovation, design direction, development execution and operational strategy. Actively involved in the hospitality industry for over 12 years, Benjamin has overseen, from inception to fruition, the development of 6 hotels and has lead full remodeling projects of 7 other hotel properties. Benjamin’s operations experience includes over 6 years as General Manager and VP of Operations. This property-level operations experience positions him with a unique leadership edge in the design and development process. Benjamin is also responsible for advancing the expansion plans of Graves'-branded properties and development projects through securing debt and equity financing. Benjamin serves on the Metro State University Hospitality Program Board, Warehouse District Association Board, and Safe City Committee for Minneapolis. He has been an adjunct faculty member at Metro State University, Minneapolis.

Scott is responsible for developing and implementing all sales and marketing strategies for Graves Hospitality properties in the U.S. Most recently, Fischburg served as the company's Midwest Regional Director of Sales & Marketing. With more than 30 years of travel industry sales experience, Fischburg has served in executive-level positions at several major hotel companies, offering an aggressive, proactive and detailed approach to sales and marketing initiatives. Adept at penetrating corporate, association, government, and marketing segments, Fischburg was responsible for generating revenues in both North America and Europe for Radisson Hotels & Resorts and ITT Sheraton prior to joining Graves Hospitality in 2002.

Shawn most recently served as Midwest Regional Director of Hotel Operations for Graves Hospitality, serving on special task force teams during hotel openings, conversions and rebrandings. Shawn is responsible for developing and implementing the company's overall operational strategies, policies and procedures, as well as guiding the property-level management of rooms and food and beverage divisions. Nayyar's extensive knowledge of operational execution is due to his 20-plus years of hospitality experience.

Mr. Pottinga's hospitality career spans nearly 30 years. He has held positions with many of the hotel industry's most well-known brands. Most recently, Mr. Pottinga was Regional Vice President, full-service hotels for Minneapolis-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide. In this position, he had responsibility over brands such as Regent, Radisson and Park Plaza hotels. As Vice President of operations for Commonwealth Hospitality, he was responsible for the operations and profitability for 28 hotels under the Crowne Plaza, Radisson and Holiday Inn brands. Mr.Pottinga began his career as a guest service manager at a Holiday Inn hotel in Frankfurt, Germany.

Tom pilots the back office systems for graves|hotels.resort. He executes behind the scenes support and control systems that assist the operation and revenue team’s success. Tom assists in opening Accounting and Human Resource tack force teams for graves|hotels.resorts. projects. He has over 25 years of executive level hospitality experience, and has served on the Local 17, Health Welfare and Pension Trust Fund.

Christy Medlin’s primary focus is maximizing revenue through all distribution channels for Graves Hotels Resorts properties. Christy oversees the forecasting and budgeting process for all properties. Her 10 years of Hospitality and Revenue Management experience at both Independent and Major Brand properties gives her unique knowledge of the revenue management side of the hospitality business. She has a Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Southern Illinois at Carbondale.

Stephen Trojahn is the Corporate Executive Chef for Graves Hotels Resorts overseeing all food and beverage operations at the company’s owned and managed properties. In this role, he is also Executive Chef of Cosmos restaurant in the Graves 601 Hotel Minneapolis. Chef Trojahn has nearly 20 years of professional experience that spans fine-dining establishments in the U.S., Jamaica and Puerto Rico. He served as the Executive Chef of the Daufuskie Island Resort in South Carolina, the renowned ‘21’ Club in New York City, and The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch on Beaver Creek Mountain in Colorado. During his tenure with The Ritz-Carlton organization, he also held chef positions at hotels in Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Florida.

Throughout his career, Chef Trojahn has received many honors and awards, including Golden Fork and Bronze Fork awards from the Gourmet Diners Society of North America; a JD Powers’ ranking that rated the restaurant within The Ritz-Carlton San Juan #5 in the company worldwide; a feature in The Great Chefs of Puerto Rico Cookbook; appearances in local and national magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times; and television appearances, including a cooking segment on NBC’s Today Show. In addition to his career responsibilities, Chef Trojahn remains active in local and national charity events for Children’s Home Society and Share Our Strength.