Executive Team

Fisher Property Group and Island Hospitality Management’s executive management teams are highly regarded and collectively have over 100 years of hotel and real estate experience dating back to 1985. 

Jeffrey H. Fisher
President & Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Fisher founded Fisher Property Group, Inc. in July 2007 and has over 23 years of experience in the acquisition, development, construction, financing, investment and management of leading hotel assets.  Mr. Fisher founded Fisher Property Group to build upon his successful and distinguished track record in the lodging industry.

Jeff Fisher began his hospitality career with the founding of Innkeepers Hospitality (previously d/b/a JF Hotel Management, Inc.) in 1985, a company formed to develop, acquire and manage hotel properties.  Since 1985, Mr. Fisher has been responsible for the development, acquisition and management of over 81 premium branded hotels throughout the United States.  Innkeepers Hospitality evolved into the 13th largest hotel management company globally (Hotel Business, April 2007).  Mr. Fisher was the Chairman and majority shareholder in Innkeepers Hospitality and also served as its President and Chief Operating Officer from 1985 to 1994.

In 1994, Mr. Fisher founded Innkeepers USA Trust, took the company public, and served as the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and President since the Company’s IPO.  From 1994 to 2007, Mr. Fisher grew Innkeepers’ portfolio over tenfold from seven hotels at the time of the initial public offering to 73 hotels.  In June of 2007, Innkeepers USA Trust (NYSE: KPA) was sold for $1.5 billion.  After Innkeepers’ sale, Mr. Fisher formed Island Hospitality Management Inc. and currently manages 80 third party hotels, including 72 of 73 hotels in the original Innkeepers portfolio.  Mr. Fisher is the Chairman, President and majority shareholder in Island Hospitality Management, Inc.  

Mr. Fisher received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Syracuse University in 1977, a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Nova Southeastern University in 1980 and a Masters of Law in Taxation from the University of Miami in 1981.  He is a licensed attorney and practiced at Jones & Foster P.A. and Jeffrey H. Fisher P.A. for a total of five years prior to his career in the hospitality industry.  Additionally, Mr. Fisher currently serves as a Board Member of Marriott’s The Residence Inn Association (TRIA) and of Starwood’s Ownership Advisory Board.

Peter Willis
Senior Vice President of Acquisitions & Business Development

Mr. Willis has over 20 years of hotel acquisitions experience and previously served as Vice President of Acquisitions & Business Development at Innkeepers where he oversaw over $500,000,000 of investment activity for 18 hotel acquisitions during his tenure and played an instrumental role in the company’s growth before its sale in July 2007. Mr. Willis draws on two decades of experience in global business and project development, real estate investment, and management to source investment opportunities for the Joint Venture. Since 2006, Mr. Willis most recently served as Senior Vice President at The Kor Group, a privately held, fully integrated real estate investment firm with a portfolio of over $2,000,000,000 of high-end hotel and resort investments, where he focused on U.S. and Caribbean acquisitions and third-party management contracts. While evaluating, negotiating and underwriting specific hotel investments and obtaining and negotiating management contract prospects, he also supported strategic acquisition and corporate planning efforts.

Mr. Willis also held positions with an industry-leading firm supporting the opening of luxury hotels.  Establishing the organization's first international operation in the Asia/Pacific region in 1994, he directed the repositioning and opening of properties throughout the region and in the United States. By 2001, he led overall strategic planning, business development and investor relations as well as integrating acquisitions among the firm's operating entities. Mr. Willis began as an analyst and asset manager of hotel, residential  and commercial properties for Japanese investment firm JDC America in Tokyo and domestically.

Mr. Willis received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Florida in 1989 and has completed professional programs at Cornell University's Hotel School and Obirin University in Tokyo.

Richard Mielbye
Senior Vice President of Hotel Development

Mr. Mielbye brings over 25 years of real estate, lodging, development, and construction experience to Fisher Property Group.  He currently serves as Senior Vice President of Development and is responsible for the sourcing and development of all new hotel projects.  Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Mielbye served in the same capacity at Innkeepers after joining the REIT in 2005. During his tenure, Mr. Mielbye demonstrated his unique ability to find compelling development opportunities, including four ground-up developments in high barrier to entry markets such as El Segundo/Los Angeles, Mission Valley/San Diego, and West Orange/New Jersey.  Due to his successful track record in pursuing and negotiating these transactions, Mr. Mielbye was promoted to Senior Vice President of Development at Innkeepers in June 2006.

Prior to joining Innkeepers, Mr. Mielbye served as Senior Developer for Shaw’s Supermarkets where he was responsible for new development opportunities, including site selection, contract negotiations, and attaining government approval of seven projects in 2004.  He began his career in the lodging industry at Extended Stay America (NYSE: ESA), where he served in two different capacities, first in 1996 as Real Estate Manager responsible for the Mid-Atlantic and in 2001 he was re-recruited to take over as Regional Manager for the Boston area as well as the mid-Atlantic where he initiated the site selection and development through the building permitting stage of twelve sites in 1999.  Mr. Mielbye also served as Regional Vice President at Marriott International Senior Living Services where he successfully acquired land, negotiated contracts, and obtained zoning approvals and building permits for over 25 projects during his three-year tenure.

Mr. Mielbye received an Associates Degree in Architectural Engineering from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Massachusetts in 1981.  He currently serves as a Professional member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and a Board Member of Starwood’s Owner Advisory Board.

Richard Fenton
Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis

Mr. Fenton has over 12 years of real estate financial planning and analysis. He began his career with Innkeepers in 1996 as a financial analyst responsible for budgeting, forecasts and modeling of investment opportunities.  In 2002, Mr. Fenton also played a key role in the modeling, financial analysis, and valuation of the 61 leases held by Innkeepers Hospitality that were eventually acquired by the REIT in December 2003.  He was promoted to Vice President in 2004 and continues to provide comprehensive analysis and modeling of detailed revenue and expense projections for historical and prospective investments.  Most recently, Mr. Fenton played an instrumental role in providing due diligence and valuation models for both Innkeepers’ advisors and institutional private equity funds leading up to the REIT’s sale in June 2007.

Mr. Fenton received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Auburn University in 1990 and a Masters of Business in Administration from Florida Atlantic University in 1993. Mr. Fenton is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Charlotte Baxter
Real Estate Manager

Ms. Baxter has served as Real Estate Manager of Hotel Development for Fisher Property Group since its inception.  During her tenure, Ms. Baxter has assisted Mr. Mielbye in finding and pursuing the entitlements for ground-up developments in West Coast markets including El Segundo/Los Angeles and Mission Valley/San Diego.  She coordinates the managing of the multiple consultants required for projects in high barrier to entry markets. Ms. Baxter served in the same capacity at Innkeepers after joining the REIT in January 2006.

Prior to joining Innkeepers, Ms. Baxter was a PCG Associate at UBS Financial Services, Inc. in New York City, NY.  She received a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Dartmouth College in 2002. She currently serves as a professional member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).