Ben Rowe is a founder and managing partner of KHP Capital Partners, a real estate private equity firm focused on investments in boutique and independent hotels. The company, which took over Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants’ fund management business in January 2015, currently has approximately $640 million under management and owns seventeen properties across the U.S. Ben has direct responsibility for finance, asset management, capital raising, and investor relations.
Previously, Ben served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants from 2008 to January 2015. In this role, he oversaw the finance and accounting function for both Kimpton’s hotel and restaurant operations as well as the real estate investments of the KHP Funds. Ben’s responsibilities included securing debt and equity capital, managing banking and investor relationships and communication, owned asset management, financial reporting, budgeting, risk management, tax planning and management, treasury management, and information technology. Prior to being promoted to CFO in 2008, Ben served as Kimpton’s senior vice president, treasurer. Ben was originally appointed director of corporate finance and development in 2003, and was promoted to vice president, treasurer in 2005.
From 1999 to 2002 Ben served as the chief financial officer of Leirum, a restaurant and entertainment group that developed and operated restaurant venues under the Muriel’s brand name. Ben began his professional career as an investment banker at Salomon Smith Barney in New York City, focusing on capital raising and strategic advisory work for the lodging and gaming industries.
Ben holds a BS with Distinction from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, where he majored in hospitality finance. He also holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Ben serves on the board of directors of TrueGreece, a privately held Greek- and Mediterranean-focused luxury travel company, which he co-founded in 2004. He also serves on the national board of directors of Spark, a nonprofit youth mentoring organization. Ben lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and two children.