Throughout his career, Robert Festinger has specialized in one core pursuit: unlocking long-term value in complex hospitality and commercial real estate assets. With over 25 years of experience overseeing $1.4 billion in assets under management and facilitating $2 billion in financing, he has consistently combined operational discipline with investment foresight to deliver measurable returns for investors, lenders, and ownership groups.

Most recently, Robert served as Senior Managing Director at CGI Merchant Group for over four years, reporting directly to CEO and founder Raoul Thomas. CGI is a private equity firm with just under $1 billion in assets under management. In this role, he was responsible for asset management, operations, human resources, recruitment, fundraising, administration, and stakeholder engagement. He worked closely with lenders, investors, and institutional partners, and in the CEO’s absence, was empowered to make critical financial and operational decisions on behalf of the firm’s funds and platform.

Robert’s portfolio oversight at CGI included eight commercial assets: five executive office properties in Palm Beach known as Nexus, and three traditional commercial real estate properties in Coral Gables and Coconut Grove. Tenants included UBS, Richmond, Redbird (owners of the Boston Red Sox and AC Milan), Ann Griffin Diaz and her family office, as well as premier restaurant operators such as Charles Khabouth’s Ink Entertainment, which operates its flagship Amal restaurant within the portfolio.

He also managed four hotels, including the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC, one of the most iconic and politically significant hospitality assets in the country. This historic property, spanning nearly one million square feet, generates an estimated $90 million in annual topline revenue and serves as a hub for international heads of state and congressional leaders. He oversaw all aspects of asset management at the Waldorf, including partnerships with world-class operators such as Cipriani and José Andrés. His responsibilities extended to the Gabriel Miami Downtown Curio Collection, a 293-room property within a 67-story tower; the Gabriel South Beach Curio Collection, featuring 450 feet of prime Ocean Drive frontage and multiple restaurants; and adaptive reuse projects in Atlanta that include both hospitality and class-A office space.

Earlier in his career, Robert led large-scale turnarounds and repositioning efforts for Crescent Heights, Menin Hotels, Host Hotels, and Starwood. These experiences sharpened his ability to integrate asset management discipline with operational innovation—efforts that drove triple-digit EBITDA growth, secured transformative capital improvements, and aligned operator performance with ownership objectives. At every stage, he built and led cross-functional teams that delivered both financial performance and long-term portfolio resilience.

His reputation in the industry has enabled direct collaboration with global leaders, including Chris Nassetta (CEO of Hilton), Geoff Ballotti (CEO of Wyndham), and Russell Galbut (Crescent Heights, Norwegian Cruise Lines), as well as major lenders and institutions such as Deutsche Bank, Cerberus, MSD, Starwood, and Blackstone. What differentiates Robert’s approach is his ability to move seamlessly between strategic board-level oversight and transactional execution—whether negotiating HMAs with global brands, navigating lender workouts, or structuring acquisitions and dispositions.

Robert’s leadership philosophy—profiled in LEADERS Magazine and Meetings + Events—emphasizes governance, transparency, and intellectual curiosity as drivers of sustainable value creation. While hospitality and commercial real estate remains his forte, he sees himself as a business leader whose strength lies in combining financial acumen with a human connection grounded in passion and empathy.

He currently resides in Coral Gables Florida, with his fiancée and son, and travels extensively for work across the U.S. and internationally. With culturally diverse roots in Hungary, Romania, Spain, and Peru, Robert brings a global perspective to investment stewardship and enterprise growth.

He is particularly interested in opportunities to help shape funds strategy, guide acquisitions and dispositions, and provide oversight that balances near-term performance with long-term enterprise value.