Pravin Chauhan emigrated to the United States in 1977, after completing his bachelors degree in Mechanical Engieering from King’s College in London, England. Upon his arrival in the U.S., he began to lay the foundations of Banyan Tree Companies by acquiring hotels in the Midwest, West Coast, and Florida Panhandle. Over the last 30+ years, Mr. Chauhan has obtained a vast array of hospitality experience which has helped shape the company today.

Mr. Chauhan has made significant strides to improve the aesthetics of the Florida panhandle through his commercial developments and community work. As an active member of the community and a respected local businessman, he has been invited to sit on the Okaloosa County, FL Development Advisory Board. This board analyzes the progression and economic impact of the hospitality and tourism industry in the area, and makes advisory decisions to the local political divisions on the impact of new businesses, new laws, and pending legislation, on a wide range of issues. He has been active in AAHOA (Asian American Hotel Owners Association) since its inception and has helped lead a new generation of Asian-American hotel owners in hospitality developments in the panhandle of Florida. As a first-generation immigrant from India, he has lived the real “American Dream” by coming to the U.S. with modest means and a clear vision of success and prosperity. He has maintained a delicate balance between being both a businessman and a family man, by instilling not only a sense of tradition in his children, but also by encouraging an entrepreneurial spirit.

Mr. Chauhan believes in the importance of team-building and has worked tirelessly to foster a sense of camaraderie both at home and in his business. His associates describe him as being dedicated and extremely well-versed in all aspects of hotel development, management and real estate operations.

Being results-oriented, Mr. Chauhan is known to go beyond the call of duty, whenever necessary, to provide his expertise and counsel to anyone, whether they are employees, customers, or colleagues.

Rakesh Chauhan is the chief executive officer of banyan tree companies. as the managing principal, hehandles strategic investments, finance, and development at the firm. prior to joinging the family businessin 2000, he worked in new business origination with a fortune 500 company.

Rakesh completed his B.S. degree in Healthcare from Birmingham Southern College in 1999. He is an active member of the Entrepreneurs Organization, a worldwide network of over 7,000 business owners. He is based in Atlanta, GA where he lives with his wife, Susan, and young daughter.

As Pravin’s middle son, Rakesh represents the new face of Banyan Tree Companies. He has a keen eye for future trends and is focused on the growth and the direction of the company as it moves into the next decade.

Having been raised in the hospitality business, Rakesh also has firsthand knowledge of its day-to-day operations. Throughout the years, he has been involved in every aspect of the business.

Since joining with Banyan Tree Companies, Rakesh has implemented a tactical growth plan to help the company reach new levels through strategic acquisitions and development. His keen understanding of market trends, ability to source capital, and financial acumen have all helped contribute to Banyan Tree Companies success.

Manoj Chauhan is a principal and Chief Operating Officer at Banyan Tree Companies. Manoj has been around the hotel industry since childhood, as a result, his understanding of the industry is second to none. As a partner, he has more than twenty years experience in the hotel industry, encompassing a broad variety of expertise in operations, sales, marketing, finance, and accounting. After completing his degree in Finance from the University of West Florida, he held various management positions with Intercontinental Hotels Group, Wyndham Hotels, and Hilton Worldwide. Manoj is Pravin’s oldest son, and currently lives in Destin, FL with his wife, and two young daughters.

Manoj is largely credited with redefining the operations and maximizing operational efficiencies of Banyan Tree Companies. He brings both energy, strategic thinking, business acumen, and, most importantly, experience to the company. He is responsible for the coordination of all accounting, budgeting, financial, new development, and administrative functions for the company.

Since joining the company in early 1999, Manoj has formed a seasoned and efficient management team which operates at the highest standards of customer expectations.

Vick Chauhan, is counsel to Banyan Tree Companies and is a principal. As Pravin’s youngest son, Vick joined Banyan Tree Companies in 2005.

Vick brings a unique perspective on the decisions the company makes. With a foundation rooted in the hospitality industry, he went on to work at various entertainment firms, most notably Sony/BMG Music. While with the company, he had a chance to bridge the gap between creative and business issues, gaining experience in areas such as negotiation, deal making, and contract drafting. With this background he is able to assist Banyan Tree Companies with creative solutions to complex legal issues. Vick has a B.A. in Marketing from Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA and a J.D. from Touro Law School in New York.

Andy Chopra has 8 years of corporate experience, spending a majority of that time with the Fortune 50 company Johnson & Johnson, where he worked in new business development. While with Johnson & Johnson, Mr. Chopra was selected to join the Management Development Program, a program designed to groom new company leaders.

Mr. Chopra graduated from the University of Kentucky with a BA in Marketing in 2000. In 2005, he completed his MBA from Oglethorpe University.

In 2007, Mr. Chopra transitioned into the commercial real estate arena, leading acquisition and development efforts with Mahal Investments on an 80,000 square foot mixed use development in the northwest Atlanta suburbs. Furthermore, Mr. Chopra led due diligence efforts in limited service hotel asset acquisition efforts for Prime Hotels, Inc. In addition, Mr. Chopra is completing a Master of Science in Real Estate degree at Georgia State University, with a concentration in development and finance.

Being the son of a hotelier, Mr. Chopra has been raised in the hotel industry, becoming intimately familiar with all aspects of management and development. He was heavily involved with the development of two limited service hotels in Paducah, Kentucky, actively participating in the brand selection, design and value engineering phases of the projects. Mr. Chopra is based in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lives with his wife.

Bakul Mehta has more than 9 years of experience in planning, owning, operating, and managing hospitality businesses. He has a strong management and technical background that is underscored by personal and professional experience in the real estate industry.

Before entering the hospitality industry, Bakul Mehta successfully ran a software development and consulting business for nearly 7 years. As a consultant, Mr. Mehta also traveled domestically and internationally to design, develop, install, and configure middleware for law enforcement agencies.

Mr. Mehta attended the New Jersey Institute of Technology where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and earned a master’s degree in Computers and Information Science.

David Crane has extensive experience in hotel construction and management, having been in and around the industry for over forty years. His grandfather created DF Crane Construction Services over eighty years ago; the business has been passed down through three generations, successfully completing numerous residential, civic, industrial, and hospitality projects. His firm has completed over forty hotel properties throughout the United States. Additionally, Mr. Crane is an investor and partner in five select service hotels located within the Midwest United States.

Mr. Crane is a well respected member of his community, sitting on the boards of various civic and religious organizations. He holds an Associates Degree in Architecture from Vincennes University and an Industrial Management degree from Purdue University. Mr. Crane currently lives in Nashville, TN with his wife of thirty years, Patricia.

Coy Taber represents the fourth generation, and newest version, of DF Crane Construction Services. He recently merged with DF Crane to form Taber-Crane Construction. Mr. Taber has over twenty five years of experience in the construction industry, gaining construction management experience from institutional, commercial, industrial, and hospitality projects. Through his work with DF Crane Construction Services, he worked directly on over forty hotel projects, actively consulting on value engineering and design, as well as leading on-site construction management activities. He has experience working with IHG, Marriott, and Carlson products.

Mr. Taber holds a degree in Architectural Drafting and Design and an ABET certified Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Technology from Murray State University. He holds a Florida general contractor’s license. Mr. Taber lives in Washington, IN, where he lives with his wife and three sons.

Marvin Banks has over 20 years of industry experience in multi-family real estate and finance. Formerly, the principal and CFO of Trammel Crow Residential, overseeing it’s transformation into Gables Residential (NYSE:GBP). In his role as CFO, Mr. Banks created innovative capital market products which allowed Gables to achieve top investment grade balance sheet ratings from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. Mr. Banks oversaw the execution of the $475 million Gables Residential IPO in 1994. Over the course of his career, he raised equity and debt in excess of $2 billion, and later oversaw the $2.8 billion sale of Gables to ING Clarion.

He currently plays a leadership role at the Private Bank of Buckhead, faculty at Emory and Georgia State University, and is an active member of numerous associations.

Randy Leeder is a partner in Euram investment Group, a $25 million real estate investment firm, and acts as the financial officer for the company. He has over 20 years of experience in the financial, real estate, construction and consumer products industries. He is originally from Toronto, Canada where he grew up and later returned to work in public accounting with Ernst & Whinney.

Randy’s experience also includes 7 years with one of Atlanta’s largest public accounting firms, Windham Brannon. After his public accounting experience, he was CFO for two of Atlanta’s premium commercial real estate construction firms, Winter Construction and Beers Construction Company. While at Beers as the CFO, he grew the company from $1 billion in revenue to over $2 billion through organic growth and outside acquisitions.

Prior to joining Euram, Randy was the COO CFO of In Zone Brands, a $50 million consumer products company with offices in Atlanta and Hong Kong.