Raj Khatiwala is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of New York/New Jersey-based real estate investment firm, Eclat Investments. Mr. Khatiwala has 20 years of experience as a Hospitality owner/operator, with a specialization in turning around and renovating non-performing and underperforming assets. His current hotel portfolio consists of 11 assets located throughout New Jersey (including 4 assets totaling 180 keys in Ocean City), Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Idaho, with a total value of over $125 million. His hotels are of a mix of both national flag franchises and independent hotels. Eclat Investments also currently owns multifamily, office, and retail assets located primarily throughout New York and New Jersey. Prior to founding Eclat, Raj was as an investment banker at JPMorgan Chase and Freeman & Co. He also has experience in distressed assets having run the REO Hospitality Portfolio for Arbor Realty Trust. Prior to Arbor, as a VP at Meridian Capital, Mr. Khatiwala completed over $1.5 billion of real estate loan originations. Mr. Khatiwala graduated from Fordham University with a Finance & Management Degree and from New York University with a Masters in Real Estate.
Principal and Chief Operating Officer of Éclat Investments, bringing 20 years of expertise in developing and repositioning assets to achieve better performance through enhanced design, technology, and brand affiliation. With a diversified portfolio consisting of hotels, mixed-use residential, office, and retail, his expertise is well rounded in the commercial real estate space. Mr. Khatiwala currently holds Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA) and Certificate in Hotel Ownership (CHO) designations through the American Hotel & Lodging Association. He is also a graduate of Fordham University's College of Business and holds an MBA from Stockton University. Outside of the Real Estate world, Yogi is President of the Hindu Temple Society of South Jersey (non-profit) and volunteers his time and efforts coaching and organizing Youth Basketball Camps in South Jersey.
Born and raised in South Jersey, Poojan received his Bachelor's degree from the College of New Jersey. He started working in hospitality in 2018 and joined Eclat in 2020. Rising quickly in the hospitality division, he went on to become a partner at the Forum Hotel in 2022. Fiercely passionate about social service and community outreach programs, he aims to ensure that Eclat's hospitality investments are accessible to all socioeconomic levels without sacrificing profitability.
Joining Eclat in 2014 as an in-house accountant, Kruti was promoted to the position of Controller in 2018. With 20 year of experience in the hospitality industry, Kruti is the driving force responsible for directing department operations. Her main focus is to ensure that the strategic financial policies and procedures are implemented and carried out. Her efforts ensure that all the moving parts of Eclat's investment portfolio work in harmony to ensure peak profitability and return.
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