Elías Sacal Cababie founded the predecessor to Murano in 1996 and has served as chairman of the board of directors since 2018. Additionally, Mr. Cababie is the chairman of Grupo Murano. Since 2009. Mr. Cababie is a leader within Mexico’s tourism and lodging industry with over 20 years of experience developing, acquiring and financing real estate. Between 1998 and 2008, Mr. Cababie developed the “Second Home Living” increasing his position at with international buyers interested in owning a vacation home in Mexico. Previously, Mr. Cababie was a director on the board of Archiao Limited, a New York City and Dublin software company, from 2014 to 2018. Mr. Cababie has developed multiple residential real estate projects in beach cities including Puerto Vallarta, Mexico City, and Cancún. Mr. Cababie is a member of the boards of trustees of the Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology and the Mexican Federation of Associations of Friends of Museums, and is an adviser to the Princess Grace Foundation (Monaco).
Marcos Sacal Cohen has served on the board of directors of Murano since 2013. Mr. Cohen served as the chief operating officer of Grupo Murano from 2018 to 2022. Previously, Mr. Cohen served as BVG World’s head of business development, from 2013 to 2018, and its director of construction, from 2012 to 2014. Additionally, Mr. Cohen served as a member of the board of directors of M and S World Limited, a holding company, from 2016 to 2022. Prior to that, from 2014 to 2018, Mr. Cohen was the founder and chief executive officer of Archaio Limited and is presently the co-founder, chief executive officer, vice president, and head of production of Archaio Limited’s successor, iCloudFIS, a provider of facility inspection and maintenance software solutions. From 2011 to 2015, Mr. Cohen was an operating partner at Digital Compression Technology, LLC, a developer of a modulation baseband technology. Mr. Cohen holds a degree in Business Administration from Universidad Anahuac, which he complemented with additional studies in Corporate Finance at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México ITAM.
David James Galan is the Global Chief Financial Officer. Before joining the company, Mr. Galan served from 2019 to 2023 as the Chief Financial Officer of Kibbutz Holding S.a.r.l, the investment holding company that founded Nasdaq listed hospitality group, Selina Hospitality PLC, and Latin America based real estate company, Dekel Real Estate Holding, S.A. From 2016 to 2019 David served initially as Chief Financial Officer and subsequently Chief Executive Officer of London Stock Exchange listed Zinc Media Group PLC, which grew to be one of the UK’s leading independent TV production businesses. Mr. Galan is a UK Chartered Accountant, having qualified at Arthur Andersen in London in the audit and then corporate finance divisions. Post qualification he spent several years working in investment banking, specializing in small-cap IPOs and M&A. Mr. Galan has over 20 years' experience in preparing companies for public markets, equity and debt fundraising, investor relations as well as recent real estate and hospitality industry experience.
Shawn Matthews has served as the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of HCM since its inception. Mr. Shawn Matthews is a financial services excerpt and entrepreneur with more than 30 years of management experience in public and private corporations. Since January 2019, Mr. Matthews founded and has served as the Chief Investment Officer of Hondius Capital Management, an alternative investment firm. In such capacity, he is responsible for the overall success of Hondius Capital Management with a particular focus on managing all firm investments. From March 2009 until December 2018, Mr. Matthews served as Chief Executive Officer of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., a leading financial services firm, where he was responsible for Cantor Fitzgerald’s risk taking businesses and strategic growth. Mr. Matthews also served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. from March 2009 until December 2018. During his tenure at Cantor Fitzgerald, Mr. Matthews played a significant role of the growth of the company, with significant revenue and earnings growth during his tenure. In addition, while serving as the Chief Executive Officer of Cantor Fitzgerald, Mr. Matthews founded and oversaw their sizeable SPAC business. Mr. Matthews also served on the Board of Directors of Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) from January, 2011 through December, 2013. Mr. Matthews received his Bachelor of Science in Finance and Economics from the Fairfield University Dolan School of Business and MBA from Hofstra University. We believe Mr. Matthews is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors because of his extensive business, leadership and finance experience.
Keith Graeme Edelman is an independent director. He is the Chairman of Headlam Group Plc, a floor coverings distributor, Chairman of Revolution Bars Group Plc, an operator of premium bars and pubs, and JQB, an online retailer of gold and gold coins. He has been a public company director of FTSE 100, FTSE 250, and other small cap quoted companies for over 30 years. He has worked in a broad range of consumer industries including hotels at Ladbroke Group where he spearheaded the acquisition of Hilton International for $1.9 billion, media at Carlton Communications Plc and retail at Storehouse Plc. In addition, he has extensive property experience gained at Ladbroke Group, managing extensive retail property portfolios and latterly at Arsenal. His last executive role was at Arsenal Football Club where, as Managing Director, he was responsible for the development of the Emirates Stadium and the redevelopment of the old Highbury Stadium into 725 residential unit. The whole project was delivered on time and within budget. Since then, Mr. Edelman has held non-executive positions at a number of companies and was involved in of the Superdry Plc and Revolution Bars Group Plc IPOs.
Joanne Faye Sonin is an independent director. She is a senior finance professional and scholar with broad international experience as an advisor, a principal, and a non-executive director, combining experience and expertise in corporate finance, company law, real estate, and ESG. Dr. Sonin has over 20 years of experience working in global financial markets, with sector expertise in real estate and financial institutions, and has worked as an investment banker at several global firms, including Citigroup, JP Morgan, and Deutsche Bank. In addition to her roles at major financial institutions in London, New York, and Sydney, from 2012-2015, Dr. Sonin was Executive Vice President, Head of Corporate Development, at Gazit Globe, a publicly listed global real estate company, where she had a wide range of operational, transactional, development, investment, and managerial responsibilities across many different jurisdictions. Dr. Sonin has a PhD in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science as well as an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, a PhD from the University of Cambridge, and a BA from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Dr. Sonin is a UK resident.
Patrick Joseph Goulding is a director. He is a real estate and finance industry veteran with more than 30 years of management experience in public and private corporations. Most recently, Mr. Goulding has provided consulting services to a variety of firms across the finance sector in the US and United Kingdom with a particular focus on capital markets strategy including M&A and financing. Throughout his career he has served as Chief Financial Officer of a number of public and private entities across the globe and has deep knowledge and experience having worked in the US, the United Kingdom, Australia and The Netherlands through his career. Mr. Goulding previously served as a Managing Director and Head of Finance for Morgan Stanley’s global real estate investment business. He also held senior finance roles within the real estate businesses of Schroders, ING and Lend Lease. In his various roles he was an officer or director of a significant number of those firm’s businesses. Mr. Goulding attended the South East Technological University (Ireland) before completing his Chartered Accountant qualification with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland.
