Our Leadership Team

Navin Dimond is the founder of Stonebridge Companies. As Chairman of the Board, he leads the company's strategic direction while fostering innovation and growth. In 2007, Mr. Dimond received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Real Estate and Hospitality for the Rocky Mountain Region. Mr. Dimond is also the recipient of the Award of Excellence from the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, the Hotelier of the Year Award from the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association and the prestigious Hilton Hotels Multi-Brand Developer of the Year Award. In 2013, Stonebridge Companies received the coveted Marriott Partnership Circle Award, granted to Franchisees for their excellence in hospitality and exemplary commitment to future growth. 

Indicative of his expertise, Mr. Dimond maintains an advisory role for a wide variety of organizations. Currently, Navin sits on the Franchise Advisory Council for Renaissance Hotels and Marriott's Residence Inn Advisory Board (TRIA Board) and the American Hotel Lodging Association (AHLA) Board of Directors. Equally noteworthy, he has long been an active member of the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association (CH&LA), leading the organization as Chairman in 2003. As a testament to his contributions, Navin was inducted into the CH&LA Hall of Fame in 2008. 

A strong advocate for the transformative power of education, Mr. Dimond serves on the Washington State University College of Engineering and Architecture Executive Leadership Board, Cornell University's Dean's Advisory Board for the Nolan School of Hotel Administration as well as a Trustee for the University of Denver.

Involvement in the community is equally important to Mr. Dimond, as a chair of the board for the Denver branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau (VISIT DENVER) and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Through his work, Navin continually endeavors to enrich and improve our great city. 

Mr. Dimond is a graduate of Washington State University where he earned his B.A. in Business Administration and his B.S. in Construction Management. He earned his MBA in Real Estate and Construction Management from the University of Denver.

Rob Smith, a seasoned leader in the hospitality industry, brings a wealth of experience to Stonebridge Companies. With a career spanning nearly 30 years, he has held key positions with several hospitality organizations. Most recently, he served as Division President for Aimbridge Hospitality. During his 12-year tenure at Aimbridge, he was instrumental in the growth of the full-service, luxury, and resort portfolio. 

Prior to that, he spent almost two decades in the Caribbean, where he held positions at several large resort properties and served the island of Aruba as President and CEO of the Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association and Aruba Convention Bureau. His leadership journey also includes successful stints as General Manager of several large resorts in the United States and the Caribbean. Mr. Smith also currently serves on the AHLA Board of Directors, Marriott Rooms Advisory Board, and the Westin Brand Advisory Board.

 

C.J. Chapman has joined Stonebridge Companies as General Counsel. He will provide in-house legal advice for Stonebridge and oversee the firm's risk management group.

C.J. is a Denver native and brings nearly two decades of experience as a general counsel and shareholder. Most recently, he served as general counsel to Elevation Capital, a venture fund based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

He previously served as executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary to BellRock Brands Inc., a publicly traded company on the Canadian Securities Exchange, which he took public in November 2018.  Prior to that role, Chapman was a shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, where he practiced in its real estate and corporate departments.

C.J. is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

Steve Kakaty joined Stonebridge Companies in August 2022.  As Chief Investment Officer, Steve is responsible for leading the company's real estate acquisitions platform.  Steve has over 16 years of experience in the real estate industry, including nearly 14 years with Rockwood Capital where he served as a Director of Acquisitions and Asset Management with a primary focus on the hospitality sector.  Prior to Rockwood, Steve was an appraiser at Cushman & Wakefield.  Steve received a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration.  

Mark Hays joined Stonebridge Companies in November 2020 as Chief Accounting Officer. He is responsible for strategic accounting operations over the entire hotel portfolio. Mark has over 35 years of hospitality experience including nearly 15 years with Two Roads Hospitality/Destination Hotels where he served as Chief Financial Officer from 2013 to 2019.

Mark was a key player in the merger between Destination Hotels and Commune Hotels, which became Two Roads Hospitality, and played a key strategic role in the successful sale of Two Roads, to Hyatt Hotels. Prior to Two Roads, Mark served as Corporate Controller and Regional Controller for Sage Hospitality from 2000 to 2005. Mark also previously served as General Manager of the Embassy Suites Denver Tech Center and Holiday Inn Garden of The Gods, with Meristar Hotels. Mark holds an MBA and Bachelor of Science in Financial Accounting from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Hailing from Wichita, Kansas where he attended Friends University and chased storms, Chris Cheney has been in the hospitality industry for 17 years and has held management roles in the areas of hotel operations and revenue management with independent and branded hotels. Cheney joined Stonebridge Companies in 2007 as General Manager at the Homewood Suites by Hilton in Anchorage, Alaska.

He relocated with Stonebridge in 2009 to Denver, Colorado to open and operate the Hilton Garden Inn Denver Cherry Creek as General Manager before joining the corporate team in 2011 as Director of Revenue Management. He has served as the Vice President of Revenue Management and Vice President of Hotel Performance and Analytics. Cheney was recently promoted to Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Analytics. 

Kelli joins Stonebridge with over 20 years of Human Resources experience. She began her career as a Human Resources Director in the retail industry, after graduating from Pennsylvania State University. She is well versed in leading multisite teams successfully in areas of associate engagement, training, and talent acquisition. Kelli has supported hotels in the United States, the Caribbean, and Canada and has assisted in the opening of many hotels across the US. 

Judy has over 25 years as a Sales & Marketing leader working in various leadership roles in full service and convention hotels, having served the last 15 years in a multi-unit VP role. Since joining Stonebridge in 2015, Judy has been responsible for overseeing the company's sales training and development that support the entire portfolio of hotels. Judy oversees sales revenue strategies that include driving top line revenue, achieving defined growth and profit targets as well as meeting market share goals. Judy also oversees sales recruiting efforts, building the sales strategy, devising sales tactics and working with the support teams to ensure success.

Bryan Edwards joined Stonebridge Companies in 2021 as VP, Food & Beverage, Strategic Sourcing, and Retail.  In his role, he leads food & beverage and retail operations, and manages continuous improvement in Stonebridge Companies supply chain and procurement strategies.  Prior to joining Stonebridge Companies, Bryan has held a number of executive leadership roles in the Restaurant, Hotel, Casino and Nightlife industries. 

Matt Friend serves as Vice President of Risk Management for Stonebridge Companies. He is responsible for minimizing risk to the company by leading the company's risk management strategy, negotiating insurance programs, managing claims, implementing loss prevention programs and administering contract protocols.

He has over 23 years experience in the hospitality industry, most recently serving almost nine years as Director of Risk Management for Red Robin International. Mr. Friend is Past President of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) Board of Directors and is an Affiliate Faculty member at Regis University, College of Professional Studies in Denver, CO. Matt earned his Master's of Science in Management from Regis University and his Senior Professional in Human Resource (SPHR) certification.

Kate Hembree joined Stonebridge in 2019 and was selected for her role as VP, Controller of Stonebridge Corporation In 2021.  As VP, Controller Kate oversees the Accounting functions for the Stonebridge hotel portfolio.  Prior to Stonebridge, Kate spent much of her career working for Hyatt Hotels Corporation in Finance at multiple locations.  Kate holds a Bachelors of Science in Finance with a minor in Restaurant Resort Management from Colorado State University. 
 

Jeff's hospitality career spans more than 20 years in on-property and corporate roles. In 2013, he joined Stonebridge Companies, where his commitment to guest satisfaction and creating inviting atmospheres has shaped his service-oriented career.  Jeff held positions in the corporate office as Revenue Manager, Director of Revenue Management, and Associate Vice President of Revenue Management before being promoted to Vice President of Revenue Management in 2023.

Jeff's excellence in the field was recognized when he received the Outstanding Corporate Associate Award from Stonebridge Companies in 2017. He has further honed his expertise by earning the Certified Revenue Management Executive (CRME) recognition from HSMAI and completing the Hotel Revenue Management Certification from eCornell.  Beyond his career achievements, Jeff enjoys spending time with his family and being outdoors in the beauty of Colorado.

Nasim Mansurov has over 20 years of proven top-level management experience in Information Technology, with a strong emphasis in ERP, hotel IT management, ISP management, telecommunications and infrastructure, datacenter management, project management, software development, virtualization and hosting. Currently serving as the Vice President of Information Technology, Mr. Mansurov oversees all aspects of the company's technology, current and emerging, as well as Telecom.

He is responsible for strategic evaluation of new systems that are proposed for the company and for providing technical training and support to all hotels. Mr. Mansurov fluently speaks four languages and received numerous awards and scholarships in the past. He earned his B.S. degree in Management and Marketing from University of Colorado, Boulder.

Jamie joined Stonebridge Companies in May, 2023. As Vice President of Business Development, he is responsible for growing the company's third-party management presence, through the signing of HMAs and strategic M&A. He is also responsible for delivering on Stonebridge's owner relations efforts.

Jamie has been in the hospitality industry for six years, in a variety of investment & feasibility, development, retention, and real-estate roles while at Radisson Hotel Group (formerly Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group) and Choice Hotels. Prior to Radisson, Jamie was in wealth management for ten years. Jamie received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN.