Rani Gharbié

Managing Director, Founder

Gharbie is a global Real Estate investment executive passionate about growing companies. He has a strong track record in hotel investment, development and operation over a 25-year career span. He held key roles with public firms (Hyatt, IHG, JLL), family offices (Virgin Hotels, BD / Pod Hotels) & hotel real estate tech (VC-backed Life House). Rani was most recently Managing Director, Investment and Development, Americas at CitizenM Hotels Group, an asset-heavy owner-operator with $4B in EV, backed by GIC, APG, and KRC. The citizenM Brand was sold to Marriott in summer 2025 for c. $500M. Throughout his career, Rani has been involved in more than $3B in hotel development and investment and provided strategic guidance on an addtional $4.2B in real estate transactions. 

 

Rani’s academic qualifications include a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Development (MSRED) from Columbia GSAPP, an MBA from the HEC Business School in Canada, and a Bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management from Glion Hotel School in Switzerland. He also holds a Certificate in Hotel Real Estate Investments and Asset Management from Cornell University. In addition to his role at Cedar Funds, Rani serves as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia GSAPP, where he teaches “Private Equity Development, Hotels” to MSRED and MBA students.

 

Rani has lived on three continents and speaks three languages. He is a regular guest speaker at key industry conferences and an avid triathlete. He resides in New York City with his wife Alisha and their sons, Reece and Alexander.