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Meet the Team
Stan Kozlowski, President
During his 20+ year career in hospitality, Kozlowski has completed more than 80 hospitality transactions totaling more than $2.5 billion, including workouts and restructurings, property level investments, senior mortgages, mezzanine mortgages, strategic asset sales, private equity placement, and real estate valuations. Prior to forming CooperWynn Real Estate, he was the vice president, hotel acquisitions at Glenmont Capital Management, a private equity firm that invests in opportunistic real estate and real-estate related investments throughout the U.S. In his role, Kozlowski was responsible for procuring hotel real estate investment opportunities on behalf of the company and its institutional-grade investors. Kozlowski was also the senior vice president at CBRE Hotels Finance, where he was responsible for a variety of hospitality transactions and investment banking services for clients in the hotel sector. Prior to CBRE, Kozlowski was the founder and principal of Forestpark Capital Advisors, a hospitality-specific investment banking company, and a principal at Neptune Hospitality Advisors. In addition, he has held positions with HVS International, Hotel Partners, Sonnenblick-Goldman, and Insignia ESG. Notable transactions in Kozlowski’s career include the development financing of the Courtyard Chelsea on 56th Avenue in Manhattan; the restructuring and sale of the Le Meridien Cancun in Quintana Roo, Mexico; the restructuring and modification of the Westward Look Resort in Tucson, AZ and the Hotel Zoso in Palm Springs, CA; over $103 million of financing for Pinnacle Hotels USA and placing mezzanine construction debt on the Residence Inn in San Diego, CA. Education: Kozlowski holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration with a concentration in real estate and finance and is a licensed real estate broker in Utah and California. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences.
W. 435.261.4485
C. 435.729.9244
Steve Kehm, Chief Operating Officer
Steve joins Guard Hospitality with a background in people - coaching people specifically. With more than 25 years of coaching experience, Steve understands what it takes to recruit, develop, and retain people in order to create a successful team. In just under three years Steve has helped Guard grow from one employee to six and he has helped us grow our company's portfolio to over $125 million (15 assets) after starting with just 3 assets under management in 2021. Steve has also helped our employees to meet the modern demands of the hospitality industry Additionally, Steve has an extensive background in property management, real estate, and asset ownership. Steve attended Jamestown College where he majored in English Literature
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James Kirkland, Vice President
Prior to joining Guard, James has held numerous “above” property sales and operations leadership roles working with both Marriott International and Hilton branded properties. Most recently James was with Midwest-based Good Hospitality Services where he led the portfolio’s revenue generation and optimization efforts for the organization and served in an operational regional leadership capacity overseeing both Marriott and Hilton branded assets. James has also worked with Peachtree Hotel Group where he served in several internal positions ranging from Senior Regional Director, Full service and Lifestyle brands to Corporate Director, Business Strategy and Analytics. Throughout James’ hospitality career he has successfully opened over 30 premium-branded select-service, extended stay, and full-service properties across the United States. James attended Texas State University where he studied Business Administration with a concentration in management.
Tammie Taylor, Regional Vice President
Tammie went to Ivy Tech State College in Indiana from 1995 to 1997 and was in the process of earning her degree in Nursing when she decided to pursue a different career in hospitality. Additionally, she has participated in numerous Marriott training programs, including Marriott Sales & Service Foundations, Revenue Management and the Brand University Training courses. In her personal life Tammie is very much a family oriented person with having 3 children with her oldest daughter also in the hospitality industry and her middle son in the Navy as a Nuclear Engineer. She also likes to listen to music, loves any type of water sport and being on or by the water.
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Patrick Naphin, Corporate Manager - Hotel Operations
Patrick joined the Guard team after getting his bachelor’s in Political Sciences with a minor in Business Administration from the University of Denver. An athlete his whole life and later a coach, Patrick gained the necessary managerial, people and leadership qualities to foster the growth and success of a team. Since joining Guard, Patrick has helped facilitate and oversee the growth of the company’s portfolio from 6 properties to its current level of 14 as well as assisting in the opening of two new properties. Prior to joining Guard, Patrick comes from multiple years of hotel management, hotel operations and customer service roles.