Our Team

Getting things done is an accomplishment, but getting things done right is an achievement. Even at the relatively young age of 46, Mike Patel has an impressive record of getting things done right and of achieving impressive results.

For example, he is president of Diplomat Hotel Company, an Atlanta-based firm founded in 1981 with his brother, R.C. Today, Diplomat operates a number of hotels in the southeast, including several in the immediate area of the Atlanta airport. The firm also owns related businesses in travel, commercial insurance, real estate, and hotel software.

Mike has also made major contributions of time and talent in leadership positions with a wide variety of industry groups. He was instrumental in founding the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) in 1989 and has served in numerous roles, including as chairman during 1998-99.

Mike’s term as AAHOA chairman resulted in historic success on such issues as membership growth, expanded opportunities for women and independent hoteliers, increased initiatives in professional education and government relations, and taking the association’s message into Canada with first-ever conferences in Toronto and Vancouver. In fair franchising reform, Mike helped author AAHOA’s 12 points of fair franchising.

Mike’s work on behalf of AAHOA was recognized at the association’s 2000 Annual Conference in Las Vegas when he was presented with the prestigious “Award of Excellence.”

In May of 2000, Mike was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve as a commissioner on the White House Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Today, Mike continues his strong working relationship with Mr. Clinton, having traveled with the former president to India several times to raise funds for Gujarat earthquake relief and rebuilding.

In addition, Mike serves on the advisory committee for Georgia State University’s Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality and is a member of the State of Georgia’s Minority Business Council. He is also a trustee of the American Hotel Foundation and a member of the Board of Councilors at The Carter Center. Previously, he has been chairman of the Ramada Inn Operating Committee.

Within all these groups, Mike is known and respected for turning good ideas into meaningful programs that produce measurable progress. He is a graduate of the London Business School, who played soccer professionally in England and the United States before launching his career in hospitality. He and his wife, Hasmita, live in Atlanta and have two grown children -- son Rishi and daughter Ayesha.

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”

Those words, written by India’s Mahatma Gandhi, could well be the credo of R.C. Patel, who in his own gentle way has been shaking up the worlds of hospitality, and insurance throughout the southeast United States for almost 30 years.

R.C. serves as chairman of Atlanta-based Diplomat Companies, a company he and his brother Mike founded in 1979 with one hotel in Pell City, Alabama. Today, the firm operates a number of hotels in the southeast, including several in the immediate area of the Atlanta airport. The firm also owns related businesses in travel, commercial insurance, real estate, and hotel software.

R.C. and Mike moved beyond being franchisees to becoming the first Asian franchisors in the hotel industry when in March of 2007 they purchased the Budgetel brand and announced ambitious plans for establishing these upper economy properties throughout the United States.

Along the road to success, R.C. has repeatedly “given back.” For example, in 1989 he was among the founding members of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), a leading hotel industry group that today represents some 8,000 hoteliers of primarily Indian descent who together own about 20,000 hotels – or almost 50% of all the hotels in the United States.

R.C. is also a founding member and served on the Executive Board of the Georgia Indo American Chamber of Commerce (GIACC). He has participated in numerous industry franchise advisory groups, including with Accor Hotels, which has more than 4,000 hotels worldwide; with U.S. Franchise Systems, which operates the Hyatt Hotel brands; and with LaQuinta Hotels and Suites.

R.C. helped found the Nashville youth soccer program in 1987 and has been an active fundraiser in campaigns by President George W. Bush plus Congressmen John Linder and Tom Price. He is a member of the Republican Senatorial Inner Circle and attended the 2002 inauguration of Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

A native of Uganda, R.C. moved to England when he was nine years old. The four brothers and two sisters were soon helping the parents operate a news and tobacconist shop – and R.C.’s values of hard work in a family business were formed.

Educated in London, R.C. moved to the United States with his wife, Shama, in 1981. They live in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth with their three children. R.C. is an avid golfer and an active member of the area’s Asian-Indian community, including Shakti Mandir, and Gujarati Samaj of Altanta, serving as chairman for many Indian cultural events.

Jay Patel
jr@diplomatcompanies.com

Jay Patel’s distinctive blend of youthful energy and visionary perspective is grounded in solid financial experience on Wall Street.

Since 2003, Jay has been actively involved in the Diplomat Companies, where he focuses on the firm’s various real estate and Finance aspects. He also serves on the board of Budgetel Franchise System, a franchisor of upper economy hotels which is the first brand to be owned by Asian-Americans.

Prior to joining Diplomat Companies, Jay spent three years as a investment banker in the Structured Finance Group at Goldman Sachs in New York. His responsibilities included advising financial sponsors in leveraged buyouts (LBOs), executing equity investments, and securitizing more than $30 billion of commercial and consumer assets.

For example, he advised Ford Motor Company on the $15.7 billion sale of Hertz to a consortium which included The Carlyle Group, Clayton Dubilier & Rice, and Merrill Lynch Private Equity. This transaction included structuring $4.2 billion of asset-backed bonds for the acquiring sponsors.

Jay gained additional experience in mergers and acquisitions when he advised Federated Department Stores on the $1.2 billion sale of Lord & Taylor to Apollo and NRDC Real Estate, plus when he advised Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, JP Morgan Partners, Thomas H Lee, and Warburg Pincus in the $10 billion acquisition of Aramark. He also worked with GTCR and Gerald J. Ford to purchase Triad Financial from Ford Motor for $2.1 billion, and assisted Huntington National Bank with the formation of a retail auto loan flow program.

Prior to working at Goldman Sachs, Jay served as a capital markets analyst for GE Capital in Connecticut. He was part of a group that managed a $22 billion securitization portfolio and contributed $400 million per year to the company’s net income. In this role, he gained considerable experience securitizing aircraft, equipment, and small business loans, as well as credit card receivables.

Jay earned a B.A. in Economics at New York University in 2003 and completed additional course work at the London School of Economics. He is licensed by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) for Series 7 and 63.

Jay is fluent in French, Spanish, and Gujarati. An avid golfer and soccer player, he toured in Sweden and Denmark with the United States junior national soccer team and was a member of the 1999 Lakeside High School soccer team which won the Georgia state championship.

Prakash Patel
pip@diplomatcompanies.com

Since 2004, Prakash Patel has served as a senior advisor within The Diplomat Companies, working directly with Chairman, Mike Patel and CEO, R.C. Patel.

His responsibilities include but are not limited to the acquisition and sale of business entities, development and disposal of commercial real estate opportunities, and planning of overall corporate strategy. As such, he is especially experienced in conducting due diligence activities, managing start-up businesses, maximizing profits, and enhancing cash flow, notably through cost-control procedures and debt re-structuring.

Recently, he directed the development, funding, and construction management of two major buildings in downtown Atlanta which resulted in significantly increasing the value of these real estate assets as well as re-positioning them for higher prestige and prominence in the community.

Prior to joining Diplomat, Prakash has more than 20 years of international experience in the multi-billion dollar global telecommunications industry. For example, he served for four years as chairman and CEO of Rann Globalnet in Prague.

As vice president and board member of GT-Vcom, he structured numerous major and innovative telecommunications joint venture companies in Hong Kong and China.

As director of sales for Unisource Carrier Services based in Switzerland, he had responsibility for negotiating international traffic handling agreements and setting up sales offices throughout the world.

In addition, Prakash has held numerous positions with British Telecommunications in London, including as head of the UK delegation for international standards negotiations in the United States and Europe. He’s also been a noted independent consultant for business development in the telecommunications industry.

Prakash earned his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at The City University in London and his M.B.A. from Warwick Business School.

A resident of the Midtown area in Atlanta, Prakash is active in the city’s Asian American community. His interests include personal fitness, as well as attending live sports, music, and cultural events.

Sachin Patel
sachin@diplomatcompanies.com

Sachin Patel is responsible for numerous mixed-use real estate development projects, which include high density residential, shopping centers and hotel sites. He is especially proficient at arranging debt, mezzanine, and equity placements, in addition, to acquiring distressed commercial notes which are secured by real estate.

Prior to joining the Diplomat Companies, Sachin had six years of experience as a registered investment advisor with American Express Financial Advisors and with Merrill Lynch.

Sachin earned his degrees in economics and finance at Emory University in Atlanta, graduating in 2001. He holds the securities licenses for Series 7 & 66, plus numerous insurance licenses – notably life, accident, sickness and variable products – as well as a Georgia real estate license.