BOTTOM LINES | BUSINESS ANNOUNCEMENTS
ASPEN
Coldwell Banker Mason Morse adds two broker associates
Coldwell Banker Mason Morse announced that Adam Rothberg and Michael Steiner have joined the Aspen office as broker associates.
Rothberg, a longtime broker and developer, orchestrated a five-way land exchange between the city of Aspen, the Aspen Valley Land Trust, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Forest Service and a private party. The three-year endeavor involved getting a bill passed by Congress, the company said in a statement.
Steiner is the former broker/co-owner of Rothberg & Steiner in Aspen. He started his real estate career in Center City, Philadelphia before moving to Aspen 18 years ago. His career has covered the real estate gamut. He holds a degree from Temple University in business management and marketing.
Coldwell Banker Mason Morse has a 52-year history in the Roaring Fork Valley. It has offices in Aspen, Basalt, Carbondale, Redstone and Glenwood Springs as well as an onsite sales office at the Grand Hyatt Aspen. The company has 63 broker associates and 12 full-time employees.
Decypher Technologies and Xssentials announce merger
Decypher Technologies and Xssentials recently announced that they have joined forces.
The combined company has more than 100 employees to provide a more streamlined and robust technology experience for residential and business clients, according to a statement.
David Daniels, founder of ESC in Aspen, and Mike Thul, founder of Thul Electronics in Vail, merged to form Xssentials on January 1, 2013. Both Daniels and Thul said they wanted to provide a broader scope of services to meet the needs of their clients, and merging with Decypher was a natural next step.
“We are very excited about our future together,” Daniels said. “Having worked with Decypher for over a decade on projects throughout the U.S., we knew that our companies would mesh well. Typically AV and integration companies dabble in networking, and networking companies dabble in AV and integration, but usually neither do both extremely well. By joining forces with Decypher we saw the opportunity to really excel on all fronts and provide the best possible customer experience.”
Farr Shepherd, Director of Decypher Technologies, considered the benefits that could come from merging with Xssentials.
“This merger is a great alignment of two industries,” Shepherd said. “Bringing our companies together will greatly benefit our customers, who would like the convenience of having one company that can handle all of their technical needs.”
Xssentials is now one of the largest integration companies in the West, the statemnet said. Xssentials has offices in Aspen, Denver, Jackson Hole and Vail.
Poss Architecture + Planning hires nine people
Poss Architecture + Planning recently added nine people to its staff.
Eric Westerman is an Aspen architect with nine years of experience working on a variety of projects. He has a bachelor’s degree in architecture with a minor in business from Kansas State University.
Hana Maclean is originally from Aspen and studied at the University of Colorado-Boulder, earning a bachelor’s degree in environmental design with an emphasis in architecture.
Ken van Kesteren rejoined Poss. Kesteren worked with another local interior design firm before returning to Poss Interior Design.
Kevin Laut joins the firm as controller with more than 15 years of experience guiding small and large corporations.
Lauren Schroeder is from Wisconsin. She has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Iowa State University. She also has a secondary major in environmental studies and a minor in critical studies in design.
Nick Massmann has a master’s degree from Kansas State University and formerly worked in the Federal Services Division of Black & Veatch in Arlington, Va.
Saher Iskandar is originally from Bagdad. He received a bachelor’s degree from Lawrence Technological University and most recently worked at Guardian Industries World Headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich.
Sean Durgee is a Colorado native and received a bachelor’s degree in environmental design from University of Colorado-Boulder. Durgee spent most of his college summers mentoring kids through Boulder Country Youth Corps.
Tim Owen is originally from Pittsburgh, Pa., and received a bachelor’s degree in geography and a master’s in architecture from Virginia Tech. He also is a recent graduate of Rural Studio — Auburn University in Newburn, Ala.
Treonna Villasenor is a recent graduate of University of Colorado in Denver and holds a master’s degree in architecture and design building. She received her bachelor’s degree in environmental design from University of Colorado in Boulder, graduating with special honors.
Little Nell Hotel ranked 13th on best hotels listing
The Little Nell Hotel has received recognition as one of the 2014 Best Hotels in America by U.S. News & World Report, taking the No. 13 spot. It was the top-rated hotel in Colorado.
The ranking is based on an unbiased methodology that includes the collective opinion of travel experts and guests, expressed through online reviews and ratings.
U.S. News factored in the prominence of industry awards a hotel receives along with its reputation among travel experts and guests. In total, 1,693 U.S. hotels, 271 Caribbean hotels, 342 Mexican hotels and 223 Canadian hotels were evaluated for the 2014 rankings.
“We are delighted to be honored as one of the ‘best hotels in the country’ again in 2014,” said Little Nell general manager Simon Chen in a statement. “We aim to provide the highest levels of personalized service and are thrilled when our efforts are recognized by our guests and lists such as these.”
The U.S. News rankings of the 2014 Best Hotels can be found online at http://travel.usnews.com/Hotels.