PERSONALITIES
The wisdom of HOMI VAZIFDAR
THE CANYON GROUP FOUNDER HAS WORKED ACROSS THE HOSPITALITY LANDSCAPE TO FULFILL HIS DREAMS AND LEAD WITH AGILITY AND CONFIDENCE .
by JEFF WEINSTEIN , EDITOR IN CHIEF
In an age of specialization , Homi Vazifdar is one of the few remaining hotel generalists . He worked in construction , moved on to design , then investment banking and for the past 17 years , founder and until recently the CEO of the vertically integrated investment firm , The Canyon Group , based outside San Francisco in Larkspur , California . With what he calls a
“ golden rolodex ,” Homi knows just about everyone worth knowing in the upscale and luxury spaces and is known as being opinionated , blunt , a bit quirky , definitely a contrarian but affable as can be .
Born in India with an unquenched desire to move to the U . S . and immerse himself in the culture , Vazifdar attended the University of California at Berkeley , opened a very successful Indian restaurant across the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County and continued to pursue his love for hospitality by gathering experiences across the disciplines .
Today , ultra-luxury minded Canyon Group owns Amangiri near Lake Powell in Utah , the Four Seasons Ranch Encantado in New Mexico , the Cousteau Resort in Fiji and one Hyatt Place in Arizona . It is currently
48 hotelsmag . com July / August 2022