What we do

Stephen McCall

CEO

Stephen has spent most of his 25 year career indulging his passion for hospitality, with roles in operations, finance and governance across several continents . Before joining SACO in 2018 (which he later rebranded to edyn), Stephen held a number of executive roles at IHG including CFO for Middle East & Africa, MD for UK&I and most recently European COO. Stephen has led edyn to become one of the fastest growing pan-European lifestyle hybrid platforms of its kind anywhere in Europe. A chartered accountant by training and Scotsman by birth, Stephen enjoys fast cars and malt whisky…but never together.

 

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Nick Barton

Chief Commercial Officer Nick leads our group sales & marketing teams as Chief Commercial Officer. With a history of delivering commercial transformation and brand-led growth over a 20-year hospitality career spanning UK&I, Europe, Greater China, Middle East & APAC, Nick's global experience is well-matched to edyn's own ambitions, and the diverse customers we provide sanctuaries to. As a wannabe rock star and ageing 80’s revivalist, Nick combines his sax & synths skills with a passion for global travel which has recently been largely restricted to road trips between our London and Bristol offices, and his home in Glastonbury. ×

Andrew Fowler

Aquisitions Director

Andrew Fowler oversees edyn’s Pan-European acquisitions team, focusing on both real estate & asset light investments and was one of the original co-founders of Locke. With Eric Jafari, he was previously co-founder of Union Hanover Securities and directed hotel operations and acquisitions at Urban Villa and was also a key player at StayCity in the early years when he led their acquisitions across Europe. Before he lost his good looks and joined the serviced apartment industry, Andrew was a property TV presenter in also a competitive sailor with the Irish Sailing Team. Andrew’s favourite drink is Bulletproof Coffee but only after practicing the Wim Hof technique.

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Eric Jafari

Chief Development Officer

Eric Jafari leads edyn’s pan-European real estate development platform and the broad creative direction of our brands, and was one of the original co-founders of Locke. His multi-disciplinary team comprises acquisitions, asset management, construction, design, investment finance & planning. Eric previously served as the Managing Director of Union Hanover Securities where he founded Urban Villa and oversaw a £500m Hotel development platform. Born in Los Angeles, raised in Paris but living in London, Eric would tell you that his nomadic nature and insatiable curiosity explain his passions which range from travel to food and wine, to wellness, learning and of course his family. We think he just enjoys ‘la dolce vita’.

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Merzak Kaddour

Investment Director

Merzak Kaddour looks after edyn's property investment and funding requirements and leads the transaction process from analytics and appraisals to debt origination, execution and refinancing. With Eric and Andrew, Merzak was one of the three musketeers who co-founded Union Hanover Securities and Urban Villa and has also served as Director of Hotels & Leisure at Bank of Ireland and the Head of Hospitality and Leisure for National Australia Bank (UK) overseeing a £1.4 billion hospitality loan book. Merzak began his hospitality career as a management trainee with Trust House Forte Hotels. In his free time Merzak enjoys Pilates and walking the family dog.

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Charles Cresser

Development Director

As the group’s Development Director, Charles is tasked with overseeing the development & construction process. This includes technical due diligence at acquisition, planning/permitting, procurement, construction, project close out and handover. During his international career, Charles has delivered over £1bn of projects by value, priding himself on the disciplined execution of each asset. His previous roles include Director at Jones Lang LaSalle and Union Hanover Securities in addition to Project Manager at Mace and Currie & Brown. When Charles isn’t on site, he spends his time cycling and transporting his daughter around Greater London. During his time living in Russia, Charles expanded his cultural perspective and diplomacy, but mostly built an impressive ability to consume vodka. In addition to some interesting nicknames, he holds the titles MRICS and MCIOB.

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Maddalena Padrin

General Counsel

Maddalena is edyn’s General Counsel responsible for overseeing all our legal matters ranging from compliance and risk management, corporate structure, tax, trademark and data protection, to property, finance, commercial agreements, employment and leases. Maddalena works closely with the acquisition, investment, finance, development and operations teams at edyn, providing strategic advice and managing teams of external legal advisors across multiple jurisdictions. Prior to edyn, Maddalena was a Senior Counsel at Taylor Wessing, where she worked for 17 years. When Maddalena isn’t keeping the business safe and us all out of jail, she spends what little time is left with her family and her passion for discovery.

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Paul Spencer

Chief Operating Officer

Operations is where the rubber hits the road: and Paul is the driver. Since the age of 16, hospitality has been Paul’s life. So, having spent most of his life in boutique hotels across Europe, Russia and Israel, he knows a thing or two about hotel operations – it also explains why he started going grey at 25. Genuine and unique experiences are what makes Paul tick, that and a love for 90s hip-hop and electronica (his favourite group is Massive Attack which should earn him some brownie points with our Bristol cohort). On the odd occasion he’s not at a Locke, you’ll find Paul in Edinburgh with his wife Arlene and sons Jack and Charlie (not forgetting Cooper the dog) or, on another whirlwind adventure, probably adding to his extensive tattoo collection.

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Daniel Carre-Bishop

Chief Financial Officer

Renowned for his love of efficiency, Dan Carre-Bishop has contracted his name to DCB in the interests of simplicity and speed. He heads up the overall financial strategy across the group, as well as the day-to-day operation of edyn’s finance function and related disciplines such as procurement and property administration. DCB was previously a Regional Supply Chain Finance Director and Commercial Finance Director at AkzoNobel, until he figured out that hospitality sounded a lot more fun than paints and performance coatings. DCB is known for being fiercely competitive, although he would call it “maximising his personal potential”. A committed Francophile, in his spare time he can be found across the Channel, with his Anglo-Franco family, a glass of wine in hand and a new culinary experience a la table.

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Daniel Dickinson

IT & Business Transformation Director

Dan is responsible for all things tech-related across the edyn Group, ranging from on-property ecosystems to reservations architecture and technical security, and has a passion for harnessing the power of data and technology to drive innovation across the group. His career has covered everything from building mail servers, to multi-million pound data centre migration projects to deploying augmented reality apps. Dan is passionate about travel and has dragged his family from snail shell rooms on the Valencian coast to treehouses in Hanoi. For a tech guy, he’s surprisingly hard to contact when on holiday.

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Samantha Sheridan

edyn Brand Director

Samantha is edyn's Brand Director, responsible for delivering on edyn's brand & marketing agenda and market entry strategies. Having launched the first Locke property as Commercial Manager in 2016, she's overseen the growth of Locke right from the roots. She has an insatiable passion and talent for launching unique and disruptive brands, with over 20 years' experience in multi-disciplined roles. With 25 hotel and aparthotel openings across various brands under her wing, she's well prepared for whatever edyn’s future growth agenda may present. Originally from Glasgow, Samantha's thirst for adventure means she's a regular on the slopes, and enjoys kitesurfing, windsurfing, biking and running. But that's only when she's not drinking good wine and exploring new countries - which is arguably even more regular.

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