the leadership team

David C. Mongeau

Chairman & CEO

David Mongeau is Chairman and founder of Avingstone, part of the Avington Group. Mr Mongeau is a frequent speaker at international hospitality investment conferences and until recently was Vice Chairman of the World Travel and Tourism Council, the international association representing the leisure and hospitality industries.    

Prior to establishing the Avington Group in 2005, Mr Mongeau was Vice-Chairman of CIBC World Markets and Global Head of its M&A and Hospitality groups.

Prior to joining CIBC Wood Gundy in 1993, Mr Mongeau spent seven years at Four Seasons Hotels as Senior Vice President and Executive Vice President, where he was responsible for the creation of the group’s Hotel Management Agreements that are still widely used today and are considered the industry-leading long-term management agreements for hotel operators worldwide.

Before joining Four Seasons, Mr Mongeau practised corporate securities law at Goodmans in Toronto and Baker & McKenzie in Toronto and NYC.

Mr Mongeau did his undergraduate studies at University of Toronto, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and obtained his law degree from University of Western Ontario.

Mr Mongeau is fluent in English and French.

Jim Brown

President and COO

As the President and COO of Avingstone, Jim is extensively involved in the group’s work on the brand selection and hotel development programs and directs all operational aspects of our mandates worldwide.

From mid-2006 through mid-2009, Jim served as President and COO of Sea Island Company Resorts, where he led the iconic resort property through a complete refurbishment and repositioning program of The Cloisters, The Beach Club and the Lodge together with the development of 80 additional residential units.

Between 1997 through 2004, Jim served as President and CEO and a special consultant to the Board for Rosewood Hotels and Resorts.

From 1985 through 1996, Jim was Senior Vice President of Operations at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, responsible for the pre and post-opening management of 40 hotels in nine countries with direct oversight of 27 hotels in eight countries.

Jim holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Hotel and Food Administration from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Bernard Lambert

Senior Managing Director

Bernard Lambert is a globally renowned hotelier with significant experience in the hotel and leisure sector across multiple regions.

From 2002 until late 2013, Bernard was the Chief Executive Officer and special advisor to the Board of Directors of Société des Bains de Mer (Euronext Paris: SBM, US$1.0 billion market cap), a hotel owner and operator, whose major shareholder is the Principality of Monaco.

From 1996 to 2001, Bernard was President and Chief Executive Officer of Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts, where he successfully transformed a French regional brand with 58 hotels primarily in Europe into a leading global luxury brand with 120 hotels in more than 20 countries.

In 2000, Bernard was recognized as “Corporate Hotelier of the World”, and in 2001 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences.

Bernard is fluent in English, French, Portuguese and Italian and maintains a working level comprehension of German and Spanish.

Fernando Chabert

Brazil Operating Partner

Fernando Chabert is one of Brazil’s most recognized hoteliers, with over 40 years of experience across the country.

He most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Hotéis Othon between 2007 to 2016, where he oversaw 11 owned hotels and 15 hotels under franchise or commercial agreements.

Prior to that, Fernando spent 17 years with Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts. Fernando served as the Area General Manager for Le Méridien Brazil and held various General Manager positions across different regions of Brazil and Portugal.

Additionally, Fernando served as President of the Rio Convention & Visitors Bureau until 2015, where he was responsible for the classification of hotels in Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Fernando was named an “Honorary Citizen of Rio” by the state government in 1997 and awarded the “Top of Marketing Bahia/Brazil” and “Hotelier of the Year Bahia/Brazil” awards in 1992.

Fernando is fluent in Portuguese, English and French.

Caroline Mongeau-Bunte

MANAGING Director

Caroline joined Avingstone in 2013 and has been extensively involved in Avingstone’s work on the Four Seasons Canalejas Madrid, Four Seasons Napa Valley Resort, the Oetker Palácio Tangará in São Paulo, Raffles Old War Office in London, and the Waldorf Astoria Admiralty Arch hotel & residences in London.  She was also responsible for Avingstone’s work on the acquisition and redevelopment of the Raleigh Hotel, Miami Beach.

Prior to joining Avingstone in 2013, Caroline worked in the hospitality mergers and acquisitions group at Avington for three years. Prior to Avington, Caroline worked for EMI Music UK.

Caroline holds a MSc in Real Estate Development from New York University and a Bachelor of Science in International Business from the European Business School in London, United Kingdom.

Caroline is fluent in English and French and has an introductory proficiency in Italian.

Christian Bunte

Managing Director

Christian joined Avingstone in 2017 and has worked extensively advising hotel owners and operators on brand selection processes, management agreement negotiations, and property development and repositionings for assets in North America, the UK, Europe, and Brazil.

Christian leads Avingstone’s food & beverage team and has conducted numerous restaurant brand selection processes for hotel and mixed-use projects.

Prior to joining Avingstone, Christian was the founder and CEO of CB Gourmet Foods, a US-based all-natural snack food company.

Christian is a member of the Hotel Asset Management Association (HAMA) in Europe and holds a Certification in Hotel Industry Analytics (CHIA).

Christian holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and is a frequent guest speaker at the school, earning a USC distinguished speaker award in 2016.

Christian is fluent in English and Spanish and has an introductory proficiency in French.