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JON S. WRIGHT
Chairman and CEO
accomplish those goals.” At Sears, he was soon
promoted to the electronic and automotive departments,
where he was compensated primarily by commission on
gross sales. He was mesmerized by the fact his income
had surpassed that of most recent college graduates
or those serving the public sector, (part-time no doubt).
For college, Wright decided to remain in Fayetteville
and attend the University of Arkansas. He joined
the Sigma Nu fraternity. “I liked the idea of joining a
fraternity and instantly meeting roughly a hundred new
frat brothers, but unfortunately, couldn’t afford the full
tab or so I thought. My parents termed it ‘Sigma Sin’
and made sure I was aware that all financial obligations
were on my shoulders. A couple of the older brothers/
officers suggested that I work part time to help with the
landscaping for relief of monthly dues. I mowed the
lawn and assisted the gardening crews for two years
while also maintaining my 5:00-9:00 shift at Sears,”
said Wright, “more importantly, I swallowed a lot of
pride.”
After college, Jon accepted an offer from Pitney Bowes,
where he worked in its sales and finance division,
followed by corporate real estate and ABS financing for
Ford’s commercial ABS leasing division. In 1988, he was
recruited to Holiday Inn Worldwide in Memphis to work
for its Real Estate financing arm.
“Fortuitous timing for me, indeed, launched my
career in commercial real estate and specifically the
hotel financing business. I was blessed to meet the
first generation of hotel developers. Most of them
were in their sunset years, and were in the process
of successfully passing their investments to the next
generation. I got to know them intently and learned a
lot from them.” What was most surprising to Jon was
how easily he got along with these businessmen away
from the nuts & bolts of business.
Jon Wright, a 25-plus year veteran of commercial
real estate and hospitality finance, began his
career with Ford Motor Credit’s CRE and ABS
division. He joined Holiday Inn Worldwide
(today known as InterContinental Hotels Group,
“IHG”) where he managed the company’s
finance subsidiary and strategically facilitated
franchisee growth and quality across all IHG
brands via senior and sub debt origination and
syndication.
ACCESS POINT
Access Point Financial (APF) is a direct lender
focused on the hospitality industry. We offer a
full-service lending and advisory platform that
provides financing to qualified hotel franchisees
of all major brands and independent boutique
hotels throughout the United States and Canada.
APF’s extensive experience in hotel bridge
financing, mortgage and CapEx lending,
combined with our consistent track record
makes APF the leader in this specialty finance
sector. Our executive team has more than 100
years of combined hotel financing experience
and has worked together for more than 10 years
to establish an excellent reputation and strong
performance history.
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