Special Report Who’s Who In Real Estate: Rene G. Kaerskov

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Rene G. Kaerskov has finished seven marathons on seven continents – and an eighth at the North Pole. He’s doing his best to help his design firm keep up.

Kaerskov, the 47-year-old co-chief executive of Hirsch Bedner Associates, which opened its second China office in Beijing this year, is expanding far faster than he had expected.

“Three years ago, we were doing $55 million in revenue and had about 500 employees,” he said. “At the time, I promised myself that HBA would grow to 1,200 employees and $100 million in revenue before I retire. Now, we are 1,200 and we are about to pass the $100 million revenue mark this year and I probably still have 10 to 15 years left before retirement.”

Kaerskov said he got his start with HBA’s London office in 1991 by coincidence after responding to a job listing as a part-time graduate student.

The Santa Monica company has 16 offices in 13 countries, including San Francisco, Atlanta, London, Beijing, Hong Kong and Dubai, and has crafted, draped and finished the rooms of luxury hotels with a portfolio of more than 1,000 projects spanning more than 80 countries.

The Atlanta office led the interior design of the Jing An Shangri-La Hotel in Shanghai last month, designing everything from the public areas to guest rooms – even commissioning a five-story crystal sculpture made up of 4 million crystals for the hotel’s grand ballroom.

Other clients include the St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Raffles Hotels and Resorts in Istanbul; Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in Bazu, Azerbaijan; and the Four Seasons Hotel in Guangzhou, China.

Hotel developers, he said, are looking for distinctive designs that will set them apart from their competitors, a change from the past, when owners sought “homogeneity and conformity.”

Mixed-use projects pose a particular challenge, Kaerskov said, because HBA’s work is generally limited to the hospitality and residential parts, meaning the firm has to find inspiration without having a hand in the commercial side of the project.

“Whether we design for hotel guests, residents or retail customers, the design focus is the same – creative spaces with a sense of place for people to use,” he said. “Too many times designers believe that a project is theirs. Projects are being created for the end user – not for the designer’s personal dreams.”

– Subrina Hudson


Interior Designer

Rene G. Kaerskov

Title: Co-Chief Executive

Company: Hirsch Bedner Associates

Location: Los Angeles | Age: 47

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