B. Gene Carter

Gene is Founder, Chairman, and proverbial backbone of Western International Realty, L.P. A company that, as Gene puts it, is a family business. And pretty much everyone at WI would agree. No one's a stranger around here. And it's not uncommon to see the Carter family dropping by. In fact, his wife Nancy handles all parts of the interior design for the hotels.

Gene first got into commercial real estate development back in 1965. And his experience soon grew to include management and operations areas and, specifically, hospitality.

In 1990, Gene decided to refocus his efforts and expertise exclusively on his first professional love: developing and operating hotel properties. And under Gene's leadership, Western International has garnered a lot of acclaim: Marriott's Developer of the Year (1998, 2007), Marriott's Partnership Circle Award (2001), and WI is consistently one of Marriott's leading franchisees. And Gene's done well for himself, too, earning recognition by Hilton Hotels as Developer of the Year (2009).

Gene's a graduate of Texas A&M University, and he attended law school at the University of Texas and Southern Methodist University.