Piper Jaffray announced the addition of Greg O'Stean as a senior vice president within the hospitality group. His addition is an integral component of the firm's hospitality finance growth plans. O'Stean will be based in the firm's Atlanta office, responsible for new business development, owner relations and strategic opportunities for the Piper Jaffray hospitality group.

O'Stean is a veteran hospitality professional with 25 years of experience in the sector. O'Stean began his career with Ernst & Young's real estate group and later worked with IHG, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, GE Capital and most recently, as CFO and principal of Access Point Financial, a hotel lender. He has been providing leadership in commercial real estate for more than two decades with a broad background in hotel finance, acquisitions, development, capital markets and asset management.

Over the last 15 years, the Piper Jaffray hospitality group has been the leading financier of convention and conference center hotels via public-private partnerships, and has recently diversified its business to include private hotel projects. The addition of O'Stean will allow the firm to accelerate the growth of this business segment.

"As a firm, we remain committed to strategically growing our hospitality finance franchise," said Frank Fairman, head of Piper Jaffray public finance. "Greg's track record and experience will play a major role in driving our hospitality efforts forward while further expanding capabilities for our clients."