MEET THE TEAM

Soul Community Planet

Who We Are

Fueling souls, inspiring community and sustaining the planet.

Ken Cruse

CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Pam Cruse

CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

JOHN ELSTON

CHIEF REVENUE
OFFICER

Stacie Zastrow

Head of Accounting and Tax

Ryan McCarthy

HEAD OF ASSET MANAGEMENT

Ken Cruse

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Ken Cruse is Co-Founder and CEO of both Alpha Wave Investors (AWI), a hotel investment company; and Soul Community Planet (SCP), a fresh, "Holistic Hospitality" concept offering lodging, memberships, coworking and boutique fitness for those who value personal wellness, social good and the environment.

Prior to founding AWI and SCP, Mr. Cruse was CEO of Sunstone Hotel Investors, a $5B NYSE company. Under Mr. Cruse's leadership, Sunstone Hotel Investors was consistently ranked among the area's Best Workplaces and the Fastest Growing Public Companies, while generating superior shareholder returns averaging 38% per annum.

Mr. Cruse is a member of the Young Presidents Organization and also serves on the board of directors for Miracles for kids, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Mr. Cruse holds a Masters of Business Administration with honors from Georgetown University. Mr. Cruse lives in Southern California with his wife and four daughters.

Pam Cruse

Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer

Pamela Cruse is co-founder and chief marketing officer of Soul Community Planet (SCP). In her role, she helps lead the formation of SCP's holistic hospitality brand and culture.

Understanding that today's travelers more and more want to refresh their bodies and souls, Ms. Cruse focuses on applying the holistic values of the company to a range of branded experiences and to the launch of hotels, restaurants, bars, marketplaces, recreational activities and consumer goods.

Ms. Cruse is a seasoned marketing executive, including tenure at Marriott International, the leading global lodging company, and Gannett's flagship USA Today publication.

Ms. Cruse is an active member of her community having served on the PTF board of St. Margaret's Episcopal School, past president of both the San Clemente Junior Woman's Club and St. Margaret's Episcopal School PTF, and volunteer positions at National Charity League.

Ms. Cruse holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York at Geneseo, and a Masters of Business Administration from Georgetown University and resides in Southern California with her husband and four daughters.

John Elston

Chief Revenue Officer

John has spent more than three decades in the hospitality industry, including executive leadership roles with Red Lion, Hilton, Sunstone, and Interstate Hotels and Resorts.

John brings extensive experience in Revenue Management, Inbound / Outbound Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Food & Beverage. John has been responsible for more than 700 million dollars in annual revenue. John Elston’s forte is building teams from the ground up and augmenting current teams to maximize performance. His creativity and vision are unmatched.

Elston founded a digital hospitality agency that generated more than 200 million dollars annually in revenue for his hotel clients.

In 2018 he wrote the #1 bestselling book The Remote Revolution which details the future of work.

The holistic values of SCP and John’s innate desire to do good make him a perfect fit on the Soul Community Team.

Stacie Zastrow

Head of Accounting and Tax

Ryan McCarthy

Head of Asset Management

Ryan McCarthy is a 20-year hotel industry veteran with extensive experience in all aspects of lodging and hospitality including operations, asset management, strategic planning, and acquisitions. A graduate of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, Mr. McCarthy currently oversees acquisitions and is a co-founder of Soul Community Planet (SCP).

During his career, Mr. McCarthy has been involved in over $1.5 billion of hotel real estate transactions and $750 million of asset-managed hotel properties.

Prior to serving as Head of Asset Management, Mr. McCarthy was interim CFO and General Manager of Salishan Coastal Lodge, an affiliated property to SCP, where he began the repositioning of the prominent asset. He was also recently the Director of Acquisitions at Sunstone Hotel Investors ("Sunstone"). During his time at Sunstone, Mr. McCarthy played a key role in over $750 million of transactions including the acquisitions of the Hyatt Regency San Francisco and the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa.

Mr. McCarthy is passionate about serving people with disabilities. He was previously a board member for The Ability Experience, a non-profit that raises funding and awareness on behalf of people with disabilities. Mr. McCarthy bicycled 4,000 miles from San Francisco to Washington DC and completed an Ironman triathlon to raise money and awareness for The Ability Experience.

"LOVE THE LIFE YOU LIVE, LIVE THE LIFE YOU LOVE"
- BOB MARLEY