Southern hospitality.

• Author: Duckwall, Jane
• Position: NC100: CFO OF THE YEAR

Julie Richter

Chief financial officer

CONCORD HOSPITALITY ENTERPRISES CO., Raleigh

Owner and manager of more than 90 hotels

EMPLOYEES: 4,000

COMPANY FOUNDED: 1985

NOTABLE: CONCORD PLANS TO OPEN 17 HOTELS IN 2017

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Julie Richter, chief financial officer at one of the state's biggest hotel operators, has shown a mix of accounting acumen and relationship-building skills that have impressed investors and lenders and helped finance an expanding pipeline of hotels.

Privately held Concord Hospitality Enterprises Co. owns or manages more than 90 hotels with 13,000 rooms. It has 4,000 employees and operates under brands including Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton, and it reports annual revenues of about $500 million.

Negotiating is one of Richter's favorite tasks. "It's great to figure out how to make a transaction work, which in our world means growth for our core business and job creation for a lot of people who are really passionate about making a difference in the lives of their guests," she says.

Richter grew up in Florida and earned a master's in accounting from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. After working as an auditor at Arthur Andersen and as controller at Cleveland-based hotel-manager Boykin Lodging Co., she joined Concord in 2007.

Concord has a complex business structure, yet Richter "manages hundreds of investors and makes it look...