Robert C. Farmer is the President and CEO of Sphinx Hospitality, Inc. (SHI) and its sister firm, Sphinx
Group, Inc., a national real estate finance and development consulting firm he founded in 1997. With
over 25 years of experience in real estate investment and development, he has played a key role in
structuring and executing major hospitality and commercial projects.
Mr. Farmer has been affiliated with the UrbanAmerica Group of Companies, a $2 billion private equity
real estate firm, for more than two decades. Most recently, as Senior Vice President of Development
and Capital Markets, he led multiple master development projects spanning nearly 50 acres with a total
cost of $450 million. He has extensive experience in complex hospitality transactions, including the
transformation of the 1,200-key former Sheraton into the DoubleTree Resort at SeaWorld in Orlando, a
project that earned Hilton Worldwide’s Hotel Developer of the Year award.
He began his career in commercial banking, completing PNC Bank’s Corporate Credit Program in 1991
before specializing in urban commercial real estate finance. He held leadership roles at Summit Bank
(now part of Bank of America) and FirstUnion Bank (now Wells Fargo), overseeing community
development finance. He also served as Executive Director of the North Philadelphia Financial
Partnership, the nation’s largest Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) at the time.