South Florida Business Leader Shares Advice at HCBE Distinguished Lecture Series

J. Preston Jones, D.B.A., fean of the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship’s and Ramola Motwani chairwoman and chief executive officer of Merrimac Ventures.

Ramola Motwani recently shared the “personal journey” that led her family’s company––despite her husband’s death and seemingly insurmountable obstacles––to become a pivotal force in the redevelopment of Fort Lauderdale beach.

Motwani, chairwoman and chief executive officer of Merrimac Ventures, spoke to a group of NSU professors, students, staff and guests as part of the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship’s Distinguished Lecture series.

A 2015 Hall of Fame honoree, Motwani and her husband, Ramesh, moved to Fort Lauderdale from Missouri in 1986 after purchasing the Merrimac Hotel on Fort Lauderdale beach. They soon formed Merrimac Ventures, a real estate management, development, and investment company.

While they were expecting to find the beach bustling, the number of visitors drastically dropped during the next few years as the city took measures to curtail spring break visitors. As a result, college students stayed away and businesses along the beach closed their doors for good.

Ramola Motwani

While other properties fell into foreclosure, the Motwanis envisioned a future for the beach that would attract developers, major hotel chains, and international visitors––a vision that has become a reality today.

Determined to follow that vision, Motwani described how she took over the helm of Merrimac Ventures while raising the couple’s two sons following the death of Ramesh at age 47 in 1994.

“As business owners, we all get data;we all get numbers,” she explained. “But when those critical moments in our life come, when we have to make some tough business decisions, how do you get beyond that and how do you follow your dream?”

Moving to Fort Lauderdale in 1986, shortly before the beach real-estate market collapsed, “that was a critical point,” Motwani said. “If you see my journey, it started from small hotels to the major developments today. There was a lot that happened. How did I survive that journey and what did it take?”

“Number one, you have to have a passion for what you do. You have to believe in yourself. Don’t question yourself. All the answers are within us. All the strength is within us. To get that dream to reality we still have to do certain things…no matter how much we can fast forward, we have to go through the process and that is to believe in yourself and just remind yourself that yes, you can do it.”

“When we bought the hotel on Fort Lauderdale beach and when business collapsed, it collapsed to the ground. Every other property was either being foreclosed or auctioned off. What can you do in that market and how can you survive in that market? We had a vision. My husband was a visionary. We not only survived, we also excelled.”

NSU President Dr. George Hanbury, who met the Motwanis 25 years ago when he was Fort Lauderdale’s city manager and the Motwanis were trying to develop their beach properties, said that Ramola Motwani is an example of many NSU core values––innovation, integrity and community..

“What did it take? We rolled up our sleeves and got to work,” explained Motwani. “My husband became very vocal in the community. We had to find the next step. And it was not only the Merrimac; it was also looking at the future of the market and where the market was going. Basically, everybody else was gone.”

The couple began seeking input from developers and international tour operators, asking what they could do to make the beach a tourist mecca again. They took their vision to the city. They brought investors into the market. Eventually, their strategy succeeded––most recently, the company’s Tropic Cay motel on Fort Lauderdale beach was demolished to make way for the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel & Residences. Merrimac Ventures is a partner in that project with developer Fort Partners of Miami.

Motwani shared with the audience, “After my husband died, I looked inside and said, ‘yes, I can do it.’ There will always be challenges. There will always be questions. You will always say, why me? Why did 26 banks say no to me? I could say ‘because I’m a woman.’ You have to continue to prove yourself until you see the end of the tunnel. Keep walking. You will see it.”

Motwani encouraged NSU students to continue their education.

“All I had behind me was my education. I always say that education is one aspect that no one can take away from you. You can have money in the bank and it can be gone. But education goes with you. Educate yourself as much as you can. Because when those downturns come, no matter what, we will be able to provide a good life to our families because we are educated and we are qualified.”

“We don’t have to stop learning. We continue to learn every day. I learn something from every meeting. Always stay focused. There’s so much more you can do. Step up and ask questions…and you move forward from there.”

Finding life balance is critical, she said.

“No matter what we do, we have to keep a balance. I had to keep a balance of being a great entrepreneur but I didn’t want to get lost in that. It was all time management. Nothing stopped me. I continued to focus on my business and at the same time, I wore another hat…I had to be mother and father to my children. I had to be there when they needed me.”