Saumil Chheda

Saumil Chheda is Chief Technology Officer & Risk Management at Montford Group, a technology, operations, and risk leader with more than 20 years of experience spanning enterprise software and hospitality real estate. At Montford Group, he owns the firm’s technology strategy and risk management function and supports underwriting, asset management, and investor relations across a national portfolio of roughly 4,233 hotel keys and more than $1.5 billion in total assets under management.

In his role, Chheda sets and runs the firm’s technology strategy across corporate systems, asset-level technology, and technology scopes for new builds and PIP/renovation projects. He built and leads Montford Group’s proprietary internal platform—covering deal screening, asset management, loan tracking, and construction—and leads the firm’s AI strategy and adoption, including firmwide rollout, training, and the automation of underwriting, reporting, and diligence workflows.

He also oversees the firm’s risk management function, including its property & casualty insurance program, broker relationships, lender and franchisor insurance compliance, and claims management across the portfolio, and supports investor relations through the firm’s investor portal, reporting infrastructure, track record, and syndication communications, along with underwriting and diligence support, vendor selection, and operator technology standards.

Chheda has been with the firm since its earliest days, joining full-time in October 2020 as Chief Technology Officer, where he built the firm’s technology function from the ground up—including its proprietary internal platform—and leads risk and insurance across the portfolio.

Prior to joining Montford Group, Chheda spent two decades building and leading technology companies across the U.S. and India, founding, co-founding, or investing in 14 ventures with multiple exits, most recently Blisstering Solutions, where he served as Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer. At Iksula, he held roles including President of Sales, President of Technology, and Chief Solutions Officer, doubling company revenue and delivering triple-digit EBITDA growth through operational efficiency and investment in people and technology. Earlier in his career, he held product and engineering management roles at Silicon Valley technology companies.

Chheda holds a master’s degree in Computer Science and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. Outside of work, he’s focused on fitness, wellness, and animal welfare—and believes technology and AI should be built into how an investment firm actually works, not bolted on.