NITIN MOTWANI

MANAGING PARTNER, MERRIMAC VENTURES, MIAMI

Merrimac Ventures is a diversified real estate development company based in South Florida that has been doing business for over 30 years in the hospitality, multifamily, condo and mixed-use development sectors. The company had a hand in the transformation of downtown Miami’s blighted Park West district into a thriving $6-billion mixed-use development called Miami Worldcenter, as well as the redevelopment of the failed Las Olas Riverfront into the center of waterfront development in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Its principals are actively engaged in various civic engagements including the Florida Council of 100, the Broward Workshop, the Miami Foundation, the Community Foundation of Broward, the board of University of Miami’s Master of Real Estate Development program, the Partnership for Miami and the R. Motwani Family Academy. Motwani previously served on the board of the Miami Downtown Development Authority, where he led the agency’s efforts to attract finance firms to Miami to create a “Wall Street of the South.”

EDUCATION: Duke University (BA), Columbia University (MS)

FIRST JOB: My first job was working at our family’s first motel, The Merrimac, where our company got its name. I did everything — checking in guests, cleaning rooms, maintaining the pool, and caring for the property.

DREAM ALTERNATE CAREER: If I could, I’d be a travel agent — for myself and my family. I love curating new adventures and exploring the world.

MENTEE IMPACT: My first mentee became the first in his family to graduate high school and attend college. Tragically, his brother — who lacked a mentor — was not accepted into the same school, and his path diverged. It showed me how vital mentorship can be, especially for families working hard to change their trajectory.

NONPROFIT PASSION: The R. Motwani Family Academy, named in honor of my late father, supports mostly first-generation college students — many of them immigrants — by providing access to the hospitality industry, an industry that transformed my own family’s life.

SOMETHING SURPRISING
“My first name, Nitin, is a palindrome — spelled the same forwards and backwards.”