Founders.

Founded by husband-and-wife team Augustine Saylee and Carmencita Whonder, Saylee Group unites global vision with grounded expertise to build destinations where purpose, craftsmanship, and experience converge.

  • Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner

    With over 20 years of experience in luxury hospitality, Augustine brings deep expertise in hotel operations, guest relations, and property management. An accomplished and passionate leader, he has led multi-million-dollar divisions and managed teams across guest services, food and beverage, housekeeping, stewarding, and sales. His leadership experience spans renowned establishments including The Pierre, A Taj Hotel; The London NYC; The Roosevelt Hotel; W New York—Lexington Avenue; Marriott; and Hilton.

    Trained at The Walt Disney World Company in organizational culture and guest experience, Augustine has become a hospitality operations expert known for optimizing performance, enhancing guest satisfaction, and driving profitability. He takes pride in delivering exceptional experiences that leave lasting impressions while empowering his teams to uphold the highest standards of service and excellence.

    Beyond his professional work, Augustine is the founder of Love Barrels, a philanthropic initiative that sends quarterly shipments of essential goods to communities in his birthplace, Liberia. Through Love Barrels, he provides school supplies, hygiene products, clothing, household items, and other necessities to support local families and orphanages—reflecting his deep commitment to service, dignity, and community impact.

    Education:
    New York University—B.S. in Hotel and Tourism Management with Concentration in Hotel Development

  • Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner

    Carmencita is a strategic visionary whose career spans financial services, public policy, and international affairs. She has advised Fortune 500 companies, foreign leaders, startup CEOs, and boards of directors on complex issues including financial regulation, corporate strategy, and philanthropic engagement. A respected expert in housing finance and financial services policy, she spent 17 years representing clients before the U.S. Congress, the White House, and international governments and financial institutions.

    Her prior government service includes serving as Staff Director for the Senate Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development and as Principal Advisor on the Senate Banking Committee to Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY). She also worked at the World Intellectual Property Organization, a United Nations specialized agency in Geneva, Switzerland and founded luxury women’s wear brand, OF WHONDER.

    Alongside co-leading Saylee Group, Carmencita serves as a public company director on the boards of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE: ARI) and MidCap Financial Investment Corporation (Nasdaq: MFIC). She brings to Saylee Group a rare combination of policy acumen, business insight, and creative instinct — melding design, culture, and functionality to create transformative spaces and enduring value.

    Education:
    Howard University—B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Business Administration

    Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies—M.I.P.P. in International Development and Finance