our story

As former c-suite executives, we joined forces to start a company that would leverage our combined experience in commercial real estate, brand strategy, marketing, and restaurant design, in order to serve clients in both consulting and executional roles. In fact, our name refers to the many types of "markets" we focus on...for example, the real estate market, the consumer market, and of course marketing.

Our real estate development and branded design division focuses on residential and commercial projects that tell a story through architecture and design. We're passionate in the belief that beautiful design can be exceptionally functional and vice versa. We pride ourselves in optimizing form and function and believe neither should ever be sacrificed.

Along with real estate development and design, Mrkt Group also offers consulting services in the areas of brand strategy, marketing execution, real estate, development, and design. We work with clients on a project basis or even as a fractional CMO or CDO, allowing our clients the flexibility to fill their resource needs as they see fit. We've worked with both public and privately-held companies, with big global brands and start ups, so we know what it takes to get the job done and can get it done quickly at any budget level with a vastly reduced learning curve.

We're excited to work with clients and apply our experiences to help them accelerate growth and achieve their goals. We're passionate people who want to work with passionate clients. We love what we do and love having clients who feel the same way. After all, life is too short to not enjoy it!

meet our founders

Adam Hlavaty

As an industry leading real estate and development executive, and a former Chief Development Officer, with over 17 years of experience, Adam has successfully grown several global and national brands by leveraging his deep understanding of market dynamics, a brand’s position within the marketplace, and data to define effective real estate development strategies and negotiations.

Adam most recently served as the Chief Development Officer for Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc, who owns, operates and franchises Pollo Tropical. In his role, he served on the Executive Committee and led all real estate, design, construction, facilities and franchise initiatives for the company. Adam was instrumental in Fiesta’s sale of Taco Cabana to Yadav Enterprises, Inc. in 2021, and, most recently, the public to private transaction involving Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. and Authentic Restaurant Brands, a portfolio company of investment firm Garnett Station Partners.

Before joining Fiesta, Adam served as Vice President of Development for Benihana Inc., a global restaurant company which owns and operates Benihana, RA Sushi, Haru Sushi and Samurai. While at Benihana, he oversaw all real estate operations including site selection, lease negotiations, real estate finance, design/architecture, construction, and facilities. In 2012, Adam played a key role in the public to private transaction involving Benihana Inc. and Angelo Gordon, where he negotiated a $47M portfolio sale leaseback transaction between Benihana Inc. and VEREIT.

Prior to his tenure at Benihana, Adam was the Head of Real Estate for Pret A Manger US, where he led the company’s entry into Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C. and further expanded the brand within Manhattan. Before joining Pret A Manager, Adam advised the company, as well as several other national retailer and real estate developer clients, as a commercial real estate broker for Newmark Knight Frank in Chicago. He along with his longtime mentor successfully launched Newmark’s Midwest Retail brokerage office in 2008.

Adam has a proven track record of success in driving revenue growth through strategic investment and portfolio optimization. He is a dynamic cross functional leader with a passion for dealmaking, development and design.

Adam holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics from Purdue University. Outside of his professional interests, he serves as a Director on the Coral Gables Museum Board of Directors and actively fundraises for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, ICU baby, and Amigos For Kids.

Hope Diaz

As a seasoned executive with over 25 years of marketing experience, and a Chief Marketing Officer at both public and private companies, Hope has focused on driving brand growth and sales by developing bold and effective brand positioning strategies and marketing campaigns for global, national, and regional brands by leveraging her research and analytics background.

Having most recently served as the Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc, who owns, operates and franchises Pollo Tropical. In her role, she served on the Executive Committee and led all marketing efforts, including brand initiatives, media and strategic partnerships. She also sat on the board of the Fiesta Family Foundation. In 2023, she was an integral part of the public to private transaction involving Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. and Authentic Restaurant Brands, a portfolio company of investment firm Garnett Station Partners.

Prior to joining Fiesta, Hope served as the Global Chief Marketing Officer at Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, owned by Restaurant Brands International, one of the world’s largest quick-service restaurant companies, which also owns Burger King, Firehouse Subs, and Tim Hortons. As Global CMO, she spearheaded the repositioning of the Popeyes brand including new visual identity, logo, restaurant design, and product launches such as the Popeyes Chicken sandwich - the brand's most successful product launch in over 30 years. The repositioning and strategic initiatives not only led to same store sales growth and improved brand metrics, but also led to brand expansion through franchising within the US and globally across Europe, South America, and Asia.

During her tenure at RBI, she also held a variety of leadership roles at Burger King Corp, including serving as the Head of Global Innovation & Guest Understanding, as well as Head of Marketing Communications for North America. In those roles, she was a key player in steering the brand, as well as working with franchisees both in the US and globally to ensure sales and profit growth.

Before joining RBI, Hope was the Director of Research & Strategic Planning at Viacom Latin America, where she was responsible for all programming research for MTV Latin America, Nickelodeon Latin America, and VH1 Latin America.

Hope holds an MBA with a concentration in International Business, as well as a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in International Finance & Marketing from the University of Miami. She is also a member of University of Miami President’s Council and is actively involved with Christopher Columbus High School through scholarship donation and as a member of their marketing committee.