Meet New Members

Hugh Barber '17
President, Cairn West

Jason Davis '10
Managing Director, Turnbridge Equities

Jason is responsible for sourcing and executing investments across asset classes and the Company’s markets. Prior to joining Turnbridge, Jason was a Senior Vice President at MRP Realty, where he led teams responsible for the acquisition, capitalization, and asset management of office, residential, and industrial properties, including value-add and ground-up development investments, in both New York and Washington, DC. He previously worked at H/2 Capital Partners, an institutional investment manager, where he focused on the acquisition and origination of performing and distressed commercial real estate loans nationally. Jason began his career at Lehman Brothers, where he was an investment banking analyst. Throughout his career, Jason has participated in more than $17 billion in debt and equity transaction volume. He received his M.B.A., with a concentration in Real Estate, from Columbia Business School and his B.A., cum laude, in Urban Studies from Williams College. Jason is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and is a former committee chair of the Washington, DC district council.

Roger Fortune '01
Vice President, The Stahl Organization

Roger leads multi-family and mixed-use real estate development projects from concept to completion via acquisition, feasibility, design, financing, entitlements, construction, marketing, sales, leasing and start-up operations. 

Since 2009, Roger has been Vice President of The Stahl Organization, a privately held, New York City-based, real estate investment and development company with a portfolio of 5 million square feet of office, 3,900 apartments, The Apple Bank for Savings and Cauldwell Wingate Construction.

At Stahl, Roger has developed 388 Bridge Street, a $280 million, 53-story, 500,000 square foot, 234-unit rental/144-unit condo with 90,000 square feet of commercial, The Brooklyn Trust Company Building, a $30 million, 45,000 square foot, 12-unit Historic Landmark boutique condo, and co-led the $140 million repositioning of 277 Park Avenue, a 1.8 million square foot, Class A office building, among other projects.

Previously, Roger worked for Forest City Ratner Companies, Vornado Realty Trust and the New York City Economic Development Corporation. He has worked in real estate since 2000 with previous experience in architecture and film production.

Roger is a graduate of Columbia Business School, Carnegie Mellon’s School of Architecture and Illinois Institute of Technology’s College of Engineering. 

Sridhar (Sri) Vankayala '08
Director of Capital Markets, Saxum Real Estate

Sridhar (Sri) Vankayala, as a Director of Capital Markets, leads Saxum Real Estate's institutional capital markets activities across its portfolio. Saxum is a developer and value-add operator focused on two verticals - Housing (Multifamily and SFR/BTR) and Industrial (Cold Storage and Dry). Sri is intimately involved in arranging debt and joint venture structures for the firm. 

Prior to joining Saxum in early 2021, Sri spent 12 years in the Capital Markets team at Cushman and Wakefield in New York. As Managing Director in the Equity, Debt and Structured Finance (EDSF) vertical, Sri raised debt and equity on behalf of owners, operators, and developers. Over his career he has helped raise nearly $4B in capital across a variety of asset classes/profiles and has built a wide network of capital relationships. Prior to Cushman and Wakefield, Sri spent eight years at JPMorgan Chase in their New York and London offices where he was part of the Private Banking and Investment Banking Technology verticals. Sri has a diverse background having lived in India, U.K., France, and the U.S.

Sri is a graduate of Manchester University (UMIST) in the U.K. and did his MBA at Columbia University (EMBA; Class of 2008). Sri is also a steering committee member of NYSAREN, a commercial real estate organization with over 200 members. NYSAREN’s mission is to facilitate new relationships among its members via educational and networking events.

Sri recently moved from Hoboken, New Jersey to Austin, Texas, where he now lives with his wife and two kids. He has also pleasantly found a local CBS chapter in Austin!

Roland Merchant '01
Senior Managing Director, Head of Institutional Advisory, CBRE Captial Advisors

Roland Merchant is a Senior Managing Director in the New York office for CBRE Capital Advisors, Inc. Mr. Merchant joined CBRE in 2021 and brings more than 20 years of experience in finance, sales and real estate investment banking. His primary concentration has been on investment advisory and equity placement transactions nationally. Throughout his career, Mr. Merchant has been involved in more than $20 billion of investment advisory, joint venture equity, debt placement and loan sales transactions for major public and private institutional real estate investors throughout the United States.

Previously, Mr. Merchant served as a Senior Managing Director in JLL’s Capital Markets division in New York, where he joined as part of the HFF acquisition. He started at HFF in March 2017. Before that, Mr. Merchant was at Eastdil Secured LLC for over 13 years. Prior to Eastdil, he was an Investment Banking Associate in the Capital Markets Group at Cushman and Wakefield and the Leveraged Finance Group at Merrill Lynch. He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, where he was awarded the Robert A. Toigo Fellowship and a BA from Dillard University. He is an active member of Urban Land Institute (ULI), the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), the Real Estate Roundtable (RER) President’s Council and Real Estate Executive Council (REEC). Philanthropically, Roland is the Board Chairman for the Robert Toigo Foundation Alumni Endowment Board and Vice Chairman on the Board of Trustees for the City Parks Foundation of New York.

Circle Associate

Dylan West '18

Circle Associate
 

Mikhael Edouard '18

Circle Associate
 

Andres Arozarena '23

Ash Poddar '23

Zachary Bayer '23

Dani Glouberman '23

José Ignacio Ameabar '23

Kennedy Shields '23

Deirdre Steel '23

Tony Dong '23

Javaughn Griffin '23

Nina Madison '23

Jee Young Kim '23

Gregory Oran '23

Greg Oran is a Senior Asset Class Specialist at Partners Group, responsible for capital formation and product development for the firm’s real estate business. Prior to joining Partners Group, he was a Vice President at Bridge Investment Group, a vertically integrated real estate investment firm. Greg began his career in real estate as a Vice President in the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs, where he worked as a Product Specialist. Greg has a BS from Cornell University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. 

Leader

Ed McGovern '95
Managing Director/Capital Markets, Security Properties

Ed McGovern joined Security Properties in 2009 and is the Managing Director of Capital Markets. He is a member of the Investment Committee. Mr. McGovern is responsible for raising private equity and debt from high net worth investors, institutions, and family offices to be invested alongside our partners and our own capital. To date, he has raised over $600 million of private capital to aid in the financing of more than 120 Security Properties assets worth over $4 billion. In addition, Mr. McGovern is involved in managing the firm’s branding and public relations strategy and is responsible for interactions with the media.

Mr. McGovern has over 25 years of finance and real estate experience involving high rise commercial development and real estate private equity. His career has involved both investment and disposition roles in office, hotel, retail, and multifamily real estate for both ground-up development and acquisition/rehab projects. Mr. McGovern holds a BS in History from the US Naval Academy, an MBA focused on Finance and Real Estate from Columbia, and a Construction Management Certificate from the University of Washington, where he has served as an Adjunct Professor in the UW Runstad MSRE program and is a returning guest lecturer.

Associate

Aradhna Kelsey '16

Leader

Tony Talbert ‘04
​​​​​​Managing Director, The Sidling Group

Mr. Talbert is a Managing Partner of The Shidler Group, where he is responsible for acquisitions and developing new investment initiatives, including The Shidler Group’s multifamily, net-lease, and hotel investment platforms. Since joining The Shidler Group in 2013, Mr. Talbert has played a key role in the acquisition of over $3.8 billion of commercial real estate comprised of over 4,400 apartment homes, 2,000 hotel rooms, and four million square feet of office.

Mr. Talbert was previously a Managing Director with Chatham Financial where he co-founded the firm’s real estate investment banking group. In this role, Mr. Talbert executed capital raising and structured finance assignments in excess of $5 billion. Mr. Talbert also founded Chatham’s commercial defeasance practice and executed over $100 billion in interest rate and foreign currency trades to hedge client risks.

Mr. Talbert earned a BS in Industrial Engineering with Honors from The Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Associate

Eric J. Thomas ‘22
Senior Vice President, CBRE, Inc.

Eric is a commercial real estate leasing executive with 20+ years of experience partnering with Fortune 500 clients to drive & execute real estate growth strategies. Throughout his career, Eric has led every touchpoint within transactions including uncovering market opportunities, crafting leasing strategies, and delivering client value through negotiation, with the aim to establish long-term client relationships and repeat business.  Eric is also an active mentor and investor in early-stage PropTech startups through an advisory position at MetaProp NYC (venture capital firm). 

Associates

Daniel Goldbard '22 
K&R Realty Management, Vice President of Asset Management

Daniel Goldbard is the Vice President of Asset Management at K&R Realty Management. He has worked across the real estate lifecycle including positions in development, construction administration, and property & asset management. He currently manages a growing portfolio of over 2500 market and mixed-income units across Manhattan and Queens. Prior to joining K&R Realty, Daniel worked at Artimus Construction, a multifamily developer in New York, and Bayport Funding, a bridge lender to small and medium-sized developers in the Tri-state area and Florida. Daniel holds a BA from Brown University and he graduated CBS in May 2022.

Arsean Maqami '22
DP Partners, Founder

Arsean launched Design Build Partners (DBP) in 2020 and has led construction and development efforts in California, Texas, Florida, Connecticut, New York, and Indiana. DBP's first client was Seritage Growth Properties where Arsean served as a Vice President of Development and Construction, leading efforts for their UTC La Jolla mall, Aventura mall, Santa Monica mall, and West Hartford mall redevelopments. The company has grown to five people with an office in Austin and New York City. Prior to starting DBP Arsean ran a general contracting business in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle for WeWork. Arsean holds a BA from Swarthmore College and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He lives in New York City with his wife Whitney (CBS '22).

Benjamin Schwartz ’22
Bridge Investment Group, Capital Raising and Investments

Benjamin Schwartz is a recent graduate from CBS Class ’22. His primary focus was mainly on Real Estate and Finance, building a closer connection with the Paul Milstein Center as a Teaching Assistant for Brian Lancaster’s Real Estate Finance course. Benjamin is a member of the Real Estate Association among several other student organizations and served as Chief of Staff of the Student Government Executive Board. He was also awarded a Second Year Fellowship. Prior to CBS, he worked at WS Development based in Boston, MA for 6.5 years, leading the leasing and management efforts for two properties: The Street in Chestnut Hill, MA and Hyde Park Village in Tampa, FL as well as executing deals for several other Development properties including the Boston Seaport in Boston, MA and The Royal Poinciana Plaza in Palm Beach, FL. Benjamin has executed lease agreements for WS with Tenants such as Nike, Blue Bottle, Warby Parker, Coyo Taco, Kiton, Daniel Cremieux, OddFellows, Chase Bank, PNC Bank, Cardullo’s Gourmet Food Store in Harvard Square, Seaport Barbers and many other restaurants, chefs, entrepreneurs, and retail operators. As a member of the UpMarkets team, he participated in planning and executing re-development and ground-up development efforts and worked on community partnerships, for example connecting one of Boston’s best retail stores Bodega with The Institute of Contemporary Art and WS Development in support of Virgil Abloh’s “Figures of Speech” exhibit. Benjamin was able to learn more about the intricacies of the industrial asset class through a summer internship with Wharton Equity Partners between first and second year at CBS. After graduation, Benjamin will be working with Bridge Investment Group on capital raising and investments. Benjamin continues to pursue entrepreneurial real estate opportunities and advise on retail placemaking.

Leaders

Joe Noon '17
Realterm, Vice President

Joe Noon leads the US Central Region Investment activity for Realterm - a vertically integrated owner and manager of high flow through (HFT) logistics facilities with over $10B in AUM. Prior to Realterm, Joe worked in development and investment roles with Hines Interests and the Trammell Crow Company. Joe holds a BS in Mathematics and Economics from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He is an active member of Project Purple, a non-profit organization created to raise awareness, fund research, and support patients and families affected by Pancreatic Cancer. Joe lives in the Second City – Chicago, IL.

Pablo Redondo Lopez '16 
PineBridge Benson Elliot, Senior Vice President

Pablo is an investment professional at Pinebridge Investments focused pan-European private equity since 2016. Pablo has experience in a wide range of asset classes including office, residential, hotel and senior living among others. Prior to Pinebridge Investments, Pablo worked in NPL and distressed assets, and he started his career in investment banking. He holds an MBA with Dean's Honors from Columbia Business School, as well as a dual bachelor degree in international business from ICADE in Madrid and Northeastern University in Boston. Pablo lives in Madrid with his wife and two kids, and he can be easily found in London as well.

David S. Rose '83 
USREM, Founder and CEO

David is the Founder & CEO of USREM, the US Real Estate Market, a venture-funded capital markets platform bringing fractional real estate investments to large property owners and institutional investors. A fifth-generation entrepreneur, real estate developer and early-stage investor, he is an Inc. 500 CEO who has been described by Forbes as "New York's Archangel" and by Red Herring magazine as the "patriarch of Silicon Alley". David is a recipient of the Outstanding Builder/Developer Award from the Associated Builders and Owners of New York, and Vice Chair of REBNY’s Technology Committee. He is the New York Times best-selling author of both Angel Investing and The Startup Checklist, and his third book, THE REAL ESTATE INVESTING BIBLE: 25 Actionable Strategies from the Industry's Legends, will be published by Wiley in 2023. His earlier career included over a decade at Rose Associates as VP Development, where he pioneered the PropTech field, and serving as Special Assistant for Urban Affairs to US Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Associate

Andrew Yuan ’22
 Ikebana Zen, Founder

Andrew is a restauranteur in NYC. In 2020, he started the first restaurant Ikebana Zen, a contemporary Japanese omakase restaurant in Hells kitchen in the middle of Covid-19. In July, he will open 2nd restaurant, Knock Knock, an Asian tapas and Dimsum restaurant in Long Island City, New York. He also runs a brokerage firm Highkey LLC. He started this firm when he was a full-time student at NYU to finish his Master's degree in integrated marketing. Andrew earned his B.S. in Marketing at the Smeal Business college at Penn State University.

Leaders

David Gillespie ’04

David joined AvalonBay in 2007 in the Boston office and has led development activity on 16 communities totaling over 3,400 apartment homes and $1.2 billion in capital investment. David has developed projects that range from suburban garden communities to urban high rise buildings. He also has a great deal of experience in mixed use and mixed income development. Prior to AvalonBay, David worked in development roles in NY & NJ, and as a construction engineer in Boston and Washington, DC. David holds a BS in Civil Engineering from Tufts University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He lives in Newton, MA with his wife Linda (CBS ’04) and two daughters.

Mark Momongan ’99

Mark approaches executive recruitment with the energy of an entrepreneur. In 2020, he founded Maple Hill Search Partners with a select group of real estate clients, sharing his vision of a boutique executive search firm that offered more nimble, focused and personalized services than larger shops. Previously, Mark served for a decade as a Managing Director of a global retained executive search firm, overseeing business development and client management for more than 150 searches. Mark started his career as a capital raiser, cultivating $1 billion in growth capital for his clients. It was here that he first developed the entrepreneurial mindset that boutique firms provide a stronger value proposition, where focus, attention, trust and substance matter most—a mindset that would later evolve into his vision for the firm. Mark holds degrees from Georgetown and Columbia Business School. He lives in Glencoe, IL and is married with two boys. His passions include travel, nature, ice hockey, and fishing.

Michael Hyun ’05

Michael Hyun is the Chief Investment Officer of Crow Holdings where he is responsible for business development, M&A and strategic investment initiatives.

Prior to joining, Michael founded Graphene Group, an investment advisory platform partnering with a range of institutions and operators on investments, corporate strategy and capital raising. Prior to founding Graphene, Michael was the Chief Investment Officer, Executive Vice President at Brixmor Property Group (NYSE: BRX), the largest owner of grocery-anchored retail centers in the U.S. where he led investment strategy and portfolio management. Before joining Brixmor, Michael was an Executive Director on the investments team at Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing executing on investments across all real estate sectors and return strategies. Michael began his real estate career at Greenstreet Real Estate Partners, a boutique real estate private equity firm.

Michael earned his B.S. in Economics at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his M.B.A. degree from Columbia Business School, where he graduated with honors. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) member of the New York CFA Society and Horace Mann School Alumni Council.

Stephanie Wright ’16

Stephanie Wright is a Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor within NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate where she teaches finance and development courses in the school's graduate and undergraduate real estate programs. Her career has spanned more than a dozen diversified years in real estate acquisitions, development, capital markets and asset management, across both conventional and impact products. Most recently, she was Investment Vice President at PGIM Real Estate where she handled the execution of $1.5 billion in transactions with a particular focus on alternative assets and special situations. Previously, she was responsible for managing all aspects of PGIM’s ground-up construction east of the Mississippi, including joint venture negotiations, plan & cost reviews, environmental diligence, and construction monitoring for $20 billion of multifamily and industrial developments. Prior to PGIM, Stephanie was a member of Brookfield's Private Funds Practice where she project-managed the launch of the firm's $7 billion global infrastructure fund, $1.25 billion real estate finance fund and $1 billion core plus office club vehicle. Stephanie began her career in impact investing with Jonathan Rose Companies. She holds an M.B.A. with Dean's Honors and Distinction from Columbia University, a B.A. with honors in English from Yale University, and a Certificate in Real Estate Finance & Investment from NYU. She has received industry acknowledgments from groups including WX, PREA, the Women’s Bond Club of New York and Columbia University’s Paul Milstein Center. She is a member of ULI and the Columbia Real Estate Circle. Lastly, Stephanie is a mom of two little monkeys and the wife of one very supportive husband. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the world with her kids and husband, as well as interior design, classical music (she is a violinist), skiing, and golfing poorly. 

Talya Nevo-Hacohen ’93

Ms. Nevo-Hacohen has served as Sabra’s Executive Vice President, Chief Investment Officer and Treasurer since November 2010. From September 2006 to August 2008 and from February 2009 to November 2010, Ms. Nevo-Hacohen served as an advisor to private real estate developers and operators regarding property acquisitions and dispositions, corporate capitalization, and equity and debt capital raising. From August 2008 to February 2009, Ms. Nevo-Hacohen was a Managing Director with Cerberus Real Estate Capital Management, LLC, an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., a private investment firm. From 2003 to 2006, Ms. Nevo-Hacohen served as Senior Vice President—Capital Markets and Treasurer for HCP, Inc., a healthcare REIT. Previously, from 1993 to 2003, Ms. Nevo-Hacohen worked for Goldman, Sachs & Co. where she was a Vice President in the investment banking and finance, operations and administration divisions. Prior to her affiliation with Goldman Sachs, she practiced architecture and was associated with several architectural firms in New York.

Ms. Nevo-Hacohen received her B.A. from Yale University, and her M.Arch. and M.B.A. from Columbia University. She serves on the Board of Advisors of the Yale Jackson School for Global Affairs, is an advisor to Palladius Capital Management, a real estate investment platform, and Znest, a web-based start-up company. She is a trustee of South Coast Repertory, a nationally recognized regional theater, serves on its Executive Committee and has chaired several committees. She also sits on the board of a community-based philanthropic venture and a board affiliated with the Jewish National Fund. While living in New York, she served as a board member of The Yale Club of New York and chaired its Athletic Committee. Ms. Nevo-Hacohen is a locally competitive masters’ division runner who continues to train and race regularly throughout southern California.

Associate

Tana Weissman ’20

Tana has been with The Broadway Company since its inception in 2011. She started as a Property Manager before moving to a Project Manager, and then finally to focusing on acquisitions. Currently, she oversees all functions of the business operations including acquisitions, dispositions, leasing strategy, property management and accounting.

Moon Street, The Broadway Company’s single-family rental (SFR) and mobile home division is Tana’s brainchild. Moon Street is the product of an over two-year exploration in the asset class and the result of her Columbia Business School business plan incubator. Tana is actively sourcing new acquisitions in various markets as well as allocating capital into this segment.

Tana has earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing Communication and Entrepreneurial Studies from Emerson College and her MBA from Columbia University where she focused on Real Estate Finance.

Her philanthropic endeavors include Run to Home Base for Massachusetts General Hospital, The Miriam Fund, and CJP.

Leader

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Lea Guberina-Sulc ’12
​​​​​​

Lea Guberina-Sulc is the owner of LGS Management LLC, a real estate company offering project management oversight for owners and developers. Prior to starting LGS Management LLC, Ms. Guberina-Sulc spent six years as a Senior Vice President at Witkoff. At Witkoff, Ms. Guberina-Sulc was responsible for the oversight of development on several projects including 215 Chrystie Street (condo residences and PUBLIC hotel) and 701 7th Avenue in New York and pre-development of Drew Las Vegas, Witkoff’s multi-billion dollar development project in Las Vegas. Ms. Guberina-Sulc has over 15 years of real estate experience. Prior to joining Witkoff, Ms. Guberina-Sulc worked at BlackRock in the Real Estate Private Equity Group, and was responsible for overseeing acquisitions for the New York tri-state area and Pennsylvania. She was also a member of the real estate portfolio management team, where she conducted portfolio analytics, fund investment strategies, and investor relations. Prior to joining BlackRock, she worked at Cape Advisors as a project manager on several luxury condominium and hotel projects. Ms. Guberina-Sulc graduated Summa Cum Laude from New York University and received her MBA with Dean’s Honors from Columbia Business School with a concentration in Real Estate and Finance.

Associate

Ashley Anderson '21 

Ashley Anderson is an Associate at Hodes Weill & Associates, a capital advisory firm focused on real estate and real assets funds management. She is a member of the Columbia Business School Class of 2021. During school, Ashley was the Co-President of Columbia Women in Business and the Associate VP of Education for the Real Estate Association. She previously worked at Epoch Investment Partners in New York and, prior to joining Epoch, led business development efforts at Apartment Therapy Media. She received a BBA from Baylor University.

Leaders

Matthew Neisser ’14

Mr. Neisser is the CEO and Co-Founder of LendingOne.  He has scaled the platform into one of the largest and fastest-growing private lenders in the country and has worked across all facets of the firm. Mr. Neisser has focused his career in real estate and finance.  He served as the Principal at a regional commercial real estate firm that handled office, industrial, retail, multi-family and land. Mr. Neisser also gained valuable experience in residential real estate and land development throughout his career. Mr. Neisser brings to LendingOne years of knowledge in technology and finance and has coupled this with his range of experiences in the real estate market from owning, selling, and leasing residential and commercial properties.

Mr. Neisser also is a member of the Young Presidents Organization, Urban Land Institute, Turnaround Management Association, Columbia Real Estate Association, and International Council of Shopping Centers. He graduated with honors from Rutgers University-New Brunswick with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and with honors from Columbia Business School with an MBA.

Arthur Romeo ’12

Mr. Romeo is an investment professional at Sixth Street, a global investment firm with over $50 billion in assets under management. Prior to joining Sixth Street, Mr. Romeo was an investment professional at H/2 Capital Partners, an institutional investment manager dedicated to opportunistic real estate investing. Prior to joining H/2, Mr. Romeo was an investment professional at Mercury Capital Management LLC, an institutional investment manager focused on private and public special situation real estate investments globally. Mr. Romeo earned his MBA from Columbia Business School and his BS from Fairfield University.

Associate

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Maureen Devenny ’21

Maureen Devenny graduated from Columbia Business School in the Class of 2021. She concentrated in real estate and finance and served as the Co-VP for Site Tours and Associate VP of J-Term for the Real Estate Association. Her professional interest is the intersection of real estate and economic development. While at CBS Maureen held in-semester internships in real estate development (working on vertical industrial and mixed-use residential projects) and strategic investments (at a Community Development Financial Institution). Prior to Columbia, Maureen was the Deputy Director of Operations at Bryant Park Corporation and 34th Street Partnership, two Business Improvement Districts in Midtown Manhattan. She worked closely with developers and government agencies on development and public realm improvement projects within the Penn Station area. Maureen graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2011 where she studied political science and Spanish.

Associates

Jeremy Cooper ’21

After graduating Columbia Business School, Jeremy recently joined Stonehill, a hospitality debt fund based in Atlanta, as VP of Business Development. During his time at CBS, Jeremy worked in real estate private equity, where he underwrote and managed equity relationships for $680MM of hotel developments and acquisitions and launched a hotels-to-housing investment platform targeting $500M of transactions. Jeremy learned the hospitality business from the ground up in operations of Cooper Hotels, a family business with over 2,000 hotel keys. Over time, he prepared appraisals and published market feasibility studies for leading lenders and developers, representing over $5 billion of hotel and portfolio transactions. He also gained valuable experience at Hilton during its IPO.

Andrew Kim ’21

Andrew Kim is a Senior Associate at Invesco Real Estate. Based in New York City, Andrew is responsible for underwriting and analyzing investment opportunities for the firm’s debt fund.

Prior to CBS, Andrew was a Senior Investment Analyst at GoldOller, a multifamily-focused real estate investment and management firm. In his role, Andrew worked on the acquisition, recapitalization, and disposition of apartment properties throughout the United States. Before GoldOller, Andrew was a CMBS Analyst at Kroll Bond Rating Agency, where he analyzed commercial real estate properties and CMBS bonds.

Andrew received a BS in Economics from the Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. At CBS, Andrew was an Alexander Bodini Real Estate Fellow and Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) Scholar. 

John Millett ’21

John Millett is a 2021 CBS graduate, and he will be joining Welltower, a senior housing and healthcare REIT, as an Investments Associate in New York.  Prior to CBS, John was a Research Analyst at Kynikos Associates, an equities hedge fund, where he covered TMT and consumer companies.  From Atlanta originally, John earned a BS in Business and a BA in History from the University of North Carolina. During his MBA, he interned at O-Zone Partners and Drake Real Estate Partners in New York. John is a Columbia Fellow and a Real Estate Circle Fellow.  He graduated from CBS with Dean's Honors with Distinction. 

Justine Murphy ’21

Justine Murphy is an Acquisitions Associate at Schulte Hospitality Group, a professional hotel management and development company managing over 150 hotels in 37 states based in Louisville, KY.  Prior to attending business school, Justine worked in healthcare investment banking with a focus on hospitals and healthcare systems at Hammond Hanlon Camp and Morgan Keegan (nka Raymond James). She received a B.A. in Economics from Yale University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Busines School. 

Angela Wang ’21

Angela Wang is a member of Columbia Business School Class of 2021 focusing on Real Estate Investment. Prior to CBS, Angela spent 6 years at Trinity Street Capital Partners in New York City, where she raised equity for the first private equity transaction of the company and closed commercial mortgages on 50+ projects in various US markets. Over the summer, she interned with Actis in their Asia Real Estate team. Angela is a CFA Charterholder. She graduated from Central University of Finance and Economics in China in 2012 and from Columbia’s MSRED program in 2013. 

Lisa Weingarten ‘21

Lisa Weingarten is a member of the Columbia Business School Class of 2021, the elected Cluster Chair for her 70-person MBA class section, and the elected co-President of the CBS 500-member Real Estate Association. After graduation, she will be joining Tishman Speyer in New York as a Senior Associate. This past summer, she interned for Hines on its New York real estate development team. Prior to attending CBS, Lisa worked in real estate development and asset management at Simone Development Companies in New York. She managed ground-up construction and redevelopment projects, negotiated commercial leases across asset classes, and represented the company at political/community functions. Lisa graduated from Cornell University in 2016 with a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations. 

Leaders

Kate Crosby ’13

As Vice President of Investments, Kate shares the responsibility of managing the end-to-end process of investments activity made on behalf of the company’s value-add funds, including deal sourcing, purchase and sale negotiations, joint venture opportunity assessment, and ongoing portfolio monitoring. Kate also has an active role in maintaining stakeholder relationships by ensuring the proper valuation, reporting, and integrity of each of the firm’s active funds.

Prior to joining The Davis Companies in 2016, Kate worked as an Associate for Spear Street Capital, based out of New York, NY. In her previous role with Spear Street Capital, she led several multi-million-dollar capital improvement programs, participated in lease negotiations and underwrote new deals across the U.S. and Canada, and oversaw the dispositioning and sale negotiation process of a wide array of asset classes across several markets.

Kate’s further background experience includes investments, financial analyst, and architecture roles with Beacon Capital Partners, Columbia National Real Finance, and Perkins & Will Architecture & Planning. She received her MBA from Columbia, with a Real Estate Concentration and received her BA from UPenn, majoring in Architecture.

Lisa Mayer ’97

I started investing in real estate 5 years ago.  I have focused on small multifamilies in the Los Angeles area, and would like to start looking at larger properties on the east coast.  I am happy to be a part of the Circle and look forward to the attending events remotely.

Associate

Sophie Nitkin ’20

Sophie recently joined the Hines New York Office to focus on new development. She graduated from CBS in 2020. Prior to her time at CBS she held roles at CIM, NYC Department of City Planning and HR&A Advisors.

Leaders

Brent Connell ’95

Since 2018, Brent Connell has been a Managing Director at Geneva Capital Group, Inc., a boutique real estate lending firm specializing in commercial construction lending from $5M to $100MM+. Prior to Geneva, Brent was SVP at a Chicago community bank running their loan department. Additionally, he founded a private advisory group with two other CBS alum to provide strategic advisement to 50+ community banks across the US and had a stint with a private investment fund in NYC.

Eric Tam ’08

Eric Tam is a Managing Director at Blackstone, having joined the Strategic Partners group in 2016. Strategic Partners is a leading global investor in the alternative asset secondary market. Based in London, Mr. Tam manages the international real estate activities of Strategic Partners and sits on the group’s Real Estate Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Tam was a Vice President at H/2 Capital Partners, where he focused on commercial real estate credit investments and capital markets activities in the U.S. and Europe. Before joining H/2, Mr. Tam was an Associate at Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing, where he focused on acquisitions for both opportunistic and core fund strategies. Prior to that, Mr. Tam was a Manager at Accenture in the Financial Services practice, specializing in mortgage banking.

Mr. Tam received a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Leaders

Christopher Chang ’07

Christopher Chang oversees Menlo Equities’ strategic relationships, leads the firm's engagement with its limited partners, and spearheads the firm's capital raising strategy and execution. 

Prior to joining Menlo Equities in 2017, Chris was a Vice President in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs. During his 10 years at Goldman, he led the firm’s West Coast Real Estate investment banking business, where he was a strategic advisor to a number of private and publicly traded real estate companies on capital raising, mergers & acquisitions, and general corporate finance matters. Over the course of his investment banking career, Chris advised clients in raising more than $20 billion of equity and debt capital and on more than $30 billion of M&A transactions. He also held positions at JPMorgan Chase in New York, London and San Francisco in the Investment Bank Technology and Global Technology Infrastructure groups. 

Chris received his BS in Applied Economics and Business Management from Cornell University and his MBA in Finance and Real Estate from Columbia Business School where he earned Beta Gamma Sigma honors.

Steve Grant ’92

Prior to co-founding MCRE with Andrew Nathan in 2019, Steve co-founded ClearRock Properties in 2009 as an owner/operator focused on acquiring, repositioning and operating under-performing assets in New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. From inception to 2019, ClearRock owned/operated 15 properties valued at $1.5 billion. Prior to ClearRock, Steve served for 10 years as a Managing Director at Tishman Speyer, leading various functions including global leasing, tenant relations and property management. Steve also served on the firm’s development committee and on the acquisitions and equity capital markets teams. Before joining Tishman Speyer, from 1997 to 1999 Steve co-led the establishment of Trizec Hahn’s New York presence, growing their portfolio to nearly 8.5 million square feet. From 1992 to 1997, Steve was a Vice President at LaSalle Partners where he leased and asset managed a group of trophy midtown and downtown Manhattan properties. In the three years before business school, Steve worked as an institutional investment advisor at Colonial Consulting and a global financial analyst at Electronic Data Systems. Steve earned an undergraduate degree in finance, summa cum laude, from the University of Maryland and completed his MBA at Columbia University where he was class president and graduation speaker. For 8 years, he was an advisor to the founder/executive director of FoodFight—an educational not-for-profit serving public schools in need. He continues to volunteer for programs that provide life skills’ growth for underserved teens.

Ines Leung ’07

Ines Leung has over 20 years of experience in real estate investment and capital raising, most recently as Head of Investor Relations at Argosy Real Estate Partners, where she oversaw the firm's client servicing and fundraising initiatives, and held a key leadership role in the launch and development of new investment strategies.  Prior to joining Argosy, Ms. Leung was a Director of Investor Relations at GE Capital Real Estate.  Her background also includes a variety of business development, capital markets, and advisory positions at Credit Suisse, Rockwood Real Estate Advisors, and Cushman & Wakefield. Ms. Leung received an MBA from Columbia Business School and a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University.

Jeff Wainwright ’11

Jeff is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of West End Capital Group.  West End is a privately held real estate investment firm headquartered in Washington, D.C.  The firm was founded in 2013 and has acquired 3,000+ apartment units and ~1 million square feet of commercial space since inception.  Jeff is involved in all aspects of company leadership including strategic initiatives, acquisitions, financing, asset management, and fundraising.  Previously, Jeff was a Vice President and partner with Starwood Capital Group’s acquisitions team.  Prior to Starwood, Jeff worked with Gladstone Capital in its private equity and mezzanine debt group, and began his career as an investment banking analyst in Wells Fargo’s leveraged finance group.  Jeff holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a B.S. in Finance from Virginia Tech.

Leaders

Alex Bernstein ’00

Alex is the 4th generation to be involved with Bernstein Real Estate and serves multiple roles within the firm. 

As Executive Vice President, Alex seeks out new investments for the firm’s real estate portfolio, debt placement and strategic partnerships.  He performs the due diligence, analysis and financing components of each transaction.  Alex recently completed the development of Flow Chelsea, a 55-unit residential certified Passive House rental building at 211 West 29th Street.  Alex also pursues private equity opportunities on behalf of the Bernstein Family.

Alex is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York and the Young Men’s/Women’s Real Estate Association and was named the “Young Real Estate Professional of the Year” in 2019.  He is a graduate of Union College and has an MBA in real estate and finance from Columbia Business School.

Katie Pelczar ’08

Katie joined BMGI in 2020 to co-head the Real Estate Investment team. Katie oversees real estate investment strategy, sourcing and execution across all property types and geographies. Prior to joining BMGI, Katie was an Executive Director in UBS’ Real Estate and Private Markets division. At UBS Katie closed more than $3 billion of real estate transactions, primarily on the East Coast.

Katie is an active member of ULI and CREW. Katie received an MBA from Columbia Business School with a concentration in Real Estate Finance and graduated from Washington University in St Louis with a BA in French and Anthropology.

Jeff Turkanis ’10

Jeff Turkanis is the Head of the U.S. Residential platform for Oxford Properties, a leading real estate investor, developer and manager owned by OMERS.  He leads a team responsible for acquiring and developing multifamily opportunities as well as the portfolio/asset management of its residential portfolio. He initially joined Oxford’s New York based investment team in 2010 and has been involved in the acquisition of over $10 billion in real estate assets in the U.S.  While on the investment team, he was also responsible for managing Oxford’s co-general partner interest with Related Properties in Hudson Yards during the predevelopment phase of the project.  Prior to joining Oxford, Jeff worked as a fixed income bond trader for Putnam Investments.

Jeff holds an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School (Class of 2010) and a B.S.B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis. He resides in Marblehead, MA, with his wife and three children.

Associates 

Francisco Heffesse ’19

Francisco Heffesse serves as President & Founder of Gateway Real Estate LLC.  Since 2010, he has sourced, structured, and underwritten the firm’s targeted acquisitions in Florida, focusing on multi family affordable housing units and complexes.  He has overseen the management and conversion of two entire complexes totaling more than 700 residential units.

Prior to founding Gateway, Francisco worked as Managing Director at his family office in Argentina, managing a real estate portfolio comprised of hotels, retail and commercial assets.  Francisco received his BA degree from Universidad de San Andres in Buenos Aires, and his Executive MBA from Columbia and London Business School in 2019.

Taylor Pierce ’19

Taylor is a Senior Associate at Gaia Real Estate, a NYC-based, vertically integrated, real estate private equity firm focused on residential and office assets in NYC and major markets across the US. He is responsible for assisting in the firm's acquisitions efforts by sourcing, underwriting, and closing new investment opportunities. Taylor also oversees redevelopment and capital projects for the firm's national portfolio. Prior to GAIA, Taylor worked as a Development Associate for Hanover Company, a national, luxury multi-family developer, and as an Investment Analyst for Vanbarton Group, a NYC-based real estate private equity firm focused on value-add multifamily and office assets in core US markets. Taylor graduated with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and Mathematics from University of Kentucky and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Leader

Philippe Visser ’04

Philippe Visser is President of Related Office Development where he leads the company's expansive commercial office development efforts nationally. Mr. Visser led the successful execution of 30 Hudson Yards, a 2.6 million-square-foot, 1,296-foot-tall office tower and the home to KKR, Wells Fargo, WarnerMedia, Related's corporate headquarters and The Edge observation deck.  Mr. Visser recently led the completion of several of New York City’s largest-ever leases including the 1.5 million square lease to Facebook at 30, 50 and 55 Hudson Yards as well as the 1.1 million square lease to Deutsche Bank at One Columbus Circle.  He also spearheaded the $2.1 billion sale-leaseback of the 1.5 million sf WarnerMedia condo at 30 Hudson Yards.

Philippe has served as Director of World Trade Center Redevelopment for the Port Authority and has over 20 years of experience leading large scale real estate projects at Tishman Speyer, Vornado Realty Trust and Forest City Ratner.  Residing in Brooklyn with his wife and two boys, Philippe is a Board Member of the YMCA of New York and the UJA’s Brooklyn Advisory Committee, and is a past Trustee of Kane Street Synagogue.

Associates 

Adam Kietz ’20

Adam’s main responsibilities at GPC Partners include underwriting, investment structuring, due diligence, and construction project oversight. Adam also supports capital markets and investor relations efforts at the firm.

Prior to joining GPC Partners, Adam worked at Related Fund Management, where he was part of an investment team underwriting and structuring preferred equity investments nationwide in multifamily assets for investments by separate account and dedicated fund vehicles. Prior to Related, Adam worked at Format Real Estate Ventures and Aspen Capital, where he was part of entrepreneurial efforts building real estate equity portfolios across multifamily, office, and retail assets across the east coast of the US.

Earlier in his career, Adam spent time at J.P. Morgan Private Bank advising high net worth clients on investment portfolios and leading fund raising efforts for private placement opportunities.

Adam received his MBA from Columbia Business School with a concentration in Real Estate Finance, a BBA degree from the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business, and earned a CFA charter.

Andrew Lohrfink ’20

Mr. Lohrfink joined Tishman Speyer in 2013 and currently oversees the firm’s acquisition and new business efforts in Nashville, TN and Atlanta, GA.  Prior to this role, he spent two years on the office leasing team in New York City, and four years on the asset management team in Washington, D.C.  He started his career with Tishman Speyer in New York as an analyst in its Leadership Development Program. Mr. Lohrfink graduated from Georgetown University and received an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Katie Vila ’16

As Chief Operating Officer at Roundhouse, Katie oversees the company’s investment and operations platforms, leading all property management, acquisitions, dispositions, development, and financing activities. Since joining Roundhouse in June of 2016, Katie has directly overseen $550M of real estate transactions, including seven new developments and thirteen acquisitions in California, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, and Utah.

Leaders

Matthew Karp ’04

Matthew Karp is President, Americas at Amstar and is responsible for U.S. acquisitions and new business initiatives as well as overseeing the asset management of existing positions. Mr. Karp joined the firm in 2017 and has over 20 years of real estate investment experience.

Before joining Amstar, Mr. Karp was a Partner and Head of Real Estate for TriSpan LLP, an alternative investment management group backed by a consortium of family offices and private investors, where he directed all elements of investment strategy and capital deployment within real estate. Earlier in his career, Mr. Karp held various senior investment and management positions and Cerberus Capital Management, CPG Real Estate, and Savanna Partners where he was responsible for sourcing, underwriting, structuring, negotiating asset management opportunist real estate equity and debt investments across the U.S. and Latin America/Caribbean.

Mr. Karp graduated with a B.S. from Cornell University and received his MBA with honors from Columbia Business School. Since 2018, Mr. Karp has served on the Board of Trustees of the Government Development Bank Debt Recovery Authority following his appointment by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Fernando Lamas ’05

Fernando oversees the business development activites at Ohana.  Prior to joining Ohana in 2019, Fernando was a Managing Partner at BTG Pactual where he served as the Global Head of Distribution for the BTG Pactual Asset Management Division. Prior to joining BTG Pactual in 2010, Fernando was a senior managing director and Partner at BSE Management where he was in charge of business development and marketing. Prior to BSE, Fernando served as Executive Director in the Prime Services Division at UBS Investment Bank and also served as Vice President in the Private Client Services Division at Credit Suisse First Boston (formerly Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette).  Fernando holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Tulane University and an MBA from Columbia University.

Scott Shapiro ’99

Before returning to his home state of Washington from New York, Scott was with Related Urban Development (formerly The Palladium Company) and Related Lodging Group, real estate development affiliates of The Related Companies, L.P. Prior to that, Scott co-founded Cityfeet, a leading online commercial real estate network that was sold to LoopNet.

While in business school, Scott was a financial analyst at MAX Capital Management Corporation, handling real estate acquisitions and financings. He was also a summer associate at Paine Webber Real Estate Securities, providing principal lending and investments for opportunity funds and other real estate clients.

Before attending graduate school, Scott worked in Washington, DC, conducting property management and marketing at The JBG Companies, management and strategic consulting with KPMG, and government affairs and policy analysis with Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds. Scott received his BA with honors in government and American studies from Wesleyan University and his MBA in real estate and finance from Columbia Business School.

Leaders

Craig Elkind ’91

Craig Elkind is a Partner at Elk Street Management, a Philadelphia-based real estate development company with a strong commitment to the revitalization of the City and its neighborhoods. Elk Street’s projects include both residential and commercial development with an emphasis on high quality mixed use properties. Elk Street develops both vacant and underutilized land with a focus on transit-oriented projects that bring the best of urban design to Philadelphia. Craig has also managed his own family office since 2014.

From 2002-2013, Craig was a Portfolio Manager for financial services at various alternative investment firms including CKE Capital (Millennium), Harbor Watch Capital, SAC Capital and Satellite Asset Management. From 1998-2002, he was employed in traditional asset management at Credit Suisse and Lazard. Craig was a Member in private equity firm Fisher Capital Corp (a KKR affiliate) in the 1997-1998 time frame. Earlier in his career, he was a Director of Insurance Ratings at Standard & Poor’s (1995-1997) and a Manager of Financial Planning & Analysis at SCOR U.S. Corp (1991-1994). Craig is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He also received his M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia Business School (1991) and B.A. in Mathematical Economics from Colgate University (1989).

Michael Ridloff ’07

Michael has overseen the acquisition and asset management efforts of Vanke US since its inception in 2013. He leads the investment team which is responsible for sourcing, underwriting, executing and managing development opportunities with best in class US developers.  He also leads the asset team, working collaboratively with our investment partners to add value to Vanke’s projects.

Prior to joining Vanke US, Michael worked on the acquisitions teams of Lane Capital Partners and Madison Capital, where he originated, analyzed and executed core plus, value-add and opportunistic real estate investments, distressed loan acquisitions and commercial joint ventures in major US markets across all property types.

Previously, Michael served as an acquisitions officer at DTZ Real Estate Investors and as a loan originator at Eurohypo AG after beginning his career on Wall Street at Bear, Stearns & Co. and BlackRock, Inc. 

Michael holds an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School. He enjoys tennis, golf, skiing, family time, historical non-fiction, wine and travel.

Associate

Donal Warde ’19

Donal Warde is Vice President – Strategy at HQ Capital Real Estate, a private equity real estate investment firm based in New York. In his current role, he works across a variety of functions including investments, asset management, marketing, research and corporate strategy. Previously, Donal worked on the Investment Team at HQ Capital Real Estate where he sourced and closed new multifamily real estate investments across the U.S. Prior to this, he worked in real estate in France for five years.

Leaders

Julie Brenton ’89 

Prior to joining Dune in 2014, Ms. Brenton was a Managing Director at Ranieri Real Estate Partners overseeing the firm’s capital raising and investor services functions since the firm’s inception in 2010.  Prior to joining RREP, Ms. Brenton was a Managing Director for Helix Financial LLC/BlackRock Solutions where she established new revenue lines and client segments. Prior to joining Helix Financial LLC/Blackrock Solutions, Ms. Brenton was a Partner at Valencia Capital Management, responsible for all activities relating to investor and consultant relationships. Before joining Valencia, Ms. Brenton was a Managing Director of Olympus Real Estate Partners, an opportunistic real estate investment management firm, where she oversaw all aspects of product development, distribution and client relations. Ms. Brenton has also served as a Managing Director for Guggenheim Partners, worked for O’Connor Group/JP Morgan Investment Management, establishing and managing the client services team, and at AT&T, overseeing the real estate investment portfolio of AT&T Master Pension Trust.

Ms. Brenton is a member of the Pension Real Estate Association, serving for a decade as the Chair of the PREA Quarterly Committee and currently serving on the New Programs Committee. She is a Board Member of The Brenton Arboretum and former Trustee and Investment Committee Member of The Taft School.  Ms. Brenton received her B.A. in Economics from Carleton College in 1985 and her M.B.A. in Finance and Real Estate from Columbia University Business School in 1989.

Arvind Chary ’11 

Arvind Chary is the Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Atlas Real Estate Partners and $1B+ Real Estate Investment Manager based in New York City. Arvind is focused on the firm’s strategic initiatives, acquisitions, financing, and new capital relationships. Prior to forming Atlas, Arvind was the Director of Acquisitions at WL Capital, an owner-operator of student housing throughout the United States. In this role, he led a team that built WL into one of the largest owners of student housing in the country. Prior to joining WL, Arvind worked in originations in the CMBS group at Countrywide Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc., where he was part of a team that issued over $2B of Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities. Arvind began his career at Boston Capital, one of the top five largest owners of multifamily in the U.S.

Arvind holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Tufts University and an MBA from Columbia Business School with a concentration in Real Estate and Entrepreneurship. Arvind is the founder of the Tufts Real Estate Network, founder of the New York South Asian Real Estate Network, Co-Chair of the Covenant House Real Estate Executive Charity Sleep Out and former President of the Columbia Business School Real Estate Association. He was a semi-finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young and selected as a 2015 Emerging Multifamily Leader.

Daniel J. Entwistle ’00

Daniel J. Entwistle is the Founder & Former President of NYC Office Suites, a leading midtown Manhattan provider of flexible office space, co-working and shared office suites. Daniel joined the company after graduating from Columbia Business School and spent 16 years expanding the company. With 7 midtown locations, NYC Office Suites is one of the longest operating shared office providers in NYC.  In 2016 NYCOS was sold to The Blackfield Group, a private equity firm.

A lifelong New Yorker, Daniel lives on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Daniel graduated from Babson College with a BS in Economics and received his MBA from Columbia Business School in 2000. Daniel is an active member of the Hermes Society at Columbia Business School and the National Council at Avon Old Farms School.  Daniel is also an active supporter of Dancing Classrooms, Harlem Junior Tennis, Health Care Advocates for Older People and Search & Care, not profit organizations dedicated to improving the lives of NYC residents. 

Sebastian Salas ’13 

Sebastian identifies and evaluates potential Pennybacker credit investments as a member of the original StoneBeck team. He also provides economic and submarket research. Furthermore, he is actively involved in origination and portfolio optimization activities.

Prior to StoneBeck and Pennybacker, Sebastian worked at Cantor Commercial Real Estate (“CCRE”) as an Associate in the Originations group where he facilitated the origination, underwriting, analysis and closing of over $700 million of fixed and floating rate commercial mortgage loans and mezzanine debt collateralized by office, retail, multifamily, student housing, industrial, hospitality and self-storage properties across the U.S. Prior to CCRE, Sebastian worked as an Associate at Benerofe Properties analyzing and modeling pro-forma cash-flows and reconciliation reports for multi-tenant office and industrial properties for a portfolio valued at over $500 million.

Sebastian received a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from Columbia Business School with a concentration in Real Estate Finance.  Prior to Columbia Business School, Sebastian served for six years as an officer in the U.S. Army where he served two tours in Baghdad, Iraq.

Associates 

Tommy Chan ‘19

Tommy Chan is native of Brooklyn, NY and is a graduate of the Class of 2019. Prior to business school, he worked as an Owner's Project Manager assisting private developers, public municipalities, and non-profit organizations in managing their development projects. Tommy currently works at Boston Properties as a Development Project Manager in their San Francisco office. Tommy graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Civil Engineering.

Christian Coates ’19

Christian Coates is an Associate at Spear Street Capital, a real estate private equity firm that owns and operates office assets in the US, Canada, and Europe. In that role, he is responsible for all aspects of the investment process, including acquisition, asset management, financing, and dispositions. During his time at Columbia Business School, Christian worked as a Summer Associate in Morgan Stanley's Real Estate Investing group. Before attending business school, Christian worked as an Acquisitions Associate at FCP, an opportunistic real estate private equity firm in Chevy Chase, MD. At FCP, Christian was responsible for evaluating multifamily equity and debt investments in existing assets and new developments. Christian is from Ocean City, MD and graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government and a minor in Economics. 

Michael Stern ’19

Michael Stern serves as a Senior Associate at Madison Capital and is responsible for underwriting and analyzing potential acquisitions and financing commercial real estate investments including direct property acquisitions, loan investments and note acquisitions.

Prior to joining Madison Capital, Mr. Stern served as an Acquisitions Analyst in Morgan Stanley’s Private Real Estate Investing Group (MSREI) where he underwrote new real estate acquisition opportunities on behalf of the firm’s core and opportunistic funds. Prior to joining Madison Capital, Mr. Stern has acquired over $1.2 billion in multifamily, office, and life sciences assets.

Mr. Stern earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia Business School.

Kenny Thompson ’19

Kenny Thompson is an Associate at L+M Development Partners in New York, where he focuses on acquisitions and asset management for investments in the firm’s Workforce Housing Fund.

He recently graduated with an MBA from Columbia Business School. Prior to Columbia, he worked on the Real Estate Finance & Securitizations team at Credit Suisse for five years where he focused on the origination and syndication of large commercial mortgage and mezzanine loans for a variety of institutional sponsors. In October 2017, Kenny was featured in the Commercial Observer’s 25 Under 35 list for industry’s top debt originators and brokers. He graduated with a BA in Economics from Brown University where he was a Co-Captain of the Men’s Track & Field team and an Academic All-Ivy Team selection as a senior.

Garnett Veney ’19

Garnett Veney is an investment professional working at Castle Hill Investors in New York City. He is involved in all aspects of the business such as acquisitions, development, new business origination, asset management and dispositions on various property types nationwide including manufactured housing, student housing, and self-storage. While at Columbia Business School, Garnett was a Bodini Fellow, a CMC Fellow, the VP of Alumni and Careers for the Black Business Student Association (“BBSA”), and the Alumni Chair of his cluster. Garnett was also a Robert F. Toigo Fellow and interned as a Summer Associate at Beacon Capital Partners. He also led and completed personal investments in opportunistic single-family home transactions in his hometown of Baltimore, MD during his time as a student. Prior to business school, Garnett worked as an Investment Sales Analyst at Eastdil Secured where he was involved in over $1.5 billion of institutional real estate transactions including office, retail, and master-planned community sales. Before his time at Eastdil Secured, Garnett was an Investment Banking Analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey in the bank’s Structured Real Estate group completing single-tenant triple-net-lease transactions including sale/leasebacks and build-to-suits for the bank’s clients. Garnett holds a BBA from Howard University ('13) and an MBA from Columbia Business School ('19).

Leaders

Stonington Cox ’07

Nomos Group is a Manhattan based real estate investment and advisory firm with a focus specifically on the Coliving sector. In his role as CEO, Stoney oversees all aspects of firm strategy and investment.  Stoney is also a Board Director for OpenDoor Coliving. Prior to Nomos Group, Stoney was a Director in the investment division at Cadre, a Partner at Accord Group Holdings and a Vice-President at Macquarie Capital in the real estate investment banking group for a number of years in Hong Kong and New York. He started his career in the commercial brokerage division of GMAC Pacific Union in San Francisco. Stoney holds a BSFS (Honors) from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, a Masters in Finance (I-banking) from INSEAD, and an MBA from Columbia Business School with a concentration in Real Estate Finance. Stoney is also a philanthropist, cyclist, surfer, angel investor and father of two.

Randy Giraldo ’04

With over 20 years’ real estate experience, Randy is the portfolio manager for the TIAA Real Estate Account, the industry’s largest investment vehicle dedicated to providing individual investors direct access to commercial real estate, enabling portfolio diversification beyond equities and fixed income.

The TIAA Real Estate Account is a variable annuity with over $25 billion in net assets under management, and consists primarily of investments in office, industrial, retail and multi-family properties throughout the US. It is accessible to millions of individual investors through their employer’s TIAA-administered retirement platforms.

Since joining the company in 2008, Randy has held acquisitions and portfolio management positions focused both in the United States and Latin America. 

Randy holds undergraduate degrees in liberal arts and civil engineering from Fairfield University and Stevens Institute of Technology, respectively.  He also holds a Master of Science in construction management from Stevens Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University Business School. 

Randy is a member of the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE), and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), as well as active involvement in a variety of non-profits supporting lower Fairfield County, Connecticut. 

Emily Von Kohorn ’06 

Emily Von Kohorn is Co-Head of the Global Real Estate Practice at Sheffield Haworth, a boutique executive search firm.

Prior to her current role, Emily worked in real estate asset management, development, capital raising, and investor relations. After holding such positions at Tishman Speyer and Fir Tree Partners in New York, Emily founded her own capital advisory firm, working in New York and Istanbul. She holds a B.A., magna cum laude, from Harvard University, and attained her M.B.A. from Columbia Graduate School of Business in 2006. She speaks French and Turkish (a little less well every day) and serves on the Board of Trustees of Greens Farms Academy, a day school in Westport, Connecticut.

Leaders

Ivo de Wit ’17

Ivo de Wit is a Managing Director and Fund Manager of the Global Alpha Fund. Based in London, Ivo is a member of the GIP Executive Committee and he is responsible for performance, strategy, and investment decision making of the global portfolios. In addition, he is an Adjunct Professor and Senior Fellow at Columbia Business School.

Ivo joined CBRE Global Investors in July 2010. Prior to this Ivo worked at ING Real Estate as Global Portfolio Manager in London, where he was responsible for managing global non-listed real estate investment accounts for institutional clients. Before that, Ivo was part of the Global Executive Team of ING Real Estate Investment Management. He has been responsible for strategic planning, asset allocation, investment selection and performance monitoring for both listed and unlisted funds. During his more than 20-year real estate investment career, he has worked in various regions around the world focusing on business and strategic direction, executing new business opportunities and allocating seed capital. In New York, Ivo was a Vice President for Clarion Partners.

Ivo has a Ph.D. in Finance from Maastricht University and an MBA from the Joint Global Executive Program from Columbia Business School and London Business School.

David Dowell ’04

Mr. Dowell is a Managing Director at Spear Street Capital responsible for investments throughout the eastern United States.  Spear Street Capital is a Real Estate Private Equity firm which invests across the US, Canada, Ireland and the UK.

Throughout his career Mr. Dowell has held senior investment positions at several large Real Estate Private Equity firms during which time he has led the acquisitions and dispositions of over $2.5 billion of commercial real estate across the U.S. and U.K.

Most recently, Mr. Dowell was a Managing Director at The Rhône Group, a 20-year old international private equity sponsor with north of €7 billion of assets under management.  While at Rhône he co-founded and built out the firm’s Real Estate Investment Platform, and helped to launch a separate joint-venture Real Estate Investment fund co-sponsored with WeWork. 

Mr. Dowell began his career in Commercial Real Estate with GE Capital Real Estate’s North America Ventures group, focusing on structured transactions across a broad range of assets types, and is a graduate of GE’s Experienced Commercial Leadership Program (ECLP).

Mr. Dowell received a B.A. from Emory University, an M.A. in Quantitative Data Analysis (QMSS) from Columbia University and an M.B.A. with a concentration in real estate finance from Columbia Business School.

Quentin Reynolds ’02

As a Managing Director and head of the Investments Team, Quentin is responsible for originating, underwriting, closing and monitoring all investments of the Funds.  Quentin serves on The Davis Companies’ Investment Committee and Senior Management Committee.  Prior to joining the firm, Quentin spent more than 15 years in real estate finance and investment management at Silverpeak Real Estate and its predecessor, Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners.  He has been involved in the acquisition and management of opportunistic real estate investments across a broad array of markets, property types and capital structures on behalf of a series of institutional real estate investment funds.  Quentin has overseen the investment activities of Davis Investment Ventures Funds II and III, which have invested over $1 billion of equity capital since 2013.  Quentin received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School.

Leaders

Mark Caplan ’84

Mr. Caplan is a Baltimore native active in real estate investment and management as well as equipment and vehicle financing in the region. He is the President and CEO of Time Group, a real estate equity firm where he has worked since the mid-1970s. The Time Group has interests in approximately 6,000 units of multi-family, manufactured housing, and senior living. He is also a founder and is currently the Chairman of WPM Real Estate Management, a manager of multi-family properties as well as other property types currently comprising in excess of 19,000 units. In addition to his real estate activities, Mr. Caplan is Chairman of Madison Capital, an independent vehicle and equipment financing firm he and his father, Caswell, founded in 1984. Mr. Caplan is a member of the Board of Directors Bay Bank, a publically traded community bank (NASDAQ symbol BYBK). Mr. Caplan is active in the non-for-profit community in Baltimore, having served or currently serving on the Boards of The Walters Art Museum, The Bryn Mawr School, The Gilman School, Center Stage, B.E.S.T., Charles Street Development Corp., MBA Real Estate Program Advisory Board of Columbia Business School, and St. Ignatius Loyola Academy. Mr. Caplan graduated from Gilman School in 1976 and Johns Hopkins University in 1981 where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Social & Behavioral Sciences. He received his Master of Business Administration from the Columbia Business School in 1983, which he attended as a Dean’s Fellow.

Leslie Carranza ’85

Leslie Carranza is Managing Partner at Adara Capital. During her tenure as a placement agent, Ms. Carranza has successfully matched investors with real estate operators and alternative investment managers, helping investors meet their return goals while staying within risk guidelines.  She works primarily with North American based institutional investors including family offices, multifamily offices, endowments, foundations, fund of funds, RIAs, insurance companies and pension funds.  Ms. Carranza has been with the FINRA registered broker dealer, Stonehaven LLC, since early 2009.  She holds FINRA series 7, 63 and 79 licenses and maintains jurisdictional registration in all 50 states.  Prior, she recruited within the financial services and real estate industries and spent ten years as a taxable fixed income salesperson for Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan. Ms. Carranza earned a BCE, civil engineering degree, magna cum laude from Villanova University and an MBA from Columbia University.   She has given back to her community by mentoring five girls through high school with Student Sponsor Partnership and is involved in several other charitable organizations.