The SREC is an invitation-only group comprised of 100 Stanford alumni who represent a collection of senior executives at the highest level of the real estate industry.
Stanford Alumni Real Estate Council (SREC)
A.J. Agarwal (MBA '92)
Senior Managing Director
Blackstone
A.J. Agarwal is a Senior Managing Director in Blackstone's Real Estate Group and leads Blackstone's U.S. Core+ real estate business. A.J. joined Blackstone in 1992 and is a member of the Firm's Real Estate Investment Committee. A.J. oversees Blackstone Property Partners, Blackstone's institutional U.S. Core+ fund with over $30 billion of assets as well as Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Blackstone's private REIT, with over $35 billion of assets. Prior to launching and leading Blackstone's Core+ business in 2014, A.J. was co-Head of U.S. Acquisitions for Blackstone's opportunistic equity business and oversaw more than $50 billion of real estate investments across all real estate asset classes. A.J. graduated from Princeton University, where he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and received his MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. A.J. is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Fred Allen ('61)
Founder Emeritus
Allen Matkins
Fred is one of the premier real estate and finance attorneys in America. He is the Founder Emeritus of Allen Matkins, a full-service business and litigation law firm with 225 attorneys in five offices in California. For 45 years, he has been counsel to many of the nation's most prominent development and investment companies in connection with hundreds of successful major projects in California, Hawaii, throughout the country, Asia and the Pacific Rim. He is active in Urban Land Institute (ULI), Real Estate Roundtable in Washington D.C., and Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. After Stanford, Fred was a Naval Officer aboard an aircraft carrier before attending law school at UC Hastings.
Don Ankeny (MBA '83)
President & CEO
Westcore Properties
Don Ankeny is President and Chief Executive Officer of Westcore Properties.
He leads the company's portfolio of Industrial properties, which currently totals more than 9 million square feet.
Additionally, Don plays a key role in the company's business strategy, utilizing his strong real estate and capital markets' expertise to grow the company's investment and operating platform.
Don's real estate background includes starting and overseeing the real estate group of Robertson Stephens, a global investment banking firm that was acquired by Bank of America and later by Bank Boston. Under his leadership, the firm was engaged in many of the country's significant public and private real estate transactions. Prior to Robertson Stephens, Don was a partner with Trammell Crow Company.
Don graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College with a distinction in economics. He also holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Don is a member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP) and a Gold council member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI).
He is a former trustee of the Bishop's School in La Jolla, CA where he chaired the Finance and Investment Committee as well as the School's Endowment Campaign. Don is also a former member of the Parents Advisory Board at Stanford University.
He is also a past recipient of the San Diego Business Journal's CEO of the Year award, EY's Entrepreneur of the Year award and Real Estate Forum's Best Bosses in the Business award.
Loryn Dunn Arkow (JD '95)
Partner
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
Loryn Dunn Arkow is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP. A member of the Real Estate Practice Group, Ms. Arkow has handled a broad range of acquisition, disposition and development transactions; joint ventures, lending and other finance transactions; recapitalizations and workouts. She has represented a diversity of clients, including large public pension funds, pension fund advisors, private equity funds and other investors, lenders, developers and sponsors in a variety of sectors, including multifamily, office, studio, industrial, retail, and medical and mixed-use projects. Ms. Arkow has particular expertise in structuring complex transactions and entities and also in finding creative solutions to get deals done. Ms. Arkow received her JD from Stanford Law School and her undergraduate degree from Harvard College. She is active in a number of charities, serves as a Director and a Southern California leader of SPIRE, and is the co-chair of the ULI Los Angeles Leadership Council.
Michael Armstrong (MBA '09)
Managing Director
Stream Realty Partners
Mike Armstrong is a managing director at Stream Realty Partners, where he leads new investment efforts. Previously, he launched Percheron Real Estate Partners, a privately held real estate investment and advisory firm. Mike was formerly a Director in the GI Partners real estate group where he was the head of acquisitions for technology real estate and a member of the investment committee. Prior, he held acquisitions and investment roles at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, in both real estate and infrastructure. Early in his career, Mike worked for Financial Security Assurance Inc., a financial guaranty company, in New York. He is active in the Oakland community primarily through non-profit board service. Mike received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and his AB in Economics from Harvard College.
Sean Arnold (MBA '03)
Co-Founding Partner
Crosstree Real Estate Partners LLP
Sean Arnold is a Co-Founding Partner of Crosstree Real Estate Partners. Crosstree, based in London, was launched in 2011 to invest in property-related assets with an initial focus on the UK market. Our portfolio includes office, retail and hotel assets and residential development around London with a gross asset value in excess of $1 billion. Prior to setting up Crosstree, Sean was with Starwood Capital Group, most recently as Head of European Acquisitions based in London. Since joining Starwood in 2003, he played a key role in transactions for the firm valued at over $3 billion in enterprise value. Prior to joining Starwood, Sean worked in mortgage and asset backed finance. Sean received an AB in Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Stanford University.
John Atwater (MBA '87)
Founder, Co-Chairman & CEO
Prime Group
John Atwater is founder, co-chairman, and chief executive officer of Prime Group. Founded in 1989, Prime Group now owns and manages more than $10 billion in real estate assets nationwide. The firm comprises Prime Residential, which is among the largest private owners of multifamily assets in the Western United States, and Prime Finance, which is a leading provider of commercial real estate debt in the United States. John is a graduate of Brown University (1983) and Stanford School of Business (1987) and serves or has served on a variety of for-profit and non-profit boards, including the California Academy of Sciences, where he served as Chairman from 2010 to 2014, and the Corporation of Brown University. His nonprofit engagement focuses on education and the environment. He is married to Diana Nelson and they have five children.
Henry Bandet ('85)
Founder & Partner
HG Capital
Henry Bandet founded the HG Capital funds in 1995 and is a Partner in the firm. He has originated and structured more than $1.5 billion of value add and opportunistic real estate investments in the Western U.S. Prior to founding HG Capital, Mr. Bandet was the President of the Hunting Gate group of companies, a diversified real estate business with offices in California and England. He holds a California real estate broker's license. Mr. Bandet graduated from Stanford University with a B.A.S. degree in Economics and a B.A.S. degree in Applied Earth Sciences, both with honors.
Gary Beasley (MBA '93)
Co-Founder & CEO
Roofstock
Gary is CEO of Roofstock, a leading real estate investment marketplace which he co-founded in 2015. Gary has spent most of his career building businesses in the real estate, hospitality and tech sectors. After earning his BA in economics from Northwestern, Gary ventured west to earn his MBA from Stanford, where he caught the entrepreneurial bug and still serves as a regular guest lecturer. Previously Gary was instrumental in acquiring and integrating more than $800 million of resort properties for KSL Resorts, and spent five years as CFO of online brokerage pioneer ZipRealty, which he led through its successful IPO in 2004. Gary also served as CEO of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, then the second largest boutique hotel management company in the country. Immediately before starting Roofstock, Gary led one of the largest single-family rental platforms in the U.S. through its IPO as co-CEO of Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust, now part of Invitation Homes.
Mike Biggar ('81, MBA '94)
Managing Partner
Orchard Partners, LLC
Mike Biggar is Managing Partner of Orchard Partners, LLC. He began his career in Bay Area commercial real estate in 1981. Prior to forming Orchard Partners in 2007, Mike co-founded Orchard Investors, LLC in 1994 to continue the investment and development activities of its predecessor company, Orchard Properties, a real estate organization well known throughout Northern California since 1973. His Orchard entities have been responsible for the acquisition, development, financing, and operation of over 4 million square feet of R&D/office product and over 360 acres of development land in Silicon Valley. In addition to SPIRE and SREC, Mike is a member of the UC Berkeley Fisher Center Policy Advisory Board, and is a past president and current board member of NAIOP Silicon Valley. He received his bachelor's degree in political science from Stanford University and his MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Jeffrey Birdwell ('82, MS '83)
President, Commercial Development
Sares Regis Group of Northern California
Jeff Birdwell manages the commercial division of Sares Regis Group of Northern California, overseeing office, R&D, industrial and retail developments. The division currently has more than 6.5 million square feet of commercial properties valued at $7 billion under development. Prior to joining the San Mateo office in 1994, Jeff began his tenure in 1987 at the affiliate Sares-Regis Group, where he was responsible for development activity in the Los Angeles/Ventura County regional office. Jeff has a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering and a master's in civil engineering, construction engineering and management from Stanford and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Claremont Men's College. He is also a consulting associate professor in civil environmental engineering at Stanford.
Craig Blanchard (MBA '02)
Managing Director
Makena Capital Management
Craig Blanchard, a Managing Director, is responsible for real estate investments and portfolio construction. Prior to joining Makena, Craig was a Managing Director at the Stanford Management Company where he oversaw the Real Estate portfolio and served on the Investment Committee. Prior to Stanford, Craig was a Principal at the Townsend Group and Head of Special Situations investing where he led a significant component of Townsend's real estate business. Craig began his career with capital deployment and asset management roles at Broadreach Capital Partners, a Palo Alto based real estate private equity firm, and AMB Properties Corporation, a global logistics REIT. He earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BA with highest honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Robin Bolz (MBA '89)
Head of Commercial Real Estate Strategy
JPMorgan Chase
Robin Bolz has enjoyed a long and fruitful business career centered on driving long-range, forward looking strategic thought primarily within large organizations. He is currently a Managing Director and Head of Commercial Real Estate Strategy at JPMorgan Chase, although his background isn't strictly banking or real estate. Robin's early career was spent working for a large electronics firm in the Silicon Valley during the 1980's, and his time in California concluded with him going back to school at Stanford's Graduate School of Business where he earned his MBA. From there he went to work at a growing software company in the early 90's in Redmond, WA (Microsoft), where he was exposed to a wide range of business opportunities and challenges over a 13+ year tenure. At that stage in its development, Microsoft was the perfect place for Robin to learn from and collaborate with many brilliant minds to solve business problems that literally no one had ever faced before.
But eventually, always looking for new challenges, he accepted a position at a bank working with a long-time friend who ran the commercial real estate business there. That bank was ultimately purchased by JPMC, which has once again provided Robin with a tremendous platform for exploring and implementing new ideas, as banking and commercial real estate both move toward digital futures. Robin's broad experience in leading technology firms has positioned him well to help guide JPMC's CRE business into that future.
Robin highly values collaboration and the free and open exchange of ideas, strongly believing that this results in optimal outcomes, and fosters individual and organizational commitment that is critical to long-term success. He also believes in keeping things light and having a lot of fun in the process!
Julia Boyd Corso (MBA '05)
President
Interstate Equities Corporation
Julia Boyd Corso is Co-President and COO of Interstate Equities Corporation (IEC). IEC invests in value-add, multifamily communities in California on behalf of institutional and high net worth investors via commingled, discretionary funds. Julia leads asset management, property management and repositioning of all portfolio investments. As a member of the Executive Investment Committee, she is involved in property acquisition, financing, and capital formation. Prior to joining IEC, Julia worked in management consulting for Accenture. She graduated summa cum laude in Economics from Emory University and holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Julia is a member of the Stanford Real Estate Council, Women in Real Estate, and the Urban Land Institute.
Wayne Brandt ('84)
Founder & Managing Partner
Capital Funding Partners
Wayne Brandt is the Founder and Managing Partner of Capital Funding Partners an owner and operator of multifamily properties in Southern CA and Texas. Previously he was a Managing Director and the National Originations Director of the Real Estate Capital Markets Group at Wells Fargo Bank where he directed the origination activities of Wells Fargo's CMBS and balance sheet lending businesses. Wayne's previous positions include head of real estate lending and debt investments for the Buchanan/TCW Funds, Managing Director of RBS Greenwich Capital, Managing Partner at Menlo Equities and Managing Director at Nomura Securities. He is presently on the Board of Advisors of Everest Properties, a 5,100-unit multifamily owner. He has authored several industry articles and served as a guest lecturer at the USC Lusk Center, UC Irvine, UCLA Anderson School of Business, and the MIT Center for Real Estate. Wayne holds a MS in Real Estate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University.
Jim Buie (MBA '80)
Senior Advisor, West & Asia Pacific Regions
Hines
Jim Buie is a Senior Advisor to the West and Asia Pacific Regions of Hines. Since joining Hines in 1980, Jim has been responsible for the development, acquisition, and/or management of more than 100 million square feet of commercial real estate in 50 cities representing over $23 billion in value. Highlights of his career with Hines include the development of 101 California and Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, Figueroa at Wilshire in Los Angeles, Embassy House in Beijing and One Museum Place in Shanghai. Jim is a long-time member of the Stanford Alumni Real Estate Council and was inducted into the Stanford Real Estate Hall of Fame in 2017. Jim earned his Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Virginia in 1974 and his Master of Business Administration from Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1980.
Mark Burger ('80)
Co-Founder, Co-Owner & Managing Member
Pacific Development Partners, LLC
Mark Burger is co-founder, co-owner, and managing member of closely held Pacific Development Partners, LLC (PDP). PDP is a 35-year-old diversified real estate investment and development company whose investment activities are primarily self-funded by its two principals. During the past 35 years PDP has developed, repositioned, and owned one hundred five (105) investment properties having a total value of $2.2 billion. Currently the firm owns 27 high quality properties that are conservatively leveraged and provide strong recurring cash flow and diversification. As managing member of PDP, Mr. Burger directs the investment and development activities of the firm and is responsible for managing its lending relationships. Mark graduated from Stanford University in 1980 with a BA in Political Science.
Malin Burnham ('49)
Vice Chairman
Cushman & Wakefield
Malin Burnham has been Chairman of John Burnham & Company Insurance and Burnham Real Estate and has remained involved since 1949. In 2008, Burnham Real Estate was acquired by Cushman & Wakefield. In addition to his involvement with the Burnham Companies, he has been active as a board member of several major corporations. His present involvements include: Board Member of Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute, UCSD Foundation, Rady School of Management, SDSU Campanile Foundation and the USS Midway Museum, and is Chair of the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine. Mr. Burnham served as Trustee of Stanford University from 1985 to 1995. He co-established the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate at University of San Diego.
John Burns ('85)
Founder
John Burns Real Estate Consulting
John founded John Burns Real Estate Consulting in 2001 to help business executives make the most informed housing industry investment decisions possible. His team of PALS (Passionate, Articulate, Likable and Smart people) in offices all over the country advise the company's research subscribers and consulting clients on shifts in housing demand, supply, and affordability, as well as consumer, building products and design trends. The firm has developed a number of proprietary tools, including risk and valuation indices, DesignLens™, Consumer Insights, and even trademarked the term surban™ upon release of their best-selling demographics book, Big Shifts Ahead: Demographic Clarity for Businesses. John has a Bachelors in Economics from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA, and works in our Irvine, California office. He has served on numerous industry boards and more than 750,000+ people follow his column on LinkedIn, and 30,000+ subscribe to his free weekly emails. He has attended home games for all 30 major league baseball teams, and regularly runs the hills in Southern California.
David Butler ('96)
Managing Partner
Argosy Real Estate Partners
David is Managing Partner of Argosy Real Estate Partners, a real estate fund manager with approximately $1.2 billion in real estate assets under management through six fully discretionary, commingled funds. Argosy invests nationwide through opportunistic, value-added and core-plus strategies in conjunction with operating partners. Argosy also currently has an Opportunity Zone investment program. David has general management responsibilities for the firm's investment strategy, asset management, operations, and fundraising. He is a member of the firm's Investment Committee and Management Committee. He is a member of the firm's Investment Committee and Management Committee.
Previously, he was Vice President and head of the San Francisco office for the real estate investment group of J.P. Morgan Investment Management. David joined JPM from AIG Global Real Estate, a global opportunistic real estate private equity investor, where he was a Vice President. David is a member of ULI's National Small Scale Development Council and is also a member of the Policy Advisory Board for the Fisher Center at UC Berkeley. Mr. Butler earned a BS in Civil Engineering and a BA in Economics from Stanford University as well an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. David is a member of the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club of St. Helena and Calistoga and recently served as Co-Chairman of the capital campaign to build a new Calistoga facility.
Hector Calderon ('01)
Managing Director
Encore Capital Management
Based in San Francisco, Mr. Calderon heads Encore's West Coast acquisitions and asset management team which is primarily focused on expanding the firm's position in the major California markets. Since 2009, Mr. Calderon has led Encore's investments in the region, consisting of 30 multi-family, single-family and mixed used developments in Portland, Sacramento, Arizona, the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California, representing $500M in asset value and 3,700+ housing units.
Prior to joining Encore, Mr. Calderon ran the Homebuilding Investment Banking group of JMP Securities. During his six years at JMP Securities, Mr. Calderon served as an advisor in 20 homebuilding mergers and acquisitions and 42 debt and equity issuances for both publicly traded and private real estate companies. Most notably, Mr. Calderon advised on the sale of Transeastern Homes' sale to Technical Olympic USA and Town and Country's sale to a joint venture between Hovnanian Enterprises and the Blackstone Group. Previously, Mr. Calderon worked as a consultant to Pacific Gas and Electric (NYSE: PCG) through its Chapter 11 bankruptcy and reorganization and as an investment banker in the Mergers and Acquisitions group at Thomas Weisel Partners.
Mr. Calderon is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and serves on ULI's Residential Neighborhood Development Council.
He holds an AB in economics from Stanford University.
Virginia Calkins (MBA '15)
Development
DivcoWest
Virginia manages ground up development on the investment team at DivcoWest. She studied architecture at Yale and worked in design for the New York City firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Collaborating on Hudson Yards pushed Virginia to pursue business school at the GSB and move into investment and development. She is committed to the evolution of our cities and the role of technology in changing real estate.
Don Casto ('66, JD '69)
Partner
CASTO
Don Casto is managing partner of CASTO, a multi-state development and asset management company based in Columbus, Ohio with offices in Sarasota, Raleigh, Charlotte and Cincinnati. The company specializes in retail and mixed-use developments as well as historic rehab and luxury multifamily. It currently has under development mixed use projects in Raleigh, Tampa, Atlanta, Cleveland, Clemson, Sarasota and Columbus in addition to eight multifamily projects in Central Ohio, Raleigh, Tampa, Sarasota and Orlando comprising 7,000 units. The company's current portfolio includes 30,000,000 sf of retail, 5,000 apartment units and one million sf of downtown office. Don is a graduate of Stanford ('66, JD '69) and George Washington (LLM '70).
Jonathan Cheng ('00, MBA '07)
CEO
Tourmaline Capital
Jonathan Cheng is the CEO of Tourmaline Capital, a real estate investment firm focused on acquiring and operating retail properties across the West Coast. Before starting Tourmaline Capital in 2011, Jonathan was responsible for acquisitions at Merlone Geier Partners, which is an investment company focused on purchasing and redeveloping retail and mixed-use real estate on the West Coast. Prior to Merlone Geier Partners, Jonathan was an Associate at Cruzan Monroe, a real estate investment firm that targets office and industrial acquisitions and developments in Southern California. He also was previously a financial analyst in the investment bank division of JPMorgan. Jonathan is on the Board of Directors of Sunwest Bank and holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Eric Christensen (MA '87, MBA '87)
EVP, Hospitality Development
Lone Mountain Land Company
Eric Christensen is currently Executive Vice President, Hospitality, with Lone Mountain Land Company in Big Sky, Montana, where he is responsible for overseeing the planning and development of luxury hotel projects. These include the Montage Big Sky currently under construction and opening in 2021, The One and Only Moonlight Basin, projected to open in 2022, and a luxury hotel on Windermere Island in Eleuthera, the Bahamas.
Working for Irongate LP, Eric Christensen was CEO of Costa Palmas from 2015 to 2017. Costa Palmas is a 1,000-acre mixed-use resort community and marina with two miles of beachfront in Los Cabos, Mexico. Anchored by a 145-room Four Seasons resort, and an Aman resort, Costa Palmas is planned to eventually include up to three resort hotels and 1,000 resort residences. Mr. Christensen was responsible for the project's planning, design, financing, construction, operations, marketing and sales.
Prior to Costa Palmas, Mr. Christensen was CEO of Dorado Beach Resort in Puerto Rico, one of Laurance Rockefeller's original RockResorts. Working for a New York private equity fund, Mr. Christensen redeveloped Dorado Beach on-time and on-budget into a 130-room ultra-luxury Ritz-Carlton Reserve hotel with branded condominiums and villas. He also renovated the famed East Course golf course, designed by Robert Trent Jones, and he oversaw the development of other resort facilities and amenities. After opening in 2012, Dorado Beach achieved the highest room rate of any resort in the Caribbean, and the value of the Ritz-Carlton Reserve residences increased by 40%.
Prior to Dorado Beach, Mr. Christensen was Vice President of Development at Auberge Resorts, where he was responsible for the development, financing and construction of new luxury resort projects in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. During his tenure, Mr. Christensen completed and opened two new luxury hotels: Solage in Calistoga and Rancho Encantado in Santa Fe. He also oversaw the renovation of other hotels and planned new development projects.
During his 30 years of planning, developing, financing, operating and marketing hotels and resorts, Mr. Christensen has consulted to many hotel developers and hotel chains, including Hyatt, Hilton, Intercontinental, Marriott and Starwood. His first major hotel development project was with the Walt Disney Company on the Euro Disney project in Paris, where he helped plan, construct and open six hotels encompassing 5,000 rooms, plus retail, restaurant and entertainment facilities.
Mr. Christensen began his career as a hotel consultant in the San Francisco office of Horwath International. Mr. Christensen holds MBA and M.Ed. degrees from Stanford University, and a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College. He and his wife live in Big Sky, Montana.
Richard Cisakowski (MBA '88)
President
RCCD, Inc.
Richard Cisakowski has more than 30 years of experience in land development, large-scale real estate financing and homebuilding. Recently, his related companies completed over $400 million in equity transactions, which they currently manage. Richard is also the Managing Executive of the NMC consortium which is developing 4,000 acres in the City of Ontario, California. Before creating his own companies, Richard was a Partner with Paragon Homes, SVP for Lennar Partners/LNR Properties and COO of Young America Homes. He also held several key positions with KB Home Corp., including Division President, and commercial real estate developer, Trammel Crow Company. Richard is a former Board Member of RJ America Homes for Rent and Alexandria Realty. Richard earned a bachelor's degree in business administration with a focus on finance from Georgetown University and an MBA from Stanford University.
Alfred Clark ('76)
Partner & Member of Board of Directors
Locke Lord LLP
Alfred Clark represents investors, landowners and commercial users in a wide variety of real estate transactions, with particular focus representing institutional lenders in commercial mortgage transactions, including the restructuring and workout of troubled real estate investments. He regularly advises clients in the acquisition and disposition of real estate assets, leasing, land use issues and transactions involving property contaminated by hazardous materials. He also represents tenants' associations and community-based nonprofits in the preservation of affordable housing projects, as well as borrowers and lenders in complex financing transactions involving personal property collateral. Alfred earned his JD from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles in 1981, where he served on the Law Review, and earned his undergraduate degree from Stanford University in 1976.
Joshua Dapice ('98)
Managing Director
Farallon Capital Management LLC
Josh Dapice joined the real estate investment group of Farallon Capital Management in 2003 and became a Managing Director in 2011, with responsibility for acquisitions, repositionings, financings and dispositions of various assets within Farallon’s real estate portfolio. Farallon is a global institutional asset management firm, founded in 1986, which manages equity capital for institutions, including college endowments, charitable foundations and pension plans, and for high net worth individuals. Farallon’s real estate group has invested over $3 billion in income producing properties in multiple asset classes and sectors. Prior to joining Farallon, Josh worked in the real estate investment banking group at Lazard Frères & Co. LLC. He graduated with an AB in Economics from Stanford University and has served on the Board of Directors of USA Triathlon.
Vanessa Delgado ('99)
President
Azure Development, Inc.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Vanessa is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. She received her undergraduate education at Stanford University with a dual major in Political Science and Chicano/a Studies and graduated with honors. She then completed a Master of Public Administration at the University of Southern California (USC) as a Dean's Fellow.
She began her career working for the cities of Pico Rivera, Anaheim and Downey, in Economic Development immediately after USC. Vanessa then spent eleven years as the Director of Development for Primestor Development and was a member of its Executive Team building retail centers in California, Arizona and Nevada. She was responsible for managing Primestor projects through the development and construction cycle including entitlements and public financing.
Ms. Delgado is now the founder and President of Azure Development. Azure creates, designs and builds exceptional housing communities and commercial projects throughout the Southwest.
Vanessa pursued her passion for public service and ran for office in 2015. She was elected to the City Council of the City of Montebello in November 2015 and served as the Mayor in 2017. In 2018, she was elected to serve as a State Senator for District 32 and completed a short-term. Senator Vanessa Delgado was appointed to the South Coast AQMD Governing Board in May 2019. She was appointed by California State Senate Rules Committee and is looking forward to advancing air quality goals for the region.
Steve Dostart (MBA '90)
President
Dostart Development Company, LLC
Steve Dostart is the President and Founder of Dostart Development Company, LLC (DDC). Prior to founding DDC, he was a Partner at the Mozart Development Company. Steve is a leader in Transit-Oriented Design and in utilizing the LEED standards for efficient and sustainable design. He has overseen the development and acquisition of nearly three million square feet of commercial properties in Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View and Sunnyvale to serve as the corporate homes of professional service and technology-oriented clients.
Earlier in his career, Steve worked in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs in New York, for the Trammell Crow family in Dallas and for the Centre City Development Corporation in San Diego.
Steve is a trustee of the Menlo School and is a member of the Stanford Real Estate Council and the Policy Advisory Board for the Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics. He was previously chair of the Civic Center Advisory Committee for the Town of Atherton, the President of NAIOP Silicon Valley, a national board member of Reading Partners, a member of the Grand Boulevard Initiative, the Leadership Council of New Schools Venture Fund and the Management Board at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar. He also graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard College.
Aaron Duncan ('99)
Western Region Head & Senior Vice President
ASB Real Estate Investments
Mr. Duncan is responsible for ASB's Western region, including new acquisitions and asset management. Prior to assuming this role in 2016, he led the origination and placement of over $1 billion of equity across various property types, including residential, office, retail and industrial. Mr. Duncan is a member of ASB's Management Committee and Investment Committee.
Prior to joining ASB in 2008, Mr. Duncan spent eight years in financial services. Mr. Duncan began his career in Investment Banking and Corporate Finance at Solomon Smith Barney where he focused on mergers and acquisitions and debt and equity financings for banks and diversified financial services firms. Mr. Duncan subsequently served as an Assistant Vice President within the Corporate Development Group at Countrywide Financial.
He received his BA in Economics with a Minor in Urban Studies from Stanford University and completed his MBA at The Wharton School. He offices in Palo Alto, CA.
Danielle Dy Buncio ('04)
CEO
VIATechnik
Danielle Dy Buncio is the Co-Founder and CEO of VIATechnik, a virtual design & construction consulting and implementation firm transforming the real estate and construction industries. Danielle and the VIATechnik team are spearheading advancement of BIM, VDC, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Artificial Intelligence. For her innovative contributions to the AEC industry, Danielle was awarded Building Design + Construction's 40 Under 40 in 2018 and ENR Top Young Professional National 20 under 40 in 2019. Danielle serves on the Board of Directors for Ryan Companies US, a $2B Integrated Real Estate Development, Construction, and Design firm. Danielle also serves on the Board of Directors at JF Brennan, a national civil and marine infrastructure construction firm. Prior to founding VIATechnik, Danielle worked for general contractors in Silicon Valley, Sydney, and Chicago. As a Civil Engineer and a LEED Accredited Professional, she has extensive commercial building, heavy civil, and marine construction experience. She holds a BS in Civil Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Dean Egerter ('83)
Partner
Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, LLC
Dean Egerter is a founder/owner of Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, LLC and serves on its Executive and Investment Committees. The firm has over $25 billion in AUM across a spectrum of risk return strategies focused on Education, Healthcare & Storage real estate and Social Infrastructure real assets in the US, Canada and Europe. As Head of Corporate Development, Dean works with the firm's CEO to build out Harrison Street's platform through the development of new product/sector initiatives. In addition, Dean serves as the Chairman of Harrison Street's Capital Markets Committee, manages lender and institutional capital relationships. He is an active member of PREA and its Capital Markets group and NMHC. In addition to his Stanford degree in economics, Dean also received an MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern.
Melinda Ellis Evers (MBA '93)
Managing Principal
Ellis Partners
Melinda Ellis Evers is a co-founder and Managing Principal of San Francisco based Ellis Partners, founded in 1993 as an investor and developer of office, industrial and retail properties in Northern California. Since inception, Ellis Partners has invested over $3 billion of private and institutional equity capital in over 60 projects. Melinda's current and past industry affiliations include the Bay Area Mortgage Association, Foundation for San Francisco's Architectural Heritage, Fisher Center Policy Advisory Board, Urban Land Institute, Lambda Alpha Land Economics Honor Society and the UCSF Foundation Investment Company. Melinda received a BA in Economics from University of California at Berkeley and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
S. Osborn "Oz" Erickson (MBA '75)
Chairman
Emerald Fund
Oz Erickson is the Chairman of Emerald Fund. He has 40 years of experience developing and managing residential and commercial projects. He identifies new projects, is involved with the initial design, financing, securing of governmental approvals and sales and marketing. Emerald has built over 3000 units in San Francisco, plus two shopping centers, four office buildings, and the Vitale hotel. Oz received a BA from Harvard University and an MBA from Stanford University.
Scott Eschelman ('89)
Managing Partner
BUILD
Scott is the Managing Partner at BUILD. With over 25 years of investment and operating experience, Scott leads the company's strategic direction and manages BUILD's operating business and capital markets activities. At BUILD, Scott has led more than $500mm of project capital formation, including the recent closing of the company's first investment fund (BPI-I). Prior to BUILD, Scott was a Partner at Preferred Capital Advisors, a real estate advisory firm, the Founder and CEO of OneService International, a multinational logistics company, and a contract manager Nike, Inc.
Cameron Falconer (MBA '97)
COO & Deputy Head of Capital Markets
Hines
Cameron Falconer is the Senior Managing Director, COO/Deputy Head of Capital Markets at Hines. Mr. Falconer is responsible for coordinating capital raises for flagship discretionary funds and strategic separate accounts and partnerships, as well as orchestrating and supporting coverage of Hines investors globally.
Mr. Falconer has shared responsibility for Hines' acquisition, development and investment management activities in Northern California, where over the past 15+ years he has overseen acquisitions and developments on behalf of various Hines ventures totaling over 15 million square feet.
Mr. Falconer's current responsibilities continue to include oversight of 2 million square feet of existing assets, plus multiple Hines ongoing development projects - Centene BTS, a 1.25 million square foot multi- phase development in Sacramento and Transbay F/4, a mixed-use project including a 750' tower and 550' tower, in San Francisco.
Other career highlights include two landmark developments in San Francisco - The JPMorgan Chase Building, a 31-story office tower completed in 2002; Salesforce Tower, a 61-story office tower that is the tallest commercial building in the Western U.S.
Prior to joining Hines, Mr. Falconer acquired diverse experience in design, feasibility analysis, project management and development with a major Canadian pipeline company.
Mr. Falconer holds a Bachelor of Applied Science, Mechanical Engineering from University of British Columbia and a M.B.A from Stanford University.
Raymond Flores, Jr. ('86)
Co-Founder & Senior Managing Director
Calzada Capital Partners
Raymond Flores co-founded Calzada Capital Partners, an $8.2 billion private equity real estate firm with offices in Chicago, San Francisco, Mexico City and Santiago. Calzada's portfolio includes real estate operating companies in the United States, Australia, French Polynesia and Latin America, with investments in multifamily, retail, industrial, manufactured housing, hospitality, self-storage and debt. Prior to Calzada, Raymond was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Corporate Properties of the Americas, a $2.5 billion industrial real estate company in Mexico. Raymond received a BA in Economics from Stanford University, a JD from the UCLA School of Law and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Bob Foley ('81)
Managing Director
TPG Real Estate
Bob Foley is Chief Financial Officer of TPG RE Finance Trust ('TRTX'), an NYSE-traded commercial mortgage REIT with total assets of $5.0 billion and equity capitalization of $1.3 billion. Previously, Bob directed credit-based investment activity in United States commercial real estate for Sixth Street Partners LP ('SSP'), a $47 billion AUM special situations firm previously affiliated with TPG. Bob was a co-founder, Chief Financial Officer and later Chief Operating Officer of Gramercy Capital Corp. (NYSE: GPT), a real estate investment trust with debt and net lease investments throughout the United States acquired in late 2018 by Blackstone. Previously, he was co-head of high yield commercial real estate debt investing for Goldman, Sachs & Co.'s special situations group, and led the domestic commercial real estate capital markets business at Bankers Trust Company (since merged with Deutsche Bank). He began his career with Touche Ross & Co. in its San Francisco office. Bob earned B.A. degrees in Economics and Political Science from Stanford University and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of many real estate trade groups.
Kelly Foster ('80)
Principal
Bald Mountain Development
Class of '80, Principal at Bald Mountain Development, developer of luxury resort + residential projects, including www.napaluxuryliving.com, www.rosewoodsanmiguel.com, and www.chilenobayclub.com. Resides in Menlo Park with his wife Dulcy Freeman. Father of four children: older two successfully launched, younger two still at home. Volunteering includes coaching little league and volleyball, Boys & Girls Club, and Stanford. Retirement is a four-letter word.
Sam Freshman ('54, JD '56)
Chairman
Standard Management Company
Sam Freshman is Board Chairman of Standard Management Company which performs real estate acquisitions, bridge finance, and property management. Active in real estate investment for 60 years as an attorney and investor. He has been an expert witness in real estate, legal matters, finance, lecturer at the Stanford, UCLA and USC law and business schools, chairman of a bank, title company and a theatre exhibitor. Author of books and over 20 published articles, Mr. Freshman is working on a series on saving entitled, 'The Smartest Way to Save,' and 'The Smartest Way to Save More' about becoming rich on a modest income. His book 'Principles of Real Estate Syndication' is considered the bible on the subject. Sam received a Stanford BA (pre-legal, 1954) and a JD (1956). Sam is also Chairman Emeritus of Stanford Professionals in Real Estate (SPIRE).
Brad Geier ('79)
Co-Managing Partner
Merlone Geier Partners
Brad Geier is a founder, co-owner and managing partner of Merlone Geier Partners, a private real estate investment firm focused on the acquisition and redevelopment of retail and mixed-use properties on the west coast. The firm has raised $4.3 billion of discretionary equity capital over the past 26 years, acquiring over 161 properties. Mr. Geier is a member of the Urban Land Institute and ICSC. He is an emeritus trustee of Stanford University, a director of Lucille Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, a trustee of Coaching Corps, an honorary lifetime trustee of The Bishop's School, a director of H.G. Fenton Company, and a member of the Policy Advisory Board of the University of San Diego Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate. Mr. Geier holds an AB in History from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard.
Cathy Greenwold (MS '89)
Senior Advisor
TMG Partners
Cathy Greenwold, Senior Advisor joined TMG in 1992. Cathy has been responsible for expanding the company's portfolio through strategic acquisition of projects with particular emphasis on development opportunities and value enhancement. Cathy has managed over $2.7 billion in project financing and development activity for TMG. She has over 37 years of real estate and finance experience. As Senior Advisor, she will focus on specific ad hoc projects in finance and development.
She earned her bachelor's degree at UCLA and master's degree as a Sloan Fellow at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She is a licensed California real estate broker. She has served as a mentor at the Mills College and sits on the Board of Vincent Academy, an elementary charter school in West Oakland.
Tiffany Griego ('98, MBA '04)
Managing Director, Asset Management
Stanford Real Estate
Tiffany Griego is Managing Director of Asset Management for Stanford Real Estate. She leads strategic planning, real estate development and asset management of Stanford University's preeminent income-producing real estate asset, the Stanford Research Park, a 700-acre $13 billion submarket comprised of approximately 10 million square feet of commercial space. During her tenure, Tiffany has produced more than $2.0 billion dollars in income for Stanford University. Tiffany was previously Vice President at IHP Capital Partners. She is a recipient of the Jefferson Award from the U.S. Congress for public service, an inductee to Stanford Associates for volunteer service to Stanford University, and a 'Silicon Valley 40 Under 40' honoree. Tiffany received a BA degree from Stanford University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
John Griggs ('95)
Co-Founder & Co-CEO
Presidium Group
John Griggs is Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Presidium Group, a vertically integrated real estate investment and development firm focused on growth markets, primarily in the southern United States. Based in Dallas, TX and founded in 2002, Presidium owns and operates 13,000 apartment units in Texas, Florida, Arizona and Maine with a total asset of value of over $2 billion. Presidium has two core businesses (i) acquiring and renovating existing properties, which it has done with over 10,000 units and (ii) development of new construction multifamily. On the development side, Presidium has delivered or is constructing over 2600 units. Presidium also owns prime infill sites comprising over 150 acres in Austin, Dallas and Houston as well as suburban land exceeding 300 acres, all of which it is actively programming for master-planned projects. Presidium has been a leader in sustainability and is one of the largest producers of solar energy in the multifamily industry. Before launching his real estate career, John was a corporate lawyer at Milbank and Wilson Sonsini. He received an AB from Stanford University in 1995 and a JD from the University of Michigan in 1998 and is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization.
Shallene Gross ('06, MBA '10)
Managing Director, Investments
Equity Group Investments
Shallene Gross serves as a Managing Director at Equity Group Investments ('EGI'), a private investment firm based in Chicago. Shallene evaluates new investment opportunities and manages existing assets. Prior to rejoining EGI in 2020, she served as a Senior Vice President Investments at Equity Commonwealth, a commercial office REIT (NYSE: EQC), where she helped form the new management team that took responsibility for CommonWealth REIT (now EQC) in 2014. Earlier in her career, she was a member of the investment teams at EGI, Dune Real Estate Partners, and Walton Street Capital, where she focused on opportunistic investing across a variety of real estate sectors. Her experience includes roles in acquisitions, restructurings, asset management and fundraising. In addition to the management takeover and repositioning of EQC, she has worked on more than $1 billion in acquisitions and over $2.5 billion in refinancings and dispositions. Shallene holds an MBA from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in Economics with Distinction from Stanford University.
Patricio Gutierrez Tommasi (MS '99)
CEO, COO
Frontier Industrial, Artha Capital
Patricio has over 30 years of experience in the planning, execution and management of real estate investments as well as in structuring and managing private equity portfolios with both Mexican and International institutional investors.
He has been a partner and COO of Artha Capital since its inception in 2010 and he currently serves as the CEO of its industrial Platform, Frontier Industrial. He actively participates in the strategic planning of Artha Capital as a member of its Executive Committee and the Investment Committees of the funds. Artha is a diversified private equity fund with over $1.5B of assets under management both in Mexico and the USA. Frontier Industrial started operations as one of the fund's first investments, and since it has become an important player in Mexico's industrial real estate, focusing on the acquisition, development, management and disposition of industrial properties in the most attractive markets and sectors in Mexico.
From 2006 through May 2010 he was a Managing Director at GICSA, developing and overseeing one of Mexico's largest retail portfolios with an aggregate leasable area in excess of 1.0 million square meters. Prior to that, he spent 16 years at Consorcio ARA, where he started as a Field Engineer and then held a number of increasingly senior positions until becoming its Managing Director for Construction and Development. In the latter capacity, among other initiatives, he led a 50%-50% joint venture with O'Connor Capital Partners for the development and operation of a retail portfolio in Mexico.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Universidad Iberoamericana and a Master of Science in Engineering from Stanford University ('99, Fulbright Scholar). He is a board member of the Asociación Mexicana de Parques Industriales Privados (AMPIP) and of The American School Foundation in Mexico City.
Julie Gutzwiller ('90)
CFO
Bridge Partners
Julie Gutzwiller is a Principal of Bridge Partners, a private real estate investment firm specializing in the ownership, management and repositioning of opportunistic multi-family, student, senior, and hospitality investments nationwide. As its CFO, Julie sits on the firm's investment committee and is responsible for the firm's tax strategy, reporting and compliance; investor relations, and; capital formation. Julie is also responsible for acquisitions and asset management. Prior to joining Bridge in 2001, Julie worked in land acquisition and forward planning for Greenbriar Homes and as the Real Estate Director for Urban Media, a venture backed tech company deploying on-site data and e-commerce solutions to real estate owners. In addition to her Bachelor of Arts degree earned from Stanford University in 1990, Julie holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.
Chad Hagle ('98)
CEO
Aventine Development Corporation
Chad Hagle is a third-generation commercial developer with life-long experience. He is a Founding Board Member and President of SPIRE, and he is CEO of Aventine Development. Chad has developed retail projects across the country. He graduated from Stanford with degrees in Economics and Biology. Prior to founding his real estate development firm, Chad worked as Chief Operating Officer of GetFit Technologies, a Silicon Valley start-up, and as a Venture Capital Associate with Windmere Venture Partners. Chad's commitments to Stanford University include a seat on the Humanities and Sciences Council advising the dean, as well as Chair of the Alumni Advisory Council for the Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis (CESTA). Chad is a Trustee for the California Science Center in Los Angeles and has served as a Trustee for St. John's Episcopal School in Orange County.
Mike Halper (MBA '88)
Founder, CEO & Managing Partner
ATC Partners, LLC
Michael Halper founded ATC Partners, LLC in 1992 and currently serves as its chief executive and managing partner. ATC Partners, LLC is an investment firm specializing in the acquisition, renovation and operation of commercial office buildings throughout California. Michael graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1984 and he received an MBA from Stanford University in 1988.
Brian Heafey ('90)
Partner
PCCP, LLC
Brian is a Partner in PCCP. He is responsible for the management of PCCP's debt platform, which includes implementation of fund and individual client strategies as well as portfolio management. Prior to joining PCCP, Brian was a Consulting Manager for E&Y Kenneth Leventhal Real Estate Group throughout Asia and the United States specializing in the acquisition and sale of loan portfolios. Brian earned his bachelor's degree from Stanford University. He is a former Trustee of St. Ignatius College Preparatory, a former director of St. Rose Court, a low-income, non-profit housing community and a past director of the Guardsmen, a San-Francisco based charity for at-risk youth. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute (counsel member and volunteer for Urban Plan), International Council of Shopping Centers and Stanford Professionals in Real Estate (SPIRE).
Anne Hill (MBA '03)
President
Stonehill PACE
Anne leads Stonehill's efforts in Commercial PACE financing. In this role, she is actively involved in sourcing and underwriting opportunities, building partnerships with construction lenders nationwide, as well as working with capital markets to securitize the CPACE assets.
Prior to Stonehill, Anne ran RAHILL Capital, the nation's leading originator of CPACE transactions for new construction. Anne also spent over a decade running Murphy Company, one of the largest commercial mechanical contractors and engineers in the nation.
Anne earned her bachelor's degree from Princeton University and she received her MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Robert Hollister (MBA '96)
President
The Sobrato Organization
Robert Hollister has overall responsibility for The Sobrato Organization's real estate activities, including 15 million square feet of existing properties and a development pipeline valued at more than $1 billion. Prior to joining TSO in 2013, Robert served Hines for 17 years, as Senior Managing Director for Asia and previously, the Pacific Northwest. At Hines he contributed to the development of more than 14M square feet of commercial and residential real estate, representing more than $3B in value. Robert earned his AB degree from Dartmouth College in 1989 and his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1996 and is a member of the Stanford Real Estate Council.
Rick Holmstrom ('79)
Founder & Managing Partner
Menlo Equities
Rick is Founder and Managing Partner of Menlo Equities, a real estate investment and development company headquartered in Menlo Park, CA. Rick is a member of the Policy Advisory Board of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at UC Berkeley, a member of the board of directors of Buena Vista Fund Management LLC, a trustee of The Nueva School, and a member of the Stanford Live Advisory Board. Rick was a director of MB Financial (acquired by Fifth Third Bancorp, NYSE: FITB) as well as a director of New Resource Bank (acquired by Amalgamated Bank, NYSE: AMAL). Rick has also served as President of the Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and as a Director of the Stanford Alumni Association. In addition to his undergraduate degree from Stanford, Rick holds an MBA from UC Berkeley. He lives in Woodside, California.
Jeff Holzman ('92)
Director, District Development
Mr. Holzman joined Google in 2018 as Director, District Development and is responsible for overseeing large scale district planning and development execution. Prior to Google, he was a Senior Vice President with Sares-Regis Group of Northern California, leading teams on behalf of Google of several large scale, sustainable, innovative real estate development projects. Prior to Sares Regis, he was Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Juniper Ridge Partners LLC/Kuratek Holzman LLC in Bend, OR. His firm was unanimously selected through nationwide RFQ to be master developer of Juniper Ridge, a public-private partnership of 1,500 acres in Bend, Oregon. Prior to that, he worked at Wilson Meany Sullivan where he was the team leader with day-to-day responsibility for securing entitlements for Bay Meadows, Phase II in San Mateo, an 83-acre, $1 billion transit-oriented development. The project earned plan approval in 2005 with endorsement of both the Chamber of Commerce and the Sierra Club, a first in Bay Area entitlements. Mr. Holzman received his Bachelor of Art Degree in History (with Honors) at Stanford University and an MBA in Real Estate, Haas Scholar from the Haas School of Business.
Drew Hudacek (MS '99)
Chief Investment Officer, Development Properties
Sares Regis Group
Drew is a partner and owner in Sares Regis Group of Northern California (SRGNC), a closely held real estate developer, investor, contractor and manager of residential and commercial property. He oversees development investments including land acquisitions, debt and equity/JV structuring. Since its inception in the early 1990's SRGNC has acquired or developed approximately 19,000 multi-family and residential housing units and 14 million square feet of commercial and civic properties. We currently have a residential pipeline of over 3,500 residences of both for sale and for rent valued at over $3.0 billion as well as $7.0 billion of commercial activity. Drew is a frequent speaker at industry events and the former Stanford coach for the annual Golden Shovel Real Estate challenge. He is the current ULI-SF District Chair as well as a ULI National Product Council Member. Drew holds a BSE from Princeton University and a Masters in Civil Engineering from Stanford.
William Jackson ('86, JD '89)
Partner
Pircher, Nichols & Meeks LLP
William H. Jackson III joined the firm in 1989 and is a partner in the firm's real estate department. William's practice focuses on the formation and organization of real estate equity investment funds and the representation of real estate private equity investment fund sponsors in real estate joint ventures, acquisition, disposition and financing transactions. William received his JD from Stanford Law School in 1989 and his undergraduate degree in economics from Stanford in 1986.
Jeff Jacobson ('83, MA '84)
Global CEO
LaSalle Investment Management
Jeff Jacobson is Chief Executive Officer of LaSalle Investment Management, responsible for a 900-person team managing over $65 billion of investments in both private and public real estate across all major markets within Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Jeff is a member of Jones Lang LaSalle's Global Executive Board, and a member of the Jones Lang LaSalle Co-Investment Capital Allocation Committee. Prior to his appointment as Global CEO in January 2007, Jeff was Regional CEO for LaSalle's European operation based in London. Jeff has more than 30 years of property investment and transactions experience across the globe. Jeff holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Stanford University and a Master's degree from Stanford University's Food Research Institute. Mr. Jacobson is a member of INREV, PREA and AFIRE.
Amy Johannes (MBA '06)
Managing Director
Oaktree Capital Management
Amy Johannes is a Managing Director in Oaktree Capital's Real Estate Group. Ms. Johannes works across Oaktree's real estate equity and debt strategies, where she focuses on investments in the greater New York area and the Southeast region of the US, as well as residential investments on the East Coast. Prior to joining Oaktree in 2008, Ms. Johannes was an associate in the Real Estate group at Morgan Stanley, where she focused on advisory assignments for investment banking clients and principal investing opportunities. Before that, Ms. Johannes was a project manager on the Hudson Yards team at the New York City Economic Development Corporation. Prior to that, she spent two years at UBS Warburg as an investment banking analyst in the Global Industrial group. Ms. Johannes graduated with a B.A. degree in economics and Latin American Studies magna cum laude from Wellesley College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She then went on to receive an M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Mark Jorgensen (MBA '06)
Managing Partner
Urbanite Capital
Mark is currently Managing Partner at Urbanite Capital and Co-CEO of Golden Gate Global, real estate investment and finance firms based in San Francisco, CA. He was previously a Partner at Point Lobos Capital, a global value anchored and opportunistic investment firm. Mark was an Investment Professional in the real estate private equity group at Farallon Capital Management, a San Francisco based global institutional investment firm. He was an Investment Banking Analyst at Lehman Brothers and served in the U.S. Navy. Mark earned his M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and graduated summa cum laude with College Honors from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Alvin Katz (JD '77)
Partner
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Alvin Katz is a partner in the Chicago office of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP with a widely diversified practice representing real estate investors and developers in joint ventures and partnerships, acquisitions and dispositions of real property, debt and equity financings, and management and leasing transactions. During his more than 40 years as an attorney, Alvin has been involved in virtually every aspect of the real estate industry; in recent years his practice has focused on the formation of joint ventures for real estate transactions. Alvin served on the Stanford Law School Board of Visitors for 12 years and sits on the boards of directors of several non-profit organizations. He is the proud parent of a 2012 Stanford graduate and has been selected for membership in Stanford Associates. Alvin received his JD from Stanford Law School and his BA with high distinction and honors in Economics from the University of Michigan.
R. David Kelly (MBA '89)
Founder & Managing Partner
StraightLine Realty Partners
R. David Kelly has over 35 years of investment and operating experience in the real estate and financial services sectors.
He is the founder and managing partner of StraightLine Partners - an alternative investment platform with investments in real estate and financial services. Portfolio holdings include: Croesus and Company, an international real estate advisory firm with over $500 million in AUM; BKL Partners, an alternative lender to real estate developers; Serra Capital; which provides project finance capital to rated governmental and corporate borrowers.
Currently, David serves on the Croesus and Company board of directors, where he is chairman and CEO; and is lead director on the board for TCW Direct Lending VII; serves on the Board of Directors of Invesco's INREIT; he also serves on the Governing Body of the Children's Medical Center of Dallas, serving on the Finance, Operating and Investment Committees.
He served as Chairman of the $150 billion Teacher's Retirement System of Texas (TRS) from 2007 to 2017, appointed by Governor Perry and reaffirmed by Governor Abbott. He holds the distinction of the longest tenure of any Chairman and the largest increase in fund value in the system's history. During his term, he also served on the Risk Management, Investment Management, Compensation, and Policy Committees.
David's previous corporate directorships include: gubernatorial appointee to the Texas Public Finance Authority (TPFA) from 2001-2006, serving as Chairman from 2002-2006; Croesus Merchants International Singapore (Special Advisor); Hong Kong-based Everglory Financial Holdings (Chairman); Dubai-based Al Masah Capital Limited.
He is also a contributor to causes that support education and children's health. He currently sits on the Children Health System of Dallas Governing Board and Finance Committee, and the Advisory Board of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO).
Matt Khourie (MBA '80)
CEO
Trammell Crow Company
Matt Khourie is Chief Executive Officer of Trammell Crow Company (TCC), the development subsidiary of CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE: CBG). In this role, he is responsible for the management and day-to-day operations of the company. He is also the chairman of the TCC Executive Committee, and a member of the TCC Investment Committee and CBRE Global Operating Committee. Prior to being named CEO of TCC in 2016, Matt served as CEO of CBRE Global Investors, the real estate investment management affiliate of CBRE, where he was responsible for the global management of the firm and served as chairman of the firm's Global Executive Committee, Global Investment Committee and Global Leadership Team.
With more than 35 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, Matt previously served as President, Southeast Operations for TCC and was a member of the firm's Executive and Investment Committees. During his original 29-year tenure at TCC, Matt worked in various management positions including leadership roles that focused on development, investment strategy, portfolio management, and institutional investor relations. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California - Davis, where he was named The Wall Street Journal's Outstanding Economics Student, and his Master of Business Administration degree from Stanford University School of Business. Active in industry associations and his community, Matt is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), Stanford Alumni Real Estate Council (SREC), and the Fischer Center for Real Estate. He is also a member of the Monterey Peninsula Country Club, The US Seniors Golf Association and the Houston Country Club.
David L. Knowles ('77, MBA '79)
Managing Director
Stanfield Partners
David is responsible for the dedicated team at Stanfield Partners and its capital formation, strategic partnership, and investing activities in real estate technology companies. Stanfield is one of the earliest participants in this rapidly evolving, potentially huge market. They have reviewed hundreds of real estate technology startups, representing and investing in several promising companies. Stanfield is creating a dedicated real estate tech venture partnership focused on four verticals including Market Data/Analytics, Construction, Smart Buildings, and Capital Markets/Tokenization.
His career has been focused on capital raising and strategy for the world's most prominent real estate companies including serving as the Co-Manager of the Global Real Estate Investment Banking Group at Salomon Brothers and as the Head of Western U.S. Real Estate Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch. David was a leader in the origination of the CMBS market together with being central to the creation of the global REIT market including responsibility for the IPO's of CB Commercial and Essex Property Trust.
David has decades of experience in global investment and merchant banking. In addition to having represented many of the nation's most prominent real estate companies in connection with merger/advisory services and public/private capital raising, he has been closely associated with many of the financial services industry's first and most significant transactions involving securitization of commercial real estate.
He is a Founding Board of Directors member, Co-Chair of the Innovation Committee, and Co-CFO of Stanford Professionals in Real Estate, and Co-Founder of the Stanford Real Estate Council. He is a Leadership & Advisory Board member of CRE Tech, an inaugural member of the Urban Land Institute's Technology Council, a former policy advisory board member of the U.C. Berkeley Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, a former advisory board member of the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission, and a board member of the Los Angeles Stanford Business Advisory Council, and a licensed California real estate broker.
Mr. Knowles received a BA degree with honors from Stanford University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He has securities registration licenses Series 7, 24, 63, 66, and 79.
Bill Koman ('81)
President
The Koman Group
Bill Koman is President of The Koman Group. The Company, founded by Bill, has been a Midwest based development, asset management and investment firm for more than 35 years. In that time, The Koman Group has developed over $2.0 billion in new projects for the Midwest region including Class A office, retail, mixed-use, student housing and multi-family. Since relocating to the West Coast, Bill has started investing with San Diego based real estate principals in primarily multifamily projects in Southern California. Bill has professional affiliations with Young President's Organization (YPO), Barnes Jewish Hospital Foundation, UCSD Moores Cancer Center and the USCD Medical Advisory Board. Bill is also the founding investor of Yoga Six, a nationally franchised yoga chain.
Hanns Lee ('91)
Managing Director
Hines
Hanns Lee is a Managing Director with Hines in its Office of Innovation where he is leading strategic new economy initiatives within Hines' global portfolio including the launch of its workspace-as-a-service platform. Hanns has nearly 20 years of experience in acquiring, developing and managing Class A office buildings, office campuses and office-anchored mixed-use projects. Previously he served as the Irvine Company's and Lowe Enterprises' top executive for their respective Northern California regions. Hanns earned his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania after serving as a military officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and earning his B.S. in civil engineering from Stanford University.
Jonathan Lischke ('97)
Managing Partner
Merlone Geier Partners
Jonathan Lischke is a Managing Partner responsible for acquisitions and dispositions at Merlone Geier Partners, a private real estate investment firm focused on the acquisition and redevelopment of retail and mixed-use properties on the West Coast. The firm has raised $4.3 billion of discretionary equity capital over the past 27 years, acquiring 165 properties. Prior to joining Merlone Geier, Mr. Lischke was the Chief Investment Officer and a Partner at GPI Companies, a private investor, developer, and operator of retail, multifamily, office, and mixed-use properties in Southern California. Mr. Lischke helped launch GPI in 2009, build the portfolio to more than $550 million in assets under management, establish and invest a $200 million equity commitment (which was subsequently increased to $500 million) on behalf of a state pension fund. Prior to joining GPI, Mr. Lischke worked in acquisitions and development at Trammell Crow Company, MRP Realty (an offshoot of Trammell Crow), and The JBG Companies in Washington, DC. Mr. Lischke graduated from Stanford University in 1997 earning an undergraduate degree in Economics with departmental honors. He was a four-year letterman on Stanford's varsity swimming team that won a NCAA and four PAC-10 championships. In 2003, he earned an MBA degree from Harvard University. Mr. Lischke is an active participant in several real estate professional organizations including ULI, ICSC, and NAIOP. In addition, Mr. Lischke is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Gillispie School.
Tom Lockard ('79)
Managing Director & Co-Founder
280 Securities
Tom Lockard is a co-founder of 280 CapMarkets, a best execution technology platform for bonds. He previously was Vice President of Real Estate and Institutional Investments for Fundrise and continues to serve as investor representative to the Fundrise eREITs. Tom was a partner at the California investment bank Stone & Youngberg and then a managing director at Stifel Nicolaus after a sale of Stone & Youngberg to Stifel in 2011. Over his 30-year banking career Tom structured more than 500 California municipal bond issues representing more than $6 billion in financings. Tom earned an AB at Stanford and an MBA at Wharton.
Robert J. "Bob" Lowe (MBA '64)
Founder & Chairman
Lowe
Bob Lowe is Founder and Chairman of Lowe, a privately owned diversified national real estate company active in commercial, hospitality and residential property investment, development and management. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the firm maintains regional offices in Denver, Irvine, Charleston, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C. Over the past 48 years, Lowe has developed, acquired or managed more than $32 billion of real estate assets.
Bob is a Trustee and past Chairman of the Board of the Los Angeles Metropolitan YMCA; Chairman Emeritus of the Real Estate Roundtable; Life Trustee and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Claremont McKenna College; Chairman and Co-Founder of the Lowe Institute of Political Economy of Claremont McKenna College; and Director of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. Bob is past Chairman of the New Los Angeles Marketing Partnership; past member of the California Economy Strategy Panel; and past Director and member of the Executive Committee of the Economic Development Corporation of Los Angeles County. Bob's honors include City of Hope 'Spirit of Life' Award; National Entrepreneur of the Year for Real Estate and Construction; Los Angeles Mayor's 'City of Angels' Award; 'Distinguished Citizen Award' presented by the Boy Scouts of America and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Business Leader Award and Bob was recently inducted into the Stanford University Real Estate Hall of Fame. Bob earned a BA, Cum Laude, from Claremont McKenna College and an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.
Mike Lowe ('91, MBA '97)
Co-CEO
Lowe
Mike Lowe is Co-CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Lowe, sharing overall leadership for the firm with his brother and co-CEO Rob Lowe. As CIO of Lowe, Mike focuses primarily on the firm's national investment activities. He is responsible for new business development, investment strategy and performance, transactions and capital relationships and asset management. In addition, he chairs the firm's Investment Committee, serves on the Board of Lowe, and is co-Chairman of the firm's wholly owned hospitality affiliate, CoralTree Hospitality Group. He is an active member of the Urban Land Institute, the Real Estate Roundtable and the Stanford Real Estate Council. In his leisure time, Mike plays volleyball and attempts to play the ukulele. Mike was honored by the City of Hope with the 2019 Spirit of Life Award. Education: Stanford University, BA; Stanford University Graduate School of Business, MBA.
Robert J. "Rob" Lowe, Jr. ('88)
Co-CEO
Lowe
Robert J. Lowe, Jr., is co-CEO of Lowe Enterprises, a national real estate investment, development and management firm formed in 1972. Over the past 48 years, Lowe has developed, acquired or managed more than $30 billion of real estate assets nationwide as it pursued its mission to build value in real estate by creating innovative, lasting environments and meaningful experiences that connect people and place. Lowe is currently responsible for more than $3 billion of commercial, hospitality and residential assets and has more than $2 billion in commercial real estate projects in the pipeline or under development. Rob is an active member of Urban Land Institute, an Advisory Board Member of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, Vice Chairman of the YPO hospitality network, past Trustee and President of the Palisades Presbyterian Church, and on the Board of Managers at the Palisades-Malibu YMCA. Rob was honored by the City of Hope with the 2019 Spirit of Life Award. He is an avid surfer and enjoys travel with his family. Rob received his BA from Stanford University and his MBA from UCLA.
Mark MacDonald ('93, MS '07)
Co-Founding Principal
DM Development
Mark MacDonald is a co-founding principal of DM Development. Combining his passion for architectural design and real estate development, Mark founded DM Development in 2010 to create exceptionally designed urban infill properties that revitalize communities and promote sustainable development. Mark is actively involved in all phases of the development process with an emphasis on acquisitions, underwriting, finance, partnerships, design, entitlements, marketing and sales. Mark is an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), SPUR and the San Francisco Housing Action Coalition (SFHAC), and he has been a featured speaker at numerous local and regional real estate industry events. Mark received his bachelor's in computer systems engineering with distinction from Stanford University.
Chris Mahowald (MBA '89)
Managing Partner
RSF Partners
Chris Mahowald is the managing partner of RSF Partners, a series of real estate private equity funds totaling over $1 billion in equity. Prior to forming RSF in 1997, Mr. Mahowald was a partner with the Robert M. Bass Group where he was a founding principal in several real estate-related private equity funds, including the Lone Star Opportunity Fund and Colony Capital. Prior to joining the Bass Group, he was a principal for the Trammell Crow Company. Chris serves, or has served, on the Board of Directors for a number of private and public companies including Capstead Mortgage (NYSE: CMO) where he serves as chairman as well as American Security Products, IMPAC Commercial Holdings (NYSE: ICH), and Omega Healthcare (NYSE: OHI). He serves on several non-profit boards, including Stanford University's DAPER Investment Fund and Teach for America (Dallas/Fort Worth region). He received a BS in Mathematics and Computer Science from Santa Clara University and an MBA from the Stanford GSB. He is a faculty member at the GSB where he co-teaches the Real Estate Investment course.
Jose Luis Martinez (MS '01, MBA '01)
CFO
JMA Ventures, LLC
Jose Luis Martinez is a real estate investment and capital markets executive with 15+ years of experience. He is currently the CFO at JMA Ventures, a San Francisco-based real estate investment and development firm. Prior to JMA, Jose Luis was a CIO at Priya Living, a revolutionary real estate development firm focused on delivering unique products for seniors in the western US. Prior to Priya Living, Jose Luis was CFO at One Development Group in Monterrey, Mexico, where he participated in the development of Arboleda, one of Mexico's most successful real estate projects designed by the firm of Pelli Clarke Pelli. Jose Luis has also developed several residential projects under his own umbrella in Mexico. He was an analyst at McKinsey & Company for 4 years and has MBA and MS degrees from Stanford University. He lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX area with his wife and 2 daughters.
Peter McDermott (MBA '03)
Co-Founder, Partner & Chief Investment Officer
KSL Capital Partners
Peter McDermott is a Co-Founder, Partner, and Chief Investment Officer of KSL Capital Partners, an investment firm with equity and credit funds focused exclusively on travel and leisure businesses with over $10 billion in assets under management. He previously held positions with Alex. Brown & Sons and J.H. Whitney & Co. Peter holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar.
Gary McKitterick ('81)
Partner
Allen Matkins
Gary S. McKitterick is a career real estate lawyer handling some of the largest and most complex real estate transactions in the country. Gary is a partner in the Orange County office of Allen Matkins. He handles real estate transactions on a national basis representing large technology companies and office, retail, industrial, medical and residential developers and investors in a wide range of projects. Gary has been selected as one of the top real estate and construction lawyers by numerous publications including Chambers USA. Public and privately held companies rely on Gary to structure and negotiate complex transactions. For example, he was the lead lawyer for the acquisition of a skyscraper in Chicago that was, at the time, the largest single asset transaction in the history of Chicago. He also handled one of the largest land transactions in the history of California when Gary structured the sale of over 437,000 acres of land to the Bureau of Land Management and a private conservancy. In the last three years alone, Gary has structured development, acquisition, disposition and investment deals totaling multiple billions of dollars. Gary is one of the leading transactional development and construction experts on the West Coast and has authored a chapter on construction management issues for legal publisher Mathew Bender. He has lectured on construction matters for graduate schools at USC, UCLA and UCI and has written numerous articles covering such subjects as 'Organizing and Planning a Project' and 'The Role of Construction and Development Management.'
O'Malley Miller ('73)
Partner
Allen Matkins
O'Malley M. Miller is a real estate partner in the Los Angeles office of Allen Matkins. O'Malley maintains a sophisticated transactional practice including finance, land use and development matters with expertise in matters relating to workouts and debt restructurings. He frequently lectures and authors publications in the areas of real property finance and development, portfolio acquisitions, land use and construction related issues. In 2014, the Daily Journal named him as one of 'California's Top 50 Development Lawyers.' He was also named to the Daily Journal's Top 20 Real Estate Transactional Lawyers in California list in 2013. O'Malley is a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers.
Hamid Moghadam (MBA '80)
Chairman & CEO
Prologis
Hamid Moghadam is Chairman and CEO of Prologis. In 1983, Mr. Moghadam co-founded the company's predecessor, AMB Property Corporation, and led it through its initial public offering in 1997, as well as its merger with ProLogis in 2011. He has been a board member since the company's inception and serves on the board's executive committee.
Mr. Moghadam has served as a trustee of Stanford University. He remains active with Stanford, currently serving on the board of the Stanford Management Company, where he was formerly chair. He also serves on Stanford's FSI Council (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies) and the Stanford Graduate School of Business' Advisory Council. Previously, he served as a trustee and as a member on the board's executive committee for the Urban Land Institute, chairman of NAREIT and REITPAC, and as a member of several other philanthropic, community, and corporate boards.
Mr. Moghadam received the 2013 Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year Overall Award and is a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He has been named CEO of the Year and received multiple lifetime achievement awards from leading publications and industry organizations.
Mr. Moghadam received an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor and Master of Science in engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Jahan Moslehi (MBA '10)
Managing Principal
Bridge33 Capital
Jahan Moslehi is a Managing Principal and Co-Founder of Bridge33 Capital. Founded in 2012, Bridge33 is a vertically integrated commercial real estate firm focused on value-add investments. Bridge33's current portfolio is comprised of 3.7 million square feet of retail and office properties across 17 states. Prior to Bridge33, Mr. Moslehi worked at Morgan Stanley in various capacities including marketing and distribution of Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS), developing a business plan for trading distressed and small-balance commercial real estate loans, developing the firm's securitization business in the Middle East and North Africa, and other roles within the CMBS and Fixed Income Management groups.
Mr. Moslehi is a board member of Conservation X Labs, a non-profit focused on ending the sixth mass extinction through technology, entrepreneurship and open innovation. He is an active participant of leadership and industry organizations such as Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), and Urban Land Institute (ULI).
Mr. Moslehi holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences from the University of Chicago.
James Mulvihill ('86)
Principal, Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Black Creek Group
Jim R. Mulvihill, is a principal of Black Creek Group, a Denver-based real estate investment firm he co-founded in 1993. In addition, he is a manager of Black Creek Diversified Property Advisors LLC, the advisor to Black Creek Diversified Property Fund Inc.; BCI IV Advisors LLC, the advisor to Black Creek Industrial REIT IV Inc.; and Industrial Property Advisors LLC, the advisor to Industrial Property Trust Inc. From its inception until 2006, Mr. Mulvihill was the Chief Financial Officer of Dividend Capital Trust, prior to its listing on the NYSE as DCT Industrial Trust (NYSE: DCT). He was also a director of DCT Industrial Trust from its inception until 2009. He was also a co-founder and served through 2005 as Chairman of the Board of Corporate Properties of the Americas, a joint venture between an affiliate of Black Creek Group LLC and Equity International Properties, that acquires, develops and manages industrial properties throughout Mexico.
Mr. Mulvihill has been active in real estate acquisition, development and redevelopment activities for Black Creek Group since 1993, and as of September 30, 2018, with affiliates, has overseen directly or indirectly through affiliated entities, the acquisition, development, redevelopment, financing and sale of real properties having combined value of approximately $18.5 billion.
Mr. Mulvihill received a bachelor's degree in political science from Stanford University.
Daniel Neidich (MBA '74)
CEO
Dune Real Estate Partners
Dan Neidich is founder and chief executive officer of Dune Real Estate Partners LP. Dune manages real estate private equity funds with over $4.3 billion of equity capital under management. The funds target opportunistic investments in the United States and Europe. Prior to founding Dune, Dan was at Goldman Sachs where he was a member of the Management Committee, co-head of the Merchant Banking Division, and Chairman of the Whitehall Investment Committee. Dan joined Goldman Sachs in 1978, became a partner in 1984 and became head of Goldman's Real Estate Department in 1990. In 1992, he formed the Real Estate Principal Investment Area, in 1998 he became co-head of the Merchant Banking Division, and in 1999 he joined the firm's Management Committee. He received an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a BA from Yale University.
Peter Oberndorf (MBA '17)
Founder, Chairman & CEO
Axton Management LP
Mr. Oberndorf is responsible for the overall leadership and direction of The Axton Group. He serves as a member of the Investment Committee and oversees identification, evaluation, and consummation of real estate strategies and investments. Prior to forming Axton in 2017, Mr. Oberndorf led the Real Estate division of Oberndorf Enterprises, LLC, worked for Strategic Hotels and Resorts where he had responsibilities in corporate finance and portfolio management and Colony Capital, LLC where he had responsibilities in acquisitions and asset management. Mr. Oberndorf currently serves on The Alumni Council of The Thacher School, is a member of the buildings and grounds committee for Cathedral School for Boys and is a class agent responsible for leadership gifts at Williams College. Mr. Oberndorf received a B.A. in Political Economy and Leadership Studies in 2008 from Williams College and an MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business in 2017.
Patrick Orosco ('98)
Co-Managing Partner
The Orosco Group
Patrick is a co-managing partner of The Orosco Group, a private, second generation real estate investment firm that targets distressed, value-add, and ground-up projects nationwide. He is a Founding Board Member and ex-officio Vice President of SPIRE, and currently serves as Board Member Emeritus. The Orosco Group's core geographic focus is on the Central Coast and Central Valley of California where it has acquired or developed multi-family, mixed use, retail, office, R&D, industrial, self-storage, hospitality and specialty assets ranging in size from 10,000 s.f. to over 1mm s.f. The company typically targets opportunistic acquisitions in CRE assets requiring reinvestment or repositioning to achieve stabilization. Patrick has served on multiple land use advisory, arts, and childhood development boards and committees within Monterey County. Patrick received a BA degree from Stanford in Urban Studies with emphases in social psychology and the built environment and now guest lectures within the department.
Mario J. Palumbo, Jr. (JD '97, MBA '98)
Partner
Millennium Partners
Mario Palumbo is the managing partner responsible for directing and managing the day-to-day operations of Millennium Partners. In addition, he oversees Millennium Partner's largest investment vehicle- the Completed Asset Fund, with over $2.75 Billion in assets. The portfolio contains Millennium's office, retail, theater, extended-stay and parking assets throughout the country. Mario joined Millennium Partners in 1997. He initially oversaw the development of Millennium's mixed-use Ritz-Carlton developments in Washington, DC, Georgetown and Battery Park City in lower Manhattan. Mario received his JD from the Stanford Law School and his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He holds an undergraduate degree in economics from Princeton University, from which he graduated summa cum laude. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy for high school. Mario is board chair of The Friends of the High Line and a member of the Board of Governors of the Real Estate Board of New York Board.
Gabriela Franco Parcella (JD '94)
Executive Managing Director
Merlone Geier Partners
Gabriela Franco Parcella joined Merlone Geier in 2018. Her primary responsibility is to work with Messrs. Merlone and Geier on the furtherance of the firm's investment management activities. Prior to joining Merlone Geier, Gabby was the Chairman, President and CEO of Mellon Capital, a $380 billion institutional investment management firm focused on index and multi-asset strategies. For seven years, Gabby oversaw and coordinated the fully integrated company including Investments, Operations, Distribution, Legal, Regulatory and Compliance. During her 20-year career at Mellon Capital, Gabby held numerous other leadership roles, including Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer. Prior to Mellon Capital, Gabby was a tax attorney at Orrick. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1991, earning a M.A. in Professional Accounting and a B.A. in Business Administration, both with High Honors. In 1994, she earned a J.D. with Distinction from the Stanford Law School and was elected Business Manager of the school's Law Review. She is admitted to the California State Bar and is fluent in Spanish. Gabby is a director of Terreno Realty Corporation (NYSE: TRNO), an industrial REIT with a strategic focus in six major U.S. coastal markets. Additionally, she serves as an Independent Trustee on the Dodge & Cox Funds board. Gabby also serves on the Stanford Law School Dean's Advisory Council. Gabby was named one of the area's 'Most Influential Women' by the San Francisco Business Times in 2016. In 2017, Fortune and ALPFA ranked her third on their '50 Most Powerful Latinas in Corporate America'.
Brian Patterson (MBA '89)
Founder
White Star Real Estate
Brian founded White Star Real Estate (WSRE) in 1997. WSRE is a leading developer and property asset manager in Europe. Since WSRE's founding, Brian has helped the company amass a diverse development portfolio of over 50 properties and 2.5 million square meters, and a property management portfolio exceeding 60 properties and 1.6 million square meters. Over his time with WSRE, he has served as Managing Partner of White Star Real Estate Russia, White Star Real Estate Polska, and White Star Real Estate Europe.
Brian's entrepreneurial activities reach beyond the development field: he co-founded Archive Management Solutions (AMS) a leading provider of digital and physical record management solutions in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). AMS was later sold to the world leader of the records management industry Iron Mountain. In 2009, Brian founded a successful energy distribution company, Plus Energia, in Poland when the market was deregulated. Recently, he founded White Star Ventures which invests in early stage ventures in a variety of industries in the USA and CEE.
Brian is also a social entrepreneur and the founder of several foundations to level the playing field for kids facing adversity. Amongst those are the White Star Foundation (WSF), OpenStax Poland (OSP), Pistacja, Career Maps, Katalyst Engineering (KE), Friends of Children's Hospitals and Big Brothers/Big Sisters (BBBS).
Kevin Pleasant ('99)
Managing Director & CML West Region Head
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Kevin Pleasant is the Commercial Mortgage Lending West Region Head. Mr. Pleasant leads a team of Client Managers responsible for providing fixed and adjustable mortgages to real estate investors who own primary industrial, retail, office, and mixed-use properties. Over the last five years, Kevin has held a number of leadership positions within this business including CML Business Manager and Credit Risk Director for Multifamily Lending in Southern California. Prior to joining the firm in 2010, Kevin was a vice president at a real estate private equity firm, where he led the sourcing and underwriting of real estate investment platforms. Kevin holds a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University and a M.B.A. with a concentration in Finance and Real Estate from The Anderson School of Management at UCLA. He currently lives with his wife and two young children in Orange County, CA.
Lauren Pressman ('95, MBA '01)
Managing Director, Real Estate
Hillspire LLC
Lauren Pressman joined Hillspire LLC in June 2013 and focuses on real estate investments. Prior to Hillspire, Lauren's roles included Director of Investment Research at Aspiriant, LLC, a wealth management firm where she was responsible for managing the firm's discretionary real estate funds; Senior Vice President at MacFarlane Partners, where she was responsible for the firm's urban investment activities in the Bay Area and Pacific Northwest; and Project Manager at Hines Interests. In 2013, Lauren served as President of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of NAIOP. She has been a co-chair of the NAIOP Golden Shovel Challenge for over 15 years and was the 2018 co-chair of PREA's fall conference. She earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she graduated as an Arjay Miller Scholar. Lauren also holds a Bachelor's degree in Latin American Studies from Stanford University, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
Jeffrey S. Quicksilver (JD '86)
Co-Founder & Managing Principal
Walton Street Capital
As Co-Founder and Managing Principal, Walton Street Capital, L.L.C. Jeff oversees the global investments of Walton Street Capital, which has invested approximately $10.0 billion of equity in transactions with a gross acquisition cost of approximately $25.0 billion since its inception in 1995. Jeff is a member of the Firm's Investment and Management Committee. Walton Street has offices in Chicago, Illinois, Mexico City, Mexico, and Mumbai, India. Prior to joining Walton Street, Jeff was a Managing Director of JMB Private Capital Group, which was formed in 1992 and successfully focused on opportunistic and value-added real estate investments. Prior thereto, Jeff was a Managing Director at JMB Realty Corporation. He is a member of the Real Estate Roundtable and the Urban Land Institute. He is also a Policy Advisor Board Member of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics. Jeff earned a BA from the University of Michigan and a JD from Stanford University.
Christopher Rice-Shepherd ('98)
Director, Investor Coverage
Crow Holdings Capital
As a Director of the Crow Holdings Capital Investor Coverage team, Chris Rice-Shepherd's responsibilities include capital formation, business development and strategic initiatives across the investment management business.
Chris began his career in the investment banking division of PaineWebber, where, as an analyst in the firm's real estate group, he underwrote debt and equity issuances on behalf of REITs and other real estate operating companies. From 2002 to 2012, Chris served in a number of real estate acquisition and asset management roles in the fund management business of CIM, and later with Stockbridge Capital Group. Key responsibilities with CIM and Stockbridge included business plan development, property due diligence, and asset management for retail, residential, office, hotel and mixed-use assets. From 2012 to 2018, Chris was a Managing Director at Cliffwater, LLC, where he led the firm's real estate investment advisory practice. In this role, he oversaw all private real estate investments globally for pension fund, foundation and endowment clients, including strategic and tactical allocations, manager selection and portfolio monitoring. Most recently, Chris served as a Managing Director at Wafra, Inc. where he was focused on the firm's business development efforts.
Chris received a B.A. in economics from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles, where he was a Toigo Fellow.
Andy Richard ('91)
Senior Managing Director
Evercore
Andy Richard is a Senior Managing Director in the firm's corporate advisory business focused on clients in the real estate sector including REITs, financial sponsors, and real estate operating companies.
Before joining Evercore, Mr. Richard was a Managing Director at Credit Suisse where he was head of U.S. REITs. Prior to that, he was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, where he worked for ten years including four years as head of EMEA real estate based in London. Mr. Richard has completed strategic and financing transactions for a broad range of leading real estate clients globally including Avison Young, Cadillac Fairview, Cerberus Real Estate, Colony Capital, Cushman & Wakefield, Front Yard Residential, GGP, Howard Hughes Corp., Intu Properties, Invitation Homes, Lineage Logistics, Prologis, Realogy, SITE Centers, Spirit Realty, Starwood Property Trust, STORE Capital, TPG Real Estate, Unibail-Rodamco, and VEREIT.
Mr. Richard has an A.B. in English with Honors from Stanford University and an M.B.A. in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where he was a Palmer Scholar.
Charlie Rose ('03)
Managing Director & Portfolio Manager
Invesco Real Estate
Charlie Rose is a Managing Director with Invesco Real Estate (IRE). He is responsible for growing and managing the commercial real estate credit lines of business. In this role, he is primarily focused on the strategic and transactional side of structured credit investments related to commercial and multifamily real estate with an immediate focus on the US. Mr. Rose plays a leading role in initiatives related to sourcing and structuring new debt originations, managing external relationships, monitoring existing investments, and investor relations.
Before joining IRE in 2017, Mr. Rose served as managing director for Canyon Partners Real Estate (Canyon), where he was responsible for leading the execution of Canyon's real estate direct investing strategy in the Western US. Prior to Canyon, Mr. Rose worked for Pacific Urban Residential in capital markets and multifamily acquisitions. He started his career with Rosen Consulting Group, where he was a vice president with responsibility for national real estate market research covering the office, retail, industrial, and residential sectors.
Mr. Rose earned a BA degree from Stanford University and an MBA with honors from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Ralph Rosenberg (MBA '90)
Global Head of KKR Real Estate
KKR & Co. L.P.
Ralph F. Rosenberg (New York) joined KKR in 2011 and is the Global Head of KKR's Real Estate Platform. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Rosenberg was a Partner at Eton Park Capital Management and also managed his own firm, R6 Capital Management, which later merged into Eton Park. Previously, he was a Partner at Goldman Sachs. He holds an undergraduate degree from Brown University where he graduated magna cum laude and holds an M.B.A from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Ralph is Chairman of the Board of Directors of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc., Chairman of the Board of Directors of KKR Real Estate Select Trust, a Global and U.S Trustee of the Urban Land Institute, a Governor of the Urban Land Institute Foundation, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Pension Real Estate Association and a member of the Board of Directors of the PREA Foundation. He is an Emeriti Member of the Brown University Corporation and is an Honorary Trustee of the Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, Illinois. He is also a former Trustee of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Trust and a former Trustee and former Vice- Chair of the Board of Directors of the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York.
Bill Rothacker ('74, MS '74, MBA '80)
Chairman & Founder
Cadence Capital Investments
William Rothacker oversees a firm specializing in single tenant retail development and shopping center investment repositioning and development. Projects are primarily located in California, Colorado and Washington State. Prior to founding Cadence Capital Investments in 2001, he was with Trammell Crow Company for 21 years where he served in numerous capacities including executive committee member, President and CEO TCC Retail, and Partner. Bill received his MBA, MS (Engineering), BS (Engineering) from Stanford and a BA from Claremont McKenna College.
Eric Samek (MBA '03)
Founder
Brasa Capital Management
Eric Samek is the Founder of Brasa Capital Management and is responsible for deal origination, transaction execution, portfolio management and overall management of the firm's operations. Prior to forming Brasa in 2018, Mr. Samek worked at AEW Capital Management for over 10 years, most recently as Head of the Western US for AEW's Opportunity Fund. Prior to joining AEW, Mr. Samek served as Director for real estate private equity investments at Broadreach Capital Partners. He started his career as an investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs in New York. Mr. Samek earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Business Administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he was a Toigo Fellow.
Nicole Sermier (MBA '05)
Executive Managing Director & Partner
Sculptor Real Estate
Nicole Sermier is an Executive Managing Director and Head of Residential Investments at Sculptor Real Estate. In this role, Ms. Sermier oversees Sculptor Real Estate's investment activity across various residential strategies, including multifamily, senior housing, and affordable housing. Ms. Sermier's experience includes both debt and equity transactions, and investments in stabilized assets as well as development projects.
Prior to joining Sculptor Capital in 2008, Ms. Sermier worked as a Manager at AIG Global Real Estate where she was responsible for acquisitions and asset management across a range of property types throughout the U.S. and select emerging markets. Prior to joining AIG, Ms. Sermier worked at the Local Initiatives Support Coalition, focused on affordable housing development, and at Lehman Brothers in Fixed Income Research.
Ms. Sermier received an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, graduated phi beta kappa from Wesleyan University, where she received a B.A. in Government, and was a Fulbright Scholar. She is a member of the ULI Urban Development and Mixed-Use Council.
Mark Shoberg (MBA '03)
Managing Director, Real Estate
Stanford Management Company
Mark Shoberg is a Managing Director with Stanford Management Company and is responsible for SMC's global real estate and natural resources investment portfolio. Prior to joining SMC in 2016, Mark spent over ten years with the University of Texas Investment Management Company in Austin, Texas. At UTIMCO, Mark served as Managing Director responsible for the firm's real estate, technology, and healthcare investments. Mark's prior work experience has provided him with broad exposure to a number of industries including Information Technology, Oil & Gas, Consulting, and Real Estate. Prior to joining UTIMCO, Mark worked in the consulting division of Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and in the strategic development group of VerticalNet Inc., a software provider of on-demand supply chain management solutions and business- to-business procurement portals. Mark received an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and BE in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University.
Josh Stech ('08, MA '09)
Co-Founder & CEO
Sundae
Josh started Sundae to help homeowners get a better outcome when selling off-market. With a career at the intersection of technology and residential real estate, he's seen firsthand the opportunity to create a new type of business that wins by doing the right thing for the seller.
Prior to starting Sundae, Josh was Founding Partner and SVP of Sales at LendingHome, an online mortgage bank specializing in short-term residential bridge loans. During his five years at LendingHome, Josh helped the company outperform veteran business in LendingHome's category as the company scaled to 350 employees and $150M in venture funding.
Prior to LendingHome Josh was Co-Founder and CFO of Purpose Built Investments (PBI), a residential real estate private equity firm. Josh launched three investment funds for PBI focused on buying, renovating, and selling houses as well as bridge lending, executing more than 1,200 transactions.
Josh graduated with honors from Stanford with a BA in Economics, BA in Spanish, and an MA in Latin American Studies with a focus in Economic Policy. He wrote his honors thesis on the long-term impact of the subprime lending crisis on the Latino community. Josh lives in San Francisco with his wife, two sons, and their two dogs.
Ron Sturzenegger ('82)
Former Global Head of Real Estate, Commercial and Investment Banking
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Ron Sturzenegger spent over 30 years working for Financial Institutions, primarily in the real estate corporate and investment banking areas but also in senior leadership roles at Bank of America. Ron was Enterprise Business & Community Engagement executive for Bank of America. In his role overseeing Enterprise Business & Community Engagement, Ron was responsible for driving global integration opportunities across the enterprise. In addition, Ron led the company's strategy through which leaders representing all the company's various businesses in a given market or community worked together to integrate the delivery of products and services for customers and clients; including the oversight of the Market Presidents Organization. Previously, Ron led Legacy Asset Servicing (LAS) for the bank which was dedicated to resolving the numerous Residential Mortgage Issues post the 2008 financial crisis. Prior to LAS he served as managing director and global head of Real Estate, Gaming & Lodging Corporate & Investment Banking for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, as managing director and head of Real Estate and Lodging Mergers & Acquisitions for Bank of America Securities and as principal at Morgan Stanley Realty. Prior to Business School, Ron was a Research Associate for Bain & Company. Ron is currently an Independent Board Member for KBS REITs II and III and Conversus StepStone Private Markets. Ron is on the Executive Committee for the Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics. Ron and his wife are the former Vice Chairs and Chairs of the Parents' Advisory Board for Stanford University. Ron has an MBA from Harvard University.
Lydia Tan (MBA '91)
Former Managing Director, Real Estate
Oakland Athletics
With more than 30 years' experience, Lydia Tan has had key involvement in conceptualizing, entitling, financing and constructing several large-scale public/private redevelopment efforts in the Western U.S. She was most recently Managing Director, Real Estate for the Oakland Athletics, where she led the organization's efforts to create a new ballpark district at Howard Terminal and redevelopment of the Oakland Coliseum. Prior to joining the A's, Tan was Senior Vice President and U.S. Head of Development at Bentall Kennedy, one of North America's largest real estate investment advisors. Tan has additional experience launching Related California's Northern California office, focusing on affordable and mixed income, mixed use developments throughout the Bay Area. She was also the Executive Vice President at BRIDGE Housing Corporation, where she led teams focused on all aspects of the development and financing of mixed income and affordable housing communities, as well as large scale redevelopment efforts throughout California. Lydia holds an AB Architecture degree from University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from Stanford University, and is a registered Architect in California. She is a member of the Stanford Real Estate Council and ULI, and serves on the board of directors of Thoits Bros. Inc, SF Housing Accelerator Fund and the S.H. Cowell Foundation.
Tad Taube ('53, MS '57)
Founder & Chairman
Woodmont Companies
Tad Taube is Founder and Chairman of Woodmont Companies, a diversified real estate investment and management organization. Since its founding in 1963, the Company has been involved in the acquisition, development, and management of income properties exceeding $5 billion in valuation. Until its acquisition by Cushman Wakefield in 2015, Woodmont's holdings included BT/Cassidy-Turley. He is a founder and advisory board chair of the Taube Center for Jewish Studies. He is a past member of the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution, and was founder and past chairman of the advisory board of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). In 2014, Hoover Institution awarded Taube the Uncommon Commitment Award; and Stanford's President John L. Hennessy awarded him the Remarkable Generosity Acknowledgment. His involvement in Stanford Athletics includes his family's gift to Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Stadium, Stanford's Football Stadium, and his endowment for the Taube Director of Men's Tennis. He formerly served as Chair of the Stanford Athletic Board. Tad is a recognized philanthropist having served for 32 years as President of the Koret Foundation and currently serves his global philanthropic endeavors through Taube Philanthropies. In 2018, Tad received an honorary doctorate from Jagiellonian University in Krakow for his work, during the past two decades, rebuilding Jewish cultural and academic life throughout Poland. He is the only philanthropist among the four non-academics-including the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, and President Woodrow Wilson-who have received this honor. Tad Taube's father earned a Doctor of Law from Jagiellonian University, which was awarded in the same renaissance room as Tad's honorary doctorate in 1928, 90 years earlier.
Patrick Tooley (MBA '98)
Managing Partner
Tooley Interests, LLC
Patrick Tooley founded and serves as Managing Partner of Tooley Interests, LLC ('TI') a firm focused on the acquisition, development, and long term ownership of strategic real estate in Southern California's coastal urban markets. Prior to founding TI Patrick was a Senior Vice President at Wilson Meany where he was responsible for investment and commercial development activities in Southern California. His experience includes advisory work for CalPERS and other pension investment funds. Patrick previously served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of SPIRE and is a past Board Member of the Westside Urban Forum where he served as Treasurer. He is active in ULI and ICSC and holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and an MBA from Stanford University.
Kenneth Valach (MBA '89)
CEO
Trammell Crow Residential & Crow Holdings Industrial
Ken Valach is the Chief Executive Officer of Trammell Crow Residential and Crow Holdings Industrial. After joining Trammell Crow Residential in 1989, he served in a variety of positions including overseeing development, finance and construction for Trammell Crow Residential in all major markets in the western half of the U.S. In 2009, Ken assumed the CEO role of Trammell Crow Residential when the Crow family charged him with leading the company through the 2008-2010 economic recession. In 2015, Ken was named CEO of Crow Holdings Industrial to help build a national platform for development of speculative and build-to-suit industrial projects.
Prior to attending business school, Ken served as chief financial officer of a private company in Southern California and as a management consultant with Price Waterhouse.
Ken received his BA in Economics and Math, cum laude, from Claremont McKenna College, where he currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees. He received his MBA degree from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Ken is the Vice Chair and NMHC PAC Chair of National Multifamily Housing Council, a Director of Kimble Senior Housing, and Vice Chairman of New Hope Housing.
Diane Vrkic (MBA '04)
Founder & CEO
Waypoint
Diane is the Founder & CEO of Waypoint. Waypoint is the Real Estate Industry's first Performance Management platform. Waypoint provides previously unavailable real estate financial indices within a modern asset management platform that drives transparency, performance and value for real estate teams and portfolios. Leading real estate investors and owners across the United States and Canada have adopted Waypoint. Prior to Waypoint, Diane launched and managed Jones Lang LaSalle's Global Energy business. Diane received her MBA at Stanford and her BS at Fordham University, Summa Cum Laude. She also attended Georgetown School of Medicine before leaving to start her first real estate technology startup. Diane is passionate about driving improvement in the day to day work of real estate professionals and building a great company alongside her Waypoint colleagues. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and 5 year old daughter.
Andy Walburger ('00)
Head of Account Management
Juniper Square
At Juniper Square Andy is the head of account management and leads a team to drive all revenue within their install base of customers. Juniper Square is transforming the private funds industry with easy-to-use software that streamlines fundraising, investment operations and investor reporting. Designed specifically for commercial real estate, Juniper Square is trusted by hundreds of investment sponsors to manage more than 160,000 investors and $1 trillion in real estate investments. Prior to joining Juniper Square Andy was Vice President of Sales Strategy and Operations at Ten-X Commercial, the leading online end-to-end real estate marketplace. Prior to joining Ten-X Andy co-founded and served as Executive Director of Stanford Professionals in Real Estate (SPIRE) which he built into a global association of Stanford alumni and students involved in the real estate industry and he remains a board member of SPIRE. Andy graduated from Stanford University with an economics degree and was a member of the NCAA Champion water polo team.
Ross Walker ('98, MBA '05)
Managing Partner
Hawkins Way Capital, LLC
Ross Walker is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Hawkins Way Capital and its affiliated funds. Since co-founding the company, Ross has served on the Investment Committee where he leads the firm's real estate acquisition and development, asset management and property management activities. Prior to forming Hawkins Way Capital, Ross served as a Partner at Wolff Urban Development, a real estate-based family office, which included professional sports team ownership activities (Oakland Athletics and San Jose Earthquakes). Ross graduated from Stanford University and earned an MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business. Subsequently, he served on Stanford University's Board of Trustees and now serves as Trustee Emeritus. Ross is also a member of the Stanford Real Estate Council and YPO.
Joshua Waltzer ('95)
Managing Partner
North Street Finance
Josh Waltzer is a Managing Partner at North Street Finance, which provides financing and advisory services to the single family residential investment industry. Prior to co-founding North Street, Josh was a director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he was the senior investment banker on the West Coast for the Real Estate Investment Banking Group. During his 10+ year career at BofAML, he raised over $25 billion of capital for public and private real estate clients and advised on over $15 billion of M&A transactions. Prior to BofAML, Josh was an Asset Manager at Newmark & Co. Real Estate, Inc. in New York, NY where he was responsible for managing the operations of over 1.5 million square feet of office properties.
Lili Wang ('03, MS '03)
Founder
New City Group
Lili Wang is a Founding Partner of New City Group, a cross-border real estate private equity platform. Prior, Lili was a portfolio manager at Seneca Capital, where she focused on emerging markets and global financials. Lili began her career at Goldman Sachs in investment banking and private equity. She graduated from Stanford University with a BA in Economics and an MS in Management Science and Engineering. She is fluent in English and Mandarin, and proficient in Spanish, French, and Arabic.
Mark Whiting ('78, MBA '82)
Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO
Drawbridge Realty
Mark Whiting is currently the CEO, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Drawbridge Realty. In late 2011, Drawbridge Partners, founded in 1999, recapitalized with a major institutional investor, Almanac Realty, and became Drawbridge Realty Trust. In late 2014, Almanac's interest was acquired by KKR, which currently co-owns Drawbridge Realty with its co-founders. Prior to the formation of Drawbridge, Mark served as co-founder, President, and Director of TriNet Corporate Realty Trust, Inc., a NYSE REIT which he took public with its co-founders in May 1993. Mark serves as a board member of Capstead Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: CMO) and The Marcus & Millichap Companies. He also recently served as a member of the Stanford University Athletic Board, and the Board of Trustees of the Cate School. Mark holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Howard Wolf ('80)
Vice President for Alumni Affairs & President of Stanford Alumni Association
Stanford University
Howard Wolf, who has led the Stanford Alumni Association and its staff since 2001, earned his bachelor's degree in psychology, with distinction, from Stanford in 1980 and his MBA from Harvard in 1985. Before his appointment as Vice President for Alumni Affairs and President, Stanford Alumni Association, he worked as both an entrepreneur and business manager in the publishing and commercial real estate development and management industries. An active alum and volunteer, as well as an avid Stanford athletics fan, he received the Stanford Associates Outstanding Achievement Award in 2000. In addition to his Alumni Association role, Howard is one of ten officers of the University and part of its senior management team, with particular responsibility for advising the University's President and the Provost on alumni affairs.
Kenneth Woolley (PhD '71, MBA '71)
Founder & Executive Chairman
Extra Space Storage
Kenneth M. Woolley is the Chairman of Extra Space Storage Inc, a NYSE REIT. Ken served as the CEO from Extra Space Storage's formation through March 2009 and as Chief Investment Officer ('CIO') from July 2012 to July 2013. He has been involved in the self-storage industry since 1977. Early in his career he was a management consultant with the Boston Consulting Group. From 1979 to 1998, he was an Associate Professor, and later an Adjunct Associate Professor of Business Administration at Brigham Young University, where he taught undergraduate and MBA classes in Corporate Strategy and Real Estate. Ken has also developed 17,000 apartment units through his Las Vegas entity, Nevada West Partners. He has also founded several companies in the retail, electronics, food manufacturing and natural resources industries. Ken currently serves as a trustee and a member of the compensation committee of American Homes 4 Rent. He is also a Managing Partner of New York based Gaia Real Estate which owns more than 12,000 apartments.
He holds a BA in physics from Brigham Young University and an MBA and Ph.D. in business administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Carol Wyant ('61)
President
Pathfinder Consulting
The Pathfinder Consulting corporate focus is urban and architectural design and historic preservation. As President, Carol draws on her experience in commercial mixed-use development during the 80s, and leadership of a statewide historic preservation organization followed by inauguration of a new program for a national preservation organization in the 90's. Early into the 21st century Carol co-founded and directed the Form-Based Codes Institute. An alternative to zoning, Form-Based Codes are the implementation tool for placemaking, often used to create sustainable, walkable, mixed-use urban design. Pathfinder Consulting is active in ongoing projects in Spain and Portugal, The U.S. Virgin Islands, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Carol has been President of Pathfinder Consulting since 1999.
Gregg Young (MBA '79)
Independent Advisor
VIATechnik and Serra Capital
Across his career, Gregg has played a variety of leadership roles in real estate development, operations, and corporate services. Currently, he is serving as an independent advisor to two companies. One is VIATechnik - a consulting firm specializing in reducing costs, schedule, and incorporating virtual design as a technology bridge from construction to operations. Another is a finance company, specializing in credit tenant lease transactions for local governments and corporates. Gregg began his career at Trammell Crow Company -- as a partner responsible for developing and operating 7 million square feet of office buildings, including three downtown Dallas buildings of 1MSF each. In his sixth year, the TCC Board asked Gregg to found what was to become Trammell Crow Corporate Services -- providing TCC's management, transactional, and development services to corporate owners of real estate. Its successor Global Workplace Services has now grown to be a $12B+ source of revenue for CBRE following its acquisition of TCC. After leaving TCC, Gregg co-founded a private investment firm with Joel Peterson, overseeing a several million SF portfolio with properties in 13 states. In his most recent operating role Gregg served as chief investment officer and chief operating officer for Karney Properties, a private real estate investment company in Los Angeles (100 buildings; $1B AUM) where he restructured $120M in debt and coordinated $100M+ in acquisitions largely funded through 1031 exchange transactions. Gregg earned his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College.
Charles Young ('91, MBA '03)
COO & EVP
Invitation Homes
Charles Young is the Chief Operating Officer of Invitation Homes (NYSE: INVH). Headquartered in Dallas, Invitation Homes is a leading owner and operator of single-family homes for lease with 80,000 homes in 16 markets across the United States. Prior to Invitation Homes, Charles was Executive Vice President at Mesa Development, a national commercial and residential real estate developer, where he spent 10 years overseeing several large scale residential mixed-use projects and iconic buildings in Chicago and Northern California. Before joining Mesa, Charles worked for Goldman Sachs in their Real Estate Principle Investment Area (Whitehall) as well as Goldman's Investment Banking Division in Mergers and Acquisitions. Charles currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Stanford University and as an Independent Director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago. After undergrad, Charles spent several years as a professional football player in the National Football League (NFL) and the World Football League (WFL). He currently lives in Chicago with his wife and their three children.
Ron Zeff (MBA '88)
CEO
Carmel Partners
Ron Zeff founded Carmel Partners in 1996 and is its Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of Carmel Partners' Investment and Executive Committees. Carmel Partners is a real estate investment management firm based in San Francisco specializing in the development, acquisition and renovation of multi-family properties in high barrier to entry markets. The company has regional offices located in Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle, New York City and Washington, D.C. with over 250 employees. Throughout its history, Carmel Partners has successfully executed on over $12 billion in multifamily investments. Prior to forming Carmel Partners, Mr. Zeff was a partner with Trammell Crow Residential in San Francisco. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the National Multi Housing Council, is on the Board of Trustees for the California Academy of Sciences, is a member of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.B.A from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He also has received numerous philanthropic and industry awards throughout his career, including the City of Hope, Spirit of Life Award in 2015.
Mark Zytko ('89)
Co-Founder & Co-CEO
Mesa West Capital
Mr. Zytko is a Principal with Mesa West Capital. Prior to co-founding Mesa West in 2004, Mr. Zytko spent five years with Credit Suisse First Boston as a Director and Head of its West Coast office located in Los Angeles. Mr. Zytko was responsible for relationship management of major accounts in the western United States and for originating a variety of real estate debt products for the firm, including balance sheet debt and equity, CMBS and mezzanine loans for securitization and sale. Previous to CSFB, Mr. Zytko was a Vice President with GE Capital Real Estate. Mr. Zytko spent three years with GE Capital, having successfully opened and run their Seattle office. Previous to GE Capital, Mr. Zytko was a Manager of mortgage lending with SunAmerica Investments in Los Angeles. For five years at SunAmerica, he originated mortgage loans for the insurance company's portfolio, made RTC portfolio acquisitions, and was involved in the issuance and purchase of commercial mortgage backed securities. Mr. Zytko began his career as a Senior Real Estate Analyst with CB Commercial in their Investment Banking Services unit. Mr. Zytko received a bachelor's degree in Economics from Stanford University.