Alan Todd is head of U.S. Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities (CMBS) Research. In this role, he is responsible for generating high-level, relative value and trade specific research recommendations regarding cash, synthetic and non-CUSIP investments to external and internal clients. He also focuses on providing macro-level overviews and in-depth analysis of the CMBS and commercial real estate markets. Alan brings more than 16 years of CMBS experience to this role and is highly regarded for his recommendations and timely market calls. Alan correctly called the recovery of the CMBS market since the 2009 bottom and the decline of the CMBS market in 2008. Alan has garnered a top-two ranking among CMBS analysts each year since 2007 according to the Institutional Investor All-America Fixed Income Research team survey and ranked No. 1 for CMBS each year since 2009. Alan joined Bank of America Merrill Lynch in August of 2011 from J.P. Morgan, where he was head of CMBS research since 2005. Prior to that he spent five years at Bear Stearns, also in CMBS Research. Alan received his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University, his Master’s degree in Finance from Vanderbilt University and is a CFA Charter holder.
Brad Bloom is a Director in the Commercial Real Estate Finance Group at Citi, where he is actively involved in both the origination and syndication of new financings throughout the US for both CMBS and balance sheet execution. In his current role, he is responsible for managing the pricing, structuring and distribution of all subordinated debt originated by the group, including mezzanine loans, B-notes, rake bonds and risk retention bonds. Mr. Bloom has also been involved in the origination, structuring and execution of more than $5 billion of CMBS and balance sheet financings on behalf of a wide range of institutional sponsors. Prior to joining Citi in 2007, Mr. Bloom worked at BRT Realty Trust where he focused on the origination of commercial real estate bridge loans. Mr. Bloom earned a BS in Urban Studies from Cornell University.
Mr. Tanna is head of Basis’ structured investment team. Prior to joining Basis Investment Group, Mr. Tanna was Vice President at Terra Capital Partners responsible for deal originations, underwriting, closing and also asset management. Mr. Tanna has been involved in over $250 million of mezzanine and preferred equity financings across over 50 transactions and over 6 million square feet in acquisitions valued at over $1.3 billion. Mr. Tanna also worked on debt and equity placements for The Greenwich Group International, an affiliate of Terra Capital. Mr. Tanna received an MBA from CUNY’s Baruch College and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Mr. Tanna is a member of the Urban Land Institute and was an Adjunct Professor in the real estate department of Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business.
Jonathan Snider joined Sherwood Equities in 2016. He graduated from Vanderbilt University and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. Jonny oversees Sherwood’s acquisitions, development, and lending, and was previously Vice President of Acquisitions at the Moinian Group.
Doug Lyons is a Managing Principal of Pearlmark, with responsibility for the firm's capital markets and debt investment activities. He is also a member of the firm's Investment and Management Committees. Prior to joining the firm in 1996, Mr. Lyons was Vice President of Equity Institutional Investors, Inc. where he was responsible for merchant banking activities. Previously, he worked in the New York Real Estate Capital Markets groups for Bankers Trust Company and Merrill Lynch & Co.
Mr. Lyons earned a BA from Amherst College and a MBA from Harvard University. He is a member and Trustee of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and a member of the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA). In addition Mr. Lyons is currently or has been a Trustee and member of several non-profit boards, including the Loomis Chaffee School, Lycee Francais de Chicago and St. James Cathedral.
Tim Davis is a Partner and Co-Chair of the Real Estate and Finance Groups at White and Williams LLP. He is also a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. He has over 25 years of experience representing investment funds, insurance companies, and banks in a wide variety of sophisticated real estate finance transactions, including first mortgage loans, participations, mezzanine loans, "B" notes and preferred equity investments.
He has extensive experience in the areas of intercreditor, co-lender, and participation agreements. In 2017, Tim was elected as a Fellow in the American College of Mortgage Attorneys. He is AV® Preeminent rated by the Martindale-Hubbell peer review rating system and has been recognized by “Best Lawyers in America” since 2016. He received his BA, MA, and JD from University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Randall joined PCCP in December 2009 and focuses on East Coast originations for the Firm. Since joining PCCP, Mr. Randall has originated equity and debt business in over a dozen states and in excess of $1 billion. Prior to PCCP, Mr. Randall spent six years and invested over $1 billion in real estate debt and preferred equity positions within the Real Estate Private Equity group of Lehman Brothers. Prior to Lehman Brothers, Mr. Randall was a Vice President with Deutsche Bank, originating and underwriting mezzanine investments for the DB Real Estate Mezzanine Investment Funds. Mr. Randall's experience also includes work at Daiwa Securities originating and structuring conduit loans for their CMBS group. Mr. Randall started his career with Arthur Andersen and Jones Lang Wootton where he valued over $1 billion of real estate in the U.S. and Latin America. Mr. Randall has over 20 years of real estate experience and holds a B.A. in Economics from Bowdoin College, magna cum laude, and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Nick Hoffman is a partner in the Real Estate Practice Group in the New York office of Haynes and Boone. Nick regularly represents investment banks, commercial banks, and foreign and domestic private equity clients in sophisticated real estate transactions, including structured loans, mezzanine loans, construction financing, preferred equity investments and joint ventures. Nick devotes a significant portion of his practice to capital markets and syndication work in the debt space including note sales, intercreditor arrangements and participations. Nick also has experience with debt restructurings work-outs, and single asset and portfolio acquisitions and dispositions.
Before joining the firm, Nick was a senior executive with the Ruben Companies, a Manhattan based developer, and was involved in all aspects of the management and development of its office and residential portfolio in New York, Washington, D.C. and Boston.
Nick is a frequent speaker at the NY iGlobal Mezzanine Finance Summit. A summary of his most recent presentation is located here.
Mr. Shah, based in New York City, has 23 years of experience in the real estate industry. Mr. Shah serves on various Investment Committees. Mr. Shah leads the origination of structured investments for Rockwood, including preferred equity, mezzanine and credit investments. In addition to these responsibilities, Mr. Shah is the Portfolio Manager for Rockwood’s debt separate accounts.
Prior to joining Rockwood, Mr. Shah was a Vice President at Citi Markets & Banking where he was responsible for the pricing, structuring and distribution of Citi’s subordinated debt and leveraged loan positions for the Commercial Real Estate group. During his career at Citi, Mr. Shah sourced, structured, underwrote and executed numerous large and highly structured transactions, including a leveraged buyout of a major global hotel brand and several event driven transactions for large publicly traded REITs and financial sponsors. Prior to Citi, Mr. Shah was with PricewaterhouseCoopers in its Transaction Services practice, providing M&A advisory services to private equity firms and corporations.
Mr. Shah received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting and International Business from Pennsylvania State University. Mr. Shah is a member of the CRE Finance Council and Urban Land Institute.
Mukang Cho founded Morning Calm Management and is the firm’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Principal. He has been involved in all aspects of the firm’s development since inception and is responsible for strategic planning, operations and all acquisition, disposition and other capital markets activities. Prior to joining Morning Calm Management, Mr. Cho was Chief Executive Officer and Principal of a privately held real estate investment and management company, a Managing Principal in charge of real estate strategy at Crown Capital Management and its affiliates, and a partner in the real estate practice group of Kirkland & Ellis. He began his career as a corporate attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York and then served as a principal of Trifecta, a distress focused middle market investment firm. In his capacities as principal and advisor, Mr. Cho has successfully completed hundreds of transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $100 billion.
Mr. Cho is a member of the President’s Council of The Real Estate Roundtable and the Cornell Real Estate Council. He is also a Vice Chairman of the Medical Peace Foundation, a non-profit organization started by his father, Ambassador Key-Sung Cho, which develops free medical centers around the world.
Mr. Cho graduated with a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. From Cornell University (with distinction).
CJ Follini has more than 25 years of experience in the acquisition, development, and management of professional real estate across numerous asset classes. These include: healthcare facilities, medical office space, urban parking, media infrastructure, industrial land development, and senior housing. CJ’s career highlights include development of a 400-acre site with Rockefeller Group Properties for the expansion of their renowned International Trade Center in Mount Olive, New Jersey.
In 2001, Mr. Follini created Noyack Medical Partners, LLC with the express purpose of investing in healthcare real estate. Over the last 15 years it has accumulated a $100MM+ portfolio exceeding return estimates for its investors. Earlier in his career, Mr. Follini served as President of the Gun For Hire Production Centers. He conceived, designed and renovated all of Gun For Hire’s 400,000+ square feet of digital media centers in New York, Miami, Vancouver, Toronto and Los Angeles. His New York facility earned the 1998 Crain’s Magazine Small Business Award. CJ holds a B.A. from Tufts University, a General Course Degree from London School of Economics & an Executive Management certification from Harvard Business School. CJ has also served on the boards as Chairperson of the HERE Arts Center & Chashama Arts.
Jeff Wiseman is a Managing Director and Head of U.S. Real Estate Debt for H.I.G. Realty Partners, an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, a leading global alternative investment firm with $45 billion of equity capital under management. H.I.G. Realty Partners originates and invests in senior transitional loans, mezzanine loans and preferred equity. H.I.G. Realty Partners will look at all asset classes (industrial, multifamily, office, hotels, retail, student housing, condominiums, including construction) in the Top 30+ markets across the United States.
Mr. Wiseman is responsible for all aspects of the investment process, including origination, structuring, closing and oversight of the portfolio. Jeff has been in the commercial real estate industry for over 20 years having served in multiple capacities and various leadership roles.
Before joining H.I.G., Jeff was a Managing Director at Allegiant Real Estate Capital, LP, serving as the Chief Credit Officer and Head of Asset Management. Previously, he served in similar capacities at FirstKey Lending, LLC and Macquarie Group. Prior to Macquarie Group, Jeff was a Director at J.E. Robert Company, Inc. where he was Co-Head of Mezzanine Lending for JER Investors Trust, Inc. and a member of JER’s U.S. Debt Fund Investment Committee.
Jeff earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance from The Pennsylvania State University and an M.B.A from the Stern School of Business at New York University.
Warren de Haan is a founder, Managing Partner and Co-Chief Executive Officer at ACORE.
Mr. de Haan has over 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate finance industry and capital markets. Prior to ACORE, he was the Chief Originations Officer of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: STWD), a public mortgage REIT, from October 2010 to September 2014.
Prior to STWD he, along with Mr. Fellows, Mr. Tokarski and Mr. Ward, founded Countrywide Financial Corporation’s commercial real estate finance business that was launched in 2004 and grew into one of the largest lending platforms in the United States focused on middle markets, closing over 1,250 commercial real estate loans totaling over $11.5 billion. He was co-head of loan originations, overseeing the expansion of the division’s footprint to 15 offices across the United States. In 2001 Mr. de Haan was a founding partner of Coastal Capital Partners, LLC, a firm focused on acquiring distressed debt and advising clients on restructurings. Prior to Coastal Capital, he was a member of a large loan group in Nomura’s commercial real estate finance division in NYC.
Mr. de Haan received a B.S. degree from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. He also graduated from Hotel Institute Montreux, Switzerland, where he obtained his Swiss Hotel Diploma and American Hotel and Motel Association Diplomas.
Mr. Friedman is a co-founder of Mesa West Capital. Prior to co-founding Mesa West in 2004, Mr. Friedman spent three years at Maguire Partners as a principal and was in charge of capital market activities which included the restructuring of the firm’s debt, the buy-out of partners and the firm’s eventual $800 million initial public offering. Mr. Friedman transitioned into real estate finance in 1994 initially as a Vice-President originating large loans at Nomura Asset Capital Corporation and later as a Director at Credit Suisse First Boston in New York. Mr. Friedman began his career as a corporate lawyer, working initially in Tokyo, Japan for an affiliate of Sidley & Austin and then in New York for Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Mr. Friedman graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), a master’s degree in Applied Economics and a law degree from the University of Michigan.
Rohan Mehta serves as a Director in the Commercial Real Estate Group and is responsible for high yield loan distribution of b-notes, mezzanine debt, and whole loans. In addition, Mr. Mehta is involved in pricing and structuring of balance sheet loans. Prior to his current role, Mr. Mehta was an integral part of the large loan origination platform at Deutsche Bank, and worked on the origination of loans for balance sheet execution, and loans for distribution via CMBS securitization. Deutsche Bank is a global leader in U.S. CMBS issuance reflecting a number of landmark transactions by Deutsche Bank’s CMBS team in the conduit space, single borrower space, and the single asset
Austin Peña is a Managing Director in the Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies Group. Mr. Peña is involved in sourcing, underwriting and structuring commercial real estate debt investments across all asset types.
Prior to joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Peña worked at Barclays in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group, where he was involved in advising REITs and other real estate companies on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and capital markets transactions. Prior to joining Barclays, Mr. Peña worked in a similar capacity at Lehman Brothers.
Mr. Peña graduated magna cum laude with a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Paul Vanderslice runs the CMBS Finance Group at BMO Capital Markets. In this capacity, he oversees Origination, Securitization, and Distribution of new issue transactions.
Mr. Vanderslice has been involved with CREFC for over 10 years, including being it’s President in 2012-2013 and is currently on its Board Of Governors.
He has an undergraduate degree from Boston College, is a CPA and has an M.B.A. in Finance and Management from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jason leads the originations platform in the Americas for Nuveen Real Estate and is focused on further expanding the firm’s third-party real estate debt business.
Prior to joining the business in 2018, Jason was a managing director at ACORE Capital where he led a team responsible for the sourcing and execution of structured finance investments, including mortgage, mezzanine and preferred equity. As one of the initial employees of ACORE, he helped grow the firm from a start-up, to one of the largest private lenders in the United States, with $9 billion AUM in just under three years. Jason has also held a number of roles at GE Capital Real Estate. Most recently he was a senior director in the strategic capital group focused on whole loan origination with institutional clients.
Jason graduated with a B.S. from Illinois State University and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School. He is a graduate of the GE Capital Financial Management Programme with roles including finance, underwriting and M&A and is a member of Commercial Real Estate Finance Council.
William May, CFA - Managing Director Bill is managing director, Structured Finance at Principal Real Estate Investors, the dedicated real estate group of Principal Global Investors. His responsibilities include high yield debt investments and the firm's secondary market activities for private debt including the acquisition, origination and disposition of whole loans, B-notes, mezzanine, and preferred equity investments. Bill joined Principal Real Estate Investors in 1993 and has served in a variety of positions with responsibilities including commercial mortgage origination and CMBS investing. Most recently, Bill managed the large loan program for Principal Commercial Funding II, the firm's commercial mortgage securitization joint venture where he was responsible for the underwriting, structuring and pricing of loans. He received an MBA in business administration with concentrations in finance and marketing and a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Kansas. Bill has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute. He is also a member of the CRE Financial Council (CREFC).
As Chief Investment Officer, David Hochfelder oversees Naftali Group’s equity, credit and non-real estate investments, and is responsible for sourcing, structuring and execution of the firm’s acquisitions and loan originations. Since joining in 2016, he has spearheaded the execution of $1.5 billion of new equity investments. Additionally, Mr. Hochfelder co-manages Naftali Credit Partners—a commingled fund that invests in real estate subordinate debt.
Prior to joining Naftali Group, he served as a Director of Acquisitions at RFR Holding overseeing property acquisitions and credit investments; and prior to that—at The City Investment Fund. Mr. Hochfelder began his career at The Lightstone Group as a Financial Analyst supporting the firm’s nationwide property and credit investments. Over the course of his career, David has played a pivotal role in the acquisition and execution of over $7 billion of real estate investments across office, residential, retail and hotel sectors.
David graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Philosophy, and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School as well as an MS in Real Estate at New York University. He serves in leadership or Board roles at various non-profit and industry organizations.
Karen Kulvin is co-head and senior managing director on the debt team for KA Real Estate. She is co-portfolio manager for the debt platform and is responsible for sourcing, underwriting, acquiring and managing the portfolio of commercial real estate related debt and securities.
Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 2014, Kulvin was a portfolio manager and founding Partner of Aqua Investment Management (“Aqua”) (subsequently portfolio manager at Exigent Capital Management, which acquired Aqua), where she served as president of two CMBS-related funds. She previously served as senior vice president for Dividend Capital Group (“Dividend Capital”), where she managed due diligence, acquisitions and asset management processes for Dividend Capital’s loan and commercial mortgage backed securities portfolios. She also served as a member of Dividend Capital’s investment committee. Prior positions Kulvin held include senior vice president of asset management for Newcastle Investment Corp (NYSE: NCT), managing director on the CMBS secondary credit desk at Bear, Stearns & Co. and department head of surveillance and asset management at LNR Property Corporation.
Kulvin earned a B.A. from Tufts University and an M.B.A. in Accounting from Boston University.
Daniel is a Senior Vice President in the investment management and acquisitions group. He has 22 years of professional experience. Prior to Torchlight, Daniel worked at World Class Capital Group, Guggenheim Partners, Zurich Alternative Management, and Credit Suisse. Daniel holds a BA from Pennsylvania State University.
Mr. DiLascio is a Real Estate Professional active for over 30 years in various capacities. Most recently, performing as the founding Principal of Structured Capital, a Real Estate Capital and Investment firm. Mr. DiLascio has also held positions as head of acquisitions for real estate investment firms and directing the re-positioning of assets for banks. Highly skilled, Mr. DiLascio has turned around approximately two million square feet of commercial properties throughout the tristate area, has worked in re-positioning of shopping centers and development of retail NNN leases on a nationwide basis as well as provision of due diligence and pricing evaluation for more than 2 billion of commercial real estate collateralized loan sales. With his extensive experience in finance and analysis, Mr. DiLascio has also provided financing for over 3 billion of real estate transactions across various product categories. Mr. DiLascio is a licensed New York State real estate broker and holds a BBA from Iona College in accounting.
David Valger founded DVO and is responsible for the overall management, operations and investing activities of the firm. A seasoned industry veteran, Mr. Valger has extensive experience in all aspects of real estate investing and finance, including originating, structuring, underwriting and managing real estate and corporate private equity transactions valued at more than $6.3 billion.
Previously, Mr. Valger was a partner with RCG Longview Debt Funds, where he was responsible for originating, structuring and underwriting a variety of real estate mezzanine and preferred equity transactions, investing more than $450 million in over 25,000 multifamily units. While there, he developed and led an exclusive Fannie Mae platform. Prior to RCG Longview Debt Funds, Mr. Valger founded Genesys Holdings, a technology-based service provider and led the sales and marketing efforts of a multi-national packaged goods company called NutriPlus LLC. He is a former member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the UJA/Federation of New York and a former Board member of The Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.
Mr. Valger received a B.A. from Binghamton University and earned an M.B.A in Real Estate & Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Rusty represents traditional and non-traditional lenders in a variety of transactions, including syndicated and single-lender corporate and ABL credit facilities, CMBS loans, bridge loans, life co. balance sheet loans, and mezzanine loans. He also represents lenders active in the convenience/retail petroleum industry and restaurant industry providing acquisition, working capital, letter of credit facilities, and other types of financing. Rusty has also assisted a number of clients with designing, establishing, and launching new loan programs. Additionally, Rusty’s team handles the servicing, syndication, and disposition of existing loans and credit facilities.
Lee focuses on restructuring, workouts, bankruptcy, and finance. Lee’s practice primarily includes the representation of lenders, finance companies, and national corporations in connection with the recovery, restructuring, and resolution of troubled debts. He litigates cases in bankruptcy courts and trial courts in Georgia and nationally. Lee also has significant real estate finance experience, including involvement in the structuring and restructuring of complex real estate loans and underlying financing vehicles. His focus is on the efficient resolution of issues for his clients and the preservation of maximum value in every situation.
Mr. Fineman has more than 25 years of experience in the commercial real estate business. At ACORE, Mr. Fineman is responsible for originating, underwriting, structuring and closing commercial real estate financing opportunities, and for managing originations for the East and Midwest Regions.
Prior to joining ACORE, Mr. Fineman was an Executive Vice President with Brickman and a principal at Hillcrest Finance, where he was responsible for originating, underwriting, structuring and closing equity and debt investment opportunities, and financing new and existing equity investments. Prior to Brickman, Mr. Fineman held various positions in commercial real estate finance including a senior role with Wachovia Bank, where he managed, structured and closed more than $25 billion of complex commercial real estate finance transactions often involving multiple lenders and tranches of debt, and a role as a banker with Nomura Securities in the mid to late 1990s. In addition to his finance experience, Mr. Fineman has also spent a significant amount of time on the equity side of the commercial real estate business where he was involved in the development, ownership, management and operation of commercial real estate, including in senior roles with Centres Inc. and Terranova Corporation, and in his time with Brickman. Mr. Fineman began his career in commercial real estate as an attorney representing institutional and private clients in a wide range of commercial real estate transactions, including finance, acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, development and land use. After college and prior to law school, Mr. Fineman spent several years at IBM Corporation as a marketing representative.
Mr. Fineman received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Drexel University and a J.D. from the University of Florida. Mr. Fineman serves on the board of enCourage Kids Foundation. Mr. Fineman is married to Lori and they have two children, Mia and Rocky.
A leading authority on Articles 8 and 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code and UCC Insurance, Gary supervises the UCCPlus team and participates in all of the company’s underwriting and policies.
As the Chief Underwriting Counsel for UCCPlus, Gary reviews and evaluates transaction structure and provides feedback on the insurability of real estate mezzanine loan transactions, project finance and energy transactions, and major-market working capital and term loans. He also advises outside counsel and major commercial lenders on UCC matters. In addition, Gary provides input to the Fidelity National Title Group companies on secured lending and UCC Articles 8 and 9 issues.
A practicing attorney since 1982, Gary is a frequent lecturer on matters involving Articles 8 and 9 of the UCC, commercial lending practices, UCC foreclosure rules and practice, and the terms, conditions and exclusions of personal property title insurance and endorsements. He is also on the faculty of the Commercial Finance Association’s Professional Education Programs.
Gary is a member of the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section and a member of the Chicago Bar Association. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Drake University and his law degree from DePaul University College of Law.
“UCCPlus Insurance is a valuable and unique product for any lender taking a security interest in any Article 8 or Article 9 Uniform Commercial Code collateral. The important second set of eyes that our seasoned attorneys and paralegals provide on each transaction reduces operational portfolio risk. It is gratifying to see that in the 14 years that UCCPlus Insurance has been available, it has become a best practice of major law firms and lenders.”
Dan Berman counsels developers, investors, lenders and operators in a range of real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, development deals, preferred equity investments, loans, leases, recapitalizations and restructurings. His work spans hospitality, industrial, health care, gaming, entertainment, retail, office, multifamily and mixed-use properties nationwide, and involves various ownership structures from ground leases to condominiums.
Among his most recent work, Dan represented an owner of Broadway theaters in a complex redevelopment project in Times Square involving the physical lifting of a landmarked theater from street level to 30 feet above ground. When construction is complete, the building will be a mixed-use commercial condominium that includes a state-of-the-art theater, a hotel, major outdoor signage, and retail and entertainment space.
Dan is a member of Kramer Levin’s Pro Bono, Ethics and Technologycommittees.
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