Industry Leader Roundtable – REIA Emerging Leaders
November 5, 2009 · 5:30 pm
INDUSTRY LEADER ROUNDTABLE
Thursday, November 5, 2009
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
DePaul University Real Estate Center, The DePaul Club
State & Jackson, 11th Floor, Chicago
Member $20 — Non-Member $35
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED, NO WALK-INS PERMITTED
Please join REIA’s Emerging Leader Group as we present an intimate setting to engage with some of the real estate industries most prestigious leaders. The evening will feature three roundtable sessions in which you will have the opportunity to discuss the most current trends and opportunities in real estate with these seasoned industry professionals. Don’t miss this unique event as space is limited.
Industry Leaders:
Peter Borzak, Principal, Pine Tree Commercial Realty
Neil Freeman, Chairman and CEO, Aries Capital LLC
John Jaeger, First Vice President, CB Richard Ellis
Jim Keledjian, Principal, Pathway Senior Living
Brian Manion, Vice President, Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital
Tim Mazzetti, Executive Vice President, Cohen Financial
Stephen Ross, Executive Vice President – Development, AMLI Residential
Tad Wefel, Senior Vice President, Newcastle Limited
* See view full bios of the Industry Leaders see below*
Thank you for supporting our 2009 Patrons & Sponsors
Patrons: Aries Capital • BPG Properties Ltd • Cray Kaiser, Ltd
Chicago Title Insurance Co. • Grant Thornton, LLP • Klein Construction Levenfield Pearlstein LLC • National City/PNC Plante & Moran, PLLC
Wildman Harrold Allen & Dixon • Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP
Pathway Senior Living, LLC
Media Sponsor: Chicago Real Estate Daily.com POWERED BY CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
Peter Borzak, Principal, Pine Tree Commercial Realty
Peter began his career at The Balcor Company in 1984 after graduating Phi Beta Kappa from George Washington University. In 1987, Peter joined First Dearborn Properties, a Chicago-based real estate investment company, as a Vice President of Acquisitions.
In 1990, Peter formed Plymouth Court Properties, Inc., which owned and managed several office and apartment buildings and a public golf club in the greater Chicago area. In addition, the principals of Plymouth Court Properties were involved in the development of Michael Jordan’s Restaurant in Chicago, Illinois.
In 1995, Peter was a founding Managing Member of Pine Tree Commercial Realty, LLC, and Pine Tree Institutional Realty, LLC in Northbrook, Illinois. To date, Pine Tree affiliates have developed and acquired 56 shopping centers nationwide totaling over 4.5 million square feet, with an aggregate value of over $500 million. Pine Tree Commercial Realty offers a full spectrum of real estate services for retail properties, including development services, construction management, property management and leasing. Pine Tree Institutional Realty is an active acquirer of retail property nationwide.
Peter has also been active with the George Washington University Alumni Association, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Chicago, YPO, Deerfield AYSO, the Deerfield Youth Baseball Association, and has served as a member of the board of directors for the Deerfield Park Foundation, Harold Eisenberg Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Chicago, American Friends of the Be’er-Sheva Foundation, and the Standard Club of Chicago.
Peter is married and has two children.
Neil Freeman, Chairman and CEO, Aries Capital LLC
Mr. Freeman is Chairman and CEO of Aries Capital LLC, a full-service real estate lender and mortgage banking firm offering long-term, interim and mezzanine loans. Mr. Freeman is also a principal in Aries Hospitality Investments and Freeman Realty Advisors, two asset brokerage and consulting companies and Aries Real Estate Fund and Urban Development fund, two direct lending affiliates of Aries Capital.
Mr. Freeman has a 25-year career in the finance and real estate ownership industries. He has funded more than $2 billion in commercial and multifamily properties, including $1 billion in hotel assets. Mr. Freeman’s entities have also held equity interests in real estate worth more than $100 million, including apartments, hotels, shopping centers and land developments.
Mr. Freeman, formerly a licensed CPA, serves as an adjunct Real Estate professor at DePaul University in Chicago and serves on The Executive Board of DePaul’s Real Estate Center. Mr. Freeman received his BSBA degree in Accounting from the University of Florida, and his MBA degree from Stanford University.
John Jaeger, First Vice President, CB Richard Ellis
John Jaeger is a First Vice President in CB Richard Ellis’ Investment Properties Group. Based in the firm’s downtown Chicago office, Mr. Jaeger focuses on major institutional multi-housing opportunities in the greater Chicagoland marketplace.
Mr. Jaeger brings extensive multi-housing experience to CBRE, joining the firm in June of 2005 after a 13 year career at Appraisal Research Counselors, establishing a reputation with multi-housing developers, equity investors, financial institutions, REITS and pension funds, including Heitman, Archstone, Habitat and Kensington. Mr. Jaeger worked on assignments in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Kansas. Since John has joined CBRE, he has been involved in $1.5 billion of sale transactions.
Jim Keledjian, Principal, Pathway Senior Living
Mr. Keledjian formed the privately held development firm, Associated Ventures LLC, which was involved with the development and management of affordable senior housing. In the late 1990’s, the principals of Associated Ventures and Quality Care Nursing Home formed Pathway Senior Living, LLC. Pathway acquires, develops and manages senior housing including senior apartments, independent living and assisted living. The company has been a leader in developing assisted living under the Illinois Supportive Housing Program, which utilizes Medicaid waivers for low income residents. Mr. Keledjian’s experience includes project origination, development and structuring, finance, tax-exempt bond structuring, placement and property asset management. He currently leads the acquisitions program for Pathway.
Mr. Keledjian began his real estate career as an Acquisitions Director with Multi-Vest, Inc., in Southfield, Michigan and was later appointed Regional Vice President of the Robert A. McNeil Corporation responsible for the Chicago office. As Regional Vice President, he was responsible for purchasing income properties throughout the Midwest. Later, he also served as Executive Vice President of Van Kampen, Morris & Stone (VMS) and was responsible for supervising the acquisition program for the entire United States.
Mr. Keledjian has served in the capacity of financial advisor and joint venture partner to charities, foundations and non-profit housing corporations interested in and the acquisition and development of low to moderate income housing. He is active with the Tax Credit Subcommittee of the National Association of Home Builders and is a Director of the Illinois Housing Council, the Michigan Housing Council, and the Illinois Affordable Assisted Living Coalition. Mr. Keledjian also serves on the Illinois Governor’s Housing Task Force on property tax issues affecting affordable housing. In addition he is a member of the Urban Development Fund, a new market tax credit entity that has received over $133,000,000 in credits from the US Treasury Department and is head of their Investment Committee and a member of the Advisory Board. Recently, Mr. Keledjian was appointed to the Wisconsin Tax Credit Allocation Committee as a Developer Representative. Mr. Keledjian received his Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from Wayne State University and an undergraduate degree in History and Geography from Eastern Michigan University.
Brian Manion, Vice President, Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital
Brian E. Manion has been with Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital (and its’ predecessor company) for over 15 years as Vice President of Production and head of the Chicago office. He is responsible for the origination, underwriting and closing of multifamily loans throughout the country. Since joining Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital, Mr. Manion has originated and closed nearly $2 Billion of Multifamily Loans.
Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital is one the largest originators and servicers of multifamily loans in the nation. Annual multifamily origination volume is in excess of $8 billion and Wells Fargo’s multifamily (Fannie/Freddie/FHA/CMBS) servicing portfolio is in excess of $95 billion.
Prior to joining Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital, Mr. Manion’s 24‐year real estate career includes positions with MGIC and Freddie Mac.
Mr. Manion earned his B.A. degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He is active in the National Multi Housing Counsel (“NMHC”).
Tim Mazzetti, Executive Vice President, Cohen Financia
As Executive Vice President, Tim’s primary focus is to leverage Cohen Financial’s existing real estate services group to build a best-in-class third-party fee services platform that offers commercial loan servicing, asset management, special servicing, construction loan administration and credit support services to banks, life insurance companies, institutional funds and CMBS issuers in the U.S. and Canada.
Tim will also use his extensive experience and industry relationships to enhance the Cohen Financial brand and future growth, with a specific focus on mergers & acquisitions, business development across all lines of business and client relationship management.
Prior to joining Cohen Financial, Tim served with Midland Loan Services, a leading commercial real estate services firms in the United States and Canada. Tim was instrumental in helping to grow the firm into one of the largest and well respected third-party providers of commercial loan servicing, special servicing and technology solutions in the industry. His work significantly contributed to Midland’s outstanding financial performance over the 12 years he was there.
Stephen Ross, Executive Vice President – Development, AMLI Residential
Mr. Ross is Executive Vice President – Development of AMLI and has been with the Company since its inception; prior thereto he was with AMLI Realty Co. since 1989. Mr. Ross is responsible for development activities including the origination, structuring and closing of investments in Chicago and other regions. Between 1989 and 1996, Mr. Ross led AMLI’s financing activities. Prior to joining AMLI Realty Co., he was associated with JMB Realty Corporation in Chicago and New York City where he had certain portfolio management and acquisition responsibilities. Mr. Ross received a B.S. from the University of Rochester in 1978 and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago in 1981. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute and was a founding Director of the Central Region of the Real Estate Investment Advisory Council. Mr. Ross serves on the Zoning Board of Appeals for the Village of Glencoe, Illinois and recently served as co-chairman of the Village of Glencoe Caucus. Mr. Ross has been a guest lecturer at the Johns Hopkins Business School and at DePaul University.
Tad Wefel, Senior Vice President, Newcastle Limited
Tad Wefel is currently Senior Vice President at Newcastle Limited, a real estate advisory and investment firm based in Chicago, IL. Newcastle, backed by a $500 million institutional capital source, is focused on residential and retail real estate opportunities in the Midwest with a core focus upon the City of Chicago and the downtown areas of its suburbs. Newcastle is a fully integrated operating company with both asset and property management professionals in-house.
Tad joined Newcastle in May 2008 after a 12-year period at General Growth Properties in Chicago, where he was Vice-President of Acquisitions since 2000. Over his twelve year career at General Growth Tad helped lead some of the largest real estate transactions in the nation including the $14.5 billion acquisition of the Rouse Company, the $1.5 billion acquisition of J.P. Realty Company and the $815 million acquisition of the nation’s largest retail asset Ala Moana in Honolulu, HI. Tad also helped lead the nation’s first mall backed CMBS offering in 1997 when this market was still in its early stages of development.
Tad is founder and owner of Vernon Capital Management, Inc. a private equity real estate investment vehicle with interests in residential, retail and office properties both national and international.
Tad received an MBA degree in 1995 through The James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Tad also received a BA from Wisconsin in 1990.
Tad resides in Oak Park, IL with his wife Pam and three children.