• Oliver Robinson, MBA '03, has joined ORIX Capital Markets and will be overseeing the balance sheet retail portfolio and part of the multifamily portfolio, as well as looking for new real estate investments. ORIX is a multinational non-banking financial services corporation. "As real estate comprises a small portion of the overall organization," Oliver writes, "are not weighed down by legacy asset issues. We are very well capitalized and we're looking for investment opportunities (equity, debt, mezz, bridge) in any real estate-related asset (four major food groups, hotel, monetization of TIF/TIRZ, etc) nationwide. I look forward to staying in touch." Contact Oliver at ORIX Capital Markets, 1717 Main Street, Suite 900, Dallas, TX 75201; 214-237-2085. (9/10)

  • John Liang, MBA '04, writes, "After working in the U.S. commercial real estate industry for about six years since graduation, I joined a group of private equity investors and executed a reverse takeover transaction for a Chinese real estate development company, China Oumei Real Estate Inc. I'm currently working on taking the company public through a U.S. IPO and serve as the company's CFO. Professor Peter Linneman, Wharton's Albert Sussman Professor of Real Estate and Finance, recently joined the company's board of directors. It's a strenuous undertaking given a rather unfriendly IPO market, but I'm enjoying the challenges and hopefully we will start trading on NASDAQ in the fall. Obviously, China and its citizens are writing one of the most stunning wealth creation history books since the Industrial Revolution, and I believe we will provide U.S. investors a rare opportunity to participate in one of the most important chapters of this history-making process—the Chinese real estate industry. If you are interested in our company or know someone who would be interested in investing in the offering, or just want to say "Wait a minute—isn't there a housing bubble in China," drop me a line at thejohnliang@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you all. (07/10)

  • Greg Kaplan, BS '09, has joined Mesa West Capital's originations platform in Los Angeles. He says he is thrilled to be back in Southern California. You can contact Greg at gkaplan@mesawestcapital.com or 858-204-6553. (6/10)

  • David Anderson, MBA '08, recently made a career change, joining Green Street Advisors as an associate in their Office REIT coverage team. Previously, he was in the acquisitions group at Acadia Realty Trust, a retail REIT in White Plains, N.Y. Contact him at David.Anderson.wg08@wharton.upenn.edu. (3/10)

  • Roger Chi, MBA '04, as one of the partners and co-founders of Dragon Pearl Partners, recently closed one of the largest real estate investments in Thailand. The project is a mixed use development named Maha Nakhon and will house the new Ritz Carlton Residences Bangkok, the Ian Shrager/Marriot Edition Bangkok, and a lifestyle shopping mall. The project is a 1.6 million-square-feet development located in the heart of the financial district. The project is designed by Office of Metropolitan Architecture (Koolhaas, Sheeren) and has interiors by OMA and David Collins of London. The development will also house the first Dean & Deluca in Southeast Asia. Roger and his firm structured the equity investment and brought the two joint ventures together. Roger established Dragon Pearl Partners two years ago with Jacob Ben-Moshe. Dragon Pearl Partners is a boutique advisory financial advisory firm that works on real estate and infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia. Learn more at www.maha-nakhon.com; Wikipedia; and FT.com. Contact Roger at roger@dragonpearlpartners.com (3/10)


  • Cole Cummins
    Anne De Mutis, MBA '06, was married in 2006 to Matt Cummins. In January 2009, they welcomed a baby boy, Cole, to their family. Contact Anne at annedemutis@hotmail.com (4/10)

  • Adam R. Flatto, MBA '89, is now president of the Georgetown Company, a privately-held New York development and investment firm at which he has been working since graduation in 1989. He writes, "We were thrilled to recently complete our new Frank Gehry-designed IAC headquarters in West Chelsea in NYC and continue to work on our Easton development in Columbus, Ohio and Sony office building projects in Los Angeles. I am also fully engaged with several not-for-profits where I serve as co-chairman of the board of Enterprise Community Partners NY, vice chairman of the Park Avenue Armory and Leadership Council Member of the Robin Hood Foundation, all in NYC." Contact Adam at aflatto@georgetownco.com (3/10)

  • Evan Goldman, MBA '02, is with Federal Realty Investment Trust and was recently featured in an article about the project he has been working on in the Washington Metro Area. ("High-tech helps developers open doors in Montgomery; White Flint team goes directly to residents to add them to the lobbying corps.") "I have been coordinating the efforts of seven large property owners in the area and managing our group, the White Flint Partnership. As part of that effort, we used social media to build grassroots support for a massive rezoning of 400 acres in White Flint (North Bethesda), Maryland. The Sector Plan will pave the way for the creation of the first sustainable city on the east coast." Contact Evan at EGoldman@federalrealty.com. (3/10)

  • Seth Weissman, BS '05, has closed, he writes, "with two partners, on the largest real estate transaction in Fire Island history buying 80% of the commercial district in the Fire Island Pines for $17 million in an off-market transaction. The assets purchased include a hotel, marina, and 40,000 square feet of mixed-used commercial space and two residential properties that house 50 resort staff. This is my first major resort purchase since leaving Perry Capital's Real Estate Private Equity group where I headed up the hard-money and bridge lending platform as well as many of the firm's hospitality investments including Equinox Fitness and Exclusive Resorts." Read more in the New York Post and in the Times. Contact Seth at seth@weissmanequities.com (3/10)


  • Alexia Margain
    Jorge Margain, WG '07, checked in with us recently, reporting, "After two and a half years working for AREA Property Partners (f.k.a. Apollo Real Estate Advisors) I made the decision to move to a family office called Tresalia Capital to head the real estate investment group. I moved to Mexico City in January 2009 and I have a one-year-old daughter, Alexia." Jorge may be reached at jorge.margain@gmail.com. (03-10)



  • Ian Van Lier Lanning
    Catherine Ying Liang, BS '09, wrote from Virginia to announce that she and her husband, Adrian Lanning, had welcomed a baby boy into their family. She said, "Thank you for the caring notes and phone calls! Adrian and I welcomed our son, Ian, on June 30 at the Hospital of UPenn. He weighed 8 lbs., 2 oz. and measured 20.5 inches long at birth. Both of us are doing great." Of her Wharton friends, she asked, "Please let me know your post-Wharton contact info, if you haven't yet. Let's keep in touch!" Catherine may be reached at 267-250-4609; liangying@gmail.com; ying.liang.wg09@wharton.upenn.edu; catliang@gmail.com. (08-09)

  • Anne Bovaird Nevins, MBA '07, was recently promoted to vice president in the market development group of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC). PIDC is a joint venture of the City of Philadelphia and the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce with a mission to promote job creation and economic development in Philadelphia. Anne develops client relationships and manages projects within the Center City market, including the office, hospitality and retail sectors. (07-09)


  • From top: Rudy Brown, James Yoakum
    Rudy Brown, BS '04 and James Yoakum, BS '07 have opened a new residential real estate firm, Brown McKinney Real Estate Company (www.brownmckinney.com; 215-825-2250). Shortly after they were introduced to each other in a local coffee house by a mutual Wharton friend, they discovered their mutual passion for residential real estate investment deals. Yoakum had been working in the industry as a Realtor for Long and Foster Real Estate, then later as a investment packager with Lenrock in Philadelphia. Brown has been an investor and developer in income properties, and as a Realtor previously with Boardwalk Realty in Marina del Rey, Calif. Now with Brown McKinney, Brown writes, "we specialize in the sale, purchase, development, and management of real estate investments in Philadelphia. Our investment clients interested in development gain an added benefit from our partnership with our sister construction company, Brown Residential Group. Our goal is to make the investment process as simple and profitable as possible." (7-09)

  • J.P. Marinelli, BS '75, has joined Citi Capital Strategies as managing director and head of the Real Estate Group. Prior to joining Citi Capital, J.P. was senior managing director of Horvath Hospitality and Leisure, where he ran the hospitality consulting, financing and advisory practice for the eastern United States. He previously led the real estate banking department of Berenson & Co., was a senior member of the real estate investment banking group and head of the Hospitality Practice for Prudential Securities, and developed the hospitality industry practice for PaineWebber's real estate investment banking group. J.P. spent a number of years in London, first managing the European Finance Desk and later the Equity Capital Markets Group for Lehman Brothers and then for Kidder Peabody/PaineWebber. Contact J.P. at 787 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10019 (212) 783-2472; j.peter.marinelli@citi.com


  • Kenneth D. Joseph
    Kenneth D. Joseph, SAS '90, has formed a new consulting venture, Alder Advisors (www.alderadvisors.net), guiding institutional and private real estate investors through strategic repositioning of their assets. Ken has 20 years of experience in consulting and in the development of his own high quality campus office parks as President & Qualifying Broker for Office Court Companies, Inc. in Santa Fe, N.M. (www.officecourt.com). Email him at ken@officecourt.com.



  • Matt Christensen
    Matt Christensen, MBA '97, is working in sustainable investment as executive director of Eurosif, based in Paris. Eurosif is an association of leading investors that seeks to integrate sustainability issues into their investment processes. Eurosif's activities include research, EU lobbying and events centred around equities, debt, private equity and real estate. A sector report on sustainability issues affecting the real estate market will be published in July and may be found here.


  • Arash Farin
    Arash Farin, '98, joined the Los Angeles office of Lehman Brothers in early 2007, working with their Sponsors Coverage Group.

  • Jefferson Lilly
    Jefferson Lilly, MBA '98, Managing Partner, Lilly & Company, LLC, has recently acquired an 88-space mobile home park in Oklahoma and is seeking to acquire similar properties. He is interested in hearing from any alumni with experience or interest in mobile home park investing. Contact him at jefferson_lilly@yahoo.com

  • Bernardo Mello, MBA '99, writes, "I've been living in Sao Paulo, Brazil for the last nine years, and have been working for the last one year for a real estate operating company called Bracor Investimentos Imobiliarios. The company is backed by Equity International, among others, and focuses on office and industrial build to suit and sale-leaseback transactions. Demand for high quality industrial properties is quite high in Brazil and this segment should experience some more years of consistent growth. I'm in charge of financial planning and investor relations, and look forward to talking to any alumnus who wants to know more about our market." You can email him at bernardomello@uol.com.br.


  • Joseph Ritchie
    Joseph Ritchie, MBA '99, chief executive of Brick City Development, was instrumental in arranging some state-funded subsidies to enable Standard Chartered, the international bank with 60,000 employees around the world, to establish an office in Newark, N.J. Officials have signed a 10-year lease to bring about 300 employees from Standard's Manhattan location to Newark's Gateway 2 building. Standard chose Newark over competitive bids in Princeton, Jersey City, White Plains and Utica, underscoring Newark's efforts to market itself as an international city. After many visits to Newark, Ritchie said, Standard officials liked the city's proximity to air and train travel, as well as the city's emerging downtown attractions. Brick City was formed by Newark mayor Cory Booker to help attract and retain business in Newark and spur real estate development.


  • Greg Belew
    Greg Belew, MBA '01, was named one of the Top 20 Rising Stars of Real Estate by Institutional Investor News, based on expertise, dedication and consistency in the commercial real estate industry, demonstrating that they will be the trendsetters of the future and will impact the market for years to come. Belew is the co-founder of Fifth Square Partners, known for producing outstanding design-oriented adaptive re-use and urban infill developments. The firm's portfolio includes more than $150 million in development projects in New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Baltimore and Connecticut. Contact Greg at 212-481-4488 or gbelew@5thsq.com.


  • Ron She
    Ron She, MBA '01, is a vice president and senior analyst covering the Asia Pacific area for Duff & Phelps Investment Management in Chicago. You may contact him at rongchangshe@yahoo.com.

  • Alan C. Arnold, Jr.
    Alan C. Arnold, Jr., MBA '02, vice president of the Lionstone Group in Houston, reports, "I am always pleased to welcome a Wharton Real Estate alum to our private equity investment firm in Houston (an "off the beaten path" location for Whartonites). This year we welcomed two. Both came to us through the Wharton network (who says only the HBS gang hangs together?)." You can contact Alan at aa@lionstonegroup.com.

  • Ben Haefele, BS '02, has joined the New York office of Lone Star Funds as Manager, Real Estate Investments. Contact Ben at (212) 849-9677 or bhaefele@lonestarfunds.com.

  • Josh Lavrinc, Law '02, has recently accepted a position as general counsel and vice president of Landmark Healthcare Facilities LLC, a medical office building developer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisc. "I am excited about joining the leadership of this growing, entrepreneurial business," writes Josh, "and for the opportunity to merge my legal and business training. I thought I would take a minute to thank you for your friendship and support in the past, and encourage you to contact me in the future." His new contact information is: Joshua J. Lavrinc, General Counsel and Vice President, Landmark Healthcare Facilities LLC, 839 North Jefferson Street, Suite 200, Milwaukee, WI 53202; (414) 277.0500; cell: (414) 617.6561; email: jlavrinc@lhf.biz

  • Corrine Packard, MCP '02, has joined the Hudson Yards Development Corporation as vice president of development. HYDC (www.hydc.org) is a New York City local development corporation charged with spearheading the implementation of the redevelopment of the Hudson Yards area of Manhattan between roughly 30th Street and 42nd Street, west of 8th Avenue. The redevelopment plan includes the extension of the No.7 Subway Line, the redevelopment of the MTA Railyards, and other residential and commercial development sites. Prior to working at HYDC, Ms. Packard was a vice president of the financial services division of the New York City Economic Development Corp., where she structured City incentives and discretionary capital investments in real estate and economic development projects throughout the five boroughs. Ms. Packard began her real estate career at Capital Trust, a publically traded REIT chaired by Samuel Zell. To contact Corrine, email cpackard@hydc.org.

  • Allison P. Wilson, MBA '02, has joined BremnerDuke in Philadelphia as vice president, East Region of BremnerDuke Healthcare, East Region/Development. There, she will coordinate activities of project development, and negotiate with representatives of real estate, private enterprise, construction, governmental or regulatory organizations, and community leaders to acquire and develop land to develop medical use facilities. Previously, Allison was vice president of Anchor Health Properties, responsible for all phases of development on projects up to 70,000 sq. ft.

  • Bill Marsh, MBA '03, joined the Miller-Valentine Group as a senior developer. Bill has opened an Atlanta office for the company, where he will be responsible for sourcing and managing real estate development projects (primarily multifamily and mixed-use) around metro Atlanta and other Southeastern U.S. markets. Bill is on the lookout for good multifamily development sites. Contact him at 404-303-8700 or bill.marsh@mvg.com.

  • Beth Schwartz, MBA '03, moved to Houston from Washington, D.C., to join the Lionstone Group as an investment manager for urban investments, an investment vehicle focused on value-add investments in custom-defined urban cores. She's working on office, retail, multifamily, and industrial properties throughout the United States.

  • Barron Channer, MBA '04, was recently promoted to vice president of development with The Peebles Corporation. As the firm continues to grow, Barron has assumed responsibility for development activities in the Eastern United States and Caribbean.

  • Michelle Cheng, MBA '04 left real estate in 2005 and started her business coaching company, Brilliance Coaching (www.brilliancecoaching.co.uk). Even though her business is not strictly real estate, Michelle appreciated the real estate professors, classmates and contacts she met, and says she cherished the lessons she learned from them and the time they spent together.


  • Nick Kittredge and son Ethan
    Nick Kittredge WG '04, Lauder '04, is living in São Paulo, Brazil and is leading the AMB/Cyrela joint venture, "AMB CCP Logística." The objective of the venture is to develop and acquire Class A industrial real estate, primarily in the markets of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Nick recently enjoyed speaking with a visiting Wharton GIP group and welcomes future contact from Zell/Lurie students and professors. Nick's wife, Katie Kittredge (WG '04) is with Diageo in São Paulo, and both Katie and son Ethan are making impressive progress in Portuguese! Email: nkittredge@amb.com.

  • Brian D. Nichols, MBA '04, has joined the Commercial Real Estate Group at Centerline Capital Group in New York as an assistant vice president, responsible for sourcing real estate financing and investment opportunities nationwide. Email him at bnichols@centerline.com

  • Miriam Serxner MBA '04 has accepted a new position as an associate in transactions with MMA Renewable Ventures, a division of MunieMae (NYSE: MMA). Headquartered in San Francisco, MMA Renewable Ventures makes clean energy cost-competitive for commercial property owners and users. As a member of the solar team, she is working with both property owners and solar developers to structure partnerships and power purchase agreements, providing turn-key financing and predictable energy costs for end users. Miriam says the team is doing some very interesting deals. Please check out their website, and let her know if you would like to know more: Miriam.Serxner@mmarenew.com

  • Michael Crimmins, MBA '05, has joined Gramercy Capital in New York City as vice president, asset management. "It is a very exciting place to work," says Michael, "and a great fit. I often make use of knowledge that I gained directly from Peter Linneman in class, and through my association with Zell/Lurie." To contact Michael, email michael.crimmins@gramercycapitalcorp.com.

  • Louis M. Joos, MBA '05, and his wife, Samantha, welcomed a daughter, Sophia, last March. They're in Jacksonville, Fla., where Louis is vice president of investments with AIMCO, a REIT based in Denver.

  • Bruce Kirsch, MBA '05, has joined the Washington, D.C. office of The Clarett Group (http://clarettgroup.com), a national developer of office, residential and mixed use urban projects, as an associate, acquisitions and development. To contact Bruce, email: bkirsch@clarett.com.

  • David D. Foster, Law '05, is the project director for the Greater Camden Partnership, following "a wonderful experience as an attorney in the real estate department at Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll in Philadelphia." The mission of the Greater Camden Partnership is to bring together institutions and leaders from the public, private and non-profit sectors to plan and execute innovative redevelopment solutions in the city of Camden, N.J. You can reach David at the Greater Camden Partnership, 856-963-0144, or DFoster@greatercamden.org.

  • David M. Belford, MBA '06, is with Colony Capital in New York, working in both the Real Estate Private Equity Fund (Fund VIII, $4.0B) and the Distressed Credit Fund (approx. $1.0B) looking at global acquisitions in all asset types related to real estate. You can reach David at dbelford@colonyinc.com.

  • Daniel M. Kline, BS '06, has joined Morgan Properties of King of Prussia, Pa. His role at Morgan will include asset management and acquisitions in their multifamily investment business, as well as assisting Morgan in its continuing acquisitions of other property types outside of its core business. Established in 1985 by Mitchell L. Morgan, Morgan Properties is a real estate investment, development and management company, which owns and manages 131 apartment communities with more than 30,000 apartment homes in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Maryland, South Carolina, Virginia and Nebraska. Mitch Morgan is a Research Sponsor of the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center and was Dan's career mentor while Dan was at Wharton. Dan was the Undergrad Real Estate Club president and also received a SIOR scholarship while at Wharton. Contact him at dkline@morgan-properties.com.

Send your news to Heather H. Harris at harrish@wharton.upenn.edu.


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