IREI Live Webinar Debt Speakers
Geoffrey Dohrmann
President & CEO
Institutional Real Estate, Inc.
Geoffrey Dohrmann, CRE, is the founder, executive chairman and CEO, and also serves as a director, of Institutional Real Estate, Inc., a San Ramon, Calif.–based publishing and consulting company focused on meeting the information needs of the institutional real estate, infrastructure and private wealth advisory investment communities. In this capacity, he also serves as publisher and editor-in-chief of several leading industry publications, including Institutional Real Estate Americas, Institutional Real Estate Europe, Institutional Real Estate Asia Pacific, FundTracker, Institutional Investing In Infrastructure, Real Assets Adviser and Newsline. Dohrmann also serves as conference producer of IREI’s industry events, including Visions, Insights & Perspectives (VIP) Americas, VIP Europe, Institutional Investing In Infrastructure (I3), IREI CEO Summit and IREI Springboard. Dohrmann consults with many of the leading firms in the real estate investment management industry, and also has lectured on institutional real estate market–related matters at elite U.S. business schools.
Chase McWhorter
Managing Director, Americas
Institutional Real Estate, Inc.
Chase McWhorter serves as Managing Director of Institutional Real Estate Americas for Institutional Real Estate, Inc. (IREI), an industry-leading publication focused on meeting the information needs of the institutional real estate community. In this capacity, he is responsible for global business development and client service focused on publication sponsorships, while also leading the recruitment of top institutional investors who serve on the Editorial Advisory Board of Institutional Real Estate Americas with the publication’s sponsors. McWhorter has more than 10 years’ experience in the real assets investment industry. McWhorter is a graduate of the University of Southern California, receiving a B.S. in Public Policy, Planning and Development, while also winning three Pac-10 Championships and two Rose Bowls as a member of the USC Trojan football team.
Chris Duey
Senior Managing Director, Head of Private Debt Portfolio Management
Principal Real Estate Investors
Chris is a senior managing director, Head of Private Debt Portfolio Management for Principal Real Estate Investors, the dedicated real estate group of Principal Global Investors. He is responsible for oversight of the private debt portfolio management team, which handles all investment activities for affiliated and nonaffiliated private debt capital clients. He is also involved with new business development for private debt programs. Chris joined the firm in 1992 and has held various roles there, moving into his current position in 2017. He received an M.B.A. from Drake University and a B.B.A. in finance and marketing from the University of Iowa. He is a member of ULI.
Jack Gay
Managing Director, Global Head of Debt
Nuveen Real Estate
Jack is a managing director and oversees the origination, portfolio management and business development activities for Nuveen Real Estate globally. Previously, Jack was lead portfolio manager and head of the TIAA General Account portfolio management team responsible for the company’s general account investments in real estate, including equity real estate, commercial mortgages and single-asset CMBS investments. Other prior roles include heading capital markets activities and managing commercial mortgage production teams for both the eastern and western regions of the United States. Jack previously worked at J.P. Morgan Chase in a variety of roles including CMBS lending, real estate asset dispositions and loan workouts.
Tom Hester
Managing Director
StepStone Group Real Estate
Tom Hester is a member of StepStone’s real estate team and focuses on various investment and client portfolio management activities, as well leading the U.S. credit sector team. He is also a member of the firm’s responsible investing initiative task force.
James Laufenberg, CAIA
Senior Investment Officer – Real Estate
State of Wisconsin Investment Board
Mr. Laufenberg is a Senior Investment Officer – Real Estate for the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), which is the investment manager for the Wisconsin Retirement System. Mr. Laufenberg is responsible for executing the portfolio’s private real estate strategy through new investments, refinancings, and asset sales. Prior to joining SWIB in 2007, Mr. Laufenberg held positions at TriMont Real Estate Advisors and Ernst & Young. Mr. Laufenberg has a degree in Real Estate and Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is a member of NCREIF and PREA.
Greg Leadholm
Senior Managing Director, Co-Head Real Estate Debt
Heitman
Greg Leadholm is a senior managing director and co-head of Heitman’s Real Estate Debt group. He is also a member of Heitman’s Global Management and Debt Investment Committees and manages a team that structures, originates and services senior and mezzanine debt opportunities across all real estate sectors. Leadholm’s extensive structured debt experience includes origination, loan structuring and negotiating, asset underwriting, risk assessment, and portfolio management. Before joining Heitman, he held management roles with several large institutional real estate lenders and investors. Leadholm received a B.A. in finance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is an active member of ULI and a frequent participant in industry-related panels and conferences.
Mitch Pleis
Portfolio Manager
California State Teachers’ Retirement System
Mitch Pleis is a portfolio manager in real estate at CalSTRS and is responsible for overseeing the debt investment portfolio, credit facility lending program and various real estate operating company relationships. Pleis, who graduated from Stanford University with a focus in urban development and planning, has 40 years of institutional real estate investment management. His experience includes real estate development, structured financing, and asset and portfolio management for multiple property types and locations across the United States. Pleis was also a managing director for Principal Global Investors. Prior to rejoining CalSTRS, he served as the athletic director and campus development director at William Jessup University.
Matt Salem
Partner & Head of Real Estate Credit
KKR
Matt joined KKR in 2015 and is a partner and Head of Real Estate Credit. He also serves as CEO of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. and sits on KKR’s Real Estate Investment Committees. Prior to joining KKR, Matt was a managing director at Rialto Capital Management. Before joining Rialto in 2012, he held roles at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Alternative Investments and started his career at Midland Loan Services. Matt has a B.A. in economics from Bates College. He has served on the Board of Governors of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council and as chair of the B-Piece Buyer Forum.
Frank Scavone
Executive Managing Director
Third Point Real Estate Strategies
As managing partner of Trawler Capital Management, Frank oversees all aspects of platform operations, including investment and asset management, portfolio construction, investor relations and marketing, cash management, treasury, performance reporting and risk management. He sets operating protocols, team compensation and governance structures and chairs the Investment and Valuation Committees. As Executive Managing Director of Third Point Real Estate Strategies, Frank oversees distressed commercial real estate investments. He has a historical investment focus on both performing and distressed CRE credit. Previous appointments include president and COO of CBRE Capital Partners and managing director and COO of Nomura Direct. Frank holds an M.B.A. from UCLA and a B.S. in biology from Adelphi University
Josh Zegen
Managing Principal, Co-Founder
Madison Realty Capital
Josh Zegen co-founded Madison Realty Capital in 2004 and oversees the origination and structuring of all of MRC’s investment activities, as well as raising institutional capital and portfolio management. Since MRC’s inception, Zegen has closed real estate transactions totaling more than $15 billion. Prior to founding MRC, he founded and was president of Alpine Commercial Capital, a mortgage advisory firm that successfully closed more $500 million in real estate financings. Before that, Zegen was an investment banker at Salomon Smith Barney. He is a co-founder and board member of the New York Private Equity Network. Zegen has a B.A. in economics, cum laude, from Brandeis University.
