ROBERT EASTON

Robert Easton has been working in commercial real estate for over 22 years.  At Ajax Mr. Easton focuses his time on identifying and acquiring value added and development opportunities for the company and its partners and then executing those investment strategies through property entitlement, property improvement and project development endeavors. Prior to co-founding the Ajax companies, he spent five years with Nomura Securities Co., Ltd.’s Nomura Asset Capital Corp. and The Capital Company of America affiliates where as a managing director he co-ran the development finance and construction lending group after managing group formation and organization. After leading over $1.5B of loan and investment originations in development and re-development projects, Mr. Easton was a lead banker and asset manager as Nomura unwound over 90% of its $16B real estate investment portfolio following Nomura’s 1999 decision to reformat its US commercial real estate investment operations. Prior to Nomura, Mr. Easton spent four years as a senior underwriter at Victor Capital Group, LP, a private merchant banking group, which became the foundation of Capital Trust, Inc. in 1997. He has also worked with LaSalle Partners as a research and management associate and five years as a development project manager and owner’s representative at Nexus Properties, a private real estate developer/owner/operator of over two million square feet of commercial real estate in central New Jersey. Mr. Easton has an MS in Real Estate Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Lafayette College.

 

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GARTH GRANT

Mr. Grant has spent more than 22 years in the commercial construction and real estate development industry managing all aspects of project development, cost control and construction.  Prior to joining Ajax, Mr. Grant was the Assistant Project Director for Extell Development Company’s 500 Atlantic Avenue Project, a $300 million, 21-story, 700,000 SF, 424 Key InterContinental Hotel and 130 Unit Luxury Condominium Project.  Mr. Grant served as Project Manager for Commonwealth Development Group’s Providence Place Mall, a $420 million, 12-story, 4 million SF super regional mall and garage in Providence, Rhode Island.  Mr. Grant also worked for Amec Construction Management as Quality Control Manager for the Massport Authorities Terminal E Expansion and for H.E. Sargent, Inc., civil and environmental contractors, as Cost Control Manager and Marketing Director throughout the Northeast.

 

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PETER GULLA

Peter Gulla has more than 22 years of experience in real estate, finance, accounting, management and development. Prior to joining Ajax, Mr. Gulla was Chief Financial Officer for Commonwealth Development Group, where he was responsible for finance, accounting, human resources, lease administration and insurance and provided operational support for the company’s development projects. Previously, Mr. Gulla was Controller for The Finch Group, where he supervised the accounting and financial reporting for over 10,000 residential and condominium units and numerous office buildings, and was Senior Accountant for Edelstein and Company. Mr. Gulla has a BS in Accounting from Western New England College.

 

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WARREN HOROWITZ

Warren Horowitz joined Ajax Investment Partners in 2011 and has been purchasing non-performing commercial loans as a means to acquire property as well as being involved in development opportunities. Prior to Ajax, Warren, a career entrepreneur, has 25 years of self-employed business experience and a diversified real estate background that began in 1992. He is also a principal of Triad Partners LLC, an entity formed in 1996 to purchase property and facilitate all aspects of in-house renovation or new construction projects. Concentrated in the boroughs of New York City and Long Island, project scope has ranged from high rise apartment and brownstone renovation to apartment building and single family residence ground up construction. He has managed and directed all construction activities for Triad and has completed approximately 30 real estate transactions.  He currently manages a portfolio of Ajax and Triad properties in Brooklyn, Central Harlem and the East Village of Manhattan. Previous to his involvement in real estate, Warren owned and managed a NYC medallion taxi company. Warren holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University.

 

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Scott Humphrey

Scott Humphrey has extensive experience in all aspects of real estate gained from over 30 years. He joined AJAX in 2007 and has been purchasing non-performing commercial loans as a means of acquiring property. He currently co-manages the AJAX portfolio in Brooklyn and Central Harlem. Prior to joining AJAX, he raised equity and developed numerous projects valued at more than $50 million in Brooklyn, New York, Winston-Salem, NC and the US Virgin Islands. Scott has advised several investment banks on over $300 million in transactions. Mr. Humphrey worked as a banker for Chase Community Development Corp. as well as Nomura Securities closing over $500 million in transactions. He was the Director of Construction for Housing and Services and oversaw the construction of several nationally recognized projects for people with AIDS as well as over 1,000 units of affordable housing in the South Bronx, New York. Scott managed rent controlled properties early in his career and worked his way up to oversee construction crews building high-tech labs in Cambridge, MA.  Scott holds a Masters of Business Administration from NYU's Stern School and a Bachelor of Arts from Hobart College. Scott is a licensed Real Estate Broker in New York State.

 

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ROBERT MACNAMARA

Bob Macnamara is a principal with Ajax Partners LLC. Under his guidance, the company manages and provides advisory services for a diverse mix of office, flex, R&D and retail properties, landlords and tenants in New England. Bob brings to the firm more than twenty six years of construction, operations, leasing and asset management experience. Prior Ajax Partners LLC, he spent more than three years as Senior Vice President of Cresset Development, in downtown Boston, responsible for leasing, management and capital improvements for all in house and third party assets including Liberty Wharf, a mixed use office, restaurant and marina destination. Before Cresset, Bob was Chief Operating Officer for KS Partners LLC, with oversight of all aspects of a six million square foot office, industrial and retail portfolio. Previously, he was President of Wellesley Management Corporation, where he supervised all leasing, property management and construction activities for the company’s commercial real estate and multifamily portfolio, including the one million square foot Clock Tower Place renovation and development in Maynard, MA. Under Bob’s direction, this property went from vacant to 100% leased within 20 months. Bob was also Executive Director of the Bayside Expo Center in Boston, then, the City’s largest convention and expo center. Bob also managed and developed several resort condominium projects, multifamily, restaurant and hotel properties. Bob has successfully negotiated more than ten million square feet of commercial, industrial and retail lease, including tenants such as Monster, EDS, Verizon, FedEx, Comcast, Urban Outfitters/Anthropologie, Peoples United Bank, Legal Seafoods, Timberland, Ted Baker, Betsey Johnson, Radio Shack, Planet Fitness, Calvin Klein, David’s Tea and Sovereign Bank. He has managed large complex portfolios as well as single tenant third party assets in all types of asset classes. Bob is a former Director of the Weston Golf Club. He is a Trustee on several condominium Boards and is a member of NAIOP, REFA. Bob Lives in Sudbury, MA with his wife and two children.

 

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JASON MILLER

Jason Miller is a principal of Ajax Investment Partners, LLC.  Mr. Miller has more than 16 years of experience in real estate investment and finance.  Over the last six years at Ajax, he closed more than $300 million of acquisitions and $1 billion of advisory assignments, including financial advisory, mortgage brokerage, restructuring and due diligence and underwriting assignments.  Prior to joining Ajax, Mr. Miller was a Principal with International Venture Partners, LLC, an investment banking firm with offices in New York and Buenos Aires, where he advised US and Latin American clients on real estate investments, corporate strategy, capital raising and mergers and acquisitions.  Previously, Mr. Miller worked for CarrAmerica Realty Corporation, where he identified, evaluated and executed acquisitions of office properties and land for office development, as well as corporate acquisitions. Mr. Miller helped execute over $1 billion of investments as CarrAmerica built a national portfolio of office properties.  Mr. Miller also helped underwrite and close several initial public offerings of real estate investment trusts at Kidder, Peabody & Co., where worked in both the real estate investment banking group and the corporate finance department.  Mr. Miller received his Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Duke University and his Master of Business Administration degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

 

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CRAIG NICHOLSON

Craig Nicholson, LEED AP, serves as Director of Sustainable Development for Ajax Partners. Mr. Nicholson joined the Ajax team in June 2006, but had previously been working as a consultant to Ajax since 2004. Since joining Ajax, Mr. Nicholson has successfully managed the completion of the ballrooms, meeting rooms and 10H Restaurant & Bar at the Westin – Copley Place (Dec. 2006 to March 2008). Additionally, Mr. Nicholson recently managed the successful completion of the guestroom, lobby and lounge renovation at Hotel Sax in Chicago (formerly the House of Blues Hotel), as well as the new construction of a state of the art conference center at Hotel Sax. In each of these projects, Mr. Nicholson supports clients in general project oversight, as well as the integration of environmental conscious and energy saving building materials. He also supports Ajax investment team in assessing future development opportunities. Prior to joining Ajax, Mr. Nicholson served as Director of Operations at Paragon Environmental Services, Inc., a full service environmental consulting firm, with a focus on environmental site assessments, property condition assessments and site remediation. While at Paragon, he managed the firm’s day to day operations, including budget oversight and project staffing responsibilities. Mr. Nicholson began his career at Paragon as a project manager addressing numerous environmental issues for clients across the country. Mr. Nicholson, a LEED Accredited Professional, was recently appointed to the Massachusetts Zero Net Energy Task Force, a group convened by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to help the state’s public and private sectors design and construct super-efficient “green” buildings. Mr. Nicholson obtained his Master’s Degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University. He received his undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Science – Biology) from Providence College. Mr. Nicholson is a member of the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute.

 

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STUART SILBERBERG

Stuart Silberberg is a founding member and principal of Ajax Investment Partners, LLC.  Mr. Silberberg has been in the commercial real estate finance and investment industry for 24 years and at Ajax for the last six years.  During this time, Mr. Silberberg, as a principal, has overseen the acquisition and financing of 3 million square feet of assets with an aggregate value over $300 million while also working extensively on the asset management and development of the portfolio.  Through Ajax Advisors, LLC, Mr. Silberberg and team have advised on over $1 billion of transactions ranging from mortgage financing, acquisition advisory, equity placement and mezzanine/debt restructuring and provided underwriting services for Wall Street firms on several billion of real estate assets.  From 1986 through 2001, Mr. Silberberg worked with several investment banking firms, including Deutsche Bank, Nomura Securities and Kidder, Peabody, Inc. covering all aspects of the public capital markets as well as underwriting, structuring and placing mezzanine and equity for both the public and private investors.  Mr. Silberberg holds a Masters of Management from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Science from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. 

 

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KAREL STEINER

Karel Steiner has spent more than 22 years in the commercial construction and real estate development industry with extensive project management experience. With expertise in pricing, scheduling, subcontractor coordination and quality control on major projects and operations in North America along with extensive experience overseas, Mr. Steiner has overseen and directed over $3.0B of construction projects some employing crews of over 1,600 workers. Prior to working with Ajax, Mr. Steiner was the Director of Design and Construction for Commonwealth Development Group ’s Providence Place Mall, a $420 million, 12-story, 4 million SF super regional mall and garage in Providence, Rhode Island. Mr. Steiner was previously a Director and Senior Vice President of a $150 million subsidiary of Fru-Con Construction, an international general contractor (top 10 worldwide), President at both the Franki North America and Cogif (Paris, France) and worked for SAE (Societe Auxilliarie d’Enterprises) on a range of projects in the United States and overseas. Mr. Steiner has a MS and a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Clermont Ferrand, France.

 

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