Executive team

• Ron Zeff – Chief Executive Officer

  Mr. Zeff founded Carmel Partners in 1992 and currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr. Zeff is responsible for all aspects of property acquisition, development, financing, management, investor relations and capital formation. In addition, he is the Chairman of Carmel Partners’ Investment Committee.

  Prior to forming Carmel Partners, Mr. Zeff joined Trammell Crow Residential in San Francisco in 1988 and was promoted to Partner in 1989.

  A native of Denver, Mr. Zeff received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.B.A degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Mr. Zeff is a member of the Executive Committee of the National Multi Housing Council.

• Donald Campbell – Senior Managing Partner, Chief Operating Officer

  Mr. Campbell is responsible for overseeing all portfolio operations including portfolio and asset management, property management, development, construction, accounting, human resources, risk management and information technology. Prior to assuming this position he was the Company’s Chief Financial Officer.

  Before joining Carmel Partners in 2002, Mr. Campbell was the Managing Director and Division Manager of Finova Realty Mezzanine Capital, Inc. In this role he was responsible for the formation and operations of a successful mezzanine lending business that invested in institutional quality commercial properties. As a part of this business Mr. Campbell established a joint venture with a New York based opportunity fund to originate and manage large mezzanine loans.

  Mr. Campbell was previously a Principal with Piedmont Realty Advisors, a firm that managed over $1.2 billion of institutional real estate investments. At Piedmont he established the Portfolio Management group and was then responsible for leading all portfolio and asset management activities. In this role he was also responsible for implementing and maintaining all financial and operating controls. Mr. Campbell began his career at the accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand.

  Mr. Campbell received his bachelor’s degree in Business and Accounting from San Francisco State University.

• Christopher Beda – Senior Managing Partner, Chief Investment Officer

  Mr. Beda is responsible for all aspects of the Company’s investment activity. In addition, Mr. Beda manages the Company’s multi-family transaction group which handles all of the multi-family acquisitions and dispositions. The company has invested nearly $600MM of equity during Mr. Beda’s tenure.

  Before joining Carmel Partners in 2004, Mr. Beda was the Acquisitions and Dispositions Officer for the Western United States at Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR). He joined Equity Residential transactions group in 1994, when the company owned approximately 35,000 multi-family units. During Mr. Beda’s tenure the group acquired over 200,000 units through individual transactions, portfolio acquisitions, debt purchases, mergers and joint ventures. Mr. Beda directly negotiated over $2 billion in acquisitions and dispositions. Prior to joining EQR, Mr. Beda was in the real estate lending group at Continental Bank, NA in Chicago.

  Mr. Beda received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Mr. Beda is presently an active member of Urban Land Institute (ULI).

• Quinn R. Barton III – Managing Partner, Capital Markets

  Mr. Barton is responsible for Carmel Partners’ investment activity in multi-family debt instruments, including the acquisition of first mortgages, b-pieces and related securities. He also oversees the firm’s equity capital activities, including fundraising and LP investor relations and communications. He is based in New York and heads up the firm’s Manhattan office that Carmel opened with his hiring in 2009.

  Prior to Carmel Partners, Mr. Barton was a Managing Director and the head of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) trading for Bank of America Securities in New York. In this role, he was responsible for loan pricing, new issue CMBS bond syndication, secondary trading, and subordinate B-note and mezzanine distribution. Prior to Bank of America, Mr. Barton worked for Natixis Real Estate Capital overseeing the firm’s trading and distribution of CMBS B-notes and mezzanine debt. During his 23-year career in the commercial real estate banking and securities market, he also worked on the CMBS trading desks at RBS Greenwich Capital and JP Morgan where he managed secondary and new issue CMBS trading in addition to loan pricing and hedging.

  Mr. Barton received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Washington & Lee University and an M.B.A degree from The George Washington University with a concentration in finance.

• Dennis Markus – Managing Partner, Chief Financial Officer

  Mr. Markus is responsible for providing leadership and management to Carmel Partner’s fund accounting, property accounting, investor reporting, financial planning and analysis, project finance and capital markets departments.

  Mr. Markus has over twenty years of experience in the real estate and financial service industries. Before joining Carmel Partners in 2012, Mr. Markus served as the CFO and President of Larkspur Hotels and Restaurants, a fully integrated owner, operator and developer of hotels and restaurants located in the Western U.S. In these positions he oversaw all finance and operations for the business. Prior to joining Larkspur in 2003, Mr. Markus worked in several key financial and operational roles at Transamerica Corporation and its subsidiaries, including serving as President and CFO of Transamerica Senior Living.

  Mr. Markus received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Stanford University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

• Joan Cress – Senior Vice President, Asset Management

  Ms. Cress is responsible for all Asset Management responsibilities nationwide. These responsibilities include management of financial performance at the property and fund level, performance reporting and benchmarking, and the functional integration of property operations and property finance.

  Ms. Cress has over 10 years of experience in portfolio and asset management of both multi-family and commercial assets. Prior to joining Carmel Partners in 2008, Ms. Cress was the Vice President of Asset Management at JB Matteson, the institutional investment division of The Matteson Companies. In this position, she managed a portfolio of 11 value-added apartment projects (over 1,700 apartment units) and was directly responsible for investment performance, capital management and loan funding & compliance for these assets, addressing many of the same operating and capital challenges that Carmel Partners faces with its assets. Ms. Cress also worked at UBS Realty Investors at both the director and associate levels. While at UBS, Ms. Cress was directly responsible for the management and financial performance of a portfolio of institutional-grade assets comprised of approximately 900 apartment units, 1.2 MSF of office / industrial product and 2.6 MSF of retail product located throughout the Western U.S.

  Ms. Cress received her bachelor and master degrees from the University of Illinois, as well as an M.B.A degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

• Daniel Garibaldi – Senior Vice President, Development

  Mr. Garibaldi is responsible for overseeing all development at Carmel Partners and leads new development activities in California.

  Prior to joining Carmel Partners in 2010, Mr. Garibaldi was Senior Managing Director for Trammell Crow Residential (TCR) leading all entitlement, financing and development activities in its Northern California Division. Mr. Garibaldi joined TCR in 2004 and broadened development beyond apartment communities to include for-sale housing in both suburban and urban markets. Previous to TCR, Mr. Garibaldi was a Partner at Carmel Partners where he led acquisition efforts in the Pacific-Northwest. During his first tenure at Carmel Partners, Mr. Garibaldi acquired and repositioned apartment communities and led the firm’s entry into condominium conversions. Prior to Carmel Partners, Mr. Garibaldi was a Senior Associate in U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray’s Investment Banking Division where he led equity offerings and M&A assignments for companies in the online and financial services industries.

  Mr. Garibaldi received a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Italian from The University of Notre Dame and an M.B.A degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

• Bob Hernandez – Senior Vice President, Finance

  Mr. Hernandez is responsible for providing direction and control for initiating, developing and managing debt and equity relationships for Carmel Partners.

  Prior to joining Carmel Partners in 2003, Mr. Hernandez was the Director of Due Diligence for Pacific Property Company. Mr. Hernandez also worked for FINOVA Realty Mezzanine Capital setting up and managing the real estate mezzanine lending business. Mr. Hernandez also held a senior position with a boutique multi-family company and has a strong multi-family background in finance, financial modeling and due diligence.

  Mr. Hernandez received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. From 1999 to 2002, Mr. Hernandez was the Director of the Board for the California Alumni Association of UC Berkeley.

• Kimberly Hoeksema – Senior Vice President, Construction

  Ms. Hoeksema is responsible for overseeing all development activities and major renovation projects for real estate assets in the Central Region and particular assets within the Western Region. In addition Ms. Hoeksema oversees construction operational activities for all new development projects for the company.

  Ms. Hoeksema previously held the position of Vice President, Asset Management and oversaw ownership and redevelopment activities in the Eastern and Central region.

  Prior to joining Carmel Partners in 2006, Ms. Hoeksema was the Vice President of Construction for DR Horton’s multi-family division within the Denver Metro area. This role oversaw all construction, purchasing, and warranty operations. Ms. Hoeksema real estate and construction experience begin in 1996 when she worked in pre-construction services and later a Construction Manager for JPI Apartment Construction.

  Ms. Hoeksema received her bachelor’s degree in Construction Management from Colorado State University, and an Executive Masters in Business Administration from the University of Denver.

• Erik Rogers – Senior Vice President, Operations

  Mr. Rogers is responsible for providing leadership and management for all aspects of operations relating to property management, sales and marketing, training, compliance and business intelligence and technology at Carmel Partners. Prior to assuming this position Mr. Rogers was the Vice President of Business Intelligence and Technology and created a strong strategic technology and reporting platform for our business operations.

  Prior to join Carmel Partners in 2007, Mr. Rogers worked for the Centennial Board of Cooperative Education Services which provides technology and business services to a number of school districts in Northern Colorado.

  Mr. Rogers received his bachelor’s degrees from University of Denver as well as his Master of Arts in Digital Media Studies from the same university.

• Brian Smith – Senior Vice President, Controller

  Mr. Smith is responsible for the accounting and reporting for Carmel’s real estate funds and portfolio investments. Mr. Smith manages Carmel’s operating systems, tax and audit compliance, construction accounting, treasury management and internal controls. Mr. Smith also leads Carmel’s accounting, risk management, and information technology groups. Prior to assuming this position he was the Company’s Controller.

  Before joining Carmel Partners in 1998, Mr. Smith worked as a CPA for Seiler & Company, LLP, one of the region’s largest non big-four accounting firms. Mr. Smith specialized in real estate taxation and assisted with complex transactions involving real estate management, investment, development, acquisition and dispositions. Mr. Smith also managed audits of various real estate entities and non-profit organizations as well as assisted with estate planning and tax filings for high net worth individuals.

  Mr. Smith received his bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Masters of Accounting from Brigham Young University. Mr. Smith is a Certified Public Account (“CPA”).

• Kathy Smith – Senior Vice President, Human Resources

  Ms. Smith is responsible for providing leadership and management for all aspects of human resources relating to compensation, benefits, recruiting, policies and procedures, performance management, HR systems, payroll, employee relations, communication, employee education and employment law at Carmel Partners.

  Prior to join Carmel Partners in 2001, Ms. Smith was the director of human resources for a real estate internet firm. Ms. Smith focused on building from scratch all human resources programs, policies and systems. Ms. Smith’s human resources experience began in 1995 at Levi Strauss and Company where she managed and monitored all policies and procedures for the company. In addition Ms. Smith focused on bring strong employee programs to the company that focused on work/life balance.

  Ms. Smith received two bachelor’s degrees with honors in Sociology and Social Work from San Jose State University. Ms. Smith is presently an active member of Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM).

• Frank Striegl – Senior Vice President, Capital Projects

  Mr. Striegl is responsible for overseeing all execution of major capital projects nationwide. This includes creation of business plan, asset preservation and discretionary capital.

  Prior to joining Carmel Partners in 2004, Mr. Striegl worked as an Asset Manager for HSC Real Estate, a fee management company, managing a portfolio of multi-family properties in the Puget Sound Region. Mr. Striegl’s real estate experience began in 1991 when he worked as a Senior Asset Manager for Gentra Capital Corp, a real estate investment firm based in Seattle, managing commercial, industrial and multi-family properties throughout the Northwest and California. From 1997 to 2003, Mr. Striegl was a Development Manager for Continental-Bentall, a developer of upscale multi-family properties in the Seattle region.

  Mr. Striegl received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from the College of William and Mary and he earned a M.B.A. degree from the University of Michigan.

• Richard Bennion – Vice President, Investor Relations

  Mr. Bennion is responsible for investor relations activities which include fundraising, reporting, and other shareholder communications. Prior to assuming this position he was the Vice President, Asset Management and was responsible for overseeing the financial performance of a portfolio of 33 properties located in Colorado, Arizona, & Texas.

  Prior to joining Carmel Partners in 2007, Mr. Bennion worked for HG Capital where he was engaged in all phases of equity investment for residential and commercial real estate projects located in the Western United States. Previous to HG Capital, Mr. Bennion worked for The Carlyle Group where he assisted with the successful redevelopment of condominium conversion projects in Washington, D.C. Mr. Bennion also worked for the development division of Foulger Pratt Companies where he conducted research on office, residential, and mixed-use properties in Maryland and Northern Virginia.

  Mr. Bennion received his bachelor’s of science degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Brigham Young University and an M.B.A. degree from Harvard Business School.