The Team – REAL

MANAGEMENT

Real Estate Ascending Leaders (REAL) is a New York City based institutional real estate networking group. REAL’s mission is to develop, educate, connect, and inspire its diverse member base of professionals across equity, debt, capital markets, investment sales and commercial leasing.

Management Committee

Jeremy Baum

Reigo Investments
Debt Investments

Mr. Baum is the Head of Business Development at Reigo. He brings over 8 years of experience in real estate finance. Prior to joining Reigo, Mr. Baum served as an origination & asset management professional at Lane Capital Partners, a boutique real estate special situations investment firm. Mr. Baum holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from New York University.

Arielle Bennatan

Alpine Grove Partners
Debt & Equity Investments

Arielle Bennatan is Vice President of Fundraising at Alpine Grove Partners.

Previously, Arielle worked at Meridian Capital Group in the Equity Placement Group. Prior to that role, she worked as a Real Estate Investment Associate at GCM Grosvenor. Arielle began her career at RBC Capital Markets in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group.

Arielle graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor’s degree in Management and a concentration in Finance.

Lexington Henn

IPA Capital Markets
Institutional Property Advisors

Lexington Henn specializes in providing structured financing solutions for owners and operators of all asset classes including multifamily, hospitality, retail, industrial, and office properties. Prior to joining IPA, she was a vice president with Mission Capital Advisors where she focused on the due diligence, underwriting, and closing of large, highly structured commercial real estate transactions.

Lexington graduated with a BSBA in Finance and International Business from Georgetown University and currently serves on Georgetown University’s Real Estate Associate Advisory Board and the Management Committee of Real Estate Ascending Leaders.

Whitney Zimmermann

Hines
Development

Whitney is the Director leading industrial new business and project management for Hines New York and Philadelphia offices. She is also a project manager for a suburban multifamily development in New Haven, CT.

Previously, Whitney was at Barclays Real Estate Investment Banking. Whitney graduated from University of Texas at Austin’s school of engineering.

Jessica Haghani

KKR
Debt Investments

Jess is an Associate on KKR’s Real Estate Credit, Direct Lending team. Previously, Jess was an Analyst at Eastdil Secured. Jess graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a double major in Cognitive Science and History.

Justin Hunt

Ketner, LP
Acquisitions

Justin Hunt is a Principal of Ketner, a multi-asset class focused real estate investment and development firm.

Previously, Justin was a Vice President at The Dermot Company. Prior to that role, he was a member of the acquisitions team at Aulder Capital. Justin began his career in debt and equity capital placement at Mission Capital and Cushman and Wakefield.

Justin has a BA from Duke University and an MS from New York University.

Erik Edeen

Avison & Young
Investment Sales

Erik Edeen is a Principal and the Director of Tri-State Investment Sales Operations in Avison Young’s New York City office, where he leads and coordinates day-to-day execution for the three-dozen member group. Erik oversees execution of all asset classes in the New York Tri-State region. Previously he was on the CBRE Tri-State Institutional Investment Sales team. Erik graduated from the University of Connecticut with a finance major and real estate concentration.

Hannah Riley

Prologis
Investment Manager

Hannah is an Investment Manager on the East Region Capital Deployment Team at Prologis. Our investments specifically target industrial / logistics assets and developments.

Previously, Hannah was an investment professional, specializing in acquisitions, at RealTerm. Hannah graduated from the University of Alabama.

Chuck Kohaut

Cushman & Wakefield
Senior Director Debt & Structured Finance

Chuck Kohaut is a Senior Director on Cushman & Wakefield’s Equity, Debt & Structured Finance group, where he specializes in raising debt and equity across all major asset classes with a particular focus on the New York Metropolitan area.

Prior to joining Cushman & Wakefield, Chuck spent six years in institutional investment sales at Newmark, CBRE, and Colliers International.

Chuck graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a double major in Business Management Consulting and Sociology.

Drew Sussman

Hodes Weill & Associates
Private Capital Advisory Team

Drew Sussman is a member of the Private Capital Advisory team at Hodes Weill & Associates. Previously, Mr. Sussman worked as a Senior Associate at Deloitte & Touche, as a member of the Infrastructure & Real Estate M&A group. In that position, he advised clients on transactions across sub-sectors including transportation, energy, and social infrastructure. He also supported valuation exercises related to over $50 billion of real estate properties across all major asset classes.

Prior to that role, he began his career at a public policy and management think tank, where he oversaw research related to global real asset funding and financing. Mr. Sussman holds an Honors B.A. in Political Science and World History from Huron University College at the University of Western Ontario, and is a graduate of the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Advisory Council

Simon Shewmaker

StoryBuilt
Development & Acquisitions

Simon is a mixed-use developer focused on urban infill in Austin, TX at StoryBuilt. Simon previously had stints at Tishman Speyer, Goldman Sachs, and W.P. Carey in New York as well as PlaceMKR in Austin. Simon grew up in Florida and received his undergraduate and graduate degree at the University of South Florida.

Bryan Won

CenterPoint Properties
Acquisitions

Bryan Won is an Investment Officer at CenterPoint Properties, a CalPERS company, where he leads industrial acquisitions in the Northeast.

Previously, he worked on the capital markets team at Walton Global and was an acquisitions analyst at Advance Realty.

Bryan graduated from Binghamton University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. In his free time, he enjoys playing golf, and spending time with his wife and two bernedoodles in New Jersey.

Patrick Li

Nuveen
Acquisitions

Patrick is a Senior Director of Investments at Nuveen Real Estate, currently responsible for covering the life science and office sectors. He was previously focused on acquisitions across sectors in the Northeast. Patrick holds a BA and MA from Columbia University and is a CFA® charterholder.

Eugene Shevaldin

Left Lane Development
Acquisitions & Development

Gene Shevaldin is the VP of Investments at Left Lane Development.

Previously, Gene worked at Equinox Hotels in the Development Group. Prior to that, he worked as an Acquisitions Associate at Harbor Group International. Gene began his career at Mission Capital Advisors in the Debt & Equity Finance Group.

He graduated from NYU Stern with a B.S. in Finance & Marketing.

David Shi

Blackrock
Acquisitions