Our Key Experts

Sean Conlon: Principal and Chairman
Daniel P. Fowler: Principal and Chief Executive Officer
Chad Robins: President and Chief Operating Officer
Joseph Angelino: Chief Financial Officer
Jeff Lindenmeyer: Executive Vice President
Christopher J. Doherty: Vice President
Jamie Dougherty: Vice President
Michael Hackett: Assistant Controller
Mark Lecocq: Assistant Vice President
Jim Dunne: Asset Manager
David Blitz: Real Estate Associate
Evelyn Vela: Staff Accountant
Joseph Scoby, Inc.: Strategic Advisor

 

Sean Conlon: Chairman and Principal

Mr. Conlon serves as Chairman of the Investment Manager. Mr. Conlon’s responsibilities include growing the origination platform, business strategy and investor relations. Mr. Conlon serves on the Investment Committee and the Management Committee.

In 2000, Mr. Conlon founded an Illinois based real estate brokerage firm with an annual brokerage sales volume in excess of $2 billion. In 2006 he sold a majority interest to a Cendant sponsored group. Previously, Mr. Conlon was a very successful realtor, being recognized as one of the top producing real estate sales agents in the country, concentrating in new construction, with over $150 million in annual sales.

Mr. Conlon, in partnership with Daniel P. Fowler, acquired Near North National Title ("Near North") in 2004. Near North is a national real estate title company, established in 1988 that handles over $4 billion in real estate transactions annually. The senior executives of Near North have over 50 years of collective service at the company. These executives manage the day to day functions of the business. Additionally, Mr. Conlon is involved in real estate development and has participated in over $100 million of projects in several locations across the United States.

In less than a decade, Mr. Conlon has become recognized as one of the top real estate experts in the country. He is often the “voice of real estate“ for journalists and reporters and has been interviewed by CNN, New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal to discuss the market and trends within the real estate industry.

Mr. Conlon immigrated to the United States in 1991 from Ireland.

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Daniel P. Fowler: Principal and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Fowler serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Investment Manager. Mr. Fowler is in charge of the oversight and management of the company’s operations including strategy, investor relations, legal and finance. Mr. Fowler serves on the Investment Committee and the Management Committee.

Mr. Fowler is a Chicago based real estate developer and investor. Mr. Fowler has developed in excess of $100 million of high end condominium and single family homes on Chicago’s near north side. Mr. Fowler owns office and retail properties in highly desirable commercial corridors in Chicago.

Mr. Fowler graduated from Indiana University with honors, receiving his B.S. in Finance in 1992. He received a J.D., magna cum laude, from Indiana University Law School in 1994, where he was an associate editor of the Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. As a corporate attorney at Winston & Strawn, Mr. Fowler concentrated in private equity and mergers and acquisitions. In 2000, Mr. Fowler left his promising legal career to work full time in his growing real estate businesses.

Recently, with Mr. Conlon as his partner, Mr. Fowler acquired Near North National Title (“Near North”) in 2004. Near North is a national real estate title company, established in 1988 that handles over $4 billon in real estate transactions annually. The senior executives of Near North have over 50 years of collective service at the company. These executives manage the day to day functions of the business.

Mr. Fowler serves as a real estate industry delegate on the Chicago Federal Reserve Industrial Roundtable (“CFRIR”). The CFRIR provides vital input to the Federal Reserve’s economic Beige Book. Mr. Fowler is President and a member of the Board of Directors of the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago (“HBAGC”), the local chapter of the National Homebuilders Association (“NAHB”). Mr. Fowler previously chaired HBAGC’s influential Government Affairs Committee.

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Chad Robins: President and Chief Operating Officer

Chad Robins is President and Chief Operating Officer for Connaught Real Estate Finance. Mr. Robins is responsible for the day to day management of the Company’s operations as well as execution of the Company’s strategic vision.

Previously, Mr. Robins was Vice President of Operations for the Illinois Division of Pulte Homes, focused on leading the Company’s multi-family development efforts. He led the Division’s acquisition team for the last 4 years and was responsible for two of the most successful grand openings in Division history. In March of 2005, Mr. Robins was selected for Pulte’s Emerging Leaders program. He was one of 16 individuals selected from 11,000 employees, to train in a full cross section of real estate core disciplines.

Prior to Pulte, Mr. Robins held the position of vice president of finance for a metro Chicago developer where he oversaw the financial analysis of all investment properties, as well as procured debt and equity financing for the firm’s projects. Additionally, as head of the firm’s acquisitions department, he led the ongoing search for new development opportunities, drawing on his broad finance, business development, and capital transactions experience. During the 1990s, Mr. Robins helped found Wasserstein Perella’s San Francisco mergers and acquisitions practice and launched the West Coast office of a publicly traded healthcare software company.

A Cornell University graduate, Mr. Robins received an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a double major in real estate and finance. While receiving his MBA, Mr. Robins served as Executive Vice President of the Wharton Graduate Association. Active in civic affairs, he serves on the board of trustees for Chair Scholars Foundation, a national organization dedicated to providing scholarships to physically challenged students.

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Joseph Angelino: Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Angelino is Chief Financial Officer of the Investment Manager and is responsible for the day to day financial operations of the Investment Manager including accounting, treasury, financial reporting and loan administration as well as budgeting, forecasting and originating sources of investment capital.

Mr. Angelino has 12 years of real estate experience. Prior to joining the Investment Manager, he served five years at Capri Capital Advisors LLC (“Capri”) as Vice President and Controller, where he oversaw the accounting, treasury and financial reporting for a $2.5 billion mixed portfolio of real estate and mezzanine loan investments, primarily on behalf of institutional investors. Prior to Capri, he worked five years in public accounting at both American Express Tax and Business Services and KPMG, where he supervised the financial audits of real estate clients.

Mr. Angelino holds a Bachelors degree in Accountancy from the University of Illinois. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Illinois and a member of the Illinois CPA Society, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries.

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Jeff Lindenmeyer: Executive Vice President

Jeff Lindenmeyer is Executive Vice President and Principal of Land for Connaught Real Estate Finance. Mr. Lindenmeyer is responsible for initiating and overseeing opportunities for both residential and commercial developments, partnering with public and private homebuilders and commercial developers, and expanding investor relations.

Previously, Mr. Lindenmeyer worked for Pulte Homes/Del Webb, the largest homebuilder in the nation and in the Chicagoland area. In this role, Mr. Lindenmeyer and his team were responsible for sourcing all residential opportunities in the northern division of Pulte Homes along with project risk profiling, contract negotiation, financial structuring, and municipal entitlement procurement.

In addition to the homebuilding industry, Mr. Lindenmeyer was also previously active in the office market as an Associate Vice President at Equis Corporation representing tenants in their real estate negotations. His clients included Abbott Laboratories, USG, SBC/Ameritech, American Family Insurance and the City of Chicago. Mr. Lindenmeyer started off his career in the Finance Strategy sector of Accenture (Andersen Consulting) assisting clients in evaluating their business processes and risk profiles, with special emphasis on supply chain issues. In this role, Mr. Lindenmeyer often acted as a liason between technical consultants and union representatives.

Mr. Lindenmeyer graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance with an emphasis on Real Estate. Mr. Lindenmeyer earned a full basketball scholarship to the University and played for both Coach Lou Henson and Coach Lon Kruger. An active participant in the business community, Mr. Lindenmeyer currently serves as a board member of the Homebuilders Association of Greater Chicago (North Central Division) and holds a real estate broker's license.

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Christopher J. Doherty: Vice President

Christopher Doherty is a Vice President for the Investment Manager and is responsible for underwriting opportunities for both residential and commercial developments.

Mr. Doherty brings over ten years of both strategic and financial real estate industry experience to the Investment Manager. Prior to the Investment Manager, he served as vice president within Mesirow Financial’s Development Services group specializing in identifying, and evaluating development opportunities, as well as performing strategic and financial consulting for some of the firm’s most high profile projects. His industry specialization includes corporate real estate strategy, portfolio strategy, cost reduction, and financial analysis.

Prior to joining Mesirow, Mr. Doherty provided real estate advisory services as a manager at Deloitte Consulting’s Strategy and Operations Group where he led and participated in over 75 projects. He has had significant experience performing varied types of financial analyses for both corporations and investors, including lease vs. own decisions, sale-leaseback analyses, and numerous forms of financial structuring such as synthetic leases, mortgages, developer leases, credit-tenant leases, etc.

Mr. Doherty received his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University.

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Jamie Dougherty: Vice President

Mr. Dougherty is Vice President of Connaught Real Estate Finance. Mr. Dougherty is responsible for originating new investment opportunities for the firm and establishing relationships with leading real estate developers, lenders and brokers. Mr. Dougherty also leads Connaught’s syndication desk.

Prior to joining Connaught Real Estate Finance, Mr. Dougherty worked for Exclusive Resorts in New York City. Exclusive Resorts, owned by Steve Case, Perry Capital and the founders, is the world’s leading luxury residence club with a real estate portfolio valued at over $1 billon.

Mr. Dougherty earned his MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University with a major in Finance and a specialization in Real Estate. A graduate of Ohio University, Mr. Dougherty received a BBA in Finance and was a member of the football team.

Mr. Dougherty started his career with Horizon Medical Products in Charlotte, North Carolina. After turning around an underperforming territory, HMP promoted Mr. Dougherty to Denver to manage the Rocky Mountain region. Mr. Dougherty was later recruited and joined HealthAxis, a public healthcare software company in San Francisco. As Director of Business Development, Mr. Dougherty established channel distribution partnerships for the retail division and managed strategic projects. Mr. Dougherty later worked with PHT, a venture capital backed medical device company, where he managed the direct sales team and distribution partners.

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Michael Hackett: Assistant Controller

Michael Hackett is the Assistant Controller of Connaught Real Estate Finance. Mr. Hackett responsibilities include supporting the day to day financial operations of the Investment Manager including accounting, treasury, financial reporting and loan administration.

Before joining Connaught Real Estate Finance, Mr. Hackett work for Rosenberg Real Estate Equity Funds (RREEF) serving as the primary accounting resource for a REIT that totaled over $3.5 billion in assets under management. In addition to the REIT, Mr. Hackett also performed multiple accounting functions for two separate funds and various development projects. Prior to joining RREEF, Mr. Hackett furthered his real estate accounting knowledge while working at Equity Office Properties Trust, Equity Residential Properties Trust and Prime Group Realty Trust focusing on property accounting, financial reporting, tenant audits and SEC reporting.

Mr. Hackett holds a bachelors degree in Accountancy and minor in Economics from Bradley University and is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Illinois.

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Mark Lecocq: Assistant Vice President

Mr. Lecocq is an Assistant Vice President for Connaught Real Estate Finance. His primary responsibilities include underwriting new investment opportunities, analyzing real estate markets through out the United States and assisting in the monitoring of the mezzanine loan portfolio. Mr. Lecocq graduated from Wheaton College, located in Wheaton, Illinois, with a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. He started his career as a securities broker in Chicago, and previously worked as an analyst for Geneva Capital Group.

While at Geneva, Mr. Lecocq gained vast experience in underwriting a diverse list of commercial real estate projects including: land development; multi-family residential; office; retail; industrial; hospitality; and entertainment. He also analyzed projects with various types of financing structures including: construction loans; mezzanine debt; equity investment; fixed-rate debt; and equipment leasing. In addition, Mr. Lecocq assisted in managing a diverse portfolio of real estate debt and in securing capital for that debt from a variety of sources.

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Jim Dunne: Asset Manager

Jim Dunne is an Asset Manager for Connaught Real Estate Finance. His primary responsibilities include underwriting new investment opportunities, managing assets in the current portfolio, analyzing real estate markets throughout the United States, and utilizing his land development expertise to assist in the monitoring of the mezzanine loan portfolio.

Mr. Dunne began his career as a design engineer for the Burke Group, one of the largest Civil design firms in the Chicago area. In this role, he facilitated the design of residential development projects (multi-family and single-family), commercial development and industrial development. Subsequently Mr. Dunne ran land development in Northern Illinois for Pulte Homes/Del Webb, the largest home builder in the nation and the Chicagoland area. In this role, Mr. Dunne and his team were responsible for the land development, contract negotiation, financial structuring, budget management, and entitlement procurement of 2700 units on 17 different projects consisting of over $225 million in assets. These projects ranged from dense, multi-family communities to large scale highly amenitized active adult communities. Mr. Dunne has the distinction of developing the two most successful grand openings in Division history.

A Purdue University graduate, Mr. Dunne earned his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. Mr. Dunne is also an active participant in the business community as a member of the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago and the Urban Land Institute.
 

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David Blitz: Real Estate Associate

David Blitz is an Associate for Connaught Real Estate Finance. His primary responsibilities include originating and underwriting new investment opportunities, managing assets in the current portfolio, analyzing real estate markets throughout the United States, and assisting with the monitoring of the mezzanine loan portfolio.

Mr. Blitz began his career as a Commercial Loan Officer for Corus Bank, one of the largest Condo Construction Lenders in the United States. In this role, he facilitated the structuring, origination, and servicing of construction, bridge, and mezzanine loans for hotels, apartment buildings, office buildings, and condominiums with commitments between $12 million and $150 million. Over his 4 years with Corus, Mr. Blitz serviced 38 loans with a total commitment of $3.2 billion.

A University of Michigan graduate, Mr. Blitz earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with Distinction in 2003.
 

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Evelyn Vela: Staff Accountant

Evelyn Vela is a Staff Accountant for the Investment Manager. Ms. Vela is responsible for assisting the Controller in the day to day accounting activities, loan administration, treasury and financial reporting.

Ms. Vela recently graduated from DePaul University with a Bachelors of Science in Accounting and Finance. Prior to joining Connaught Real Estate Finance LLC, Ms. Vela served as an Accounting Intern for Near North National Title.

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Joseph Scoby, Inc.: Strategic Advisor

Joseph Scoby, Inc. is an investment vehicle owned and controlled by Joe Scoby, which serves as strategic advisor to the Principals of the Investment Manager. Mr. Scoby is also Group Chief Risk Officer for UBS and a Member of the UBS Group Executive Board. Prior to his current position, Mr. Scoby was Global Head of Alternative and Quantitative Investments (A&Q), the hedge fund platform within UBS Global Asset Management which has approximately $70 billion USD assets under management. He was also Chief Investment Officer of O’Connor, a $10 billion hedge fund within A&Q. Previously, Mr. Scoby was Joint Head of US Equities at UBS Investment Bank, with responsibility for approximately 650 employees. Mr. Scoby began his career with O’Connor & Associates in 1987, which in 1991 became part of the then Swiss Bank Corporation. Mr. Scoby became a Managing Director in 1993. Mr. Scoby has been a significant investor in several real estate projects, including a $130 million land development in Chicago, Illinois.

Mr. Scoby received both an MA in Regional Science and a BS in Economics (Wharton) from the University of Pennsylvania with honors in 1987.

Mr. Scoby serves on the Wharton Undergraduate Executive Board, the Board of the Children’s Memorial Foundation in Chicago and the Board of Chicago’s After School Matters. Mr. Scoby also founded the St. Joseph’s club which serves meals to immigrant families in Chicago.

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