ElmTree Funds

Mr. Koman is the CEO and founder of ElmTree with 36 years of experience in the real estate industry. As CEO of ElmTree, Mr. Koman oversees all aspects of its business activities, including acquisition, management and disposition of the company’s assets. Mr. Koman provides the strategic vision of the Investment Committee which is responsible for reviewing and approving all potential projects and ongoing investment activity. As a founder, Mr. Koman leads the organization to ensure the quality of each investment fulfills the maximum potential returns for investors and aligns with ElmTree’s strategy. Through affiliated operations, Mr. Koman has established a series of joint venture and business relationships transacting over $5.0 billion of net lease and other real estate assets to date.

Mr. Koman has sat on numerous charity and school boards and is currently president of the board of Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, MO. Mr. Koman is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) and National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP). Over the years, he has participated on the panels for ULI, St. Louis RCGA and commented on the CRE industry through numerous media outlets.

Mr. Koman has been featured as one of the Net Lease Real Estate Icons in the Real Estate Forum. Mr. Koman holds an AB degree in Economics from the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. An entrepreneur by nature, Mr. Koman has built a vast array of contacts and strategic relationships with investors, developers, lenders and overall active members of the real estate community.

Joseph Yiu is a Managing Partner of ElmTree Funds, LLC and serves on the Fund’s Investment Committee. As Managing Partner, Mr. Yiu oversees facets of the business including marketing, strategy, acquisitions, dispositions, research, and fund raising. Providing key expertise in the Fund’s acquisitions, Mr. Yiu spends most of his time branding ElmTree’s National Build-to-Suit Program to regional developers, Tenant Representatives, and Fortune 500 corporations. Mr. Yiu has over 17 years of real estate experience and has acquired, advised, and financed over $4.0 billion of single tenant properties. Previously, Mr. Yiu was the Chief Investment Officer of Equity Capital Management (“ECM”), a real estate private equity fund investing in net lease properties. As Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Norseman Group, a mezzanine lender in the single tenant marketplace, Yiu financed and advised on over $1.5 billion of net lease properties.

Yiu is currently a member of the Penn Club of NY, Zell-Lurie Real Estate Center, Zell-Lurie Real Estate Mentor Program, International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), NAIOP’s E-Commerce Forum, and Advisory Council for Marcus & Millichap’s Institutional Property Advisor’s Division. Mr. Yiu published the “The Irony in Investing in Tenant Improvements in Leased Space” in the Journal of Corporate Real Estate in 2002 and “Single Tenant Net Lease Guidelines” in Briefings in Real Estate Finance in 2004. In 2013, Mr. Yiu was featured in Real Estate Forum as one of the top 45 under 40 in the industry. Mr. Yiu holds a BS in Real Estate and Finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

David Leavitt is a Managing Partner and General Counsel of ElmTree Funds, LLC.  He is responsible for overseeing the fund’s operations, including the finance, strategy, and legal aspects of the Fund.  He is also the Chief Compliance Officer of ElmTree Funds, LLC.  Mr. Leavitt has over 13 years of experience in the real estate fund management industry.  He began his career as an attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and most recently was a partner and national leader of PwC’s real estate tax practice.  In these roles, Mr. Leavitt worked on numerous real estate transactions, including the formation of several multi-billion dollar open and closed end real estate funds, strategic acquisitions by non-US institutional and sovereign entities, and mergers and acquisitions involving non-traditional real estate platforms.  Mr. Leavitt has presented at numerous real estate industry events on a variety of topics related to the acquisition, ownership, and disposition of real estate investments.  Mr. Leavitt holds a BA in Liberal Arts from the New School University, a JD from Chicago-Kent College of Law (with high honors), and an LLM in Taxation from New York University School of Law.

Kerry Gawrych is the Chief Financial Officer of ElmTree Funds, LLC. As Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Gawrych is responsible for all aspects of accounting including financial reporting, analysis, and administration. Her duties also include managing the construction draw process for build to suit properties, spearheading the external audit process, and ensuring the maintenance of internal controls. Ms. Gawrych serves on ElmTree’s compliance committee. She has almost 20 years of progressive accounting experience in the commercial real estate industry. Her extensive experience includes development and operating accounting responsibilities for retail, office, industrial, and multi-family properties. Most recently, she served as Controller/Director of Accounting for Koch Development Co., Inc. Her previous experience includes THF Realty, The John Buck Company, General Growth Properties, and Midland Development Group. Ms. Gawrych is a graduate of the University of Dayton with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and a minor in International Business.

Annie Hsieh is an Executive Vice President on the Investor Relations team. Prior to joining ElmTree Funds, Ms. Hsieh covered U.S. institutional investors as a Director on the Client Relations team at ZAIS Group. Prior to ZAIS Group, Ms. Hsieh managed Investor Relations and Business Development at Five Mile Capital from 2012-2017. Prior to Five Mile, she worked at Barclays Capital in commodities sales covering oil and natural gas producers. Prior to Barclays, Ms. Hsieh worked at Credit Suisse in the Real Estate Private Funds Group, where she focused on a variety of a fundraises across multiple strategies and geographies. Ms. Hsieh began her career at Citigroup, working for three years as a trader in high-grade credit and structured debt products. Ms. Hsieh holds a BS in Finance from New York University, the Stern School of Business and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Rick Eiseman is an Executive Vice President, Portfolio Management for ElmTree Funds, LLC.  As Executive Vice President, Mr. Eiseman is responsible for oversight of the Asset Management department including the leasing and disposition of properties, portfolio operations and property management functions.  In addition, Mr. Eiseman sits on ElmTree’s Investment Committee, assisting in identifying and evaluating investment opportunities through his extensive broker network throughout the country.  Prior to joining ElmTree, Mr. Eiseman was a Senior Vice President of Asset Management for the office portfolio of Gramercy Property Trust from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that role, Mr. Eiseman was the National Office Leasing Director of Gramercy’s predecessor Gramercy Capital from 2008 to 2016.  Before his roles at Gramercy, Mr. Eiseman was a Managing Director of Leasing and Sales for American Financial Realty Trust from 2004 to 2008, and a Vice President at Jones Lang LaSalle from 1998 to 2004.  During his career he has been involved in the lease or sale of over 10 million square feet of office, industrial and retail bank space with a total transaction value in excess of $2 billion.  Mr. Eiseman has a Bachelors’ Degree in Political Science and a Masters Degree in Public Policy from St. Louis University.

Jason Ridgway serves as an Executive Vice President, Portfolio Management for ElmTree Funds, LLC. As Executive Vice President, Mr. Ridgway is responsible for financial modeling, underwriting prospective acquisitions, and fund management. Mr. Ridgway is also responsible for sourcing debt at the property and fund levels for the firm’s capital market initiatives. In addition, Mr. Ridgway serves on the firm’s Investment Committee. Mr. Ridgway has worked on over $2.0 billion of net lease transactions during his career. Prior to his work with ElmTree Funds, Mr. Ridgway was an Analyst at Equity Capital Management (ECM) and assisted with underwriting, due diligence, and financial modeling. Mr. Ridgway graduated with honors with a BSBA degree in Finance and a minor in Real Estate from the University of Missouri.

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Wesley T. Walker acts as Senior Vice President, Investor Relations for ElmTree Funds, LLC. As a Senior Vice President, Mr. Walker’s main role is investor relations and institutional capital raise. Mr. Walker was formerly President and COO of Bridge Trading Company, an institutional brokerage firm, with $150 million in revenues and in excess of 500 institutional clients. Mr. Walker was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bridge Trading from 2000-2005. Following the Bridge/Instinet merger, Mr. Walker managed the Midwest regional offices of Instinet/Nomura and was responsible for $200m in revenue. Mr. Walker holds a BA degree in Neuroscience from Oberlin College.

Brian Boehm serves as Senior Vice President of Acquisitions at ElmTree Funds, LLC.  He is responsible for the identification, evaluation, underwriting and acquisition of net lease industrial, office and healthcare real estate investments throughout the United States. Prior to joining ElmTree, Brian was Managing Director of Net Lease Business Development at Ten-X, an online platform for real estate transactions. At Ten-X, he was responsible for product development and client management for net lease institutions. Prior to Ten-X, Brian was Director of Acquisitions for VEREIT/Cole Real Estate Investments where he was responsible for sale-leaseback and structured transactions across the US. While there, he completed nearly $4 billion of transactions across retail, office and industrial asset classes including the largest ever retail sale-leaseback transactions.

Brian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from North Carolina State University as well as an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business.  Additionally, he is an active member National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).

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Michael Carreon serves as Senior Vice President of Acquisitions at ElmTree Funds, LLC. He is responsible for the origination, evaluation, underwriting and acquisition of net lease industrial, office and healthcare real estate investments throughout the United States, with a primary emphasis on build-to-suit transactions with investment grade tenancy. Carreon brings ten years of net lease real estate experience back to ElmTree Funds. Prior to rejoining ElmTree, Carreon spent two years at Oak Street Real Estate Capital, LLC and five years at VEREIT, Inc./Cole Real Estate Investments where he was responsible for net lease industrial, office and healthcare originations across the US. Prior to VEREIT, Inc./Cole Real Estate Investments, Carreon spent two years with PricewaterhouseCoopers where he consulted corporate clients and private equity firms on real estate valuation arising from mergers, acquisitions and leveraged buyout transactions.

Carreon holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematical Economics from Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business and Barrett Honors College as well as a Master of Accounting degree from the University of Southern California’s Leventhal/Marshall School of Business. Additionally, Carreon is a Certified Public Accountant, an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).

MaCauley Studdard is the Vice President of Investments & Corporate Development for ElmTree Funds, LLC. In this role, Mr. Studdard works with ElmTree Funds’ senior management team on special situations, including portfolio transactions and recapitalizations, and strategic corporate development opportunities that are aligned with ElmTree’s long-term growth strategy. Under the direction of ElmTree’s investment committee, Mr. Studdard assists in the underwriting and evaluation of potential investment opportunities, which includes fundamental real estate analysis, tenant credit underwriting, and extensive financial modeling. Mr. Studdard also manages and oversees ElmTree Funds’ Analyst department and net lease market research. Prior to serving as Vice President, Mr. Studdard served as an Analyst for ElmTree Funds. As an Analyst, Mr. Studdard underwrote approximately $1 billion of investments. Mr. Studdard’s prior experience includes M&A consulting and business valuation and advisory services with CBIZ Valuation Group, a national valuation advisory firm, as well as several years of equity research experience with Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. Mr. Studdard is currently an MBA candidate at Washington University in St. Louis. Mr. Studdard graduated summa cum laude from Webster University where he received his B.S. degrees in Finance & Accounting.

Andrew Truetzel serves as Vice President of Acquisitions at ElmTree Funds, LLC. He is responsible for the origination, evaluation, underwriting and acquisition of net lease industrial, office and healthcare real estate investments throughout the United States, with a primary emphasis on build-to-suit transactions with investment grade tenancy. Prior to this role, Mr. Truetzel serves as an Analyst where his responsibilities consisted of underwriting property investments by performing thorough credit and market analysis, assisting the Finance Department in various fund management activities, and performing net lease market research. Since joining ElmTree, Mr. Truetzel has underwritten approximately $700 million of net lease investments. Previously, Mr. Truetzel worked at Commerce Bancshares, a regional commercial bank, where he was responsible for underwriting over $600 million in commercial real estate loans. Mr. Truetzel graduated with honors from Miami University where he received his B.S. in Finance.

Stephanie Saur serves as Vice President of Acquisitions at ElmTree Funds, LLC. She is responsible for the origination, evaluation, underwriting and acquisition of net lease industrial and office real estate investments throughout the United States, with a primary emphasis on build-to-suit transactions with investment grade tenancy. Ms. Saur’s responsibilities also include due diligence and closing processes within the acquisitions process. Prior to joining ElmTree Funds, Ms. Saur served as Commercial Counsel at a national commercial title company. Ms. Saur began her career clerking for the Missouri Court of Appeals, then working as a litigator in private practice. Ms. Saur received her Bachelor’s of Art in Political Science from Emory University and her J.D. cum laude from St. Louis University School of Law.

Stephen Baxter is the Vice President of Asset Management at ElmTree Funds, LLC.  In this role, Mr. Baxter manages and is responsible for the asset management functions for ElmTree Funds and its separately managed accounts.  Mr. Baxter maintains oversight responsibility of the internal asset management team and external partners, including 3rd party property managers, brokers, attorneys, construction managers, architects, engineers and various vendors.  Prior to joining ElmTree Funds, Mr. Baxter spent four years at McKinley, Inc. where he was responsible for asset management, client relations, and workouts of approximately 2.5 million square feet of distressed third party commercial real estate assets.  Prior to joining McKinley, Inc., Mr. Baxter worked at Jones Lang LaSalle in Chicago, Illinois, where he was responsible for advising public sector clients’ real estate portfolio decisions, generating extensive market studies, and brokering office lease transactions for the United States Federal Government.  Mr. Baxter is working towards his CCIM designation and is currently enrolled in Georgetown University’s Masters in Real Estate program.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from DePaul University’s Driehaus College of Business.

Jack Harris serves as Vice President of Loan Origination for ElmTree’s debt fund, ElmTree Unity Commercial Mortgage. Jack is responsible for loan originations and day to day operation of the debt fund. Jack has been involved in the real estate industry for over 20 years. Prior to joining ElmTree, Jack was Vice President of Underwriting at Busey Bank where he was responsible for underwriting various types of real estate loans, providing structure input and approving loans. Prior to Busey Bank, Jack was Vice President of Loan Origination and Portfolio Manager for Commerce Trust Company. At Commerce, he managed their commercial real estate collective mortgage fund. At Commerce, Jack was responsible or sourcing loans, underwriting loans and managing the day to day servicing of both loans and the overall collective mortgage fund. Before his role at Commerce, Jack was a Portfolio Manager and Underwriter at US Bank where he managed a portfolio of loans of over $400 million, underwrote and assisted in originating in excess of $800 million of new loans. Jack has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management with an emphasis in Real Estate from Webster University.

Scott Alaimo serves as the Asset Manager for ElmTree Funds, LLC. Mr. Alaimo is responsible for asset management functions for ElmTree’s Fund’s portfolios. Mr. Alaimo manages day-to-day activity for all of ElmTree’s assets, including working with external partners, such as 3rd party property managers, brokers, attorneys, construction managers, architects, engineers and various vendors. Prior to joining ElmTree Funds, Mr. Alaimo served as a Transaction Coordinator for Cushman & Wakefield within their Corporate Services department, where he was responsible for lease negotiation and project management of new office implementation for a Fortune 500 company. Mr. Alaimo holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Murray State University.

Claire Vaupel is the Accounting Manager of ElmTree Funds, LLC. As Accounting Manager, Ms. Vaupel is responsible for financial reporting and financial statement review. Her duties also include preparing and reviewing the construction draw process for build to suit properties and assisting in the external audit process. Prior to joining ElmTree Funds, Ms. Vaupel was a Senior Associate in the audit practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Ms. Vaupel is a graduate of Saint Louis University with a B.S. degree in Accounting. Additionally, she holds a CPA license in Missouri.

Hope Weber is a Staff Accountant at ElmTree Funds, LLC with more than twenty years of accounting experience in both the private and public sectors. Her experience includes ten years with a real estate management company.  Ms. Weber’s duties include the daily operations of general accounting and financial reporting.  Ms. Weber received her MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University.

Amie Richter is a Staff Accountant for ElmTree Funds, LLC. Ms. Richter is responsible for construction draws for build to suit properties, financial reporting and statement preparation. She has over 10 years of accounting experience in the commercial real estate industry, which includes retail, office, industrial and multi-family properties. Previously, Ms. Richter was the Senior Accountant for Colliers International, where she was responsible for the operating accounting for a portfolio of retail, office and industrial properties. Her previous experience includes Koch Development Co. Ms. Richter graduated from the University of Missouri – St. Louis where she received her B.S. in Accounting.

Austin Davis is an Analyst for ElmTree Funds, LLC. In this role, Mr. Davis assists in underwriting and evaluating potential investment opportunities. This process includes preparing financial models to value properties and forecast returns, perform fundamental real estate analysis and detailed market research, participating in the due diligence process of acquisitions and dispositions, and tenant credit underwriting. Prior to ElmTree Funds, Mr. Davis worked as an Acquisitions Analyst for StorageMart LLC where he forecasted cash flows and conducted valuations of commercial real estate across the US, Canada, and United Kingdom. During his tenure with the acquisitions team, Mr. Davis underwrote successful closings in excess of $150 million. Mr. Davis graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Missouri – Columbia where he received his B.S. degree in Finance & Banking.

Mark Clinton is an Analyst at ElmTree Funds, LLC. As an Analyst Mr. Clinton assists in underwriting and evaluating potential investment opportunities, which includes preparing financial models, performing fundamental real estate analysis, completing detailed market research, participating in the due diligence process of acquisitions and dispositions, and tenant credit underwriting. Prior to ElmTree, Mr. Clinton worked in Commercial Real Estate Underwriting at Stifel, where he assisted in underwriting nearly $1 billion of real estate portfolios. Prior to Stifel, Mr. Clinton worked at KP Development where he completed market research and due diligence on real estate development opportunities across the U.S. Mr. Clinton received a BBA from Southern Methodist University with a major in Finance and a Concentration in Real Estate.