People in the News Oct. 1, 2020
Rachael Lewis Joins JLL Capital Markets Los Angeles Debt/Equity Team
JLL Capital Markets announced Rachael Lewis as a Director in its Los Angeles office, where she will be part of the debt and equity placement team led by Senior Managing Director Bill Fishel.
Lewis has extensive experience sourcing funds from the debt and equity markets, with a focus on structured finance. She joins JLL from a local capital advisory firm, where she was a Vice President responsible for arranging more than $2 billion worth of total project capitalizations. Prior to that, she worked for a buyside advisory firm focused on net-leased properties, where she served as an Acquisitions Advisor, advising clients on more than $400 million of commercial acquisitions, namely in the retail and industrial sectors.
Samia DeMarco Elected President of MBBA-NH
The Mortgage Bankers and Brokers Association of New Hampshire Inc., elected Samia DeMarco as its new President. She is the youngest president to ever be elected at the organization.
DeMarco currently serves as National Sales Manager with Birchwood Credit Services, North Conway, N.H., where she has worked for the past eight years. In 2019, she was the recipient of the RIMBA (Rhode Island Mortgage Bankers Association) Rising Star Award. In 2021, DeMarco will expand her professional resume and take on two additional positions within the New England MBA Board.
Brandon Melanese Joins WFG Valutrust Solutions
Valutrust Solutions LLC, Portland, Ore., announced Brandon Melanese joined the company as Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
Melanese, a sales executive with more than 25 years of real estate valuation experience, has been responsible for product and business development for both large and small appraisal management firms. He brings decades of valuation sales and consulting expertise to the Valutrust Solutions team, in addition to a broad understanding of retail lending, servicing, portfolio management and loss mitigation.
Patrick Berry Joins Greystone Healthcare Lending Team
Greystone, New York, announced Patrick Berry joined as a Senior Production Manager, working with one of the firm’s healthcare and multifamily origination teams.
Berry joins Greystone from HUD, where he spent the past 35 years. He will be based in Detroit. While at HUD, he most recently served as Director of Production for FHA 232 loans, which include refinancing and substantial rehabilitation of skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. Over his several decades of service at HUD, he held prior positions as Operations Officer, Financial Analyst, Policy Specialist, Loan Specialist and Auditor.
Kerry Goodman Joins Verity Global Solutions as Vice President of Sales, Business Development
Verity Global Solutions, San Antonio, Texas, hired Kerry Goodman as vice president of sales and business development, responsible for building new customer relationships and expanding on existing ones, as well as branding the company’s international business outsourcing strategy.
Goodman brings more than 25 years of sales experience to Verity, along with understanding of the residential mortgage lending and real estate industries. He previously held senior sales positions with LoanLogics, Interthinx (now First American) and DocMagic, among other companies.
Randy Starkweather Named Chief Financial Officer of Churchill Mortgage
Churchill Mortgage, Nashville, Tenn., announced Randy Starkweather joined the company as CFO, responsible for overseeing Churchill’s financial operations and performance.
With more than 35 years of executive management experience, Starkweather’s career includes a broad spectrum of industries and company sizes. He has had financial oversight for organizations with revenue in excess of $2 billion. Starkweather also has experience funding start-up companies, including a Medicare managed care company, which is now one of the largest in the country. In addition, he has worked for growth-oriented companies, including Cambio Health Solutions, which grew from a start-up to an industry leader, prior to its acquisition by FTI Consulting.
Freddie Mac Multifamily Promotes Dan Din to Vice President of Specialty Underwriting
Freddie Mac, McLean, Va., promoted Daniel Din to vice president of Specialty Underwriting, responsible for underwriting and credit of Freddie Mac’s businesses in Affordable Housing, Seniors Housing, Structured Transactions and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity investments.
Over the past 13 years at Freddie Mac, Din has held positions with increasing responsibilities in Offerings Development, Risk Distribution and Credit, Innovation Underwriting. Most recently, he was the underwriting senior director of the Conventional Southeast region.
Thomas E. Didio Jr. joins JLL Capital Markets New Jersey as Director
JLL Capital Markets, Morristown, N.J., announced Thomas E. Didio Jr. joined the firm as a Director in its New Jersey office. He will work alongside his father, Thomas Didio Sr., in the JLL Capital Markets New Jersey debt and equity placement group.
Didio has nearly 10 years of experience in commercial real estate finance and joins JLL from a capital markets firm in Saddle Brook, N.J. Prior to entering the debt and equity brokerage space, he worked for four years for Freddie Mac Multifamily and four years on the buy-side in New York, where he structured joint-venture and preferred equity transactions across the asset spectrum for a boutique real estate private equity firm.
Grandbridge Adds Seniors Housing Investment Sales Team
Grandbridge Real Estate Capital added seniors housing investment sales team to further expand and complement the company’s dedicated Seniors Housing and Healthcare Finance Group.
Based in Tampa, Fla., the team is led by Allen McMurtry, David Kliewer and Jay Jordan. All were previously with Cushman & Wakefield. The team has exclusively represented sellers of seniors housing communities across the U.S. since 1986, spanning nearly 200 properties sold in 35 states. In addition to representing sellers of traditional seniors housing assets, the group is the #1 investment sales team for Entrance Fee/Life Plan Communities in the country.
