WASHINGTON, DC - CWCapital Asset Management LLC (CWCAM), a subsidiary of CW Financial Services and the industry's second largest special serving operation, has recently made several hires aimed at strengthening the firm's expertise in key market sectors, and broadening its geographic reach and appeal to third party clients.
Among the hires are industry veterans Burr Ault, Daniel Balkam, Patrick Connell, David Smith, Sam Stern, and Geoffrey Wood, all named Vice Presidents and Senior Asset Managers operating out of CWCAM's Washington, DC headquarters. In addition, the firm has expanded operations to Baltimore, Dallas and Boston, broadening its reach in specific markets and depth of expertise in insurance, hospitality, multifamily and office property management and disposition. As the number of specially serviced assets in these sectors continues to increase, this expansion demonstrates CWCAM's commitment to delivering timely resolutions of workouts and maximizing recoveries for investors, critical in the current market.
David Iannarone, President of CWCAM stated, "We are being opportunistic in our hiring, focusing on top talent that is available and that enhances our depth of expertise in particular asset classes, as well as our geographic reach and knowledge. These enhancements to our staff not only help us now, as we see our portfolio expand, they also position us for future growth as we continue to be awarded third party assignments and position ourselves as the preeminent special servicer."
Charles Spetka, CEO of CW Financial Services (CW) added, "CWCAM has expanded both in physical size and prominence in the industry. They are now, with current staffing, the second largest of the CW companies and I expect will continue to grow. Much of CWCAM's success can be attributed to attracting and retaining the highest quality staff who bring not only tenure and expertise to the table, but a shared commitment to CW's core values of developing client specific solutions that seek to maximize returns for clients and investors."
Summary of Recent Hires:
Burr Ault, Vice President and Senior Asset Manager, joins CWCAM with over 20 years of experience in real estate leasing, property and asset management handling a broad range of asset classes, with particular expertise in the repositioning of retail assets. He will be responsible for the management, stabilization and disposition of retail properties. Most recently, he served as President of Ault Real Estate Group, specializing in REO workouts and real estate advisement for financial institutions, specifically designing and implementing stabilization strategies for challenged commercial real estate assets.
Daniel Balkam, Vice President and Senior Asset Manager, joins CWCAM with over 20 years of experience in asset management, underwriting CMBS loans, workout and financing of commercial and multifamily real estate assets and will strengthen the firm's expertise in the handling of FHA-financed assets. His expertise also includes Project and Asset Management for multiple property workouts, including the restructuring and modification of mortgages through the HUD Section 8 Mark to Market Program. A former executive with Bridger Commercial Funding, he previously served as head of underwriting and closing of new CMBS loans for the eastern United States.
Patrick Connell, Vice President and Senior REO Asset Manager, joins CWCAM with over 19 years of experience in real estate investment and asset management and will be responsible for the management and disposition of a portfolio of Single Asset REO. Connell's expertise includes designing successful leasing and asset repositioning/redevelopment strategies as well as financial reporting for institutional and private equity clients. Most recently, he served as Vice President - Regional Asset Manager for New Boston Fund, Inc., where he was responsible for value creation efforts over a portfolio of office, industrial, multifamily and condominium development projects from Florida to Pennsylvania.
David Smith, Vice President and Senior Asset Manager, joins CWCAM with 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry and will focus on overseeing the operations, leasing, and disposition of assets in a portfolio of CMBS loans, primarily hotels. Smith has extensive experience in creating and executing strategic plans for special serviced assets and REO. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Portfolio Management for General Electric's Healthcare Financial Services.
Sam Stern, Vice President and Senior Asset Manager, has over 30 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry directing a full range of asset management services. He possesses an expertise in asset analysis, business plan formation and implementation/execution of various asset resolution strategies with a concentration on multifamily assets. Most recently, he served as Principal of SBS Associates LLC in New York.
Geoffrey Wood, Vice President and Senior Asset Manager has 25 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry including lending, REO, investment sales, joint ventures and loan work-outs. Wood joins CWCAM from Opus East, LLC where he handled all construction financing, joint ventures and investment sales for the commercial real estate development firm. He brings over 10 years of loan work-out and REO management experience, primarily from J.E Robert Companies, Archon Group/Goldman Sachs, and Bangkok Capital Alliance; a loan asset management firm based in Thailand.
Dedicated to monitoring investments, resolving distressed situations and analyzing cash flow, CWCAM is a leader in the Asset Management sector, and recently was awarded a special servicer rating of CSS1 from Fitch and a ranking of "Strong" by Standard and Poor's, and continues to maintain a lower than industry average loss severity.
CWCapital Asset Management (CWCAM) is one of the industry's premier special servicers. A member of the CW Financial Services vertically integrated family of companies, CWCAM is currently named as special servicer for CMBS transactions backed by $174 billion of multifamily and commercial loans representing approximately 14,000 mortgage loans. CWCAM also performs special servicing duties on mezzanine loans and B Notes, acts as special servicer for CDO issuances, and performs third party special servicing for non-affiliated subordinated CMBS purchasers.
Source: CWCapital Asset Management