Rick Kleeman is a founding partner of Wheelock Street Capital (“Wheelock”), a real estate private equity firm established in 2008 to pursue a value-oriented investment strategy. Since its founding, Wheelock has raised five funds totaling over $2.1 billion which have invested in over $3.0 billion of properties on behalf of a diverse group of institutional and high net worth investors. Wheelock’s investment portfolio includes a broad range of asset classes reflecting an opportunistic approach, with a concentration on hotels, residential land and retail where the firm has developed specialized in-house platforms or “verticals”. Mr. Kleeman has over 25 years of real estate experience with all asset classes including office, hotel, retail, multi-family, residential land, resort residential and condominiums, as well as golf and other leisure assets.

Before founding Wheelock, Mr. Kleeman spent over 15 years at Starwood Capital Group (“Starwood”), where he was one of the early partners and served as Senior Managing Director and Head of Acquisitions. At Starwood, Mr. Kleeman was directly or indirectly involved in the majority of Starwood’s investments which comprised over 215 transactions within all major asset classes, across eight equity funds and totaling $6 billion in institutional capital commitments.

Mr. Kleeman led the acquisition of Westin Hotels & Resorts, National and American Golf, and Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts in collaboration with Starwood Hotels, helped lead the acquisition of ITT Sheraton, and led the formation of Troon Golf and Starwood Land Ventures. Before joining Starwood, Mr. Kleeman worked at Coastal Management and Consultants, a real estate investment company and at Merrill Lynch in its Investment Banking Division.

Mr. Kleeman is a Director of the Board of NYSE listed EverBank (“EVER”), a member of the boards of The Waterside School in Stamford, CT and The Norwalk Open Door Shelter and a member of Dartmouth’s President’s Leadership Council. Mr. Kleeman received a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar.

Jonathan H. Paul is a founding partner of Wheelock Street Capital, a real estate private equity firm established in 2008 to pursue a value-oriented investment strategy. Since its founding, Wheelock has raised five funds totaling over $2.1 billion which have invested in over $3.0 billion of properties on behalf of a diverse group of institutional and high net worth investors. Wheelock’s investment portfolio includes a broad range of asset classes reflecting an opportunistic approach, with a concentration on hotels, residential land and retail where the firm has developed specialized in-house platforms or “verticals”. Mr. Paul has over 25 years of real estate experience with all asset classes including hotel, office, industrial, retail, multifamily, residential land and condominiums, as well as golf and other leisure assets.

Prior to co-founding Wheelock, Mr. Paul was a Managing Member of Rockpoint Group L.L.C. (“Rockpoint”), a company he co-founded in 2003, which manages over $10 billion in equity capital. From 2004 to 2007 he had oversight responsibilities for Rockpoint’s investment activities in Europe, including the opening of new offices in London and Frankfurt. From 1994 to 2003, Mr. Paul was a Managing Member of Westbrook Partners, L.L.C. (“Westbrook”) where he played a critical role in the company’s formation, its fundraising efforts, and the investment of four funds with over $4 billion of equity capital. Prior to joining Westbrook, Mr. Paul spent six years at Morgan Stanley in the real estate and corporate finance areas, including three years with the original Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund (“MSREF”).

During his tenure at Westbrook and Rockpoint, those firms completed 265 transactions involving a total equity commitment of approximately $7 billion. At those firms, Mr. Paul was instrumental in several notable hospitality investments including the acquisition of Red Roof Inns while at MSREF, the acquisition of Allegro Resorts Corporation, the $1 billion take-private acquisition of Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. in 1999, and another $700 million in Sunstone follow-on investments prior to its IPO in 2004. At Westbrook, Mr. Paul played a key role in the acquisition of several large land development businesses including Mobil Land Development and American General Development. These acquisitions, combined with numerous follow-on investments, were combined to form Terrabrook, which at the time was the largest owner of master planned communities in the United States.

Mr. Paul is a Trustee at The Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts. He is a former director of Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. Mr. Paul received a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College.

Jeffrey Laliberte joined Wheelock in 2009. As Head of Acquisitions, he is responsible for helping to oversee and implement the firm’s investment strategy across all asset classes from underwriting through execution. Mr. Laliberte has over 13 years of direct real estate experience, including both complex, corporate acquisitions and asset-level investments. In addition, Mr. Laliberte has extensive experience in capital structure executions in the real estate debt markets. Since joining Wheelock, Mr. Laliberte has led a number of the firm’s largest transactions, including the acquisition of substantially all the assets of John Wieland Homes & Neighborhoods and the disposition of four large master-planned communities to a partnership between affiliates of North American Sekisui House and Newland Communities. In addition, Mr. Laliberte oversees the firm’s debt placement process and maintains key lender relationships across the broad spectrum of financing sources.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Laliberte spent almost six years at Starwood, most recently as a Vice President in the Acquisitions group in Greenwich, CT. While at Starwood, Mr. Laliberte was very active in the firm’s hospitality area, including the $600 million acquisition of seven Westin branded hotels in the US and Canada and the $1.3 billion acquisition of Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts in partnership with Lehman Brothers and Starwood Hotels & Resorts. In addition, Mr. Laliberte led the acquisition of two B-notes totaling $120 million of principal balance secured by two premier, Class A office buildings in the Austin, TX CBD.

Prior to Starwood, Mr. Laliberte worked for a year at Wells Fargo in the Real Estate Group while completing his undergraduate education at the University of Pennsylvania. At Wells Fargo, Mr. Laliberte was focused on debt origination in the residential and retail sectors.

Mr. Laliberte received a B.S. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Patrick Campbell joined Wheelock in 2009. He has primary responsibility for Wheelock’s hospitality investments. Mr. Campbell’s 31 years in hospitality include hotel acquisitions, development, asset management and extensive experience in hotel operations. Since joining Wheelock, Mr. Campbell has lead the firm’s hospitality investment in 44 hotels totaling over 9500 rooms, with total invested equity of approximately $435 million to date across Wheelock’s four funds.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Campbell served as Executive Vice President, Chief Investment Officer and Head of Asset Management of Highland Hospitality Corporation, a publicly-traded real estate investment trust. Mr. Campbell acquired a total of 30 assets for Highland, placing approximately $1.4 billion in capital. Additionally, Mr. Campbell supervised Highland’s asset management team and directed the firm’s repositioning and redevelopment program. Mr. Campbell helped execute the sale of Highland to JER Partners for $2.0 billion in July of 2007.

Prior to Highland, Mr. Campbell spent three years at Crestline Hotels & Resorts, an independent hotel management company, where he served as Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and was responsible for developing the company’s portfolio of managed hotels through asset acquisitions, new hotel development and acquisition of management contracts. Before joining Crestline in 2000, Mr. Campbell held the position of Vice President—Acquisitions and Development with Bristol Hotels & Resorts. During his 16 year tenure with Bristol, the company grew from 36 hotels to over 120 hotels. Mr. Campbell held various other positions with Bristol, including Vice President—Revenue Management and Vice President—Operations, along with various other operations, sales and marketing roles.

Mr. Campbell received his B.S. with Distinction, from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

Claude T. Chandonnet joined Wheelock Street Capital in November 2016 as its Director of Retail Investments.  Mr. Chandonnet has been in the business of commercial real estate for nearly 26 years with experience in all aspects of retail, office and multi-family acquisitions, operations and development. 

Prior to joining Wheelock Street Capital, Mr. Chandonnet was President and CEO of Marx Realty and Improvement Co., NYC.  While at Marx, Mr. Chandonnet was responsible for a portfolio comprised of 80 assets, totaling approximately $1.5 billion in value, for which he implemented acquisition, development, repositioning and disposition strategies that resulted in substantial value creation.  Before joining Marx, Mr. Chandonnet was a partner with Urban Investment Advisors and directed all of their leasing and tenant coordination efforts.  UIA purchased and redeveloped over 50 high-end, urban, mixed-use projects from Wellesley, Massachusetts to Miami, Florida.   Mr. Chandonnet began his real estate career at Federal Realty Investment Trust where he spent the majority of his time as a senior leasing associate.

Mr. Chandonnet received his BS from Skidmore College.

Dan Green joined Wheelock in 2008. Based out of Wheelock’s Tampa Bay Area office, Mr. Green is responsible for Wheelock’s residential land and homebuilding investments. Mr. Green has 29 years of experience with land acquisitions, financing, entitlement, development, and sales across the United States. Since joining Wheelock, he has helped build a portfolio encompassing more than 24,000 residential lots in a dozen communities coast to coast and a regional homebuilder.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Green spent five years with KB Home, one of the nation’s largest homebuilding companies, most recently as the Regional Vice President of Land Acquisition. In that role he oversaw land operations for the eastern United States. Mr. Green joined KB Home in 2003 as Senior Vice President of Land for the Orlando Division, where he was responsible for land acquisition, planning and development, and government affairs.

Before KB Home, Mr. Green spent 18 years in management roles with Richland Properties, an entrepreneurial real estate investment firm with over $1 billion dollars in assets. Richland develops master planned communities in Florida, Texas and California and was active in purchasing distressed real estate from the RTC. During his tenure at Richland, Mr. Green held positions ranging from Controller to COO. He was responsible for acquisitions, financing, repositioning and selling land assets for mixed use, commercial, and residential end uses. He also assisted in the formation and operation of Richland’s broadcast tower business, in conjunction with the 1996 FCC ruling to transition from analog to digital television. Previously, Mr. Green served as an Accounting Manager for Eckerd Drug Company. He began his career in auditing with Ernst & Young.

Mr. Green holds a B.A. from Cedarville University and an M.B.A from Syracuse University. Mr. Green is a Certified Public Accountant.

James Eberhart joined Wheelock in 2008 and is based in the firm’s Greenwich and Manhattan offices. At Wheelock, Mr. Eberhart is a principal in the acquisitions group, working across all major asset classes with primary responsibility for overseeing the firm’s investment activity in New York City, Washington D.C. and on the West Coast. Recent investment focus areas have included office, retail, multifamily and hospitality, including ground up development. Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Eberhart was an analyst in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group at Deutsche Bank AG, where he focused mainly on the gaming and lodging industries.

Mr. Eberhart received a B.A. from Dartmouth College, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Tim Hodes joined Wheelock Street Capital in 2008 and is based in the firm’s Greenwich office. At Wheelock, Mr. Hodes is a principal in the acquisitions group, working across all major asset classes with primary responsibility for overseeing the firm’s investment activity in Chicago and the major Texas markets. Recent investment focus areas have included hospitality, retail and office. Mr. Hodes has experience with structured-debt, entity-level and asset-level investments.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Hodes was an analyst in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group at Deutsche Bank AG. At Deutsche Bank, Mr. Hodes focused primarily on the real estate and gaming industries.

Mr. Hodes received a B.B.A. from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, where he graduated with High Distinction.

Lawrence Settanni joined Wheelock Street Capital in 2009. Mr. Settanni’s primary responsibilities include financing, financial & risk management, reporting, tax, operations, fundraising and investor relations. Mr. Settanni has over 13 years of real estate experience where he has held a variety of different roles within financial reporting, risk management and capital markets.

Prior to joining Wheelock Street Capital, Mr. Settanni spent over three years with Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners. During his tenure at Lehman Brothers, Mr. Settanni focused on global financial and risk management where he assisted in arranging and managing over $1 billion in subscription facilities, coordinated all foreign currency and interest rate derivative strategy and execution, assisted in the asset valuation process, and managed fund level liquidity. Before joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Settanni worked as an auditor in the real estate group of PricewaterhouseCoopers where he focused on private equity real estate funds.

Mr. Settanni is a member of the Board of Directors of Special Kids of New York, a charity started by his family. Mr. Settanni received a B.S. from Villanova University, is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the AICPA.

Hunter Jones joined Wheelock in 2012 and is based in the firm’s Greenwich and Manhattan offices. At Wheelock, Mr. Jones is an acquisitions generalist with responsibility for the firm’s investment activity in Florida across all major asset classes and within the firm’s residential land vertical throughout the country.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Jones was a Director at Lerner Real Estate Advisors in Tampa, Florida. At Lerner, Mr. Jones was focused on retail, multi-family, master planned communities, and the workout and restructuring of distressed land developments on behalf of institutional investors.

Mr. Jones received a B.S. in Finance and Real Estate from Florida State University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Chris Mejia joined Wheelock in 2013 and is based in the firm’s Greenwich and Manhattan offices. At Wheelock, Mr. Mejia is an acquisitions generalist, working across all major asset classes.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Mejia was an analyst in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group at Goldman Sachs, where he focused primarily on the lodging, gaming, and leisure industries.

Mr. Mejia received a B.S. from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration with a concentration in hospitality finance and a minor in real estate.

Ryan Patton joined Wheelock in 2012 and is based in the firm’s Boston office. At Wheelock, Mr. Patton is an acquisitions generalist working across all major asset classes, with a particular focus on the Boston and Nashville markets. Prior to joining Wheelock, he worked as an auditor in the real estate and private equity groups of Deloitte & Touché in their Manhattan office.

Mr. Patton received his B.S. from Syracuse University, where he graduated Cum Laude with concentrations in Finance and Accounting, and was a four-year member of the Varsity Crew team.

Gary Kamin joined Wheelock in 2013. He is responsible for providing asset management oversight across the joint venture and land portfolios. Mr. Kamin has over 25 years of real estate experience with an emphasis on joint venture management.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Kamin was an independent consultant for clients that included Turnberry Associates and AIG Global Real Estate. Before that, Mr. Kamin was a founding partner at a company which focused on residential land development opportunities in New England.

In the mid-1990s, Mr. Kamin began his real estate career with Aldrich, Eastman and Waltch. During his tenure at AEW he completed transactions in the restructuring and capital markets groups and later pursued new joint venture investments on behalf of the firm’s opportunistic platform.

After AEW, Mr. Kamin was employed by Charlesbank Capital Partners, an investment firm that was originally part of Harvard Private Capital. At Charlesbank, Mr. Kamin was the portfolio manager for the firm’s core-plus separate account and additionally served as head of asset management for the opportunistic investment portfolio.

Mr. Kamin received an M.B.A. in real estate finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. cum laude from Harvard University.

Al Hatfield joined Wheelock in 2011 and is responsible for asset management of Wheelock’s hospitality investments. Mr. Hatfield has 30 years of hospitality experience including hotel operations, sales and marketing, development, asset management, and advisory services.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Hatfield served as Vice President Asset Management for New York based Arcturus Group. Mr. Hatfield provided asset management and advisory services for 13 assets for owners and lenders with a combined value of over $600 million.

Prior to Arcturus, Mr. Hatfield was the Senior Vice President of Operations of Prism Hotels & Resorts, an independent hotel management company. Before joining Prism, Mr. Hatfield held the position of Vice President of Operations for CSM Lodging, based in Minneapolis. Mr. Hatfield spent 16 years in various operational positions at Bristol Hotels & Resorts as the company grew from 2 to over 120 hotels. Roles included developing the infrastructure for field operations and sales/marketing, with posts in Dallas, Atlanta, San Francisco and San Diego.
Additionally, during his tenure with Bristol, he oversaw the repositioning of several high profile assets with significant renovation projects.

Mr. Hatfield received a B.S. from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

Evelyn Makarewicz joined Wheelock Street Capital in 2011. At Wheelock, Ms. Makarewicz has been primarily focused on fund level management which includes financial reporting, asset valuation, tax, operations, risk management, liquidity management and investor relations. She is also dedicated to the oversight of financial reporting and accounting for the residential land platform.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Ms. Makarewicz was an auditor in the real estate group of PricewaterhouseCoopers. She received a B.S.B.A. from Boston University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the AICPA.

Elizabeth DeVito joined Wheelock Street Capital in 2013. At Wheelock, Mrs. DeVito focuses on fund level management and investor relations, which includes financial reporting, asset valuation, tax, operations, risk management, liquidity management and fundraising.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Mrs. DeVito was an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She received a B.S. from Marist College, where she graduated Cum Laude and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Travis Erdman joined Wheelock in 2018 and is based in the firm’s Greenwich and Manhattan offices. At Wheelock, Mr. Erdman is an acquisitions generalist working across all major asset classes, with a particular focus on the broader New York City and Washington, D.C. markets.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Erdman was a member of the investment team at Rockpoint Group. At Rockpoint, Mr. Erdman focused on acquisitions and asset management across all major asset classes in several East Coast gateway markets. Before Rockpoint, Mr. Erdman worked at Hodes Weill & Associates where he focused on various real estate advisory and capital raising assignments.

Mr. Erdman received a B.A. from the University of Virginia, where he graduated with Distinction.

LeRoy Howard II joined Wheelock in 2020 and is focused on Wheelock’s hospitality investments. Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Howard was a Director of Investments for OYO Mountainia USA, a SoftBank-backed hotel real estate investment vehicle with a $300 million capital commitment to support the growth of the OYO hotel brand in the United States. Before OYO Mountainia USA, Mr. Howard worked at Goldman Sachs in their Investment Banking Division where he focused on various lodging and leisure advisory and capital raising assignments. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Mr. Howard spent four years at Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ: HST), the largest lodging REIT, where he served as an Investments Associate. Mr. Howard received a B.S. from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and a M.B.A. from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.

Andrew Kelly joined Wheelock in 2017 and is based in the firm’s Boston office. At Wheelock, Mr. Kelly is an acquisitions generalist working across all major asset classes.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Kelly worked in the Wells Fargo Commercial Real Estate Group and focused on debt origination.

Mr. Kelly received his B.S. from the University of Connecticut, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a concentration in Real Estate and Urban Economics.

Max Heiden joined Wheelock in 2018 and is based in the firm’s Greenwich and Manhattan offices. At Wheelock, Mr. Heiden is an acquisitions generalist, working across all major asset classes.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Heiden was an acquisitions analyst at SL Green Realty Corp., where he focused primarily on equity and structured finance investments in New York City office, retail, and residential assets.

Mr. Heiden received a B.A. in Economic History from the University of Pennsylvania, and a minor in Urban Real Estate & Development from the Wharton School.

Brandon Silver joined Wheelock in 2019. At Wheelock, Mr. Silver focuses on fund level management and investor relations, which includes financial reporting, asset valuation, tax, operations, risk management, liquidity management and fundraising.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Silver worked as an auditor in the alternative asset management groups at PricewaterhouseCoopers in their Manhattan office. He received a B.S. from Lehigh University.

Lena Duffield joined Wheelock in 2019 and is based in the firm’s Greenwich and Manhattan offices. At Wheelock, Ms. Duffield is an acquisitions generalist, working across all major asset classes.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Ms. Duffield was an acquisitions analyst in Morgan Stanley’s Private Real Estate Investing group (MSREI), where she was a generalist with a focus on industrial, medical office, and residential development opportunities for MSREI’s core and opportunistic funds.

Ms. Duffield received a B.S. in Business Administration from Georgetown University with a double major in Finance and Management. She currently serves on the Associate Advisory Board of Georgetown’s Steers Center for Global Real Estate.

Arabelle Chafé joined Wheelock in 2019 and is based in the firm’s Greenwich and Manhattan offices. At Wheelock, Ms. Chafé is an acquisitions generalist, working across all major asset classes.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Ms. Chafé was an analyst in the Real Estate Financing Group at Goldman Sachs, where she focused on originations and capital markets for the firm’s CMBS, mezzanine, and balance sheet lending businesses, covering all major asset classes.

Ms. Chafé received a B.S. in Operations Research from the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University.

Dan Wedman joined Wheelock in 2021 and is based in the firm’s Greenwich and Manhattan offices. At Wheelock, Mr. Wedman is an acquisitions generalist, working across all major asset classes.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Wedman was an acquisitions analyst at SL Green Realty Corp., where he focused primarily on equity and structured finance investments in New York City office, retail, and residential assets. Prior to SL Green Realty Corp., Mr. Wedman worked at Citigroup in their Sales & Trading Division where he focused on financing PropTech companies.

Mr. Wedman received a B.S. in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a concentration in Finance and a Minor in Real Estate.

Patrick Lesch joined Wheelock in 2021. At Wheelock, Mr. Lesch is an acquisitions generalist, working across all major asset classes with a focus on the Western United States.

Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Lesch was an asset management associate at Bellwether Asset Management, where he worked closely on Oaktree Capital’s real estate portfolio, covering all major asset classes.

Mr. Lesch received a B.A. in Economics from Dartmouth College.