By Camila Grello '16
The Columbia Business School Real Estate Association (REA) is pleased to announce the co-presidents and vice presidents elected for the 2015–16 academic year. The officers, all in the class of 2016, were elected by the REA membership. Assistant vice presidents will be elected from the incoming class in the fall. Alumni interested in working with the REA or who would like to be included in any REA-led alumni activities should contact the REA co-presidents or the VPs of alumni relations using the e-mail links below.
Co-Presidents: Alex Jugant will be working this summer as an associate for GTIS Partners for the Brazil acquisitions team. Prior to attending Columbia, Alex worked as an office leasing and sales associate for Cassidy Turley Northern California for two years and a Development Associate at Roem Development Corporation for two years. At Cassidy Turley, he executed lease contracts totaling $530,000 and assisted in negotiations for deals worth $3M. At Roem Development Corporation he focused on the multi-family and senior housing sectors, modeling and assessing the profitability of more than 1,000 housing units prior to construction and obtaining over $270M in project financing through tax credits, state bonds, and conventional loans. Alex received a bachelor of science in Business Management-Real Estate Finance from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management.
Stephanie Wright will join Prudential Real Estate Investors this summer as an associate in their acquisitions group. A Real Estate Circle Fellow, PREA Scholarship recipient and WX Scholarship recipient, Stephanie most recently served as a Senior Associate with Brookfield Asset Management in New York. There she managed equity capital raises for the firm’s $1.25 billion real estate finance fund, $7 billion flagship infrastructure fund and a $1 billion core plus office vehicle. Stephanie previously worked in asset management, investment research and reporting at Jonathan Rose Companies and began her career as a consultant with the boutique real estate advisory firm, The Concord Group. She holds a BA from Yale University and a Certificate in Real Estate Finance and Investment from New York University.
Co-VPs of Careers: Nikhil Chaudhri received his bachelor of engineering in computer science from the University of Michigan. He began his post-collegiate career as an analyst at JP Morgan Chase Bank in the corporate interest rate and currency derivatives group and moved into an associate role before coming to business school. More recently, Nikhil has served as a property owner and manager of several student housing and retirement communities in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Additionally, during the school year he took on a role as a part time intern analyzing value-added investments with Atlas Real Estate Partners. This summer, Nikhil will join Healthcare REIT as a summer associate.
Francis Smyth graduated from Washington and Lee with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration. Prior to business school he worked for four years with First Annapolis Consulting in the credit card issuing group building financial models and creating presentations for the sale of major credit card portfolios. Additionally, he has served as a Board Member, Founder and President of GB Charities, fundraising over $350,000 annually to fund parochial schooling for over 80 students in Baltimore, Maryland. This summer, Francis will be interning with LeFrak as a summer associate.
Co-VPs of Alumni & Mentorship: Andrew Kim graduated from Columbia University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics-Political Science and History and Theory of Architecture. After graduating, he spent three years working at CIM Group underwriting acquisitions, analyzing and summarizing due diligence materials, and managing the creation of marketing materials and financial documents for potential buyers on sales. At CIM he sold a $72M commercial and residential building, refinanced $48M construction loan for a large retail mall, and purchased $100M offie building in New York as an Investments Associate. This summer, Andrew will be working on the development team at Related Companies in New York.
Taylor Ott graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor of science in architectural design and a minor in urban and environmental design. After graduation, he lived in DC working first at Lehman-Smith McLeish as an architect, then moving to a role with Cresapatners, a tenant-focused real estate services firm specializing in managing office needs and leasing process. In his last role before returning to school he served for three years as an assistant construction manager with Boston Properties, managing the development of the 327,000 square foot NPR headquarters and the 377,000 square foot George Washington University Science Center. This summer, Taylor will be working for Vornado Realty Trust’s development team.
VP of Case Competitions: Aradhna Taneja graduated from Elmira College with a B.S. in Accounting, Economics and International Business. After college she worked in the audit and financial services group at KPMG in New York, performing audit procedures for publicly traded major multi-national investment banks as part of the global audit team. Additionally, in the three years prior to school Aradhna served as an investment banking analyst in the North America Real Estate and Lodging Group where she performed comprehensive financial modeling and analyses including IPO valuation, LBO returns models, pro-forma analysis, corporate financial models, and discounted cash flows. She holds a CPA in the State of New York.
VP of Communications & Technology: Camila Grello graduated from Duke University with a B.A. in political science and sociology and a certificate in markets and management studies. She worked for three years on the transactions team at Bentall Kennedy in Washington, DC, where she underwrote office, retail, multi-family, and industrial acquisitions on the east coast. This summer, Camila will be interning at Allianz Real Estate of North America as a summer associate.
VP of Education: Bobby Landino graduated with honors from the University of Miami in 2011 with a BBA in finance and philosophy. He spent three years at Moody’s Investors Service in the corporate finance group, where he performed credit analysis through developing financial models and estimated the credit risk of debt used to finance 200+ middle market transactions including LBOs, M&A, dividend recapitalizations, and distressed restructurings. This summer, Bobby will be interning with Eastdil Secured’s debt placement team as a summer associate.
VP of EMBA: Harry Etra graduated from Yale University with a BA in history. Currently, he works as an associate director at CodeGreen Solutions, a sustainability and energy management consulting firm. He has managed the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for Existing Buildings certification process for over 4 million square feet of commercial office space. Harry leads CodeGreen’s software solutions division, which includes CodeGreen’s free energy compliance mobile app and ProAct, a sustainability and energy efficiency tracking tool. As a member of CodeGreen’s corporate sustainability team, he helps clients earn recognition through reporting programs such as the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark, Global Report Initiative, CDP, and the EPA’s Green Power Partnership. Harry is a LEED Accredited Professional with an Operations & Maintenance specialty.
Co-VPs of Events: Laura Burkey graduated from Georgetown University in 2010 with a BA in english and a minor in theology. After graduation, she worked with Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the Financial Instituions Group, first on the corporate banking team and later onto the investment banking team. Her transaction experience includes acting as a sell-side advisor to Edgewood Partners Insurance Company in its sale to Carlyle Group and serving as a sell-side advisor to Bollinger Inc. in its sale to A.J, Gallagher. Concurrently, she spent two years working with the Pencil Program, a nonprofit dedicated to improving student achievement through partnerships between businesses and schools. This summer, she will be joining the investment team at Rialto Capital in New York City.
Katie Vila graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2008 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. Upon graduating, she worked in Miami and New York with Kimley-Horn and Associates, a multi-disciplinary firm recognized as a leader in land development services, transitioning from a project associate to a project engineer and then a project manager prior to coming to business school. Among her many projects, Katie secured entitlements and completed civil design for the Faena District, a mixed-use development consisting of hotel, condo, retail, arts center, and parking facilities in Miami Beach. This summer, Katie will be interning at Fifteen Group in Miami.
VP of Finance: Erin Williams graduated with honors from Bucknell University in 2009 with a major in accounting and a minor in economics. While at Bucknell, she managed $600,000 of the University’s endowment, outperforming the S&P 500 by 20.8%. Following graduation, Erin worked at Deloitte and Touche as an auditor in the financial services industry group advising and managing accounts including Blackstone, Apollo Global Management, Columbia Partners, and Fannie Mae. With Fannie Mae she analyzed multifamily property financial statements, cash flows, loan terms, and evaluated refinancing opportunities for a $1B multifamily affordable housing portfolio. This summer she will be interning with Eastdil Secured’s investment sales group.
VP of International: Juan Miguel Capurro graduated from Universidad del Pacifico in Lima with a BA in Economics in 2009. Prior to pursuing his MBA, he spent four years with Compass Group Peru as a senior analyst on its real estate fund performing due diligence on 31 private real estate projects, executing on 12 valued at more than $130 million. He spent a year before business school as an investment analyst at Compass Group Mexico managing the Mexican Real Estate Investment Trust position for all separate managed accounts representing $20 to $30 million. This summer, Juan Miguel will join a Latin America focused real estate private equity fund.
VP of J-Term: Anand Bhatia holds a B.S. in Economics, and a minor in Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. After school, Anand spent over four years working at Tishman Speyer in New York City, as a member of their rotational Leadership Development Program. During his time at Tishman Speyer, Anand spent time as a member in their Portfolio Management and Sustainability teams, focusing on investments in Brazil and energy savings projects, respectively. Most recently, Anand served as Chief of Staff to the Global Head of Design & Construction, overseeing a combined $3 billion worth of active development projects in the U.S., Europe, Brazil, and China. After graduation, Anand will be joining his family’s business focusing on luxury residential development in New York City.
VP of Resources: Jing Liu will be interning with the development team at Brookfield this summer. Prior to Columbia, Jing spent two years at Barclays Capital within the investment banking division on the Real Estate/Gaming and Retail team, advising clients on M&A and debt transactions as well as two years at BNP Paribas on the Structured Finance team focusing on capital structure analysis for the bank’s investment grade and leveraged finance clients. Jing received a BS in Finance and Economics from NYU Stern.
VP of Site: Tours Knute Kvarekvaal graduated with honors in 2008 from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona with a BS in mathematics with statistics emphasis. After graduating he worked two years for the Epler Company in San Diego as a defined benefits consultant. Subsequently, he worked three years for Norges Bank Investment Management in Oslo and New York including a one-year secondment with UBS’s equity research department in London as a REIT analyst. His latest role at Norges Bank was as an analyst on the commercial real estate acquisitions team where he focused on the Washington, D.C. and Boston markets.
Co-VPs of Trips: Charley Griffith worked prior to business school in Beijing and Hong Kong in various real estate capacities. He spent three years in Beijing working first as consultant for Chrisdy Real Estate and then for Jones Lang LaSalle as manager in research and strategic consulting, leading market and asset specific consulting projects on behalf of international investors, developers, and real estate funds focus on China’s northern markets. After moving to Hong Kong he worked for Cushman & Wakefield as a manager in the tenant advisory group advising multinational and mainland Chinese corporations on space analysis and technical requirements, executing lease negotiations and extensive financial analyses. He holds a BA in Economics and East Asian Studies from Haverford College and a Certificate in Foreign Language from Peking University. This summer, Charley will be interning at Aetos Capital Real Estate, a RE private equity firm based in New York.
Cheryl Kong graduated from the University of Virginia McIntire School of Business in 2009 with a Bsc in Commerce (Finance and Management) and a BA in Economics. After college, she joined Citi Corporate and Investment Banking, working in Singapore, China, and Switzerland for five years. She began her career at Citi as a relationship manager and regional support banker in the global subsidiaries group and transitioned into a support banker role, working with clients such as Glencore, Nestle, and ABB. After spending a year as an investment banker, Cheryl transitioned into a relationship manager role in the real estate and technology group in Singapore, where she underwrote major transactions which included serving as the lead arranger for a $100M secured term loan for a newly-listed industrial REIT. This summer Cheryl will be interning at UBS with the real estate investment banking team.