Board of Directors

Anya Coverman serves as president and CEO of the Institute for Portfolio Alternatives (IPA), a leading advocacy organization for the portfolio diversifying investment industry. In this role, Anya leads the organizations efforts to bring together top asset managers, product distribution partners and industry service providers and drive industry progress through education and advocacy initiatives Previously, she served as the IPA’s senior vice president of government affairs and general counsel. In the role, Anya led the IPA’s legislative, regulatory and legal initiatives, including the IPA’s Political Action Committee (PAC), served as the primary liaison and senior policy representative before Congress, the executive branch, and federal and state financial and self-regulatory agencies, and counseled the IPA on all internal legal and governance matters. Prior to joining the IPA in 2017, Anya was the deputy director of policy and associate general counsel at the North American Securities Administrators Association, the national association representing state financial regulators. She has also practiced corporate and securities law at the international law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP in Washington, D.C., and, prior to that, at a boutique financial services law firm in New York City. Anya received her J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law and her B.A. from the University of Miami. She is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, Virginia, New York and Texas.

Bill Duffy joined Fidelity in 2020 as Vice President of Alternative Investments. In this role he is responsible for expanding Fidelity’s alternative investment platform solutions, providing clearing and custody clients with access to alternative investments. Additionally, as a subject matter expert, Bill educates Fidelity clients and prospects about alternative investment solutions available through Fidelity. Prior to Fidelity, Bill worked in the Asset Management Solutions division of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. At Schwab, he was Managing Director of Relationship Management, leading the team responsible for relationships with over 700 third-party asset managers. Prior to that, he was a Sr. Manager of Marketing and Strategy on Schwab’s alternative investment platform team. In that role, he was responsible for developing the strategy to grow Schwab’s alternative investment solutions available to RIAs, including identifying third-party asset managers for participation on Schwab’s platform. Additionally, he collaborated with industry partners to develop and deliver alternative investment education to thousands of RIAs who custody assets on the Schwab platform. Earlier in his career, Bill was an Executive Director at Deer Isle Capital, a boutique alternative investment marketing and advisory firm, where he was responsible for marketing alternative investments to RIAs, family offices, and institutional investors. Earlier in his career, he held various roles at T. Rowe Price Group.

For more than 20 years, public and private companies have relied on Jason Goode for fund formation, M&A, public securities offerings, and private placements. He focuses his practice on the REIT and real estate fund industry. Jason regularly advises boards of directors on corporate governance issues and also counsels brokerdealers on compliance with applicable FINRA rules. He is active in several industry organizations and is a frequent speaker on securities and corporate governance issues. Jason influences the real estate industry through his leadership with the Institute for Portfolio Alternatives (IPA), where he is the co-chair for the Policy and Government Affairs Committee and is the former chair of the Legal and Regulatory Committee. He interviewed Robert Telewicz, a top official at the SEC, during IPAVision 2020. Jason serves as a director of ACG Atlanta, a chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth, and as vicechair of M&A South (formerly ACG Capital Connection), the premiere networking event in the South for deal makers. Jason is listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in the REITs category and The Best Lawyers in America© in the Securities/Capital Markets category. He has also been named “Legal Elite” by Georgia Trend magazine.

Robert Bergdolt leads DLA Piper's representation of non-traded,publicly offered real estate investment trusts. Since 1992, his practice has focused on securities regulations, corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions for traded and non-traded REITs. Over the last ten years, Robert has headed DLA Piper's representation with respect to numerous non-traded REIT public offerings and mergers and acquisitions, including for programs sponsored by Blackstone, Ares/Black Creek Group, CNL, KBS Capital Advisors, Phillips Edison, Resource Real Estate, Behringer Harvard, Wells Real Estate Funds, Carter Validus and Steadfast.

John joined the Managed Investments team in 2022 to lead the product management and strategy of the firm’s investment, education, and gifting vehicles. He works closely with partners in the Mutual Fund, ETF, Alternative, 529, UIT, and the Donor Advised Fund business. John joined Edward Jones in 2006 in the Trading area where he was a team leader in taxable and tax-free fixed income. He later moved to the Portfolio Construction Team in Advice and Guidance where he contributed to the management of multiple advisory fund models and the Bridge Builder mutual funds. John joined the Trust Company as a leader in 2019, and helped drive several core and strategic initiativesvwhile also leading a team of portfolio managers. John and his wife, Ali, live near the Edward Jones campus in Tempe with their three children, Mackenzie, Lane, and Tenley. In addition to being an ASU graduate, John holds his Series 7, 66, 24, 55 and is an active CFA Charterholder. He is a past CFA Institute volunteer, serving as a President Council Representative for the Western U.S. and Past President of the CFA Society of Phoenix. John serves on the Institute of Portfolio Alternatives Board of Directors and multiple other industry trade organizations.

Alice Connaughton is co-chair of the firm’s REIT practice and a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Capital Markets practice group. Ali’s practice focuses on representing public and private companies, including real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other direct participation programs, in a variety of corporate and securities matters, including, among other things, public and private securities offerings and tender offers. Ali regularly advises boards of directors, audit committees, and management with respect to strategic matters and corporate governance issues. Ali also routinely counsels public company clients with respect to complex regulatory matters, compliance with federal and state securities laws, corporate governance and general corporate matters. She has represented several of the leading sponsors of public, non-listed REITs in connection with more than $35 billion in public offerings. Ali has been recommended as a leading lawyer in Chambers USA for REITs since 2014. She also has been an active participant in the advocacy efforts of the IPA for more than 15 years. Ali’s commitment to the REIT industry allows her to be completely dialed-in to regulatory developments and emerging trends, making her a trusted advisor to clients and a frequent speaker on topics impacting the industry.

Emily B. Conte, Executive Vice President, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Alternatives for Wealth, has 19 years of industry experience working with wealth management and independent intermediaries. Prior to joining Cohen & Steers in 2011, Mrs. Conte served as Director and National Accounts Relationship Manager with Columbia Management. Prior to that, she was a National Accounts Manager with RiverSource Investments and Seligman Advisors. She has a BA from George Washington University and is based in New York.

Brendan Cuddihy is the Chief Operating Officer at CAIS. He oversees the Operations, Client Service, and Integrations teams. Brendan is responsible for funds and investment product operations, including onboarding, integration of workflows, reporting, and investor/manager relations. He has more than 10 years of experience in the asset management and financial services industry, having worked at US Bancorp and Moody’s Corporation. Brendan graduated Cum Laude with a BA in Economics and received his MBA from Marist College. Brendan holds his Series 7 and Series 63 licenses.

Daniel Cullen has over 25 years of experience in tax planning for structured real estate transactions, related fund formation, and securities law matters. Mr. Cullen is viewed as a leading professional in the taxation of real estate funds, REITs and related structures. Chambers USA recognizes his contributions as REIT counsel. Mr. Cullen serves as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University School of Law, teaching the Taxation of Structured Real Estate Transactions. In addition, Mr. Cullen has served as a REIT columnist for the Journal of Passthrough Entities and has received industry recognition for his work relating to Section 1031 like-kind exchange matters. Mr. Cullen is a member of the Firm’s North American Tax Practice Group Management Committee and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Firm’s Funds, Family Office & Alternative Capital Tax practice.

Mark Earley is the Americas Head of Hines Private Wealth Solutions and serves as Chief Executive Officer of the brokerdealer affiliate. His leadership has been instrumental in the firm’s $10.7 billion capital raise throughout the wealth management channel. Mark also directs the overall strategyfor the Americas and provides tactical guidance to the organization with particular focus on product development, distribution, sales management and business planning. Additionally, he serves on the Capital Markets Committee of Hines. Prior to joining Hines in 2003, Mark was a Regional Sales and Marketing Director for Morgan Stanley, where he supervised sales for the proprietary asset management group and the sales and marketing activities of 65 branch offices.

Michael T. Ezzell is President and Chief Executive Officer of Inland Securities Corporation (ISC), the broker dealer for Inland Real Estate Investment Corporation (IREIC) and Inland Private Capital Corporation (IPC). Mr. Ezzell is responsible for ISC’s corporate strategy, sales, broker dealer relationships, securities operations, compliance, and distribution channels. He also works closely with new product development, due diligence, and information technology. Mr. Ezzell has more than 25 years of extensive investment management, financial and strategic leadership experience. Prior to joining Inland Securities in 2015, Mr. Ezzell held positions with Cole Capital in leadership and executive roles for over five years. Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President of American Realty Capital Properties, Inc. (ARCP) and CEO and President of Cole Capital. He was responsible for all aspects of the management of the nontraded REIT sponsor’s distribution and investment management business, including sales, product development, broker dealer relationship management, securities operations, and capital markets. Prior to the merger of Cole Real Estate Investments (Cole) with ARCP in February 2014, Mr. Ezzell served as Senior Vice President of Product and Business Development for Cole, securing selling agreements with broker dealers for existing and new product offerings, opening new distribution channels and overseeing due diligence and new product development. Prior to joining Cole, Mr. Ezzell served as Director of Investment Research at AIG Advisor Group, where he was responsible for managing investment research for a network of broker dealers serving independent financial advisors. In that role, he managed the research and due diligence for all packaged investment products including mutual funds, variable annuities, alternative investments and third-party money managers. During his career, he also held positions with J.P. Carey Asset Management. Mr. Ezzell received his Bachelor of Arts degree with double majors in Economics and Political Science from Stetson University. He also holds Series 7, 24 and 63 securities licenses with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Angie Fisher is Director - Funds Management & Operations, Core Spaces Chicago. Ms. Fisher served in a similar capacity at Cole Capital. Her experience also includes leadership roles at Edward Jones, OppenheimerFunds, Davis Funds, and American Century Investments, where she worked with brokerage clients, transfer agents, operations teams, and project teams implementing new business and process improvement initiatives. Ms. Fisher earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in organizational management, both from University of Phoenix. She holds FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses. In addition, she is certified in Agile methodologies, is a certified Agile product owner and has a CMFC® designation.

Jay Frank is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Cantor Fitzgerald Asset Management, a division of Cantor Fitzgerald. Cantor Fitzgerald is a global financial services, investment banking, and asset management firm. Mr. Frank joined Cantor in 2015 and oversees the day-to-day operations of the business, performs an active role in product construction and strategic initiatives including leading the creation and launch of the first ‘40 Act fund focused on private infrastructure as well as the integration of the firm’s mutual fund, ETF and SMA platforms with their private markets platform. In addition, Mr. Frank launched the private wealth distribution platform accounting for $13 billion in assets under management. Throughout his career, Mr. Frank has been involved in the creation, structuring, launch, capital formation, management, and monetization of dozens of real asset strategies with over $35 billion in aggregate value. He has worked closely with wealth management, accounting, tax and legal firms on the education, due diligence and implementation of sophisticated real assets solutions including Real Estate Investment Trusts, Interval Funds, Business Development Companies, 1031 Tax Deferred Exchanges and Qualified Opportunity Funds. Mr. Frank earned a B.A. in Business Economics with an emphasis in Accounting from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He holds FINRA Series 7, 24, and 63 licenses and is an Investment Banking Representative. Jay lives with his wife and two daughters in Santa Monica, California. Jay plays an active role in Happy Trails for Kids, a non-profit organization committed to improving the lives of foster youth across Los Angeles.

James Hannigan is a Managing Director in the Client and Product Solutions group at Apollo. Prior to joining Apollo in 2021, James was a Managing Director in the Alternative Asset Management division of Blackstone. Previously, he was an Associate Vice President at FRM Americas LLC and an associate in the asset management group of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. James graduated from Vanderbilt University with a BA in philosophy and received a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Liz Jones is a Managing Director and Head of Ares Private Wealth Partnerships within Ares Wealth Management Solutions, which oversees Ares' client management activities in the global wealth channel. Prior to joining Ares in 2021, Ms. Jones was a Director at UBS Financial Services, where she was responsible for driving the strategic direction of the private markets platform for the global wealth management business. Ms. Jones oversaw the sourcing and underwriting of private equity, private credit and real asset funds in this role. Previously, Ms. Jones served as Head of the UBS Alternative Investments Sales Desk. Ms. Jones holds a B.A. from Duke University in Political Science. She is a CFA® charterholder.

Michael Keogh is a Managing Director with iCapital. As head of Investment Product Development Michael implements programs and products where iCapital helps advisors access the private capital markets in HNW focused structures including registered funds, private placement insurance and model portfolios. As part of his role he helps private capital fund sponsors gain access to the accredited investor segment of the high-net-worth market. Michael advises fund sponsors on structuring their offerings to meet the unique needs of the HNW advisor market. Prior to joining iCapital, Michael spent eight years with BlackRock where his responsibilities included developing proprietary tender offer funds and liquid alternative mutual funds. Previously, he served in various roles with OppenheimerFunds during a 20-year tenure with the firm. Michael earned a BS in Accounting from St. John’s University. He holds FINRA Series 7, 63, and 24 licenses.

Chad LaFauci is Senior Vice President of Alternative Investments at Commonwealth Financial Network®, member FINRA/SIPC, the nation's largest privately held Registered Investment Adviser–independent broker/dealer. With the firm since 2000, Chad leads the team that is responsible for the analysis, approval, and ongoing monitoring of all alternative investments products (e.g., private equity, private credit, hedge funds, real estate, infrastructure, and commodities). In addition, he trains and educates Commonwealth advisors through print and web-based media. Chad graduated from Bates College with a degree in economics. He is a CFA® charterholder and holds the CAIA designation, as well as FINRA Series 7, 24, 63, and 65 securities registrations.

Dennis Martin is a managing director at PGIM Real Estate and global head of Private Wealth & Client Solutions on behalf of the real estate business and Montana Capital Partners (mcp) – a PGIM-owned global private equity secondaries manager. Based in Newark, New Jersey, Dennis leads the team responsible for working with PGIM Investments to launch new strategies and structures that address the alternative investments requirements of global wealth advisors and their high-net-worth clients. The Private Wealth & Client Solutions team is also responsible for growing PGIM Real Estate and mcp’s presence in the Defined Contribution and OCIO channels. Prior to his current role, Dennis was head of the Americas Business Development team, where he was responsible for managing and developing PGIM Real Estate’s client relationships with U.S. & Latin American institutional investors in support of our real estate, agriculture and impact capabilities. Before joining PGIM Real Estate, Dennis was a managing director in RREEF’s Client Relations group, where he developed and managed client and consultant relationships in the Midwest and Eastern regions. Prior to that, he was the director of real estate investments for Lucent Asset Management Corp., the pension asset management subsidiary of Lucent Technologies, Inc., and practiced law with Goodwin Procter LLP, and O’Melveny & Myers LLP. Dennis has a bachelor’s degree in political science from St. John’s University and a law degree from the New York University School of Law. He has been an active participant in PREA since 2000, serving on the board of directors from 2001 to 2006 and as chairman from 2004 to 2005. In addition, Dennis serves on various church and community service organizations including as a member of the Board of Trustees for Children’s Aid and Family Services.

John has served as Chairman and a trustee of Starwood Credit Real Estate Income Trust since its formation in June of 2023. In addition, John has served as Vice Chairman of Starwood Real Estate Income Trust (“SREIT”) since May 2023 and as a member of its board of directors since November 2017. John previously served as SREIT’s CEO from its formation in June 2017 until May 2023. In addition, John has served as Managing Director of Starwood Capital since July 2015. From March 2009 to May 2012 John served as Global Head of Asset Management for Starwood Capital, during which time he served on Starwood Capital’s Investment Committee. Prior to rejoining Starwood Capital, John served as Deputy Head of Europe for the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (“ADIA”) from June 2012 to May 2015. During this time, John served on ADIA’s Executive and Global Strategy committees. From June 2005 until February 2009, John was Global Co-Head of Asset Management for Lehman Brothers Real Estate Private Equity. Prior to this, John was a Partner at O’Connor Capital Partners (“O’Connor”) and the Co-Head of the Europe Business. Prior to O’Connor, John was with GE Capital where he held a variety of positions, including managing the firm’s real estate investing activities across Central Europe. John has served on many boards throughout his career, including ERE, a Paris, France based developer of European shopping malls, Deutsche Annington, a listed German based residential rental platform encompassing more than 180,000 units and McCarthy & Stone, formerly the UK’s largest developer of homes for seniors. John received a B.S. in Finance from the University of Connecticut, and an M.B.A. from Fordham University.

Patrick McGowan is a Managing Director, serving as the Head of Manager Research and Head of Alternative Investments at Sanctuary Wealth. In his current position, he spearheads a team that is responsible for developing all Alternative Investment activities, including the firm’s private equity, private credit, real asset, and hedge fund investing strategies, as well as the Sanctuary Investment Research Focus List. Mr. McGowan is a member of the Sanctuary Asset Management Investment Council, which plays a pivotal role in constructing the Firm’s global economic and capital market views, providing invaluable global asset allocation guidance, and managing model allocations. Mr. McGowan also leads the Alternative Investment Committee. Before joining Sanctuary, Mr. McGowan held a senior leadership position at the GP-stakes firm Azimut Alternative Capital Partners (BIT: AZM), a Milan-based wealth manager, where he focused on strategic growth initiatives for the firm’s investments in mid-market private markets GPs. Before that, he worked at Invesco Private Capital, a leading institutional PE and VC fund-of-funds, within the trillion-dollar asset manager, Invesco (NYSE: IVZ). Prior to Invesco, Mr. McGowan worked at a Carlyle Group venture, formerly known as OC Private Capital, focused on strategic growth initiatives in private wealth for the $1 billion close-ended private credit interval fund (TAKIX). Prior to this role, Mr. McGowan had various roles at OppenheimerFunds, AI Insight, and Altegris Investments. Mr. McGowan earned a Bachelor of Science from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. He holds FINRA Series 7 and 63 registrations.

As Vice President of Alternative Investments, Paul Mumma leads the team responsible for non-traded REITs, non-traded BDCs, non-traded closed-end funds, hedge funds, private equity, private placements, structured products, and syndicate offerings on the Ameriprise platform. Prior to his current role, he was Vice President of Product Management and Development for Asset Allocation and Alternative Investments at Columbia Threadneedle Investments. In this role, he oversaw the development of a number of different products including mutual funds, hedge funds, institutional separate account strategies, and ERISA-qualified collective funds. Paul was also Head of Product Management for RiverSource Investments (now part of Columbia Threadneedle Investments). Paul earned a B.A. in English from Truman State University and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas. He is also a CFA charterholder. Paul has 28 years of financial services experience and has been with Ameriprise for 23 years.

Mr. Napier serves as Head of Real Estate Client Strategy JPM Real Estate investment Trust (JPMREIT) and Executive Director of JPM Global Alternatives. In his role, he leads a team of investment specialists focused on advising professional clients on real estate strategies and execution across regions, risk levels, equity, debt and defined contribution partners with clients across the wealth management channels positioning J.P. Morgan private real estate capabilities. Previously, he was leading wealth management at Heitman LLC where he led distribution, product development and operations for the channel. Prior to this, Scott held senior leadership roles at Invesco and Oppenheimer Funds. Mr. Napier is a member of the Investment and Wealth Institute and holds the CIMA designation and maintains Series 7, 66, 63 and 24 FINRA licenses. He received a M.B.A from Emory University Goizueta School of Business and B.A from The University of Texas.

Alison Nest is a managing director and the head of Alternative Investments for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management based in New York City. She is responsible for the development, sourcing, onboarding and servicing of alternative investments distributed to retail and institutional clients. Alison has been with the Firm for nearly two decades and has held a number of roles across the Investment Solutions and Field organizations, including head of Strategy, Business Development and Risk as well as head of Offshore and Private Wealth Management Product. She also served as the CFO for various business units within Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. She joined the Firm from Smith Barney in 2009, where she started her career in 2004 as an analyst. She holds a B.S. cum laude in finance and accounting from Georgetown University, is a class of 2024 “MAKER” and serves as co-chair of the MMI Alternative Investments Community and co-chair of the Investment Solutions Women in Wealth Chapter.

Brian has over 29 years of public accounting experience serving real estate clients ranging from small private companies to publicly traded and multinational companies. He serves as Deloitte’s Global Real Estate Audit & Assurance Leader and U.S. Real Estate Leader for Clients and Growth. He previously served as the Central Region Real Estate Audit Leader, co-led our national practice for REITs and real estate internal audit practice. Brian has significant experience serving partnerships, investment managers, property managers, institutional advisers, private equity firms, developers, hotels, homebuilders, and public pension advisers. Brian is also the Deloitte Private Audit leader for the Chicago practice. He is accredited in IFRS and has substantial experience in fund formation, SEC matters, mergers and acquisitions services, internal controls, fair value accounting and auditing and tax consultations. He has participated in numerous financing transactions, including public stock and debt offerings. Brian has co-authored several point-of-view articles and served as host and presenter on several Deloitte’s Dbriefs webcasts and real estate industry events. He was a former adjunct professor at DePaul University. He has also contributed to the Wharton Real Estate Review, Commercial Property Executive, and the US Private Real Estate Fund Compliance Guide. Brian was moderator and panelist at the 2021 and 2022 AICPA Real Estate and Construction Conference, moderator and panelist at several IMN Non-listed REIT Conferences, a keynote speaker at the 2018 NAI FMA Realty Conference in Lincoln, NE, and presenter at the 2013 SEC Compliance Outreach Program in Chicago. Brian serves as the Lead University Relationship Partner for DePaul University and Co-Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the College of Business at DePaul University. Brian served as the 2023 commencement speaker for the Kellstadt School of Business.

Peter Schaffer is a senior leader with over 25 years of experience at asset management and independent broker dealer firms directing product management, risk, compliance, client growth and retention functions. Currently, Peter leads all sales and product management efforts for alternative investments, annuities, structured products, insurance, and investment banking services at Avantax Wealth Management, a $85B IBD firm. Specific to alternative investments, Peter is tasked with building a complete, competitive, and strategically sound product line. These responsibilities include expanding into new asset classes, building partnerships with 3rd party platforms, and managing sponsor relationships with asset management firms. Prior to joining Avantax, Peter was Senior Vice President of Product Risk Management, and Corporate Supervision for LPL Financial. In this role he had direct governance oversite of LPL‘s $750+ billion product platform of alternatives investments, mutual funds and annuities. Peter was on the Board of LPL’s Political Action Committee, a member of the firm’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion council, led Employee Resource Groups and was a mentor to many employees. With international experience at Franklin Templeton and Russell Investments, Peter led the product development and/or governance functions in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and the Americas. His responsibilities included overall global product strategy, planning, pricing, governance, and reporting. Peter developed his customer-first mindset in a variety of leadership positions in sales, marketing, client retention and operations at Franklin Templeton, Charles Schwab and Wells Fargo Securities. Peter holds a B.A. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a MBA from the University of San Francisco. He is FINRA licensed 7, 24 and 63 and is a Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional from Georgetown University. Outside of work, Peter mentors student athletes at the University of California, Berkeley where he competed on the track team, captaining his senior year.

Justin Schwartz is an Executive Director of Product Management in Wealth Management Services at DTCC where he manages AIP, the Alternative Investment Products platform. Justin has been working on AIP for the past 12 years and has been at DTCC for 19 years where he has held product and relationship management roles to advance processing and automation services for corporate actions, derivatives, insurance, equities and alternative investments. Justin received a B.A from the University of Virginia and an M.S. in Finance from Northeastern University. He is active on many alternative investment industry groups including the IPA Technology, Innovation and Operations Committee, NICSA Alternative Investment Committee, SIFMA AMG Alternative Investment Operations Forum, DCALTA Implementation & Operations Committee; Justin also chairs the AIP Roundtable.

Michael P. Sealy is Chief Strategy Officer for Sealy & Company. He is responsible for growing Sealy’s market position, the design and launch of new investment products, and other strategic initiatives. Michael directly oversees the raising of capital for the company’s investment vehicles to achieve the company’s investment goals. He has established and maintains industry, business, and capital relationships with strategic partners to generate ongoing deal flow. During his tenure at Sealy, Michael has also served as Vice President of Construction & Development. In this role, he was directly responsible for managing all components of the development and construction process from conception to final closeout. Mr.Sealy was also responsible for tenant and capital improvement activities, site selection, client/partner relations, master land planning, the formation of association documentation, project budgeting, and land dispositions. Michael also expanded, documented, and digitized all construction management policies and procedures to ensure Sealy’s industry-leading standards are applied consistently and efficiently across the platform. Mr. Sealy graduated from Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. He is a member of the North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors, Real Estate Counsel, a board member of the Folsom Institute for Real Estate – Southern Methodist University, and is actively pursuing his CCIM designation. He is a member of Sealy’s Investment Committee and the Sealy Strategic Equity Partners Management Committee. In addition to his responsibilities within the firm, Michael manages ventures in a variety of industries, such as oil and gas, internet marketing, and residential lot development, on behalf of Sealy principals.

Chris Shaw is the Vice President for multiple clients and business areas within SS&C. In this role, Chris leads the strategic relationship and operational support for clients in the retail alternative and direct participation program markets. He is responsible for all aspects of the client relationship including the strategic direction of the servicing model supporting his clients’ various initiatives relative to current industry trends. Chris joined SS&C through the DST Systems, Inc. acquisition. He joined DST in 1993 as a unit manager, working his way up through the organization he has successfully managed the DST SalesConnect product and various client models including: retail, broker distributed, bank, institutional and proprietary fund models. Chris received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from the University of Kansas, Lawrence. He has served as a member of the NICSA Transfer Agency Committee and Chairman of the IPA Operations Committee. He is a current member of the IPA Operations Committee, the DTCC AIP Client Executive Board and the NICSA Alternative Investments Committee.

George Stephan joined Franklin Templeton in 2024 and is the Global COO of Wealth Management Alternatives. Prior to joining Franklin Templeton, Mr. Stephan spent five years at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (“KKR”), as the Head of Strategy and Business Development for the Firm’s Global Client Solutions business and before that, as Chief Operating Officer and Head of Investor Relations for KKR’s Global Wealth Solutions business in the Americas. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Stephan spent nine years at Morgan Stanley as an executive within the firm's wealth management division. Mr. Stephan holds a B.S. in Finance and an M.B.A from Wagner College. Mr. Stephan currently serves on the Leadership Advisory Council of Wagner College Nicolais School of Business.

Mark Sutterlin is the head of Alternative Investments for Investment Solutions Group. The Alternative Investments group is responsible for providing advisors and clients with access to a range of platforms and investment solutions including hedge funds, private equity, real estate and physical precious metals. Prior to his appointment as head of Alternative Investments, Mark was responsible for hedge fund origination and product management within Alternative Investments. Mark began his career at Merrill Lynch as an Investor Services Advisor within Merrill Edge, providing financial guidance to wealth management clients. Mark holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from University of Michigan and is a CFA Charterholder.

Leon Volchyok is a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone and the General Counsel for its Private Wealth Solutions business. Mr. Volchyok plays a key role in the structuring, launch and operations of the firm’s individual investor focused vehicles and serves as the Chief Legal Officer for Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT). Mr. Volchyok is the prior chairman of the Board for the Institute for Portfolio Alternatives and on the Executive Committee of NAREIT’s Public Non-listed REIT Council. Mr. Volchyok received a BBA from Baruch College - Zicklin School of Business and a JD from Fordham Law School.

Dallas Whitaker is the chief executive officer and a co-founder of Carter Exchange, a national real estate investment and management company that sponsors institutional-quality real estate exchange programs that are intended to qualify for tax deferral under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code. Mr. Whitaker is responsible for strategic day to day leadership of the company and establishing long range goals, strategies, plans and policies.. He is also a co-founder and shareholder of Carter Multifamily. Mr. Whitaker has a 37-year career in commercial real estate participating in over $8 billion of acquisitions, development, leasing and capital raising activities. His expertise comprises a range of investment advisory experience, risk capital management, investment fund formations, and commercial property services. From January 2015 to November 2018, Mr. Whitaker served in various capacities as a senior executive with Carter Validus, a Tampa, Florida-based sponsor of public and private real estate investment programs with assets under management, at its peak, totaling over $4 billion in the data center and healthcare sectors. In his roles at Carter Validus, which included Chief Portfolio Manager, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of CV Data Center Growth & Income Fund, Mr. Whitaker’s responsibilities included overseeing acquisitions, portfolio leasing, new fund formations and supporting fundraising efforts for its $3 billion capital raise. In 2017, he co-founded Carter Multifamily, a sponsor of multifamily investment programs headquartered in Tampa, Florida. In 2007, he founded Greystone Equity LLC., a commercial real estate investment and advisory firm with investments in the office, industrial, data center and multifamily sectors. Previously, from 2000 to 2007, he served as a Senior Vice President with Colonial Properties Trust, a publicly traded, mixed-use focused REIT where he was a key member of an executive management team that built a 20 million square foot office and mixed-use property portfolio through development, mergers and individual acquisitions. Prior to Colonial, Mr. Whitaker spent the first half of his career focused on leasing, development, brokerage and property management working with regional and national real estate investment and development firms JMB Realty Corporation, Carter & Associates and Daniel Corporation. Additionally, Mr. Whitaker currently serves on the board of directors of ADISA and has been very active in various industry associations including serving on the board of directors and as chapter president of NAIOP, CCIM and the Real Estate Investment Council of Tampa Bay. He is a licensed real estate broker in Florida and Alabama, holds the Certified Commercial Investment Member designation and obtained a bachelor’s degree from Furman University.

Patrick Willis is a Managing Director of Blue Owl and Head of Private Wealth Strategic Partnerships for Blue Owl Securities. Mr. Willis joined Owl Rock in 2016 and leads the group responsible for managing the firm’s strategic distribution partnerships and platforms across Blue Owl’s private wealth business. Prior to joining Blue Owl, Mr. Willis served in various fund management and distribution roles at CNL Financial Group across multiple product verticals. Prior to joining CNL, Mr. Willis was Director of Finance for Core Realty, Inc. Mr. Willis received a B.A. in English and Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania, Magna Cum Laude, with Distinction in Philosophy, and a Certificate in Finance and Accounting from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Willis maintains Series 7, Series 24 and Series 63 registrations.

Kate joined LPL Financial in July 2017 and is currently Senior Vice President, Investment Product Management and Retirement Partners. Kate is responsible for the strategic vision and day to day management of the Mutual Fund, 529, ETF, TAMP Product offering, the Alternative Investments business unit, and other firm-wide initiatives including M&A Activity, Reg BI, DOL, Secure 2.0 and State Fiduciary Rules. Kate brings 20+ years of experience and a diverse background in financial services with roles across operations, compliance, branch supervision, investment product management and advisory platform management. Prior to her current role, Kate was at MetLife Securities and MML Investors Service as Director of Product Management. Before that she worked for Lincoln Financial for 12 years in various roles. Kate received a BA in Finance from Belmont Abbey College, certificate from the Securities Industry Institute at The Wharton School and holds FINRA Series 7, 24 and 66 Registrations.