US Commercial Real Estate Debt

Peter J. Gordon is Chief Investment Officer and Head of the US Commercial Real Estate Debt (US-CRED) team. US-CRED oversees nearly $12 billion in committed capital from insurance companies, pension funds and banks, across four vintage closed-end funds and various other institutional mandates. Gordon has been gaining experience in the US commercial real estate markets since 2001 and has also spent four years in construction management. Previously, he was managing director of Commercial Real Estate Debt. Prior to joining the firm in 2016, Gordon served as managing director and head of commercial real estate (CRE) whole loan originations at Angelo, Gordon & Co., a global alternative investment-management firm, where he led the CRE whole loan team, responsible for sourcing, pricing, financing and structuring transactions as well as managing assets in the investment portfolio. Prior to that, Gordon was a senior member of the real estate finance and investment banking groups at both Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, where he was involved in all aspects of commercial real estate lending, from originations for balance sheet and commercial mortgage-backed securities to loan structuring, syndication and securitization. Gordon holds a BS in mathematics from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and an MBA from Columbia University. Location: New York

Edward Gellert is a Managing Director for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team, with approximately 30 years of real estate industry experience, including investment and portfolio management, lending, distressed-focused investing, deal sourcing and the operation and development of real estate assets. Prior to joining AB, he was a senior portfolio manager at Avenue Capital Group, where he directed the investment activities of the Avenue Real Estate Strategy. He also served as chairman, CEO and president of ACRE Realty Investors. Before joining Avenue in 2004, Gellert founded EDGE Partners, where he served as a co-managing member of joint-venture entities that developed, repositioned and owned over 1.2 million square feet of properties. Previously, he sourced and arranged distressed debt and property acquisitions for Argent Ventures and Amroc Investments, and was an analyst and asset manager for BRT Realty Trust. Gellert holds a BSM from the AB Freeman School of Business at Tulane University. Location: New York

Midge Brogan is a Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer for the Commercial Real Estate Private Debt Fund, with broad responsibility for finance, reporting and asset-management functions across the US Commercial Real Estate Debt platform. Prior to joining the firm in 2020, she managed Park Praedium, a company she founded in 2009, where she advised on workouts, recapitalizations, and restructurings within commercial real estate. From 2015 to 2017, Brogan was a managing director for Colony NorthStar. Prior to that, she served as a managing director for Sabal Financial Group, and for the Global Real Estate Group at Lehman Brothers. Brogan holds a BS (cum laude) in business management with a concentration in accounting from Boston College, and an MBA with concentrations in finance and real estate from the George Washington University. She is also a member of 100 Women in Finance and WX New York Women Executives in Real Estate and was named one of the Top 50 Women Real Estate Professionals in 2004. Location: New York

Yanshu Li is Head of Asset Management for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team, responsible for overseeing the asset management of the commercial real estate loan portfolio. Prior to joining AB in 2019, she managed KG Realty Investments, a value-add residential real estate investment company, which she cofounded in 2013. From 2010 to 2013, Li worked as an associate in the Commercial Real Estate Debt Group at Blackstone, focusing on high-yield debt origination, structuring and asset management. From 2006 to 2009, she was an associate in the CMBS Large Loan Group at Morgan Stanley, responsible for underwriting debt investments across all property types. Li holds a BA in economics from Princeton University. Location: New York

David Sotolov is a Managing Director for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team. Prior to joining the firm in 2021, he was a managing director at Annaly Capital Management, where he managed all West Coast investments for the Annaly Commercial Real Estate Group. Previously, Sotolov spent 11 years at iStar, most recently as executive vice president and head of West Coast Investments, focusing on senior debt, mezzanine debt and preferred equity; joint venture equity; ground-up development; and ground lease acquisitions. Prior to that, he served as a loan originator for Fremont Investment & Loan. Sotolov attended the University of California, Los Angeles. Location: Los Angeles

David Sotolov is a Managing Director for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team. Prior to joining the firm in 2021, he was a managing director at Annaly Capital Management, where he managed all West Coast investments for the Annaly Commercial Real Estate Group. Previously, Sotolov spent 11 years at iStar, most recently as executive vice president and head of West Coast Investments, focusing on senior debt, mezzanine debt and preferred equity; joint venture equity; ground-up development; and ground lease acquisitions. Prior to that, he served as a loan originator for Fremont Investment & Loan. Sotolov attended the University of California, Los Angeles. Location: Los Angeles

Taylor Callaway is a Director for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team, where he is responsible for the origination of value-add commercial real estate loans. Prior to joining AB in 2017, he was an associate in the Real Estate Investments Group at Crow Holdings Capital Partners, where he oversaw equity investments across multiple product types. Before Crow Holdings, Callaway was an associate at The Related Companies, where he focused on the origination of high-yield commercial real estate loans. He holds a BS in real estate finance from the Edwin L. Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. Location: Los Angeles

Evan Katzin is a Director for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team, where he focuses on origination of value-add commercial real estate loans. Prior to joining AB in 2014, he was an investment banking analyst in Goldman Sachs’ Real Estate Financing Group. Katzin began his career in 2010 in LNR Property’s analyst rotational program. He holds a BA in finance from the University of Florida. Location: New York

Zach Hoffman is a Vice President for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team, where he is responsible for the origination of value-add commercial real estate loans. Prior to joining AB in 2021, he was a VP at The Related Companies’ high-yield Real Estate Debt Fund, where he focused on the origination of real estate loans across the capital structure, including first mortgages, B-Notes, mezzanine loans, and preferred equity. Before The Related Companies, Hoffman was an associate at Hudson Advisors, where he focused on asset management, acquisitions and underwriting. He holds a BA from Southern Methodist University. Location: New York

John J. Popkowski is a Vice President for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team, responsible for the origination and execution of real estate debt investments. Prior to joining AB in 2017, he was an associate in the CMBS Loan Origination group at Benefit Street Partners. Before that, Popkowski was an analyst in the CMBS Loan Origination group at Royal Bank of Scotland. He holds a BA in mathematics with a minor in economics from Middlebury College. Location: Los Angeles

Trey Marker is a Vice President for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team. Joining in 2019, where he focuses on origination of value-add commercial real estate loans. Marker previously spent two years at Torchlight Investors as an acquisitions and originations analyst. He holds a BS in accounting from Pennsylvania State University. Location: New York

Jacob Fideler is an Assistant Vice President for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team, where he is responsible for underwriting and assisting in the origination of commercial real estate loans. Prior to joining AB in 2021, Fideler spent two years as a capital markets analyst at Jones Lang LaSalle, focusing on debt and equity placement across all product types. He holds a BS (cum laude) in business administration from Orfalea College of Business at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Location: Los Angeles

Nandita Makam is an Associate for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team. Prior to joining AB in 2020, she was an associate at H.I.G. Capital in the distressed debt and special situations group, focusing on real estate investments. Before that, Makam spent two years in investment banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She holds a BS in Economics (cum laude) from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Location: New York

Austin Brush is an Associate for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team. Prior to joining the firm in 2022, he was an analyst on the commercial real estate debt teams at Slate Asset Management and Annaly Capital Management. Brush started his career at Rialto as a commercial mortgage-backed securities analyst. He holds a BBA in real estate and urban land economics from the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Location: New York

Anna Baumeister is an Associate on the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team, where she assists in the underwriting and origination of commercial real estate loans. Prior to joining AB in 2023, she was a member of the Debt Originations team at PIMCO Prime Real Estate, as well as the Commercial Loan Sales team at Mission Capital Advisors. Baumeister holds a BS in hotel administration from the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. Location: New York

Jason Kennedy is an Analyst for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team. Before joining AB in 2022, he was a capital-markets analyst for the Debt, Equity and Structured Finance team at Newmark. Kennedy holds a BSBA in management from Stonehill College. Location: New York

Yanshu Li is Head of Asset Management for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team, responsible for overseeing the asset management of the commercial real estate loan portfolio. Prior to joining AB in 2019, she managed KG Realty Investments, a value-add residential real estate investment company, which she cofounded in 2013. From 2010 to 2013, Li worked as an associate in the Commercial Real Estate Debt Group at Blackstone, focusing on high-yield debt origination, structuring and asset management. From 2006 to 2009, she was an associate in the CMBS Large Loan Group at Morgan Stanley, responsible for underwriting debt investments across all property types. Li holds a BA in economics from Princeton University. Location: New York

Kevin Aliaga is an Asset Manager for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team. Before joining the firm in 2022, he was a senior vice president for SitusAMC, managing commercial real estate debt for a high-yield debt fund. Previously, Aliaga was a vice president for Asset Management at CIT Group, and prior to that, he was a director of Asset Management at Arbor Realty Trust. He holds a BA in economics from Stony Brook University. Location: New York

Caitlin Farrell is an Asset Manager on the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team. Before joining AB in 2022, she was an associate director at Fitch Ratings on the CMBS Surveillance team. Prior to her time at Fitch, Farrell was an assistant vice president at Annaly Capital Management for the Commercial Real Estate Debt team. She holds a BA in economics and accounting from College of the Holy Cross. Location: New York

Sean Gibbs is an Asset Manager for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team. Before joining the firm in 2023, he was a senior vice president for SitusAMC, managing commercial real estate debt for a high-yield debt fund. Previously, Gibbs was a senior asset manager for Morgan Stanley’s Commercial Real Estate Debt team, and prior to that, was an associate director of CMBS surveillance at Fitch Ratings. He holds a BA in economics from Rutgers University and an MS in commercial real estate finance from New York University. Location: New York

Midge Brogan is a Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer for the Commercial Real Estate Private Debt Fund, with broad responsibility for finance, reporting and asset-management functions across the US Commercial Real Estate Debt platform. Prior to joining the firm in 2020, she managed Park Praedium, a company she founded in 2009, where she advised on workouts, recapitalizations, and restructurings within commercial real estate. From 2015 to 2017, Brogan was a managing director for Colony NorthStar. Prior to that, she served as a managing director for Sabal Financial Group, and for the Global Real Estate Group at Lehman Brothers. Brogan holds a BS (cum laude) in business management with a concentration in accounting from Boston College, and an MBA with concentrations in finance and real estate from the George Washington University. She is also a member of 100 Women in Finance and WX New York Women Executives in Real Estate and was named one of the Top 50 Women Real Estate Professionals in 2004. Location: New York

Shane McGrogan is a Vice President for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team, responsible for providing cash-management, accounting, operations and portfolio analytics. Prior to joining the firm in 2017, he worked as a supervisor for SEI Investments Company, an analyst for Mitsubishi UFJ Fund Services and an analyst for Bank of New York Mellon. McGrogan holds a BSBA in marketing from Bloomsburg University and is a CFA charterholder. Location: New York

Avi Spitz is an Associate for the US Commercial Real Estate Debt team. Prior to joining the firm in 2021, he was an associate at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, in the Fund Services & Oversight group. Previously, Spitz worked at AB in Private Wealth Management, focusing on Alternative Product Management. He holds a BS in finance and business intelligence (summa cum laude) from the Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University. Location: New York