Our Team
The HLC Equity team is comprised of a dedicated group of professionals and advisors who bring a wealth of experience, with backgrounds from well-known international companies.
The HLC Equity team members have diverse skill sets and backgrounds from a wide range of reputable companies and institutions, such as Black Rock, big four accounting firms, Noble Energy, Seeking Alpha and more. HLC team members are attracted to the core values of the company; Integrity, Own it, Caring, Ingenuity. The broader HLC Equity company includes 30+ professionals spread across several locations. Additionally, HLC management prides itself on team member retention, with some having worked with HLC for several decades, 50% of the team members having worked for the organization for over one decade, and some new hires under the new platform for 5+ years.
Daniel is responsible for leading the executive management teams on strategy and execution of growth for HLC Equity’s investment portfolio, and leading the group’s operating businesses and brands. Prior to his current role, Daniel led the group’s strategy and execution of transitioning HLC Equity from a private holding group into an institutional level sponsor of investment opportunities by developing HLC Equity’s co-investment platform, while also expanding the group’s legacy investment portfolio and operating businesses. Prior to entering the real estate investment business, Daniel worked as a strategic consultant to large multinational corporations including Unicredit Bank and the Renova Group, and has also served as a consultant to large political organizations. Daniel served in the Israel Defense Forces as a Staff Sergeant, holds a BA in Government Diplomacy and Strategy from the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya Israel, a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Business from Columbia University in New York, and a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from New York University. Daniel is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO)
Fun Fact: Prior to joining HLC Equity Daniel had a full set of hair and was a competitive ski racer.
As a Non- Executive Chair within HLC Equity’s group of companies, Barbara is involved with overseeing select legacy investment portfolio assets, business administration and compliance matters, and serves on some of the group’s executive committees. Additionally, Barbara serves a leading role in the groups family office functions on behalf of the company’s ownership. Barbara has played a key role in shaping the nature of daily operations at HLC Equity by reprogramming office operations and implementing innovative systematic procedures for acquisitions and sales as well as property management. All of this has led to the enhancement of the group’s asset portfolio. Barbara has been actively involved in the acquisitions, dispositions, or management of the group’s real estate portfolio since 1980. Barbara maintained an active law practice for over 30 years, where she practiced criminal and immigration law. Barbara earned a BA in International Relations at the University of Wisconsin, and received her JD from Temple University Law School.
Fun Fact: Barbara managed to sink her father’s motorboat in the Monongehela River; the day after his insurance coverage lapsed.
Allison is an executive administrator, under which capacity she provides administrative support to the executive, operations, property management, and finance teams. Allison gained over 10 years of administrative and human resources experience by working as a Business Agent for the Teamsters Union, an Executive Assistant and Employee Relations Specialist for WESCO Distribution, Inc., and Administrative Coordinator for the Jewish Healthcare Foundation. Allison attended Penn State University, where she majored in International Politics.
Fun Fact: Allison is a classic movie enthusiast and a Great Dane aficionado.
As Director of Acquisitions for HLC Equity, Caesar’s responsibilities include sourcing, analyzing, and due diligence for new property acquisitions. Before joining HLC, Caesar worked for Common Living (a global residential brand and coliving operator) as their Head of East Coast Real Estate. Caesar oversaw real estate partnerships and Co-GP investments and helped grow the firm’s portfolio from 1,000 units to 25,000+ units within 4 years. Prior to Common, Caesar worked in real estate investment banking at Macquarie Capital and was involved in $3B of debt and equity investments across all asset classes. Caesar received a Master of Public Relations from the State University of New York at Albany. He worked as Director of Public Relations at New York State Legislature before switching his career to finance.
Fun Fact: While attending university, Caesar played poker online professionally. It started as a necessity (since he was not allowed to work as an international student and needed to figure out how to pay for his tuition and living expenses). Over time, he became good at playing multi-table Limit Hold’em, and accumulated over 400,000 hours playing online poker.
As HLC Equity’s Director of Investor Solutions, Daniel Brandriss is responsible for building relationships with new and potential investors, guiding them towards achieving their financial goals, and helping build a longstanding legacy.
With extensive experience in business development and sales, Daniel has implemented successful sales systems with leading companies in Israel and the US. Drawing on his expertise in investments and real estate, Daniel works with investors of all sizes to develop effective investment strategies that drive success for both HLC Equity and its partners.
Daniel holds a bachelor’s degree in law (LLB) from Ono Academic College and is a licensed member of the Israeli Bar Association. In addition to his professional achievements, Daniel actively volunteers as a board member and executive committee member of ‘Big Brothers Big Sisters of Israel,’ supporting and mentoring underprivileged children and youth.
Daniel’s dedication to community service and his commitment to excellence make him an invaluable asset to the HLC Equity team, demonstrating his unwavering drive to make a positive impact on those he interacts with.
As Head of Operations for HLC Equity, David’s responsibilities include oversight and management of property operations throughout the group’s real estate portfolio, along with overall corporate operations. David is also part of the property acquisitions team and is involved in the sourcing, analyzing, and due diligence for new property acquisitions. Prior to joining HLC, David worked for McKinney Properties, a Pittsburgh based owner and operator of Multifamily and Student housing properties throughout the United States. During his time with McKinney, David was involved in both new business development and property operations. While in the roles of Analyst and Director, David and the business development team completed over $225 million in new property acquisitions. As a Regional Manager, David was responsible for the management and performance of a seven-property portfolio in three different states. David received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Westminster College and is a licensed Real Estate Sales Person in the State of Pennsylvania.
Fun Fact: In High School David played guitar in a rock and roll band.
Heather joined the HLC Equity team in August of 2018. She came on board with us during a new property acquisition in Fort Worth, Texas as the Community Manager and has over 15 years of industry experience. She successfully managed a 336 unit community and was so successful, it led to a promotion to Area Manager in November of 2019. She has since been leading our DFW portfolio while also adding to the execution of the company’s growth plans.
Fun Fact: Heather enjoys spending time with family in her downtime and her hobbies include swimming and playing volleyball.
Jamie is involved with general executive administration oversight and HR. Additionally Jamie is responsible for the administration and oversight of the group’s philanthropic activity. Jamie came to the HLC Equity after several years as a teacher in Special Education. She holds a BA in Psychology from Boston University and a Master’s in Education from Columbia University.
As Layers Managing Director, Jon’s charter is to grow the Layers brand. Layers is HLC Equity’s hybrid operating model that provides midscale, flexible furnished accommodations to residents, while delivering incremental NOI for multifamily owners. Jon is a 35-year veteran in the mid-stay market, holding executive roles at many of the industry’s top leaders, including Residence Inn, Summerfield Suites, BridgeStreet Global Hospitality, Extended Stay America, WaterWalk Hotel Apartments and RESIDE Worldwide.
As Director of Financial Planning and Analysis and Investor Relations, Joseph is involved in the oversight of valuation analysis of current and prospective investments as well as investor communication and reporting. Joseph was formerly CFO at AdvantiQs in the e-commerce space, as well as CFO and senior consultant for several private real estate firms where he worked on the financial aspects of the business with a heavy focus on acquisitions and investor relations. Beforehand, he was running the numbers at Noble Energy (NYSE: NBL), now acquired by Chevron (NYSE: CVX), for all of the Eastern Mediterranean business units as FP&A Analyst. His responsibilities included presenting financial performance to senior corporate management and institutional partners, which directly impacted the operations of some of the largest gas fields in the world. Prior to that, Joseph oversaw the financial reporting and analysis at several other global corporations, including Playtech (LON: PTEC) and Seeking Alpha. Joseph earned his BSc with honors with a concentration in Finance and Business Management from the Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University and his MBA with honors with a concentration in Finance from Ariel University.
Fun Fact: When Joseph is not out saving the universe, and analyzing the path to success, you can find him juggling his kids while jamming on the guitar doing a Donald Duck impression.
As HLC Equity’s Director of Marketing and member of the executive leadership team, Kevin helps define the marketing strategy to efficiently and effectively support the growth of HLC and its business units. With experience extending across technology, finance, entertainment, CPG and beyond, he has spent the past 10+ years focusing on the real estate investment industry. Most recently, Kevin was the SVP of Marketing at DLP Capital, a real estate investment firm, where he helped the company grow its originations to a billion-dollar business, while providing double-digit returns to thousands of investors. Originally from Upstate New York, Kevin earned his Bachelor’s degree in International Marketing from American University in Washington D.C. Kevin is a resident of Denver, having relocated from Los Angeles after nearly 20 years. He enjoys exploring all that life has to offer with his wife and two young daughters.
Fun Fact: Kevin spent 5 years as an adolescent living in Tokyo, Japan. It is this experience that he attributes his open-minded and creative approach to marketing strategy.
Melissa is responsible for the processing functions of the accounting department. She interacts with all levels of management as well as other departments to ensure the accurate and timely flow of information. Melissa has worked in the field of accounting for over 13 years in senior and management-level positions. Melissa’s background includes a mix of companies from the public and private sector including companies such as Global Payments GPN (NYSE), Teledyne Technologies TDY (NYSE), and Clinique Cosmetics (EL (NYSE). Her work experience includes a full spectrum of accounting and management functions with a concentration on intercompany, consolidation, financial reporting, and acquisitions. Melissa earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business and a Master of Business Administration with a focus on leadership and international business from Ramapo College.
Fun Fact: In addition to her accounting specialties, Melissa is also professionally trained as a makeup artist and master-level skincare specialist. Throughout college, she would travel around New York doing makeovers for weddings, proms, and many other special events.
Micah oversees the accounting processes, financial reporting and tax considerations for HLC Equity and its related entities. Previously, Micah worked as a global controller of Black Rock Inc.’s (NYSE: BLK) $1 – 2B investment portfolio ranging from real estate, private equity and distressed debt funds to plain equity and bond funds. In this capacity Micah led the investment accounting processes, the external audits and SOX compliance. Additionally, his team reported on the performance and position of the portfolio to Black Rock’s executive capital committee as well as to the SEC. Micah earned his CPA working in the “big four” accounting firms, gaining experience in tax planning and compliance at KPMG and in audit with Ernst & Young’s financial services group. He received his BA in Economics from Yeshiva University with significant course work at New York University’s Stern School of Business, and earned his MBA in finance from Bar Ilan University.
Fun Fact: Micah can fool you with his resume and demeanor as a CPA/MBA square accountant type, however he once chased down and caught a burglar in broad daylight before the police arrived.
Michael Katch joined HLC Equity as General Counsel and Director in 2004. As a Director he is heavily involved in acquisitions and dispositions of real estate. Michael’s private practice in Denver (1971 to 2004) mainly involved work-outs and reorganizations inside and outside Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. In that context he experienced a wide variety of real estate related issues representing creditors and developers in real estate insolvency matters. He also has extensive experience in commercial real estate foreclosures. Michael worked on the HLC Equity real estate portfolio with the company’s founder Herman Lipsitz for several years while maintaining his law practice. Michael holds a BA from the University of Colorado and a JD Degree from the University of Denver.
Patricia is currently involved in the financial and administrative compliance of the group’s investment interests. Patricia has been active in HLC Equitys’ real estate ventures since 1981, and started out by being involved in the accounting process of the group’s real estate portfolio, which at that time mainly consisted of neighborhood strip malls. While working with HLC Equity, Patricia has been involved in the compliance and accounting process of the group’s real estate and equity interests, and played a key role in the group’s portfolio expansion. Patricia holds a BSBA in Accounting from Robert Morris College.
Fun Fact: Patti has had a hole in one on 135 yards using her five iron.
As Director of Asset Management Steve plays a key role with the Asset Management team to streamline lease management, leasing strategies, tenant relations, and general portfolio performance of the Company’s assets. He coordinates and oversees facilities management operations and works with the Finance Team and Operations Team on portfolio management, new acquisitions, and lender compliance. Steve gained extensive experience in corporate real estate and facilities management while playing a key role on facilities management teams for global corporations including General Electric, Mine Safety Appliances, Del Monte Foods, and J.M. Smucker. Steve served as the Director of Facilities & Environmental Management for Tollgrade Communications, Inc. (Now ENGH:TSE) for 9 years, where he managed corporate facilities in the US and the UK. He also served for 6 years as the Real Estate and Facilities Manager for JM Smucker (SJM:NYSE), where he managed corporate facilities and sales offices in 13 states. Steve earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from Duquesne University.
Fun Fact: While Steve has been a lifelong motorcycle enthusiast, he broke his first bone in 2013 while riding off-road with his son. Although he’d like to claim that he was injured while jumping over a small canyon, the accident happened when his bike was barely moving. The family vacation to the Grand Canyon was delayed until his cast was removed and he hobbled around the national parks while his family hiked the massive canyons.
ABOUT HLC EQUITY
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