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Belgravia Team

Our Management Team

R.J. Brandes, CEO - R.J. Brandes was the founder, Chairman, and CEO of Belgravia Capital Corporation. Between 1984 and 1997, R.J. guided Belgravia Capital Corp. from a boutique mortgage bank into a leader in the commercial loan origination and securitization industry. In 1997, R.J. sold the mortgage division of Belgravia Capital Corp., which was then originating $1.7BB of CMBS loans annually, to Finova Capital Corp. where he continued to grow the operation to $3BB of annual sales volume. Since 2000, R.J. has continued to make investments in small operating companies where he takes a hands-on role in turning around the company. In 2003, one of these investments, Gatekeeper Systems, was successfully listed on the London Stock Exchange, and R.J. continues to serve as the Chairman of the Board of Directors and a majority shareholder in the firm. R.J. is currently the CEO and Owner of Blenheim Equisports which is one of the fastest growing venue management firms in the Equestrian Show business. In addition to his private investments, R.J. serves on the Board of Directors of a philanthropic organization known as the White Nights of America Foundation where he serves as the head of the audit committee.

Nik Chillar, Managing Director - Nik Chillar previously ran the Real Estate Capital Markets and oversaw all securitization activities at FINOVA from 1997 to 2000. In 2001, Nik joined the European CMBS group at Lehman Brothers and structured the first market transactions including the first securitization of commercial real estate mortgages in Switzerland, telecom assets in Italy, and Italian social security assets. His team was awarded the Structured Financial International Real Estate Transaction of the Year award for Lehman in back to back years (2002 & 2003). Nik rejoined Belgravia in 2007 to develop new real estate strategies for the firm.

Jim Davies, Managing Director - Jim Davies has a 28 year track record in commercial real estate with experience as a direct lender, advisor, and property acquisitions specialist including the past 8 years as both a shareholder of Buchanan Street Partners and as a principal of Buchanan Storage Capital. Jim has arranged several billion dollars of capitalizations in all phases of the investment cycle including bridge loans, permanent loans, mezzanine debt, joint venture equity, construction financing and property dispositions. At Belgravia Capital, Jim is responsible for sourcing and executing structured finance assignments for experienced commercial real estate operators. Jim has also developed an expertise in the financing and disposition of self-storage facilities during the past 15 years that includes the closing of over $3.5 billion of transactions while with Buchanan Storage Capital, and Belgravia Capital. Jim is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and serves on the Board of Directors for the California Self Storage Association. Jim holds a degree in Economics from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Brad Knapp, Managing Director - Brad Knapp comes to Belgravia Capital from the Mortgage Warehouse division of Citibank. Brad was the President of a real estate lending division where he was responsible for over 200 employees. He has 20 years of securitization experience in residential mortgages, commercial mortgages and in asset backed securities including lease securitizations and mobile home paper securitizations. Brad also has extensive experience in the distress mortgage market. At Associates Financial (Ford Motor Credit) he was responsible for the MHP Securitization group as well as the MHP work out department.

Shais Khan, Managing Director - In addition to serving as a Managing Director at Belgravia, Shais Khan is also Of Counsel to Johnson Capital International's business in India and the Middle East. Prior to JCI, Shais was a Senior Banker with CWCapital, the North American subsidiary of Cadim, a real estate advisor and investment member of CDP Capital. Based in Newport Beach, Shais co-headed the group's capital markets initiatives on the West Coast. Shais also served as a Director at Prudential Mortgage Capital Company in San Francisco, CA, where he was responsible for pricing and structuring CMBS loans. Prior to Prudential, Shais was a Vice President at Nomura Securitiesin San Francisco, CA, where he was involved with real estate underwriting and securitization. Shais also spent five years with the Management and Consulting Practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Los Angeles and New York. He is a graduate of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.

Andy Rudenstein, Managing Director - Andy Rudenstein was the Co-Founder of Blackheath Financial, a CMBS due diligence firm. In 2006, Blackheath was sold to Zenta, a financial services outsourcing firm. Andy has a rating agency background, having worked at Fitch Ratings. His accomplishments at Fitch include rating over $10 billion worth of new CMBS issuance and reconfiguring Fitch's performing commercial mortgage rating model. Andy was recruited from Fitch to dismantle the multi-billion dollar loan portfolio of Capital America (an affiliate of Nomura Securities) where he worked on a variety of securitizations and whole loan sales. Andy then consulted for Credit Suisse First Boston's Real Estate Finance and Securitization (REFS) group, where he assisted in a number of securitizations. Andy has been published in Frank Fabozzi's Handbook of Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities.

Larry Kosmont, Managing Director - Larry Kosmont is currently the President and CEO of Kosmont Companies as well as the managing partner of the Renaissance Community Fund, a real estate development company which specializes in suburban infill projects. From 1975 to 1986, Larry served in the roles of City Manager, Director of Community Development, and Redevelopment Director for the Southern California cities of Santa Monica, Seal Beach, Bell Gardens, and Burbank. Larry's 30+ year career encompasses negotiations, development, and management of real estate transactions exceeding $10 Billion. He has guided more than 1,000 private sector projects in obtaining public approvals, structuring deal terms, and securing public-private financing. Additionally, Larry serves as a board member to various local organizations throughout the southern California region.

Mike Huntley, Managing Director - Prior to joining Belgravia Capital as a Managing Director, Mike Huntley was Capital Markets Specialist and Vice President with Buchanan Street Partners where he sourced and closed over $750 million in structured debt and equity. Mike has over 19 years of real estate experience. Mike has served as Director for Lennar. Ran M&A due diligence for the West Regional Investment Committee and as Consulting Manager for E&Y Kenneth Leventhal, LLP.