Executive Officers
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
 
Chief Risk Officer
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer/Co-President of Real Estate Finance and Servicing Group
Vice President and Chief Investment Officer/Co-President of Real Estate Finance and Servicing Group
Vice President / President of Property Group
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer
Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary and Chief Ethics Officer
Senior Vice President of Human Resources

 

 Executive Officers

Thomas J. Hughes, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer - Mr. Hughes assumed this position July, 2007. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Hughes was CEO of Deutsche Asset Management and was a member of the Deutsche Bank Group Executive Committee, an eight member committee responsible for the strategic direction and operation of Deutsche Bank. Under his leadership, the $3 billion acquisition of Scudder Investment and RREEF Asset Management was completed. These acquisitions positioned Deutsche Bank as the third largest Asset Management Company in the world. By the end of 2003, as a result of significant restructuring of the Asset Management business, Deutsche Asset Management became the most profitable public Asset Management Company in the world.

Mr. Hughes was with Merrill Lynch from 1984 to 2001, where he held a number of senior positions. In 1987, Merrill Lynch announced a historic loss in mortgage derivatives and asked Mr. Hughes to head all of Merrill Lynch`s mortgage trading activities where he rebuilt and expanded the mortgage department. This included principal acquisition of commercial real estate and expansion into mortgage derivatives. The business became a leader in the liquidation of the thrift industry through the Resolution Trust Corporation, an organization started by the U.S. thrift regulators. He also negotiated and led the acquisition and liquidation of Centrust Savings and Loan.

In 1991, Mr. Hughes became the global head of equity derivatives and convertible bond trading, which became a market leader within a year. In early 1999, as a result of the financial crisis of 1998, Mr. Hughes was hand picked to be the head of a newly created unit, Global Securities Financing. Mr. Hughes received a Bachelor of Science degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from The United States Merchant Marine Academy. He has served as a member of the board for organizations including the International Monetary Fund and Hospital for Special Surgery and continues as a board member of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and The United States Merchant Marine Academy. [Top]

Ronald DiPasquale, Chief Risk Officer  - Mr. DiPasquale is LNR`s Chief Risk Officer responsible for all elements of risk management. This includes the identification, quantification, monitoring, coordination and oversight of risk management policies and programs across LNR`s business groups. Mr. DiPasquale has over 25 years experience trading and investing in real estate, mortgage and structured finance companies and assets. From 2002 to 2006, he was head of Mortgage-Backed trading at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. where he helped rebuild the Fixed Income division. He has been head of Global Fixed Income trading for Koch Industries, one of the largest private firms in the world and head of Commercial Mortgage Backed securities (CMBS) trading at Nomura Securities International, Inc. Mr. DiPasquale began his career at Salomon Brothers where he was member of the group that pioneered the securitized mortgage market and helped develop capital markets as a source of funds for housing and commercial real estate. Mr. DiPasquale holds a Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude from Clemson University and a Master of Business Administration from University of Arizona.
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Ronald E. Schrager, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer/Co-President of Real Estate Finance and Servicing Group  - Mr. Schrager is Co-President of our Real Estate Finance and Servicing Group, which is primarily focused on special servicing, CMBS investment and joint venture activities. During his career with us, Mr. Schrager became our COO in 2003 and also directed the Real Estate Asset Management Department, managed due diligence efforts for new acquisitions, assisted in portfolio financing and securitization efforts and negotiated loan workouts and restructurings. In addition, Mr. Schrager opened and managed our Western Regional Office in Los Angeles in 1995 and assisted in the establishment of operations in Tokyo in 1997. Mr. Schrager joined Lennar`s Real Estate Investment and Management Division (the predecessor to a substantial portion of our business) in 1992 from Chemical Bank (now J. P. Morgan Chase) in New York, where he served as Vice President and focused on restructuring troubled loans. Mr. Schrager received a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1988. He graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
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Robert B. Cherry, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer/Co-President of Real Estate Finance and Servicing Group  - Mr. Cherry is responsible for establishing our investment strategy and approving specific investments. He is also responsible for sourcing and evaluating (i) new investment opportunities in debt products (i.e. CMBS, B-notes, and distressed debt), (ii) reverse repurchase agreements and structured financings collateralized by these debt products and (iii) third party joint venture partners in these debt products. Prior to joining Lennar in March 1995, Mr. Cherry was a Vice President of G. Soros Realty Advisors/Quantum North America Realty Fund, a $500 million offshore hedge fund specializing in opportunistic real estate investments, where he was responsible for equity and securitized debt underwriting. Prior to that, Mr. Cherry was a senior analyst in the Structured Finance Group at Moody`s Investor Service, where he was responsible for rating debt backed by commercial real estate. Before joining Moody`s, Mr. Cherry was an associate with the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, specializing in real estate and securitized commercial real estate financings. Previously, Mr. Cherry was with EQK Partners, a joint venture between Equitable and Kravco, where he analyzed commercial real estate investments for placement into a NYSE-listed partnership. Mr. Cherry is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and UCLA School of Law.
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David O. Team, Vice President/President of Property Group - Mr. Team is responsible for managing our Property Group, which is focused on the acquisition, development, management and disposition of commercial real estate properties and mixed-use land investments across the U.S. From April 1996 until June 1997, Mr. Team had similar responsibilities for Lennar`s Real Estate Investment and Management Division (the predecessor to a substantial portion of our business). Prior to joining LNR, Mr. Team spent 11 years in real estate, including time spent at a large regional development company and loan servicing and management group.  Mr. Team graduated from the University of North Carolina and serves in a leading role in a variety of real estate and community organizations, including the Urban Land Institute, NAOIP, BIA and the children`s charity, CASA.
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Stephen Ferguson, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer - Mr. Ferguson assumed his position in March 2009. He served as Cerberus` Lead Finance Executive to LNR since 2007. Mr. Ferguson has over 25 years of finance and tax expertise. He has worked at Arthur Andersen, PricewaterhouseCoopers, AT&T Wireless, and MCI/Verizon in senior tax and financial leadership roles. Mr. Ferguson holds a Bachelors of Science in Accounting from the University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill and a Masters in Taxation from the University of Texas at Austin. He holds a CPA certification from Texas.
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James Whitlow, Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary and Chief Ethics Officer  - James Whitlow joined LNR in May 2007 as Assistant General Counsel in the Real Estate Finance and Servicing Group. Prior to joining LNR, Mr. Whitlow worked at IVAX Corporation, a publicly traded company, from 1999 through 2006 when IVAX was acquired. Mr. Whitlow held several positions at IVAX, the last being Director of Corporate Governance. Before IVAX, Mr. Whitlow worked at the law firm Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod in Miami. Mr. Whitlow received his law degree from Harvard Law School.
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Illeanne Rukes, Senior Vice President of Human Resources - Mrs. Rukes is an international HR executive with over 20 years of experience in Global 50 corporations, best practices organizations and entrepreneurial start-ups. Prior to joining LNR, she served as VP of HR for the South America & Caribbean Business Unit of Pepsi Cola International and various HR management positions at GTE Corporation (Verizon Communications). Mrs. Rukes also served as Managing Partner of R&R Property Investments, a South Florida real estate investment firm. Mrs. Rukes has an MBA and an MA in Industrial & Organizational Psychology from the University of South Florida. She holds a BS in Psychology from Florida State University with related coursework at Cornell University.
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