INNOVATIVE OPERATIONS TRACK: Adding Angel/Preferred Equity and Mezzanine Debt to the Capital Stack (Closed to Media)

Drew Fung

Managing Director, Portfolio Manager, Clarion Partners

Drew D. Fung, equity owner and Managing Director, is the co-Portfolio Manager for Clarion’s Debt Investment Fund. He oversees the Firm’s subordinate debt investment activities in various types of commercial real estate debt instruments, including mezzanine loans, B-notes, and preferred equity interests. Drew is a member of the Debt Investment Committee, which approves all of the Firm’s financing activities, and a member of Clarion’s ESG Committee and Subcommittee on Resilience. Drew joined Clarion Partners in 2012 and began working in the real estate industry in 1987. He has comprehensive commercial real estate experience, including more than 20 years focused on subordinate debt that includes all property types and capital structures. He is a former Chair of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Urban Development/Mixed-Use Council, a member of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC) Board of Governors, a frequent speaker at industry events, and has provided expert testimony to the U.S. Senate Banking Sub Committee regarding the impact of regulation on commercial real estate financing markets.

Catherine Chen

Managing Director, Apollo Global Management

Catherine Chen is a Managing Director in Apollo’s Real Assets – Commercial Real Estate Lending group where she is responsible for the origination, structuring and execution of commercial real estate debt investments. Since joining Apollo in 2013, Ms. Chen has led investments on a wide range of credit opportunities ranging from first mortgages, B-notes, mezzanine and preferred equity and covering all asset types. Prior to joining Apollo in 2013, Ms. Chen was a Vice President in the Commercial Real Estate Lending group at Morgan Stanley where she was involved in all facets of commercial mortgage origination, securitization, underwriting and syndication. During her tenure at Morgan Stanley, Ms. Chen also worked in Institutional Sales and Trading management, assisting in the management of the global equities and fixed-income divisions. Ms. Chen graduated with an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BS in Business Administration and a BA in Economics from the University of California - Berkeley. Ms. Chen is a career advisor at the Columbia Business School Career Management Center and an active member of CRE Finance Council, ULI – Urban Development and Mixed-Use Council (Green), and WX New York Women Executives in Real Estate.

Ridge Chew

Executive Director, Morgan Stanley

Ridge Chew has been at Morgan Stanley since 2009 and is currently an Executive Director in the Commercial Real Estate Lending Group, where he is responsible for structuring and distributing first lien mortgages, B-notes and mezzanine debt originated for both balance sheet and securitized transactions. In this capacity, Ridge is heavily involved in both structuring and pricing the loans and is in constant dialogue with a wide variety of capital sources including banks, insurance companies, debt funds, hedge funds and owner-operators. Outside of his role at Morgan Stanley, Ridge has served as an adjunct professor in the Master of Science in Real Estate Development program at Columbia University. Ridge received a B.A in Economics from Middlebury College and a Masters in Real Estate from New York University.

Joel Heikenfeld

Managing Director, Debt & Equity, Northmarq

Joel Heikenfeld is senior vice president/managing director in Northmarq’s Dallas office, where his responsibilities include facilitating debt and equity placements for commercial and multifamily clients and managing lender and borrower relationships. Joel covers the entire capital stack but focuses on equity, preferred equity, and mezzanine debt capitalization through Northmarq’s institutional, life company, family office, and private equity sources. Joel joined Northmarq in 2018, after serving as vice president of investments for three years at Aspen Heights, a national multifamily and student housing developer, where he was responsible for investing and structured finance activities across the company’s real estate platforms. Before that, he spent nearly a decade at Behringer Harvard as vice president of capital markets. In that role, he capitalized over $6 billion of office, multifamily, hospitality, retail, and industrial projects. Joel finished 2022 as the #1 debt and equity producer at Northmarq nationwide and has capitalized over $4 billion since joining the company. Joel is a licensed Real Estate Broker and Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Real Estate from Baylor University and also a Master’s of Accountancy from Baylor University.

Greg Michaud

Managing Director & Head of Real Estate Finance, Voya Investment Management

Gregory Michaud is head of real estate finance at Voya Investment Management, responsible for the oversight of sourcing, underwriting, and management for all commercial real estate loan platforms. Over the last seven years the platform developed from a proprietary platform to a third-party management one. In addition to managing Voya general account commercial mortgages, there are 21 separate managed accounts and an open-ended debt fund. Investors include a broad group of insurance companies, banks, and public pension funds. Additionally, he serves on the executive leadership team for proprietary assets, the U.S. Credit Committee and chairs the CMBS Steering Committee. Prior to joining Voya as a real estate analyst, Greg was a real estate appraiser focused on commercial properties and eminent domain cases in the southeastern U.S. Greg is an active member of several distinguished real estate industry groups, including the Urban Land Institute (Urban Development Mixed Use Blue Flight), Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (Chairman Emeritus), Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers. Greg earned an executive MBA from the University of Georgia, an MBA in finance from Kennesaw State University, a Graduate Certificate in Ancient and Classical Studies from APUS, and a BS in real estate from Florida State University.