Executive Officers

Richard Ackerman, 59
Chairman, President and CEO

BRP is an opportunistic real estate investment firm that has invested in and managed over $800 million in assets since its formation. In 2012, BRP began to focus on senior housing development as there was a distinct supply – demand imbalance and fragmentation in senior housing developers, and formed Big Rock Senior Housing, a national leader in developing and managing new Class A senior housing communities of $50 million and more. Class A housing communities consist of prestigious buildings with high quality standard finishes, state of the art systems, exceptional accessibility and a defined market presence competing for premier senior housing users with rents above average for the area. Mr. Ackerman serves as the Senior Managing Principal of BRP and Big Rock Senior Housing. Prior to BRP, from 2001 to 2004, Mr. Ackerman served as the Head of the Los Angeles office of Apollo, overseeing all investments on the U.S. West Coast and Japan for the global private equity firm.  In August 1999, Mr. Ackerman was appointed by Apollo as the Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Gulf Communities Corporation (an Apollo portfolio company) in order to restructure the company and served in that capacity until April 2001. This publicly traded development and asset management company’s primary operations included the development and sale of home sites and land tracts and the construction and sale of oceanfront condominiums. From September 1996 to August 1999, Mr. Ackerman was President and co-founder of Crocker Realty Trust, a private REIT (an Apollo portfolio company) specializing in the ownership and development of office space in the southeastern United States. Prior to 1996, he was president and co-founder of Crocker Realty Investors, a publicly traded REIT and a portfolio company of the first Apollo Real Estate Investment Fund. The company specialized in the ownership and development of office space until its sale to Highwoods Properties, Inc. In addition to the foregoing business experience, Mr. Ackerman served as Chief Executive Officer and a director of ALDA Office Properties, Inc. (“ALDA”) during 2011.  ALDA was formed in 2011 to acquire, own and operate office properties in select markets primarily in Northern and Southern California.  In 2011, ALDA filed a registration statement for its initial public offering, which offering was subsequently abandoned due to market conditions. Mr. Ackerman is also a former Director of Summerville Senior Living, Inc., which is one of the largest assisted living companies in the nation. Mr. Ackerman graduated with a B.A. from Tulane University and a J.D. from the Tulane School of Law.

Lori B. Wittman, 58 [RESIGNED]
CFO and Director

Ms. Wittman most recently served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of CCP, a public healthcare real estate investment trust with a diversified portfolio of triple-net leased properties focused on the post-acute sector, from August 2015 (after a spin-off from Ventas, Inc.) to August 2017 (due to the merger of CCP and Sabra Healthcare REIT, Inc.). A triple-net leased property is a property leased pursuant to an agreement where the tenant or lessee agrees to pay all real estate taxes, building insurance, and maintenance (the three “nets”) on the property in addition to any normal fees that are expected under the agreement (rent, utilities, etc.) Ms. Wittman previously served as Senior Vice President, Capital Markets and Investor Relations of Ventas, a leading real estate investment trust with a diverse portfolio of more than 1,600 assets in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom consists of seniors housing communities, medical office buildings, skilled nursing facilities, hospitals and other properties, from 2013 to 2015 and as Vice President, Capital Markets and Investor Relations of Ventas from 2011 to 2013. From 2006 to 2011, she was the Chief Financial Officer and Managing Principal of BRP. Before that, Ms. Wittman held various capital markets and finance positions with General Growth Properties, Inc., Heitman, Homart Development Company, Citibank and Mellon Bank. She has been a member of the Board of Directors of IMH Financial Corporation, a real estate investment and finance company since July 2014. In addition to the foregoing business experience, Ms. Wittman served as Chief Financial Officer of ALDA during 2011. Ms. Wittman received a B.A. in Geography and Sociology from Clark University, a Masters in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.

Bennett Kim, 44
CIO, [Replaces Lori Wittman as CFO & Director]

Mr. Kim has served as the Managing Principal of Big Rock Senior Housing since January 2016. Mr. Kim was the Chief Investment Officer at BRP from May 2006 to July 2014 and was responsible for acquisitions, development, asset management, and dispositions. From July 2014 to December 2015, Mr. Kim served as the Head of Acquisitions for Carefree Communities, the fifth largest national owner and operator of manufactured housing communities and RV parks with 103 communities and 28,000 sites. From January 2001 to May 2006, Mr. Kim served as a Vice President at Apollo and was responsible for new investments and investment management including the development of a $400 million mixed-use project that consists of two hotels, two condominium towers, retail, office and structured parking. Mr. Kim also formulated work-out strategies for one of the largest assisted living companies in the nation while at Apollo. Between 1999 to 2000, Mr. Kim was an Assistant Vice President at Oaktree Capital Management, where he evaluated and executed investments in the U.S. and Japan for funds then totaling $1.7 billion of equity. Previously, Mr. Kim worked as an Associate at Merrill Lynch Real Estate Investment Banking, where he evaluated financing alternatives for public and private real estate companies.  Mr. Kim also worked as a Senior Analyst at Walt Disney Imagineering and as an Analyst at Disney Development Company. In addition to the foregoing business experience, Mr. Kim served as Chief Investment Officer of ALDA during 2011. Mr. Kim is currently on the Board of Directors of UHI Soho Global, a Cayman Islands based hedge fund. Mr. Kim graduated with an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Economics from UCLA.

Board of Directors

Richard Birdoff, 58
Director

Mr. Birdoff has served as President of RD Management and Realty Investors Development Corp. (“RD Management”), a privately held retail real estate developer and manager, since January 2015. Mr. Birdoff is responsible for all aspects of the day-to-day operations of the company including development, construction, acquisitions, sales and dispositions. Mr. Birdoff joined RD Management in 1991 as a principal and Executive Vice President and since 1994, he has developed in excess of 10,000,000 sq. ft. of shopping centers. Mr. Birdoff previously served on the Board of Directors of Crocker Realty Investors, a Florida based publicly held real estate investment trust.Mr. Birdoff has been engaged in the real estate business for more than 30 years. He received an undergraduate degree from Emory College in 1980 and his Juris Doctorate degree in 1983 from Emory University Law School. Following his graduation, Mr. Birdoff worked for IRT Properties in Atlanta, Georgia. Thereafter, in 1984, he joined Bertram Associates of Union,  New Jersey where Mr. Birdoff served as associate counsel. Bertram Associates, at the time was one of New Jersey’s largest residential developers. Mr. Birdoff then transitioned to be a principal in the real estate development industry with Bertram Associates focusing on site acquisition, construction and sales of residential homes.

Michael Fong, 73
Director

Mr. Fong serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JF International Ltd., a private equity firm he founded since 2003. JF International invests and manages a diversified portfolio of worldwide investments in real estate and operating companies. In 2015, JF International joined with BRP to invest in the luxury senior housing sector. From 1994 to 2003, Mr. Fong was the Managing Director of The ALJ Group which is based in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is one of the largest privately held business enterprises in the Middle East. Mr. Fong also previously served from 1990 to 1994 as the President of Jaymont Properties, Inc., a real estate development and management company with a substantial portfolio of premier office and mixed used properties located in the central business district of major cities such as New York, Boston, San Francisco, Orlando, Chicago, and Miami. From 1979 to 1990, Mr. Fong was President of Intercap Investments, Inc, a commercial developer of real estate central business district projects in Miami and Coral Gables. From 1998 to 1999, Mr. Fong was the President of the Coral Gables, FL Chamber of Commerce and served on its Board of Directors for several years. Prior to 1979, Mr. Fong was President of Interfin Investments, Inc., an investment banking firm based in Lincoln, Nebraska and New York. From 1975 to 1979, Mr. Fong was a Vice President and also served as Assistant to the President of DuPont Walston, Inc., a major retail brokerage and investment banking firm with over 200 branches across the United States. Mr. Fong began his business career in 1971 with EDS, a firm founded by H. Ross Perot, and was sent to New York when Mr. Perot made an investment in DuPont Glore Forgan when EDS was awarded a major data processing contract for redesigning a new system for the brokerage business.

Stuart F. Koenig, 65
Director

Mr. Koenig has over forty years of diversified experience in the real estate, investment banking and financial services industries. His experience includes every aspect of commercial and residential real estate including acquisition, financing, leasing, property management and disposition. Mr. Koenig most recently served as a Senior Partner in the real estate division of Ares Management, LP, a global alternative asset manager with over $100 billion of assets under management, from 2013 to 2016. Mr. Koenig served as Chair of the Investment Committees of the real estate funds of Ares, which collectively had $8 billion under management. From 1995 to 2013, Mr. Koenig served as the Global Chief Financial Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and Senior Partner of AREA Property Partners, a global real estate investment and asset management firm that raised and invested approximately $14 billion of client equity in more than 600 transactions across all sectors of real estate.  Mr. Koenig oversaw the financing and administrative activities for AREA and was also responsible for its reporting, human resources, compliance, legal and structuring activities. Mr. Koenig helped negotiate and execute the sale of AREA to Ares Management in 2013. Prior to AREA, Mr. Koenig worked in various positions in investment bank including Goldman Sachs & Co. (1986-1994) and EF Hutton Inc. (1981-1986). From 1997-2014, Mr. Koenig served as the lead independent director and member of the compensation committee of Emeritus Corporation (ESC, NYSE) one of the largest publicly traded owners and operators of assisted living facilities in the country and helped oversee the sale of the company to Brookdale Senior Living (BKD, NYSE) in 2014. Mr. Koenig currently serves as Trustee for the Binghamton University Endowment Fund and is Chair of its Investment Committee and also provides consulting services for the U.S. investment activity of Profimex, an Israel based real estate investment firm. Mr. Koenig has a B.A. from Binghamton University and an MBA from Baruch College of the City University of N.Y.

Albert G. Rex, 62
Director

Mr. Rex has served as the Managing Director of Walker & Dunlop, a commercial real estate finance company, since May 2012. In this role, Mr. Rex has been involved in over 1500 loans totaling more than $15 billion in transactions. Mr. Rex has over 40 years of experience in the financing and equity aspects of commercial real estate development throughout the U.S. with a focus on the Southeast region. Mr. Rex spent the majority of his career as a Managing Partner with Carey Kramer, a company he helped found in 1983 and ultimately owned solely from 2001 until it merged with Collateral Real Estate Capital in 2005. Collateral later merged with Laureate Capital, LLC in 2007, to form Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BB&T. Mr. Rex is a graduate of University of Florida with a degree in Finance and Real Estate and serves on their Real Estate Advisory Board. He is an active member of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), Urban Land Institute (ULI), International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), and National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), where he has served as President of the South Florida Chapter.

Troy T. Taylor, 59
Director

Mr. Taylor has served as President of Algon Group, an advisory firm he founded, since 2002. Algon Group is a specialized financial firm providing sophisticated financial advisory services to stakeholders with complex, challenging, and financially distressed situations. Mr. Taylor has 25 years of experience including investment banking, restructuring (both in Chapter 11 and out of court) and senior management. Mr. Taylor has served as the Chief Restructuring Officer, Chief Executive Officer or Lead Financial Advisor in a broad range of industries including manufacturing, distribution, hospitality, real estate and retail. He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of several public and private companies, including Keystone Consolidated Industries, Inc., Barjan, Inc., and 1-800-AutoTow, Inc. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of Hyperion Bank located in Philadelphia. Before 2002, Mr. Taylor served in various capacities with GMA Partners, Inc., KPMG Peat Marwick, LLP, Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc., Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. and Thomson McKinnon Securities, Inc. Mr. Taylor received his B.S. in Economics and his MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.