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Laurus’s seasoned professionals have
over $7 billion in transaction, development services, and management
experience across all real estate and real estate-related asset
types.
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Long-established National and International
Relationships
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'Bottom-Up' Underwriting and
Valuation
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Capital Markets Expertise and Financial
Structuring
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Extensive Market Knowledge
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Andres Szita is a co-founder
and Chairman of Laurus Corporation. Since the inception
of Laurus Corporation in 1999, he has been successful
in providing accredited investors, developers, and high
net worth individuals a wide variety of real estate
investment vehicles and development services. Through
these operations, the company established and expanded
business relations and over $2.4 billion in real estate
transaction experience in the hospitality industry,
office, multifamily, mixed-use, and overall development.
Beyond that, the firm has over $2.6 billion in real estate
development service experience. Prior to Laurus Corporation,
Mr. Szita was an executive in a European apparel manufacturing
business, Tassio-Italy. During his tenure, he managed
the firm’s international distribution and franchising,
public relations and marketing, manufacturing, and product
development. Prior to this, Mr. Szita was a partner
in an apparel manufacturing corporation where among
his responsibilities he led the organization’s real
estate development. Later, in response to a changing
manufacturing environment, Mr. Szita led the strategic
merger of the company with a large publicly traded corporation
where he was also a Board Member. An entrepreneur at
heart, Mr. Szita has built a vast array of contacts
and strategic relationships with investors, developers,
lenders and overall active members of the real estate
community, both domestically and internationally.
Contact Andres at:
aszita@lauruscorporation.com
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JEAN PAUL SZITA
President &
Chief Financial Officer |
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Jean Paul Szita is a
co-founder and President & Chief Financial Officer
of Laurus Corporation. Since co-founding Laurus
Corporation in 1999, he has
been involved with over $2.4 billion in real estate transaction
experience in the hospitality industry, multifamily,
office, mixed-use, and land development industries,
as well as over $2.6 billion in real estate development
service experience. Prior to Laurus Corporation, Mr.
Szita was Director of the Board in a European apparel
manufacturing business, Tassio-Italy, where he led
the internal re-structuring of processes, was key in
implementing cash flow management techniques, and was
involved in all aspects of budget and performance
control. Prior to this
experience, Mr. Szita was the Chief Operation Manager
in an upscale manufacturing plant, where he managed
over 100 employees in the areas of information systems,
warehouse operations, production, purchasing, and logistics
operations. The results of his efforts included a 38%
increase in production, reduction of costs, and overall
increase in the production cycle, which resulted in
a significant increase in profits for the firm. In response
to a changing manufacturing environment, Mr. Szita was
a key player in the strategic merger of the company
with a large publicly traded corporation where he was
also a Board Member advisor.
Contact Jean Paul at:
jpszita@lauruscorporation.com
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PHILIP CYBURT
Chief Executive Officer |
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Philip W. Cyburt joins
Laurus Corporation as Chief Executive Officer with
over 26 years of real estate experience. Together
with the founders, Mr. Cyburt leads the organization
to ensure that the quality of each investment
fulfills the greatest potential for investors and
aligns with Laurus’ strategy. His career has engaged
him to work closely with a wealth of well positioned
contacts in the banking and real estate industries
both nationally and internationally. Mr. Cyburt’s
breadth of skills and knowledge in corporate
restructuring, capital investment, acquisition,
development, and disposition of billions of dollars
in real estate transactions brings tremendous value
to Laurus Corporation. Among his various prestigious
roles, Mr. Cyburt has been a senior executive with
two Fortune 500 companies, where he was responsible
for the management of vast global real estate and
development portfolios. His institutional real
estate responsibilities have included: corporate and
structured finance; transaction structuring;
debt/equity formation and negotiations; strategic
planning; portfolio valuation and feasibility
studies; as well as residential and commercial
development. Prior to Laurus Corporation, Mr.
Cyburt, as Managing Director of Alvarez and Marsal,
LLC, served as interim CEO of Lehman Brothers
Holdings real estate division, where he managed
their debt and equity portfolio consisting of over
$23 billion of assets. He co-founded Cyburt Hall
Partners, where as Managing Director he acted as an
investor, developer, and operator for approximately
$250 million of real estate investments. As
President of Boeing Realty Corporation, he
successfully directed the company’s real estate
portfolio ($9 billion in assets comprising of 125
million square feet in 26 states and 63 countries).
In addition, Mr. Cyburt spear headed Boeing’s
relocation of its world headquarters from Seattle to
Chicago. He was also elected as President of
McDonnell Douglas Realty Company, which serviced and
restructured a $750 million commercial real estate
loan portfolio in the early 1990’s. The portfolio
consisted of nonperforming loans and REO properties
including office, industrial, retail, and hotels
located throughout the United States. Early in his
career, he was also Director at Tishman Realty and
Construction. Mr. Cyburt has a B.S. degree from
Chapman University, attended graduate courses at
Chapman University, Pepperdine University Executive
MBA Program, and the investment real estate
certificate program at University of Irvine.
Contact Philip at:
pcyburt@lauruscorporation.com
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AUSTIN KHAN
Chief Investment Officer |
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Austin Khan is Chief
Investment Officer of Laurus Corporation with the
completion of over $2 billion in real estate
transactions in both principal and advisory roles
over the past 13 years under his belt. Mr. Khan’s
extensive experience in the hospitality, office,
retail and multifamily sectors has positioned him as
an expert in the commercial real estate arena. He is
responsible for sourcing and managing opportunities
for Laurus as well as overseeing the underwriting
process for all investments. Prior to joining Laurus
Corporation, Mr. Khan was Vice President of
Acquisitions for the primary real estate and
hospitality investment platform for TRT Holdings, a
diversified private investment firm that manages
approximately $5 billion in assets on behalf of
Robert Rowling, the 66th ranked individual in the
Forbes 400. In this role, he led the global sourcing
for new investment deals while staying on track with
acquisition strategy. His efforts were also utilized
in managing capital market relationships on behalf
of the firm. Mr. Khan was a key player in completing
such landmark transactions as the acquisition of the
real estate assets of the Amelia Island Company, the
development of the 1,000-key Omni Dallas Convention
Center Hotel and the recapitalization of the 720-key
Champions Gate Resort in Orlando. Prior to that, Mr.
Khan was a Real Estate Acquisitions Manager for the
Palmetto Hospitality Fund on behalf of its
development affiliate, OTO Development, where he
focused on acquisitions and ground-up development of
midscale and upscale hotels in the Hilton, Marriott,
Starwood and Hyatt families of brands. Mr. Khan
started his real estate finance career in investment
banking as part of the leisure, lodging and gaming
group at Bank of America Securities and the Real
Estate Capital Markets Group of Andersen Corporate
Finance, a broker-dealer subsidiary of Arthur
Andersen, LLP. Mr. Khan received his MBA with
concentrations in Finance and Real Estate from
Columbia Business School and a B.S. in Commerce from
the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of
Virginia. He is also a Certified Public Accountant .
Contact Austin at:
akhan@lauruscorporation.com
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JOHN HAROUNIAN
Vice President
Business Development
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Mr.
Harounian serves as the Vice President of Business Development
for Laurus with over 23 years of experience, 13 of those
years focused in large-scale commercial real estate
investments. Mr. Harounian is responsible for establishing
strategic relationships, sourcing potential acquisition
and/or disposition opportunities, managing the pipeline,
and coordinating joint venture opportunities. Prior
to joining Laurus Corporation in 2009, Mr. Harounian
was Vice President at Maram Holdings, a real estate
investment management firm with a portfolio valued at
more than $2.5 billion, where he led the asset management
and acquisitions teams including entitlement and disposition
of the real estate portfolio. During his tenure at Maram
Holdings, he originated over $122 million in dispositions
and managed approximately $400 million in commercial
property assets. Prior to Maram Holdings, he was the
Managing Director for Brooks Fabric, the 4th largest
privately owned upholstery fabric distribution house
in the USA, where he led his team in streamlining operations
and identifying strategic growth opportunities which
increased annual sales by 400% within five years. Mr.
Harounian has extensive business experience in Asian
countries; he is fluent in English, Farsi, and proficient
in Indonesian.
Contact John at:
jharounian@lauruscorporation.com
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BJ TURNER
Vice
President Capital Markets |
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BJ Turner is Vice President Capital Markets for
Laurus Corporation, where he is responsible for
sourcing domestic and international equity. Prior to
joining Laurus, Mr. Turner served as Vice President
at Fifth Avenue Real Estate. Mr. Turner is a
globally experienced business leader with a proven
track record across a wide range of hotel, resort,
residential, and mixed-use real estate segments. He
has built, trained, and led cross-functional teams
that successfully executed market entry strategies
into Canada, Southeast Asia, Mexico and the United
States, while partnering with many of the world’s
leading development and brokerage firms. In doing
so, he has worked with many of the industry’s most
prominent brands such as Hard Rock Hotels, Trump,
Raffles, Fairmont, Jack Nicklaus Design and Troon
Golf. Over the course of his career, Mr. Turner and
his teams have facilitated the sale of over $650
million of real estate and has collaborated with
development and real estate asset management firms
such as Intrawest, Kingdom Hotel Investments,
Tarsadia Hotels, and Boutique Hotels & Resorts Corp.
Mr. Turner’s educational background includes a
Masters of Business Administration from the S.C.
Johnson School of Business at Cornell University, a
Bachelor of Science and an Executive Sales and
Marketing Management Diploma from the University of
British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business. He is
also a licensed Real Estate Salesperson in
California and British Columbia, Canada.
Contact BJ at:
bjturner@lauruscorporation.com
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KONSTANTIN DASKALOV
Vice President of Development
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Konstantin Daskalov serves as Vice President of
Development for Laurus Corporation. He brings over
15 years of broad experience in real
estate development, construction management,
financial operations, and asset management and has
directed several major high-rise development
projects in Chicago, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Mr.
Daskalov directs the development process including
due diligence, asset evaluation, design development,
asset upgrades, project management, risk and cost
control and asset disposition. Prior to joining
Laurus Corporation, Mr. Daskalov was Director of
Investments & Development at Stoneleigh Companies in
charge of investments, strategic acquisitions, asset
management, optimization and development. Prior to Stoneleigh, Konstantin was
Vice President of Development at Fifield Realty
Corp. where he spearheaded the development and
construction operations for the firm’s West Coast
Operations, directing the development of several
high-rise projects with average development cost of
over $200 Million. Mr. Daskalov has an M.S./MBA degree from
Northwestern University, a Bachelor of Science in
Engineering and a Bachelor in Business Management
degrees from Calvin College. He is a member of a
variety of professional organizations
in Real Estate, Engineering and Finance and
participates actively in discussion forums for
numerous professional panels.
Contact Konstantin at:
kdaskalov@lauruscorporation.com
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THUONG LUONG
Portfolio Manager |
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Thuong Luong serves as a Portfolio Manager
with a wealth of experience in underwriting and structuring
investments. Ms. Luong participates in the underwriting
investment process and is also responsible for other
finance related matters. Ms. Thuong has experience working
on buy-side equity investments, sell-side advisory on
debt raising, private placement, IPOs, and leveraged
buyouts in the financial services industry. Prior to
joining Laurus Corporation, Ms. Luong was with a private
equity firm Asset Management Finance, LLC (“AMF”), a
New York based alternative investment subsidiary of
Credit Suisse Group that focuses on investing in both
traditional and alternative asset managers. At AMF,
Ms. Luong was responsible for company research, structuring
and underwriting, and monitoring of AMF’s 18 portfolio
investments with total invested capital of US$500 million.
Before joining AMF, Ms. Luong was an investment banker
at U.S. based Deutsche Bank Securities Group where she
assisted in the development of Deutsche Bank’s asset
management sector coverage and was involved in multi-billion
dollar capital raising and M&A advisory services
transactions. Ms. Luong’s philanthropic activities include
co-founding Vital Corporate Advisors, a non-profit organization
that focuses on providing financial advisory services
to microfinance institutions in South East Asia and
serving as an independent board member for an Asian
microfinance institution. She received her Bachelor
of Science in Finance & International Business from
Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business
with honors.
Contact
Thuong at:
tluong@lauruscorporation.com
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CHARLES RUSSO
Asset Manager |
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Charles Russo serves Laurus Corporation as Asset
Manager, and comes to Laurus as an investment
committee member with over 9 years of institutional
real estate finance, acquisitions and investment
advisory experience. In his career he has
underwritten, acquired and managed aggregate real
estate transactions totaling over $1 billion. Mr.
Russo provides situational real estate advisory,
acquisitions and asset management services for
institutional and high net worth investors, as well
as, foreign funds. He is adept in distressed and
opportunistic situations directing asset management,
financial analysis and reporting, including
bankruptcy workout experience. Mr. Russo also has
developed significant expertise in solving complex
TIC ownership problems in the current cycle.
Previously he was an Associate Director with the
debt group of GE Capital Real Estate, in Los Angeles
as a member of their institutional commercial
finance originations platform. In this capacity, he
was responsible for the underwriting and financial
analysis of commercial mortgages and acquisition
debt financing for REIT’s and real estate
principals. Prior to joining GE Capital Real Estate,
Mr. Russo was an Associate at Thor Equities in New
York City and was responsible for originating and
identifying acquisition opportunities for the firm’s
$375 million private equity Urban Property Fund.
During his tenure at Thor, the high yield fund
successfully executed numerous key acquisitions
increasing their footprint across premier domestic
urban markets. Before Thor Equities, Mr. Russo was a
Financial Analyst with Morgan Stanley in New York
focusing on securities products. He has also
received FDIC clearance to consult on projects
through various FDIC subcontractors. Mr. Russo
earned a Certificate in General Business Studies
with an Accounting Concentration from UCLA and
completed a Management Development Program (MDP) at
USC’s Marshall School of Business. Mr. Russo also
holds a Certificate in Real Estate Finance and
Investment from NYU’s Schack Institute of Real
Estate and a Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College
(CT). He is actively involved with the International
Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and ICSC NextGen.
Contact Charles at:
crusso@lauruscorporation.com
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BETTY JONES
Revenue Asset Manager |
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Betty Jones serves Laurus Corporation as Revenue
Asset Manager. A 25-year veteran in the hospitality
industry, Ms. Jones has established herself as a
results-driven executive known for her ability to
motivate and mobilize her sales teams to achieve the
best possible results and drive revenue. Prior to
joining Laurus, Ms. Jones, worked with Remington
where she signed on as the company’s regional
director of sales and marketing in 1993. In 1994,
she became the Vice President of Sales & Marketing
Limited Service where she managed and directed
Limited Service Regional Directors of Sales and
monitored total revenues of over 70 properties.
Within the next few years she was promoted to Vice
President of Transient Sales, and then again in 2001
to Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing
where she managed and directed the Divisional
Directors of Sales, Directors of Revenue, Sales
Auditors and the IT department.
Ms. Jones has also acquired extensive luxury hotel
and resort expertise. She served as Director of
Sales and Marketing for LeMeridien Cancun Resort &
Spa and Secrets The Vine in Cancun, Mexico. In her
role with Laurus Corporation, Ms. Jones will be
responsible assisting and increasing revenue
performance and strategies for the hospitality
assets. Ms. Jones holds a Bachelor of Science degree
in Education from the University of Arkansas, Little
Rock.
Contact Betty at:
bjones@lauruscorporation.com
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TIMOTHY KIM
Director Business Development - Korea |
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Timothy J. Kim is the Director of Business
Development in Korea for Laurus Corporation. His
extensive experience as an entrepreneur and business
developer lays the foundation into bridging
relations in South Korea and Asia. Prior to Laurus
Corporation, Mr. Kim is the founder and Chief
Executive Officer of Natural Energy Resources
(NER). Mr. Kim deals with worldwide governmental
projects that specialize in the cutting edge future
of alternative energy in Korea, China, Malaysia,
South-East Asia, and African country. Mr. Kim has
the experience in business which was propelled by
his dream to make the life's of others richer and
fulfilled. Mr. Kim established vast network of
people throughout Asia, U.S., Europe and African
countries. As a Korean American, Mr. Kim
contributes his expertise and relationship built on
countless transaction in international trading of
import and export in various commodities.
Contact Timothy at:
tkim@lauruscorporation.com
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ELI MAHL
Senior Underwriting Associate |
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Eli Mahl is the Senior Underwriting Associate for
Laurus Corporation, with over 5 years of real estate
experience. He conducts the underwriting for
prospective acquisitions, assists with the due
diligence of pending closings, helps monitor the
existing portfolio, and provides value-add
scenarios. As a result of Mr. Mahl’s institutional
finance background, he also helps source debt for
potential acquisitions and refinancing Laurus'
portfolio.
Prior to joining
Laurus, Mr. Mahl was with Wells
Fargo’s Commercial Real Estate Group. During his
tenure, he provided underwriting for multiple
relationships totaling over $8.2 billion in assets
and underwrote $406 million in closed debt
transactions across the United States. Originations
included all product types via debt
recapitalization, lines of credit, construction
loans, and perm loans. Mr. Mahl was also tasked with
quarterly loan monitoring for existing loans and
annual financial reviews for each relationship. Mr.
Mahl began his career in 2008 with Combined
Properties, a shopping center and mixed-use
developer, in a hybrid leasing and development role.
While at Combined, Mr. Mahl assisted in the leasing
of 12 shopping centers, ranging from 28,000 –
213,000 square feet, by completing over $6 million
in retail transactions. He also identified and
provided analysis for value-add scenarios within the
existing portfolio. He graduated from the University
of Southern California with a Bachelors of Science
in Public Policy, Planning, and Development with a
focus in Real Estate Development in 2008 and with a
Masters of Urban Planning in 2009 with an emphasis
in Economic Development.
Contact Eli at:
emahl@lauruscorporation.com
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FREDERIQUE CALLUAUD
Marketing Manager |
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Frederique
Calluaud is the Marketing Manager and brings with her
over 15 years of marketing experience, with more than
14 of years in real estate. As Marketing Manager for
Laurus Investments, Ms. Calluaud manages the day to
day public relations, property image, brand equity,
and preparation of marketing materials for the fund
and individual assets. Prior to joining Laurus Corporation
in 2006, Ms. Calluaud was the Marketing Manager at Sleiman
Enterprises in Jacksonville, one of Northern Florida’s
largest commercial real estate developers. Her responsibilities
at Sleiman included the preparation of all marketing
materials as well as specialized marketing to corporate
real estate managers in order to increase credit tenancy
and reposition large commercial assets. Her experience
spans from working with small tenant needs, to marketing
to big-box clients, to hotels and resorts. Ms. Calluaud
received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree
in Information Systems and minors in French and Spanish
from Baylor University, and is a licensed Real Estate
Broker in California.
Contact Frederique at:
fcalluaud@lauruscorporation.com
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DASHA HOLUBEC
Investor Relations Manager |
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Dasha
Holubec, Investor Relations Manager, maintains Laurus Corporation's
development and investor relations efforts. Utilizing
her 11 years’ experience in real estate marketing, investment
and development, Ms. Holubec is an integral part of
Laurus’s team and a consummate client relationship expert.
She started her career in marketing at CB Richard Ellis
where she was part of a top producing industrial team
brokering sales and leases in Southern California. She
later transitioned into real estate investment with
Granite Peak Partners of Santa Barbara, presenting acquisition
and disposition opportunities to investors and brokers.
Most recently, Ms. Holubec was at Western National Group,
a premier multifamily real estate company, where she
was involved in the kick-off through completion of seven
multifamily new development properties comprised of
more than 200 units. With her considerable ability to
manage projects and communicate effectively with both
internal and external constituents, she played a lead
role implementing the vision and the timely development
of all residential amenities. Ms. Holubec earned her
Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California,
Santa Barbara and is fluent in Czech.
Contact Dasha at:
dholubec@lauruscorporation.com
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