Team
Managing Director and Fund Chief Financial Officer
Starwood Capital Group
James Allen is a Managing Director and Fund Chief Financial Officer at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, he is responsible for all fund financial operations and reporting for the Firm.
Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2010, Mr. Allen was the Director and CFO of the DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners Group. In this role, he was responsible for all finance, accounting, investor reporting, tax, treasury and compliance activities for the firm’s funds. Before that, Mr. Allen was the Director and Controller for UBS Real Estate Asset Management Group. Mr. Allen began his career at Ernst & Young, where he was an audit manager in the firm’s New York financial services office, with a specialization in real estate.
Mr. Allen received a B.S. degree in business from Fordham University. He is a CPA, and a member of the American Institute of CPAs and New York State Society of CPAs.
Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer
Starwood Capital Group
Daniel Jackson is a Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, he directs Starwood Capital’s technology strategy, and has global responsibility for all IT initiatives and platforms for the Firm and its affiliates.
Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2012, Mr. Jackson served as SVP of Technology Services for Highbridge Capital Management, JP Morgan’s alternative investment manager. Before that, he led the engineering, market data and trading floor technologies teams at SAC Capital Advisors. Mr. Jackson began his career in technology while serving as a tactical electronic warfare analyst/cryptanalyst and Korean linguist within the Military Intelligence branch of the U.S. Army.
Mr. Jackson received a B.A. degree in economics from the University of Connecticut where he is currently pursuing an M.S. in data analytics.
Managing Director and Deputy CFO of Funds
Starwood Capital Group
Chris Lowthert is a Managing Director and Deputy CFO of Funds at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, he is responsible for all fund level financial accounting and reporting.
Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2016, Mr. Lowthert held various senior financial roles with GE Capital Real Estate including CFO of Global Investment Management, Controller of North America and CFO of US Equity. Before that, Mr. Lowthert was a Director of Corporate Audit at MassMutual Financial Group. Mr. Lowthert began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was an audit manager in the firm’s New York financial services office, focusing on public and private real estate clients.
Mr. Lowthert received a B.S. degree in accounting from Saint Michael’s College, where he graduated cum laude. He also has a CPA designation.
Managing Director and Chief Human Resources Officer
Starwood Capital Group
Lindy Smiley is a Managing Director and Chief Human Resources Officer at Starwood Capital Group and Starwood Property Trust. In this role, she is responsible for the global human resources function for the Firm, including overseeing performance management, recruitment, compensation and employee benefits.
Prior to joining Starwood in 2010, Lindy held positions as a Director of Human Resources for Morgan Stanley and an HR Generalist for Moody’s.
Ms. Smiley received a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Syracuse University and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer
Starwood Capital Group
David Staub is a Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of Starwood Capital Group. In this role, he is responsible for financial reporting, compliance, and partner administration. Mr. Staub previously served as the Company’s Management Company Controller.
Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2011, Mr. Staub worked at a regional public accounting firm in Boston that specialized in servicing the compliance needs for privately held real estate companies.
David received an MS/MBA in Accounting from Northeastern University and has been a registered CPA since 2011.
Management Company Controller
Starwood Capital Group
Chuck Boulier is Management Company Controller, for the Management Company of Starwood Capital Group. Mr. Boulier is responsible for the preparation of corporate budgets and forecasts, as well as the management of corporate accounting, reporting, and financial operations. He also serves as the Finance Director of Starwood’s broker dealer.
Prior to Starwood, Mr. Boulier served as Auditor at KPMG, Senior Corporate Accountant at Tudor Investments, Corporate Accounting Manager at SAC Capital, and Senior Manager of International Finance at the National Basketball Association.
Mr. Boulier received a BA in Economics from the College of the Holy Cross, and he is a Certified Public Accountant.
Senior Vice President, Technology
Starwood Capital Group
Betsy Reed is a Senior Vice President of technology at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, she is responsible for the strategy, planning, delivery and ongoing development of our core business applications. Ms. Reed is also leading the firm’s enterprise-wide data initiative SCG360, focused on transforming Starwood’s data infrastructure and building one unified data platform.
Prior to joining Starwood, Ms. Reed worked at Brookfield Properties as the Vice President of Business Technology. Before that, she worked as a consultant in the real estate technology space for over a decade, advising global real estate companies, helping to build their technology strategies and improve their operational efficiency. She also helped build a startup.
Ms. Reed received a Master’s degree from Dallas Baptist University and studied Computer Information Systems.
Senior Vice President, Treasury
Starwood Capital Group
Joseph Rizzo is a Senior Vice President in Treasury at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, he is responsible for global money movement and oversight of key banking relationships for the Firm.
Prior to joining Starwood in 2014, Mr. Rizzo had extensive experience and expertise in the areas of treasury operations, systems, and control processes surrounding funds movements. Before that, Mr. Rizzo was Senior Director, Treasury Operations & Systems at ADP. Mr. Rizzo also held several senior level Corporate Treasurer roles at TMP Directional Marketing and Take Two Interactive Games, both in New York and Arthur Schuman Inc. in Fairfield, NJ.
Mr. Rizzo received his B.S. and M.B.A. at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is a member of the Association of Financial Professionals.