Team
Managing Director, Asset Management
Starwood Capital Group
James Kane is a Managing Director in Asset Management at Starwood Capital Group, where he manages all of the Firm’s multifamily investments. His current asset management duties include overseeing and driving strategy on a diverse portfolio of multifamily units across the United States.
Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2004, Mr. Kane worked in the Corporate Advisory Group at Jones Lang LaSalle, where he provided long-term occupancy solutions for Fortune 500 companies.
Mr. Kane received a BBA degree in finance from the University of Georgia and an MBA from the Kenan Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina. He is a member of the National Multi Housing Council and the Urban Land Institute.
Managing Director, Asset Management
Starwood Capital Group
Andres Panza is a Managing Director in Asset Management at Starwood Capital Group. Mr. Panza is primarily responsible for oversight of the Firm’s investments in the affordable housing, East Coast office and industrial, medical office building, net lease, and student housing sectors. He is also involved in the origination, underwriting, structuring and execution of investments in affordable housing.
Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2016, Mr. Panza was an Associate in The Carlyle Group’s U.S. real estate fund. Before that, he worked as an Analyst at Strategic Investment Group.
Mr. Panza received a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and an MA in International Studies from The Lauder Institute of the University of Pennsylvania. He has held the Chartered Financial Analyst designation since 2011.
Managing Director and Head of U.S. Office Asset Management & Industrial Asset Management
Starwood Capital Group
Andrea Pierce is a Managing Director and Head of U.S. Office & Industrial Asset Management at Starwood Capital Group. She is responsible for the strategic direction of the Firm’s office and industrial portfolios; the implementation of key initiatives and best practices in these sectors; and she oversees all operational, leasing, disposition, and repositioning activities within the portfolios.
Prior to joining Starwood Capital Group in 2018, Ms. Pierce held acquisitions and asset management leadership positions with J.P. Morgan, The Mills Corporation, and JMB Realty Corporation. She was also a member of the board of directors for Carr Properties.
Ms. Pierce received a B.S. degree from the University of Southern California. She is a CFA Charter Holder and a Certified Public Accountant. She is also the Vice Chairman of Urban Land Institute’s Commercial & Retail Development Council.
Managing Director, Asset Management, Lending Europe
Starwood Capital Group
Irene Ryan is a Managing Director at Starwood Capital Group, London office and is responsible for the asset management of debt investments by Starwood’s lending platform in Europe Since joining Starwood Capital in 2013, Ms. Ryan has managed the portfolio of loans held across multi-asset classes and European jurisdictions originated by Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD) and Starwood European Finance Real Estate Finance (SWEF: LN).
Prior to joining Starwood Capital, Ms. Ryan worked in a real estate focussed bank in London, holding a variety of lending roles from origination to loan restructuring and recovery. Before that, she gained her chartered accountancy qualification (ACA) while working at KPMG in Ireland.
Ms. Ryan holds a bachelor of business studies from Trinity College Dublin and is a fellow of the Institute of the Chartered Accountants of Ireland (FCA).
Managing Director, Portfolio Management
Starwood Capital Group
Michael Seltzer is a Managing Director in Portfolio Management at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, Mr. Seltzer focuses on the reporting, valuation and analysis of the Firm’s real estate opportunity funds.
Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2011, Mr. Seltzer was an Associate in BlackRock’s portfolio analytics and financial markets advisory groups. In these roles, he was responsible for the valuation and strategic risk advisory functions for commercial real estate debt and securities.
Mr. Seltzer received B.S. degrees in both Economics and Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Seltzer is a CFA® charterholder.
Managing Director, Head of North American Hotel Asset Management
Starwood Capital Group
Rob Tanenbaum is a Managing Director and Head of North American Hotel Asset Management at Starwood Capital Group. Mr. Tanenbaum’s responsibilities include enhancing asset values and maximizing performance of Starwood Capital’s full-service, select-service and resort hotel portfolio across North America.
Prior to joining Starwood Capital, Mr. Tanenbaum previously served as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President at two leading U.S. hotel REITs, where he oversaw large portfolios of major full-service hotels and luxury resorts. He also established Madison Hotel Advisors, LLC, a leading specialized asset management firm dedicated to optimizing hotel values through strategic planning, revenue management, and capital allocation. He served on the Hospitality Asset Management Association (HAMA) Board of Directors for four years as Treasurer and today remains an active member of the association.
Mr. Tanenbaum received a B.S. in Hotel Restaurant Institutional Management with High Distinction from the Pennsylvania State University.
Director, Asset Management
Starwood Capital Group
Masayuki Kato is a Director in Asset Management at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, Mr. Kato oversees the execution of business plans for all assets in Japan.
Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2021, Mr. Kato had 18 years of real estate experience, most recently as a Director at Allianz Real Estate Japan where he was responsible for Acquisition and Asset Management. Prior to that, Mr. Kato worked at Hudson Advisors Japan (the asset management arm of Lone Star Funds) and GE Real Estate, as well as a smaller, local real estate company.
Mr. Kato received a B.A. degree in Business Administration from Kobe University, Japan.
Senior Vice President, Hotel Asset Management
Starwood Capital Group
Anjali Agarwal is a Senior Vice President in Asset Management at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, she is responsible for maximizing value of a portfolio of hotels and resorts across the United States. In her 20-year hospitality real estate career, she has led several successful repositionings, turnarounds and dispositions overseeing all aspects of the investment.
Previously, Mrs. Agarwal served as the Chief Operating Officer of Autocamp where she was responsible for building and scaling the company through a period of rapid growth. During a 12-year tenure as Principal and EVP at Chartres Lodging, she participated in $2.8 billion of transaction activity, the planning and execution of $1.0 billion in renovations, and oversaw the company’s $2.2 billion portfolio of assets. In recognition of her successful track record in deal-making and turnarounds, she was awarded the top “40 Under 40” by M&A Advisor in 2013.
Mrs. Agarwal received a Master’s degree from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. She served on the Board of Directors of the Hotel Asset Managers Association, and regularly participates in speaking engagements including ULI, The Lodging Conference and Hotel Business.
Senior Vice President, Asset Management
Starwood Capital Group
Paul Ahls is a Senior Vice President in Asset Management with Starwood Capital Group. He focuses on the asset management of multifamily assets, including: renovation, financing and dispositions, and also has prior experience managing investments in hotel, office, and single-family residential development. His role includes overseeing the asset strategy for several regions, working closely with team members on dispositions and refinancing, coordinating reporting, and implementing proptech solutions across a portfolio of market-rate apartments. Mr. Ahls joined Starwood in 2011 as an Associate with the multifamily asset management team.
Prior to joining Starwood Capital, Mr. Ahls was an Associate with Silverpeak, where he asset managed multifamily, office, and land development investments.
Mr. Ahls received a BBA in Finance from the University of Georgia in 2005. He is a member of the National Multifamily Housing Council.
Senior Vice President, Asset Management
Starwood Capital Group
Robert Geimer is a Senior Vice President in Asset Management at Starwood Capital Group. In this position, Mr. Geimer’s principal responsibilities include playing a senior role on the asset management team for a diverse portfolio of national and international real estate assets. He manages the development and execution of investment and exit strategies, manages resources related to day-to-day decision-making, and plays an integral role in the review and approval of annual business plans with partners and third-party fee managers.
Prior to his nearly 20-year career with Starwood Capital, Mr. Geimer served as an Asset Manager and Portfolio Controller with Greystone Realty, LLC, the real estate management group for New York Life Insurance Co. Before joining Greystone Realty, LLC, Mr. Geimer was at Compass Retail, Inc. a former division of Equitable Real Estate Group, Inc.
Mr. Geimer received a B.S. degree from the West Virginia University School of Business and is a certified public accountant.
Senior Vice President, Asset Management
Starwood Capital Group
Brian Soss is a Senior Vice President in Asset Management at Starwood Capital Group focused on multifamily investments. Mr. Soss is primarily responsible for the financial performance of multiple multifamily investment portfolios and US regions, where he leads activities including value-add strategy and execution, capital investment, and disposition. He also plays an integral role in activities related to Short-Term Rentals and PropTech solutions in multifamily properties.
Prior to joining Starwood Capital Group in 2016, Mr. Soss served as Associate Director at MetLife Investment Management leading asset management and development activities in multifamily, office and retail properties in the Southeastern US.
Mr. Soss received his MBA from the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business and his BA in Economics from the University of Vermont. He is a committee member of the National Multi Housing Council.
CEO, InTown Suites and Uptown Suites
Starwood Capital Group
Ash Kapur is the CEO of InTown Suites, a large investment in one of Starwood Capital’s global opportunity funds, and is responsible for the company’s overall strategy, growth and operations. InTown Suites is amongst the largest owner & operator of extended stay suites in the U.S. with over 185 properties and over 1,500 employees.
Previously, Mr. Kapur joined Starwood Capital in 2011 and has served in various roles within the firm including as a Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer of Hospitality in the Hotel Asset Management Group. In this role, Mr. Kapur managed a portfolio of Starwood’s full service hotels with the objective of maximizing asset value including execution of capital projects, renovations and hotel repositioning. As Chief Revenue Officer, he was responsible for increasing revenues for Starwood’s hotel assets in the United States and Europe, with a focus on hotel revenue management, sales, marketing, technology and e-commerce. He also served as the Chief Operating Officer for SH Hotels & Resorts, an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group.
Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2011, Mr. Kapur served as Senior Director of Global Strategic Accounts & Gaming at Expedia.
Mr. Kapur graduated from the Institute of Hotel Management, Aurangabad in India. He also received a Master’s in Marketing from Bristol Business School in the United Kingdom.
Senior Vice President, Asset Management
Starwood Capital Group
Dan Schwaegler is a Senior Vice President in Asset Management at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, Mr. Schwaegler manages the Firm’s US residential land portfolio as well as well as the west coast development portfolio.
Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2003, Mr. Schwaegler worked in the development area at Avalon Bay. Before that, he served as the South American Regional Manager in the mining practice for global engineering consultancy Montgomery Watson.
Mr. Schwaegler holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, an M.S. in civil engineering from the University of Washington, and a B.S. in civil engineering and a B.A., both from the University of Notre Dame.