Our Team

Jonathan Pollack is President of Starwood Capital Group, where he is responsible for managing the daily operations of the business and guiding Firm strategy. As a member of Starwood’s Executive and Investment Committees, Mr. Pollack oversees global investment activity, capital markets, and investor relations. He is also the Vice Chairman of Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD), the largest commercial mortgage real estate investment trust in the United States. Mr. Pollack joined Starwood Capital from Blackstone, where he served as Global Head of the firm’s Real Estate Credit business since 2016. Mr. Pollack served on Blackstone’s Operating Committee, as well as the Real Estate Executive Committee and Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr. Pollack was the Global Head of Commercial Real Estate at Deutsche Bank and established Deutsche Bank as the top CMBS issuer and a leading special situations investor following the global financial crisis in 2008. Mr. Pollack also spent eight years in Deutsche Bank’s London headquarters, helping to build the European CRE business as the Head of Capital Markets. Mr. Pollack joined Deutsche Bank in 1999 from Nomura Group.

Mr. Pollack graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in Economics. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of East Harlem Tutorial Program, a leading charter school and after school program in New York City.

Andrew Sossen is a Senior Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Starwood Capital Group. In this role, Mr. Sossen works in conjunction with the Firm’s Chief Executive Officer and President in the day-to-day management, operations, and strategy of the business. Mr. Sossen is a member of the Firm’s Executive and Investment Committees. In addition, he is responsible for overseeing Capital Raising and Investor Relations, Accounting and Finance, Information Technology, Portfolio and Risk Management, Sustainability and Human Resources. Previously, he spent nearly 14 years with Starwood in various capacities, most recently as Chief Operating Officer of Starwood Property Trust from July 2011 to July 2023 and the Company’s General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Executive Vice President since January 2010.

Prior to joining Starwood Property Trust in 2010, Mr. Sossen served as the General Counsel of KKR Financial Holdings LLC, a publicly traded specialty finance company, and KKR Asset Management, where he was a member of senior management and was involved in both policy and strategic decision-making, as well as in the business’ day-to-day operations. Mr. Sossen’s career began at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where he specialized in capital markets and mergers and acquisitions.

Mr. Sossen received both his B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.

Ellis Rinaldi is Co-General Counsel at Starwood Capital Group. Mr. Rinaldi has represented Starwood Capital’s legal interests since 1991, and is actively involved in all the legal aspects of the firm’s business, including acquisitions, financing, asset management and strategic planning. Mr. Rinaldi became an officer of Starwood Capital in 1999 and is a member of Starwood’s Executive Committee.

Mr. Rinaldi was an associate at the law firm of Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts and then Pircher, Nichols & Meeks, prior to forming Rinaldi, Finkelstein & Franklin, L.L.C., Starwood Capital’s lead outside counsel. Mr. Rinaldi is the managing member of RFF.

Mr. Rinaldi received his JD from George Washington University, where he was a member of the GW Law Review, and his BBA degree, summa cum laude, in accounting from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Honors Program.

John Gonnella Senior Managing Director, Head of Asset Management, U.S. Starwood Capital Group

John Gonnella is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Asset Management, U.S. at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, Mr. Gonnella oversees the asset management of the firm’s U.S. equity investments. He is responsible for driving strategy, value creation, investment performance, and execution across a broad range of asset classes and geographies. He is also a member of Starwood’s Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital, Mr. Gonnella served as Senior Managing Director and Head of Real Estate Asset Management at Centerbridge Partners, as well as Vice President at Northwood Investors and Associate with Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds.

Mr. Gonnella received a Bachelor of Science degree from the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University.

Michael Lefton is the Global Head of Capital Raising and Investor Relations for Starwood Capital Group. In this role, he is responsible for raising capital globally on behalf of the firm’s private investment funds and co-investments. He is a member of Starwood’s Investment Committee.

Prior to this role, Mr. Lefton served as a Managing Director on the team where he was responsible for targeted regions and investors since 2017. From 2015 to 2017, Mr. Lefton was a Managing Director on the investment team at Cadre, a real estate technology platform, and also served on the company’s investment committee. Prior to that, Mr. Lefton held a variety of roles at Starwood from 2004–2015, including as a Vice President on the firm’s Acquisitions team, where he executed both equity and debt acquisitions through various vehicles, including multifamily, condominium, mixed-use and hospitality investments across geographic regions.

Mr. Lefton received a BS in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Duncan MacPherson is Head of Capital Markets, International for Starwood Capital Group. In this role, Mr. MacPherson is responsible for all debt capital markets activities for Starwood Capital in Europe, including financing, foreign exchange and interest rate hedging for the firm’s European investments. He is a member of Starwood’s Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2012, Mr. MacPherson spent six years at Citigroup, where he served as a Director on the commercial real estate finance team in London. Before that, he held a number of roles at Barclays Capital, including trading bond options on the exotic interest rate derivatives desk, and developing real-time pricing and risk systems for the firm’s electronic trading platform.

Mr. MacPherson received a BS in physics from the University of Edinburgh and an MS in information technology systems from the University of Strathclyde.

Austin Nowlin is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Capital Markets at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, he oversees all debt capital market activities across the Firm, including the structuring and execution of asset, fund, and corporate-level financings. In addition, Mr. Nowlin is responsible for the management of banking relationships globally. He is a member of the Investment Committees at Starwood Capital, Starwood Real Estate Income Trust and Starwood Property Trust.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2011, Mr. Nowlin worked at Wells Fargo and its predecessor, Wachovia Securities, in leveraged finance. He began his career at Raymond James, where he focused on making equity investments in multifamily assets.

Mr. Nowlin received a B.A. degree in economics from Florida State University.

Laura Mestel Rubin is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Portfolio and Risk Management at Starwood Capital Group, with responsibility for overseeing the Firm’s real estate opportunity funds. She is a member of Starwood’s Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2002, Ms. Rubin was a Vice President in Goldman Sachs & Co.’s real estate investment banking division. She also worked at JMB Realty and Urban Development Corp. in Chicago in the mid-1980s.

Ms. Rubin received a B.S. degree, summa cum laude, in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Dennis Schuh is Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Real Estate Debt. In this role, Mr. Schuh oversees all global real estate lending out of Starwood Capital’s private vehicles and is responsible for directing the Firm’s real estate private credit operations. Since joining the Firm in 2016, Mr. Schuh has played a key role in expanding the Firm’s global lending footprint. Mr. Schuh was previously Head of U.S. Credit where he was responsible for originations, including senior debt, mezzanine and preferred equity investments. He is a member of Starwood Capital’s Operating Committee.

Prior Starwood Property Trust, Mr. Schuh was a Managing Director and head of CMBS Banking/Origination for J.P. Morgan. He was previously head of CMBS Capital Markets where his responsibilities included managing the securitization business and high yield debt distribution. Before joining J.P. Morgan in 1997, Mr. Schuh’s career began at Fitch Ratings where he rated CMBS and REITs. He served on the Board of Governors for the CRE Finance Council from 2006 to 2008 and on its Executive Committee from 2007 to 2008.

Mr. Schuh graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a degree in Finance.

Mr. Schuh is honored to have been included in Commercial Observer’s “The 50 Most Important Figures of Commercial Real Estate Finance” from 2017 through 2026.

Tim Abram is Co-Head of Global Hotel Group at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, Mr. Abram oversees the firm’s hospitality acquisition activities, as well as asset management of hospitality investments. He has been responsible for direct real estate investments and corporate acquisitions in the hotel space, as well as the logistics and office sectors.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2015, Mr. Abram was an Associate Director in Real Estate, Lodging & Leisure Investment Banking at UBS in London, working across M&A, equity and debt capital markets product groups. Prior to UBS, Mr. Abram worked in the Distressed Debt Group at Citi in London.

Mr. Abram received a 1st Class BSc (Hons) economics degree from University College London and an MSc in finance, with distinction, from the London School of Economics.

Nick Antonopoulos is Chief Financial Officer for Starwood Capital Group. In this role, he is responsible for all financial and accounting functions, treasury operations, financial reporting, tax planning and compliance. He is also involved in the evaluation of new business integrations. Mr. Antonopoulos previously served as Management Company CFO.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2009, Mr. Antonopoulos was responsible for evaluating potential investments and overseeing the integration of new acquisitions at Athena Real Estate. Before that, he supported the various operational and reporting needs of the investment banking group at Bear Stearns.

Mr. Antonopoulos holds a BS degree in finance from Fairfield University.

Anthony Balestrieri is a Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer for Starwood Digital Ventures. In this role, Mr. Balestrieri focuses on digital infrastructure investments. In his career, he has been involved in both equity and debt investments involving data centers, apartments, office, retail, condos, industrial, hotels, and land asset classes.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2019, Mr. Balestrieri was a Director and Head of Acquisitions in Washington, D.C. for MetLife Real Estate. Before that, he was a Director of Acquisitions and Development with Tishman Speyer, and was previously with Akridge and Ernst & Young.

Mr. Balestrieri received a B.A. degree in finance from George Washington University, which included a year of studies at the London School of Economics.

Nick Chadwick is a Managing Director and Head of Asset Management, Europe at Starwood Capital Group. He is based in Starwood Capital’s London office where he asset manages the firm’s European equity investments. In this role, Mr. Chadwick oversees and drives the investment strategy for a wide range of investments across all asset classes. Prior to his current role, he led the asset management of Starwood Capital’s European hotel portfolio where he worked on the operational turn-around, redevelopment, rebranding, refinancing and disposition of a wide range of hotel real estate.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital, Mr. Chadwick worked at Ernst & Young in the real estate audit department where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.

Mr. Chadwick received a Bsc in Economics from the University of York and he is a former President of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association European Chapter.

Nora Creedon serves as the SREIT’s Chief Executive Officer and President. She is a member of the board of directors and oversees SREIT operations.

Prior to her appointment as the SREIT’s Chief Executive Officer and President, Ms. Creedon was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs in the private real estate group within Asset & Wealth Management. She most recently served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Goldman Sachs Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (“GS REIT”), a public, non-listed equity REIT.

She also oversaw the real estate investments of the Exchange Fund series, which included approximately $4 billion of core real estate. Ms. Creedon served on the Global Real Estate Investment Committee at Goldman Sachs.

Prior to her role as the Chief Executive Officer and President of GS REIT, Ms. Creedon was the Global Head of REITs and Infrastructure strategies within Fundamental Equity investing at Goldman Sachs. Ms. Creedon first joined Goldman Sachs in 2001 and rejoined the firm in 2010 after working at Fidelity Investments from 2004 to 2007 and Fortress Investment Group from 2007 to 2010.

Ms. Creedon received a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

Mark Deason is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Business Development and Strategy at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, Mr. Deason is focused on the various strategic business needs of the firm, such as growing business lines, diversifying revenue streams, and enhancing relationships with our larger partners/investors so that we can capitalize on the strength of the firm and build our global franchise. Prior to taking over in his current capacity, Mr. Deason spent eight years as the Head of U.S. Asset Management and 13 years in the Acquisitions Group, ultimately overseeing the west-coast investment activities. While at Starwood Capital, Mr. Deason has participated in investments throughout the capital structure, including commercial, hospitality and residential acquisitions and developments. He is a member of Starwood’s Executive and Investment Committees.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2003, Mr. Deason worked for Merrill Lynch in the firm’s real estate investment banking group, assisting west-coast real estate, hospitality and gaming companies with a range of capital origination and M&A activities.

Mr. Deason received a BA, cum laude, in business economics with a minor in accounting from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Jeffrey F. DiModica, CFA, has served as Starwood Property Trust’s President since 2014 and as a member of the Board of Directors since 2026. He previously served as a director of Starwood Property Trust from its inception in 2009 until July 2014. In his current role, he leads and serves as a member of the investment committee of each of Starwood Property Trust’s business lines, including Large Loan Lending, Residential Lending, Infrastructure Lending, Property Investing, and Investing & Servicing, which collectively have approximately $31 billion of assets under management. Mr. DiModica additionally serves as a Senior Managing Director of an affiliate of the manager of Starwood Property Trust.

Prior to serving as President, from 1993 to 2014, Mr. DiModica served in various investment banking roles at Royal Bank of Scotland and Merrill Lynch. Mr. DiModica began his career in the Merchant and Investment Banking Group of the Commercial Real Estate Department at Chemical Bank from 1989 to 1991.

Mr. DiModica received a B.S./B.A. degree with distinction and a concentration in Finance from Boston University in 1989, an M.B.A. degree from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College in 1993, and received his Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1995. Mr. DiModica serves on the Miami Advisory Board of the Posse Foundation and was the founding president of MitoAction, a support, education and advocacy group for families affected by mitochondrial disease.

Mr. DiModica is honored to have been ranked in Commercial Observer’s “The 50 Most Important Figures of Commercial Real Estate Finance” list for 12 consecutive years, including 5 years in the top 10.

Steve Goldman is Co-Head of Global Hotel Group at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, Mr. Goldman oversees the firm’s hospitality acquisition activities, as well as asset management of hospitality investments. Mr. Goldman previously led sourcing, structuring, underwriting and investment execution in the hospitality and leisure sectors in the Americas at Starwood Capital Group.

Mr. Goldman has more than 40 years of lodging industry investment experience within private equity, public company and family businesses. He has held Chief Executive Officer roles at two NYSE lodging REITS: FelCor Lodging Trust (through the integration of its merger with RLJ Lodging Trust), and Sunstone Hotel Investors. Mr. Goldman served as President of SH Group (now called Starwood Hotels), Barry Sternlicht’s innovative hotel brand management company, and as Chief Executive Officer of Societe du Louvre, a Paris-based holding company owned by an affiliate of Starwood Capital that owned both luxury and economy hotel real estate, brand and management companies. Mr. Goldman held senior acquisitions and asset management roles for Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corp. Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide and the Walt Disney Company.

Mr. Goldman received a BS degree from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, and an MBA concentrating in finance from the University of Chicago.

Matthew Guttin is the Chief Compliance Officer at Starwood Capital Group, where he is responsible for overseeing the Firm’s regulatory and compliance program. Before joining Starwood Capital in 2010, Mr. Guttin practiced corporate finance and real estate law at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, LLP, Fried, Frank, Harris Shriver & Jacobson, LLP and DiSanto LLP. Mr. Guttin is an employee of Rinaldi, Finkelstein & Franklin, L.L.C., Starwood Capital’s lead outside counsel. Mr. Guttin earned his B.A. degree from the University of Rochester and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. He is licensed to practice law in New York and Connecticut, and holds the Series 7 and Series 24 licenses.

Kevin Lee is Head of Real Estate, Asia, at Starwood Capital Group. Mr. Lee is responsible for the firm’s real estate investments and real estate asset management across Asia. He is a member of Starwood’s Investment Committee.

Previously, Mr. Lee was a Managing Director at Lone Star Funds, where he led its pan-Asia commercial real estate origination efforts, with focus in the China NPL sector. Mr. Lee was instrumental in building out the China NPL platform, leading Lone Star to be one of the most active foreign investors in the China NPL sector.

Mr. Lee has also worked as Portfolio Manager for the Real Estate Department of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. In this role, Mr. Lee was responsible for sourcing investment opportunities, executing business plans and dispositions, overseeing transactions over $3 billion. Mr. Lee began his real estate career at Starwood Capital on the Asset Management team out of the San Francisco office.

Mr. Lee received a BA in business economics, magna cum laude (with highest departmental honor), from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Michael Li is a Managing Director and Head of Lending, Asia at Starwood Capital Group. Mr. Li is responsible for real estate debt origination and asset management for Starwood’s lending platform in Asia.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2021, Mr. Li was a Managing Director at Värde Partners where he focused on real estate investment opportunities across Asia. Mr. Li started his career in the investment banking division at Lehman Brothers.

Mr. Li received a B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University.

Qahir Madhany is a Managing Director and the Head of Acquisitions, Americas at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, Mr. Madhany oversees the Firm’s equity investments in North America. He is also a member of Starwood’s Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Starwood, Mr. Madhany was a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group at Blackstone and played a leadership role in over $60 billion of Blackstone’s investments across all asset classes in the US and Canada. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Madhany spent over seven years at Westbrook Partners focused on real estate transactions across the United States.

Mr. Madhany received a B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering and a B.S. in Economics from Duke University. Mr. Madhany serves as a board member for The Bruce Museum.

Irakli Meskhi is a Managing Director and Co-Head of Real Estate Debt Europe at Starwood Capital Group. Mr. Meskhi is jointly leading the firm’s European debt business and overseeing origination, structuring and execution of the firm’s debt investment activity across all asset classes and geographies in Europe.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2015, Mr. Meskhi worked in the Real Estate Structured Finance team at BNP Paribas Corporate & Investment Bank, based in London, originating and structuring large CRE loans for global private equity sponsors. At BNPP, he was also responsible for the UK REIT and non-listed corporate real estate sector coverage advising on senior unsecured and convertible bond issuances. Before that, Mr. Meskhi was part of BNP Paribas’ Equity Derivatives & Structured Products team.

Mr. Meskhi holds an MSc in Finance degree with Distinction from Cass Business School and is a CFA charter holder.

Oleg Olovyannikov is a Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer at Starwood Capital Group, where he leads the Firm’s global technology strategy. He is responsible for overseeing all IT initiatives and platforms across Starwood Capital and its affiliates, ensuring that technology enables and enhances the Firm’s business operations worldwide. Mr. Olovyannikov joined Starwood Capital in 2025, bringing extensive experience in financial technology leadership.

Prior to joining the Firm, he served as Chief Technology Officer at Elliott Investment Management. Before Elliott, he held the CTO role at Tudor Investment Corporation. He began his career as an engineer at Bell Labs and subsequently held senior technology leadership positions at several prominent organizations, including JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Citadel, and Cerberus Capital Management.

Mr. Olovyannikov earned a BS in Electrical Engineering and an MS in Computer Science, both from New York University.

Matthew Parrott is a Managing Director in Acquisitions at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, Mr. Parrott is responsible for the firm’s investment activity in the U.K., Ireland and Northern Europe and has been responsible for direct real estate investments, corporate acquisitions and public company situations across the region. He is a member of Starwood’s Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital Group in 2018, Mr. Parrott was a Principal at CBRE Global Investment Partners’ European indirect investment strategy and began his career at Deloitte.

Mr. Parrott received a B.A. degree in Business Economics from University of Exeter.

Irene Ryan is a Managing Director and Co-Head of Real Estate Debt, Europe at Starwood Capital Group. Ms. Ryan is responsible for co-leading the European debt business and overseeing the management of the firm’s real estate debt portfolio across multiple asset classes and international jurisdictions.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2013, Ms. Ryan worked in a real estate focused 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 received a bachelor of business studies from Trinity College Dublin and is a fellow of the Institute of the Chartered Accountants of Ireland (FCA).

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.

Francesco Zanella is a Managing Director in Acquisitions at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, Mr. Zanella leads the Firm’s investment efforts in the southern European markets and manages European hotel acquisition opportunities. He is a member of Starwood’s Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Starwood in 2013, Mr. Zanella was part of Deutsche Bank’s Special Situations team and previously worked as a fixed income trader on Deutsche Bank’s CMBS principal desk.

Mr. Zanella received an MSc in Finance & Investments from Rotterdam School of Management and an MSc in Accounting, Financial Management and Control from Universitá Bocconi, Milan.

Christopher Graham serves as a Senior Adviser to Starwood Capital Group. In this role, he provides assistance and advice to the acquisition team, and provides strategic advice to senior management. In addition, he currently lectures at Harvard Business School. Previously, Christopher held various positions at the firm, including Head of Global Investment Strategy, where he focused on our various investment strategies globally, and Head of Real Estate Acquisitions for the Americas, where he supervised the Firm’s investments in that region.

Mr. Graham received a BBA degree in finance from James Madison University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Madison Grose is Co-General Counsel of Starwood Capital Group. He also is a Senior Advisor of Lotus Infrastructure Partners. In addition, Mr. Grose served as a Trustee or Director of Starwood Hotels (formerly NYSE: HOT, since merged with Marriott Hotels) from 1994 until 2001, and as a Director of iStar Financial (NYSE: STAR), from 1999 until 2003.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 1992, Mr. Grose was a Senior and Founding Partner with Pircher, Nichols & Meeks, a law firm specializing in complex real estate-related transactions.

Mr. Grose received a BA with distinction and highest departmental honors from Stanford University, and a JD from UCLA School of Law, where he served as Chief Comment Editor of the UCLA Law Review.