Craig A. Spencer is the Chairman & CEO of Arden Group, established in 1989 as a fully integrated real estate company focusing on acquiring, developing and managing high quality real estate assets in the top 25 U.S. MSAs. The company has purchased and developed more than $7+ billion of real estate consisting of industrial properties, office buildings, full-service, resort and luxury branded condominiums. Arden’s asset management group has managed more than $12+ billion in assets.

Mr. Spencer is the Principal of Arden Fund Management, LLC which operates Arden’s discretionary real estate equity and debt funds. Under Mr. Spencer’s leadership, Arden Group launched its private equity fund management business in 2012 with its flagship equity funds. In 2016, Arden Group augmented its equity business with the launching of Arden Credit Fund, an investment fund that originates and acquires performing loans and preferred equity backed by a diversified portfolio of high-quality commercial and multifamily real estate in primary markets in the United States. Arden launched its Opportunity Zone business in 2019 with a focus on multifamily and student housing in top U.S. markets. Finally, Arden launched Arden Digital Ventures in 2022 focused on investments in property related technologies (“Prop-tech”). Arden Fund Management has raised in excess of $2 billion and in 2017, 2018, and 2019 was ranked #1 Globally by Preqin as the Most Consistent Fund Manager for all funds, all strategies and as the Top Performing Private Real Estate Fund in 2020.

In addition to leading Arden Group, Mr. Spencer has participated in several non‐real estate ventures including the acquisition and subsequent sale of Admiralty Bank to Royal Bank of Canada in February 2003. He was also a founding board member of Anchor Commercial Bank based in Palm Beach, Florida. Mr. Spencer was Founder/Co‐Owner with Jon Bon Jovi of the Philadelphia Soul Arena Football Team, helping the team become the 2008 World Champions. Messrs. Spencer and Bon Jovi in 2006 established and are the Co‐Chairmen of the JBJ Soul Charitable Foundation, which has provided 700 housing units along with educational programs to homeless men and women and veterans. The Foundation through its Soul Kitchens has served over 500,000 meals.

Mr. Spencer attended the University of Florida and earned a J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law. Craig is a licensed attorney who specialized in real estate, banking and bankruptcy law. He is a Research Sponsor and frequent guest lecturer at the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and serves on the Georgia State School of Law Board of Visitors.

Footnotes :

• 2017 was ranked #1 Globally by Preqin as the Most Consistent Fund Manager for all funds, all strategies
  • Preqin’s rankings for the Most Consistent Top Performing Closed-End Private Real Estate Fund Managers for 2017 was published in the 2017 Alternative Assets Performance Monitor. Preqin’s performance rankings are measured by net IRR. Arden Fund Management tied for #1 ranking in Preqin’s rankings for the Most Consistent Top Performing Closed-End Private Real Estate Fund Managers. No compensation was provided by Arden in connection with obtaining this ranking.
• 2018 was ranked #1 Globally by Preqin as the Most Consistent Fund Manager for all funds, all strategies
  • Preqin’s rankings for the Most Consistent Top Performing Closed-End Private Real Estate Fund Managers for 2018 was published in the 2018 Alternative Assets Performance Monitor. Preqin’s performance rankings are measured by net IRR. Arden Fund Management tied for #1 ranking in Preqin’s rankings for the Most Consistent Top Performing Closed-End Private Real Estate Fund Managers. No compensation was provided by Arden in connection with obtaining this ranking
• 2019 was ranked #1 Globally by Preqin as the Most Consistent Fund Manager for all funds, all strategies
  • Preqin’s rankings for the Most Consistent Top Performing Closed-End Private Real Estate Fund Managers for 2019 was published in the 2019 Global Real Estate League Tables. Preqin’s performance rankings are measured by net IRR. Arden Fund Management tied for #1 ranking in Preqin’s rankings for the Most Consistent Top Performing Closed-End Private Real Estate Fund Managers. No compensation was provided by Arden in connection with obtaining this ranking.
• 2020 was listed as a Preqin Top Performing Private Real Estate Fund
  • Preqin’s rankings for the Top Performing Private Real Estate Fund for 2020 was published in the 2020 Global Real Estate League Tables. Preqin’s performance rankings measured by net IRR. No compensation was provided by Arden in connection with obtaining this ranking.

Mr. Caruso joined Arden in 1996, has 26 years of real estate experience and previously served as Arden’s CFO. As COO he has oversight of the ongoing business operations for the Arden Platform including Asset Management, Property Management, Finance, Compliance, IT and Human Resources.

Joseph earned a B.S. in Accounting from St. Joseph’s University. He has been directly involved in $6.0b+ of transactions including hotels, office buildings, industrial, retail, and residential assets.

Mr. Pietropoli joined Arden in 1995 and has 29 years of hotel and office building operations and construction experience. He leads the operational due diligence team for all acquisitions and post-closing, and oversees the ongoing property management and operations of all assets.

Prior to joining Arden, Richard worked with Servico Hotel Company and Ritz-Carlton Hotel Corporation. Richard earned an A.B.A from Pennsylvania State University.

Mr. Dilmore joined Arden in 2021 and has nearly 20 years of finance and accounting experience in real estate and financial services. Prior to joining Arden, he was a Senior Vice President at Link Logistics, Blackstone’s domestic industrial real estate operating platform, where he was responsible for the accounting and financial reporting for over $10 billion of assets. Prior to that, he was the Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer & Chief Accounting Officer of a vertically integrated real estate investment trust focused on providing a comprehensive set of debt financing options to the real estate industry and operating a portfolio of commercial real estate assets covering the apartment, office, industrial and retail asset classes.

Fred earned a B.S. in Accounting from The College of New Jersey and is an active CPA.

Brian is a real estate attorney with Vos-IP and has been engaged by Arden as the firm’s Outside General Counsel since 2019. Prior to being engaged through Vos-IP as Outside General Counsel, Brian was an attorney at Cozen O’Connor and represented Arden for more than 5 years on matters including acquisitions, dispositions, financings, joint ventures, leasing, asset management and fund formation. In addition to representing Arden, Brian’s previous experience includes the representation of other private equity funds, family offices, public and privately held REITs and other investors and operators in connection with complex commercial real estate transactions involving office, industrial, hospitality, multifamily and retail properties.

Brian earned his law degree and MBA from Temple University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Penn State University.

Mr. Goedar has worked with Arden since 2017 to form Arden’s industrial vertical and formally joined Arden in 2021. Prior to Arden, Mr. Goedar served in the investment group at NorthStar Realty Finance & NorthStar Asset Management (acquired by Colony Capital), where he worked on over $5bn in platform investments in private and public real estate companies and strategic joint ventures, including leading the REITs entry into the industrial sector. Prior to NorthStar, Shike was an investor in the US Real Estate team at Partners Group, and he started his career as an investment banking analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Mr. Goedar received an undergraduate degree in finance at Georgia State University and his MBA from New York University.

Ms. Rea joined Arden in 2021 as Chief Operating Officer of Arden Logistics Parks. Prior to joining Arden, Rea was the COO and founding team member for BKM Capital Partners, a $1.7B industrial fund manager, where she played a critical role in building the infrastructure, raising $750 million in institutional equity and hiring more than 100 employees to build the business and brand. Rea had oversight of the ongoing business operations, including Investor Relations & Capital Raise, Asset Management, Property Management & Leasing, Human Resources, Technology and Marketing departments.

Rea graduated cum laude with a Marketing Communications degree from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA

Ms. Larin joined Arden in 2021 as Chief Financial Officer of Arden Logistics Parks. Larin brings more than 10 years of finance and Real Estate fund related experience. She started her career at E&Y and held finance positions with Morgan Stanley, State Street and most recently with Blackstone-backed Link Logistics as Vice President, Accounting & Reporting.

Pamela earned an accounting degree from Lehigh University and is an active CPA.

Mr. Timmons joined Arden Group in 2021 as the Managing Director of Asset Management for Arden Logistics Management.  Prior to joining Arden, Mr. Timmons was a Director at Rialto Capital Management where he was responsible for the operational oversite and strategic execution of all owned assets within the industrial platform.  Portfolios managed by Mr. Timmons comprise over 25 million square feet in 11 markets with an aggregate market value of approximately $2.0 billion.  Additional professional activity includes various roles within investment banking, development, and appraisal/consulting.  

Mr. Timmons earned his BBA in Finance and Real Estate from Baylor University and an MBA with concentrations in Corporate Finance and Alternative Investments from Southern Methodist University.  He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (“CFA”) designation.

Mr. Vergilio joined Arden in 2017 and leads acquisitions for the growing industrial vertical. In his role, Christian is responsible for sourcing, underwriting and closing industrial transactions for Arden’s equity funds and Arden Logistics Parks. Prior to joining Arden, Christian worked at Angelo, Gordon & Co. as a member of the Acquisitions Team, where he underwrote industrial, office, retail and mixed-use properties and transacted on investments in excess of $400 million.

Christian earned his B.B.A. from Villanova University where he graduated with a major in Finance and Real Estate.

Mr. Bardel joined Arden in 2012 and has 30 years of hotel acquisition and operational experience. He leads the Arden hotel investment team and co-heads its hotel asset management team.

Prior to joining Arden, Rene spent almost 30 years in senior level executive roles with one of Arden’s long-time joint venture partners, The Continental Companies (TCC), where he was Executive Vice President, responsible for asset management, new development, and acquisitions.

Greg Denton brings 30 years of hotel investment and asset management experience and has executed on over $6 billion of hotel transactions. Prior to joining Arden, Mr. Denton held executive positions at several prominent hospitality investment companies, including The Related Group of Florida, Gencom Group, and CNL Hospitality REIT where he spearheaded the acquisition of over 100 hotel properties in nine countries.

Greg received his bachelors and masters degrees from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration and has served as an adjunct professor teaching hospitality finance and investment courses at Cornell University, Florida International University, and Washington State University.

Mr. Tucker joined Arden in 2015 and has 9 years of real estate industry experience. James has invested in and managed over 3 million square feet of commercial real estate worth over $1.1 billion. James is responsible for acquisition and asset management activities for office investments.

Prior to joining Arden, James worked for Accenture where he provided management consulting services for large multinational clients. James received an M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Engineering Management from Duke University, and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Bucknell University.

Justin is a real estate and finance entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in real estate, investment banking, finance, management, and operations. Prior to joining Arden, Justin founded TigerBridge Capital, which is an SEC-registered broker-dealer that provides transaction and investment structuring support services to various private funds and other issuers. Justin also served as a Managing Director at Greystone & Co. where he built and managed a team responsible for structuring and raising EB-5 capital for Greystone’s large multifamily developers.

Justin is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Northeastern University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and an MBA from Columbia University.

Jeffrey Perlik is Head of Development where he oversees the development process across the AQOZF portfolio.  Previously, Mr. Perlik was Managing Director of Design and Construction for development at Fisher Brothers.  Most recently he oversaw over $1.7 billion in development of residential/office projects in New York City and Washington DC, including the United Arab Emirates diplomacy building, 111 Murray Street, 225 East 39th Street and 701 2nd Street NE on Capitol Hill. Prior to joining Fisher Brother, Jeff was a cofounder of Colgate Development, a fee development company which specialized in luxury hotels and condominiums.  Under Jeff’s leadership, Colgate built several hotels and residential properties including the Ritz-Carlton in Charlotte, NC and the flagship Andaz Hotel in NYC.  Jeff started his career in real estate development as a Project Executive for Millennium Partners.

Mr. Perlik holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering with a minor in Structural Engineering from Syracuse University.

Mr. Cooke joined Arden in 2019 to assist with acquisitions and asset management. Previously, Jonathan worked at Amstar, a Denver-based real estate investment firm, where he was responsible for underwriting both acquisition and development opportunities and managing a portion of the firm’s portfolio across multiple asset types.

Jonathan earned a BS and an MBA from the University of Virginia.

Mr. Toukatly joined Arden in 2017 to originate and underwrite debt investments. Matthew is responsible for sourcing and underwriting new transactions and conducting portfolio-level asset management. In addition, Matthew is responsible for strategic syndication of first mortgage and mezzanine investments. While at Arden, Matthew has closed senior loan, mezzanine loan, and preferred equity investments with a total capitalization in excess of 2.0 billion.

Previously, Matthew worked on the Mezzanine Acquisitions & Originations Group in Global Real Assets at J.P. Morgan Investment Management. During his tenure he transacted on debt investments with a total capitalization in excess of $1.8 billion. Prior to this, he worked for Redwood Trust, where he assisted in the origination of approximately $275 million of first mortgage and mezzanine financing on various asset classes located throughout the United States.

Matthew earned a B.B.A. from Villanova University where he graduated Cum Laude with a triple major in Real Estate, Economics, and Finance

Ms. Spencer joined Arden after working on her own startup, aimed at establishing a direct-to-consumer data economy by providing a simple tool for ownership, management, and monetization of personal data. Through her entrepreneurial experience, she learned the founder side of the venture capital world and honed her fundraising and advisory board building skills. During this time, she also played an integral role in the Arden CEO’s strategic venture investments. Taylor is a member of Women In Prop Tech (WIPT), and ULI, Los Angeles; selected as a “Shark” for ULI’s Technology and Innovation 2022 Shark Tank Event. Taylor earned her BA at the University of Pennsylvania where she graduated with honors, two majors and a minor. She used her time in Philadelphia to continuously educate herself on Arden’s growing business. Taylor went on to be part of the prestigious Page Program at NBCUniversal, where she worked her way up to being a producer for the media giant on existing hit shows like THE VOICE, as well as pilots for original concepts; including FUNDED, a hopeful competitor to CBS’s SHARK TANK, but with a venture capital fund approach.

Stewart is a connector and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in workforce strategy, capital acquisition, and deal structure.

He is a Principal at OneDigital, one of the nation’s leading health and HR advisory firms. Prior to OneDigital, Stewart held management and consulting positions at Brokerage Concepts, Inc., and was the Director of Business and Valuation Services for the University of Pennsylvania Health System, and worked in the Healthcare Financial Consulting Division at Ernst & Young. 

He is a member and past president of the Pennsylvania Association of Healthcare Underwriters (PAHU) and a member of the Greater Philadelphia Association of Healthcare Underwriters (GPAHU).  He served two consecutive terms on United Healthcare’s national advisory council. Stewart is also actively involved in Business Clubs America. He was part of the Philadelphia Soul ownership group from 2015-2019 and was Chairman of the AFL Expansion Committee. 

He received his degree in Business Administration and Accounting from Drexel University.

Mr. Rodio joined Arden in 2022 and has over 25 years of investor relations experience working with a wide range of institutional investors and over 35 years in the financial services industry.   He held senior investor relations positions at Waterfall Asset Management, Aberdeen Asset Management, and Morgan Stanley Investment Management.  He also served as a Senior Investment Consultant at Willis Towers Watson working with the firm’s largest OCIO clients.   He previously worked in the institutional fixed income divisions of Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse.

Bruce earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Thomas P. Gerrity is the Joseph Aresty Professor of Management and Dean Emeritus at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His research, consulting and teaching expertise is focused on leadership, strategic change management, and corporate governance.

Thomas is the Academic Director of the Advanced Management Program, Wharton’s flagship five-week program for top executives, and Wharton’s Corporate Governance program for Directors.

Dr. Gerrity currently serves on the Board of Directors of Internet Capital Group and PharMerica Corporation. He previously served ten years as a member of the Corporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and on the boards of Technology Leaders LP venture capital funds.

A Rhodes Scholar in Economics at Oxford University, Dr. Gerrity received his Ph.D. in Management from the Sloan School at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also earned his B.S. degree and M.S. degree in electrical engineering and computer sciences from MIT.

Dr. Gyourko provides invaluable consultation on a myriad of business and economic issues, and real estate, including access to Wharton’s Research. Mr. Gyourko has served as the Director of the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center at the Wharton School for the past 12 years, and is Chair of Wharton’s Real Estate Department.

Dr. Mueller provides advice on economic issues with a specific focus on market by market cycles. Dr. Mueller is a Professor at Denver University, F.L. Burns School of Real Estate & Construction Management, a visiting professor at Harvard University, and the Real Estate Investment Strategist for Black Creek Group.

Through his extensive work, Stephen Mullin provides important economic advice and consultation, particularly in the areas that impact states, cities and municipalities. Stephen Mullin is President and Principal of Econsult Solutions, a consulting practice that concentrates on state and public finance, economics, and policy analysis.

Former Governor Rendell provides important economic advice and consultation on civic, economic, and financial issues. Governor Rendell serves as a consultant or board member for several green and alternative energy firms and continues to pursue his interests in Government Sourcing Solutions and Public Financial Management.

Ms. Hunt is a retired private equity professional. She is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the Cardinal Ireland Partners Fund. Prior to retiring, she led Ascension Investment Management’s private equity strategies and chaired the Investment Strategy Committee. Before joining AIM in 2010, she spent seven years as the Chief Investment Officer of the WVU Foundation and previously was an investment banker for 20 years.