Entrepreneurial
Execution

As the founder and chairman of Westcore Properties, Marc Brutten’s mission cornerstone is to identify underperforming real estate assets and create value in these assets for the long term benefit of his stakeholders. Since the company’s inception in 2000, Marc has overseen its strategic investment in office, retail and industrial properties in key markets around the world, building its current portfolio to over 24 million square feet and over $2 billion in total asset value.

Recognized as one of the most prolific commercial real estate investors on the west coast, Marc has facilitated more than $4 billion in property acquisitions totaling over 800 buildings and 40 million square feet. He has been particularly successful in the acquisition of portfolios and properties that require repositioning and aggressive management in order to function more successfully in their respective environments.

Prior to forming Westcore Properties, Marc was president of Shidler West, Inc. Under his direction, the company’s industrial portfolio grew to more than 11.3 million square feet and the company’s asset value grew from $20 million to $800 million. Marc has also served as a board member with the San Diego Community Foundation Real Estate Board, Ritz Camera and the University of California alumni, where he was a University Trustee.

Marc is also the founder and chairman of Brutten Global, a private holding company that since 1978, has had numerous direct diversified investments and a Private Equity Group that provides an infusion of needed capital to struggling businesses.

In 1996, Marc founded The Brutten Family Foundation, a private U.S. foundation focused on benefiting multiple San Diego County charities, schools, and organizations. These include the Make A Wish Foundation, The Vanguard Academy, The Bishop’s School, The San Diego Center For Children, The New Children’s Museum, and The San Pasqual Academy.

Marc is involved in numerous professional and community organizations including the Urban Land Institute (ULI), National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Marc also serves as a board member at the New Children’s Museum and is a director at the California Republic Bank. Marc is also a member of the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate’s Policy Advisory Board Executive Committee at USD.

A dedicated martial arts practitioner, Marc holds black belts in Judo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He was the 2012 World Masters Jiu Jitsu gold medalist. Marc is also an accomplished equestrian, having played Polo for many years.

Marc is a graduate of University of California, San Diego and is a former university trustee.

As President and CEO of Westcore Properties, Don Ankeny has overseen the acquisition and management of more than $4 billion in industrial and office assets comprised of more than 750 buildings totaling more than 35 million square feet.

Prior to joining Westcore Properties in 2005, Don founded the real estate group of Robertson Stephens, an investment banking firm acquired by Bank of America, and later by Bank Boston. Don also served as a partner with Trammell Crow Company in Minneapolis.

A member of the IOPC Gold Council of the Urban Land Institute, Don is also a Trustee at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, California, where he serves as Treasurer, Chair of the Finance and Investment Committee, and chair of the Endowment Campaign.

Don graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College with a distinction in economics and holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

As Chief Operating Officer of Westcore Properties, Robert Sistek is responsible for the performance of the company’s 10 million-square-foot portfolio of industrial and office properties. Rob oversees Westcore’s fully-integrated platform of leasing, operations, construction and the execution of the company’s investment strategy through disposition. Rob serves on Westcore’s Investment Committee and is also directly involved in the company’s capital allocation, acquisition and financing activities.

Prior to joining Westcore, Rob was the chief financial officer and executive vice president, investments for Innovative Industrial Properties and served as the senior vice president, investments and vice president, finance for BioMed Realty Trust. Throughout his career in commercial real estate, Rob has held senior roles with ProLogis, DCT Industrial and The Carlyle Group and he has been directly involved in acquisition, financing and disposition transactions totaling over $7 billion.

He serves on the AICPA National Real Estate Committee and has been a recurring guest lecturer for the University of San Diego Master’s in Real Estate and the San Diego State University MBA graduate programs.

Rob graduated summa cum laude from the University of Northern Colorado with a distinction in accounting and holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

As Senior Vice President, Finance at Westcore Properties, Michael plays a key role in the development and execution of the company’s business and financial strategy and has handled more than $1 billion in transaction volume since joining Westcore Properties in 2013. He has also been involved in the structuring of two joint venture partnerships.

Michael’s expertise spans capital markets, investor relations and reporting, transaction execution, investment valuation and underwriting, financial reporting and debt placement.

Prior to joining Westcore Properties, Michael worked at DJO Global, a Blackstone Group portfolio company, and Sony Electronics (NYSE: SNE).

Michael holds a B.S. degree in Finance from Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business.

Hack is responsible for identifying industrial and office investment opportunities throughout Southern California, Phoenix and Las Vegas, as well as maintaining oversight of the leasing efforts of Westcore Properties’ Southern California portfolio.
During his tenure at Westcore Properties, Hack has been intimately involved in more than 35 transactions in excess of $2.0 billion in transaction volume and over 700 lease transactions totaling more than $300 million in gross consideration.

Prior to joining the Westcore team in 2009, Hack was a partner at Murphy Development Company, a leasing manager for Westfield America, one of California’s largest retail development companies.
He has also held positions with Realty Income Corporation, Retail Insite Commercial Real Estate and CBRE.

Hack is currently the president of the San Diego Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP), and affiliated with several professional organizations including the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR),
the Coggan Family Aquatic Complex and several youth sport organizations. Hack is also a member of the facilities board for the Santa Fe Christian School.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

As Director of Property Management, Lori is responsible for oversight of the company’s Property Management personnel and establishment and implementation of strategies, processes and objectives related to Property Management involvement with transactions and asset management. She is also focused on developing and maintaining relationships with key tenants, vendors and third-party associates on a national level.

As a third-party manager for Cushman & Wakefield, Lori previously managed Westcore’s Southern California portfolio including 4.5 million square feet of Industrial and Office properties located in California, Arizona and Utah.

Prior to moving to San Diego and working with Westcore, Lori worked directly for a retail developer, River Oaks Properties, in El Paso, Texas and for PM Realty Group in Houston, Texas for 14 years.

Lori is a primary volunteer for Frosted Faces Foundation, a San Diego based non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing senior animals from shelters and providing them with lifelong veterinary care and the love of a forever family.

Peter Mette is responsible for identifying, negotiating, and closing real estate investments throughout northern California and the Pacific Northwest for Westcore Properties. Since joining Westcore, Peter has acquired 550 85th Street in Oakland, a portfolio of 25 buildings located throughout Silicon Valley, 303 South River Street in Seattle, 4545 Qantas Lane in Stockton, and a portfolio of 12 industrial buildings in Reno, Nevada.

With more than 25 years of experience in commercial real estate, Peter has acquired more than $1 billion of real estate encompassing over 4 million square feet of office and industrial space. Peter also served as a Director at Deutsche Asset and Wealth Management, and a Senior Vice President at KBS Realty Advisors prior to joining Westcore Properties in 2015.

Peter is involved with Hopalong Animal Rescue, East Bay SPCA, and the Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF).

Peter received an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in finance from Georgia State University.

As Director of Acquisitions, Mike is responsible for identifying, negotiating, and closing industrial and office real estate investments within the Los Angeles Area.

Mike joined the Westcore team in 2013 after Westcore purchased the Delta Portfolio, which consisted of just under 10 million square feet of industrial and office properties primarily located in Sacramento, CA (7.5 million SF) and the Midwest (2.3 million SF).  As Director of Leasing of the Delta Portfolio, Mike helped create significant value by executing nearly 500 lease transactions totaling 8.5 million square feet, which moved the portfolio from 71% occupied to 96% occupied over a four year period.  Mike also helped oversee Westcore’s leasing efforts on an additional 5 million square feet of industrial property located throughout the Silicon Valley, Greater San Francisco Bay Area, Reno, and Seattle.

Prior to joining Westcore, Mikewas with CBRE serving as commercial broker, specializing in Industrial & Logistics Brokerage Services within the Greater Sacramento Region.

Mike served as President of the Board of Directors for the Association of Commercial Real Estate (ACRE.com) in Sacramento, as well as being heavily involved with the Sacramento Regional Council for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the American Cancer Society.

Mike played NCAA Division 1 Baseball at UCLA and USD, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Business Administration from the University of San Diego.

Romy provides legal leadership and oversight for Westcore Properties’ national real estate portfolio and the company’s corporate governance. She has more than 20 years of corporate and real estate legal experience. Romy has executed more than $6 Billion of transactions as lead legal counsel for Westcore, including property acquisitions, joint ventures, dispositions of a diverse portfolio of real estate assets, leasing and financing.

Before joining Westcore Properties in 2011, Romy served as associate general counsel for Md7, LLC, a wireless telecommunications real estate management company. She spearheaded the legal direction of the company’s global real estate leasing programs, working alongside the largest wireless telecommunications operators in the U.S. and Europe. Romy also has worked for several San Diego-based law firms.

Romy’s professional affiliations include the Association of Corporate Counsel. She has served on the Board of Directors for Promises2Kids and the Willow Grove Educational Foundation, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Earl Warren Middle School PTSA.

Romy earned a Juris Doctorate from Boston College Law School, and a Bachelor of Arts from Emory University. Romy also is a licensed real estate broker in California.

As Senior Vice President, Asset Management for Westcore Properties, Steve is responsible for oversight of development, asset management & business operations for Northern California as well as oversight of Midwest asset management.
Since joining Westcore Properties in 2014, Steve has overseen the management transition for a 1.87 million square foot, 25 building, $250 million acquisition of flex/R&D portfolio in the California Silicon Valley. In addition, Steve has managed Westcore’s development projects including a 300,000 square foot build-to-suit facility for Tesla Motors in Fremont, CA, a four building 300,000 square foot speculative industrial project in Union City, CA and the major renovation of a 117,000 square foot cold food storage and distribution facility in Union City, CA.

Prior to joining Westcore in 2014, Steve served as Vice President/Western Region for REIT Management and Research, as Senior Development Manager for Panattoni Development Company, and as President of PDC Properties, Inc., a subsidiary of Panattoni Development Company.

Steve holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine.

As Vice President, Asset Management for Westcore Properties, Nick oversees all asset management functions for Southern California, Denver, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Indianapolis, and Charlotte properties. He is currently responsible for the management and operation of over 6 million square feet of real estate across the U.S. and has been actively involved in acquisitions and dispositions totaling over $750 million.

Prior to joining Westcore, Nick served as Senior Asset Manager with the Port of San Diego, where he specialized in industrial, maritime, and commercial real estate asset management for some of San Diego’s most valuable waterfront property, including a 135-acre marine terminal, three major shipyards, the San Diego Convention Center, multiple convention hotels, and over 200,000 sf of waterfront retail.

Additionally, Nick successfully entitled, received necessary approvals and/or assisted towards development of the proposed San Diego Convention Center Expansion project, a 500-room expansion of a major convention hotel, two new 400-room waterfront hotels, a 3.5-acre waterfront park, and a 100,000 sf retail historic rehabilitation project.

Nick is an active member of the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association and the University of San Diego Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate’s Mentorship Program. Nick also is a CCIM candidate, an IASSC Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, and a certified Argus Power User.

He holds a BA from the University of San Diego and a Master’s of Science in Real Estate from the University of San Diego.

As Director of Construction at Westcore Properties, Ryan supports the firm’s focus on acquiring and transforming properties. He works with Westcore’s acquisitions team to evaluate future development and existing buildings, assessing properties and providing estimated budgets. He also assembles design and building teams to transform acquired properties, and he oversees construction.

Prior to joining Westcore, Ryan  held preconstruction/estimating and project management roles at Pacific Building Group, ETC Building & Design and Bycor.  Ryan is certified by the Design-Build Institute of America, the only organization “that defines, teaches and promotes best practices in design-build.”

A resident of Cardiff-By-The-Sea, California, Ryan serves as president of the board for the newly-formed Cardiff-By-The-Sea Foundation, which devotes time and funds to beautification and education projects for the community.

As Human Resources Director at Westcore Properties, Adriana Haefner oversees all aspects of the company’s HR department including compensation and benefits, recruiting, training and development, performance management, and employee relations. Adriana also manages all aspects of payroll, safety and compliance.

Since joining Westcore, Adriana has successfully implemented a new HRMS and payroll system, established a new review and goals process, improved the employee on-boarding process, and designed the employees’ benefit and wellness program.

Prior to joining Westcore in 2014, Adriana served as the HR Manager for El Super Grocery Stores, and Target Corporation. Her positions at Target also include Assets Protection Investigator, Logistics Manager, and Operations Manager.

Adriana is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and volunteers for Feeding America.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Southern California.