Michael Casavant is a Managing Director and Co-Head in the Underwriting Group of Ladder Capital. Prior to joining Ladder Capital, Mr. Casavant was a Senior Vice President in the Global Real Estate Group of Lehman Brothers for ten years, where his primary responsibilities included evaluating and closing loans and then getting the loans rated for commercial mortgage backed securities. He also worked on providing financing for real estate mergers and acquisitions and Lehman’s real estate funds. Prior to joining Lehman, Mr. Casavant worked at Ocwen Asset Investment Corporation and in Coopers & Lybrand LLC’s Financial Advisory Services Group. He holds a B.S. in Finance from Bentley College.
Michael Scarola is a Managing Director and Co-Head in the Underwriting Group of Ladder Capital. Prior to joining Ladder Capital, Mr. Scarola worked at UBS and Dillon Read Capital Management, most recently as Co-Head of Underwriting. His responsibilities included evaluating and underwriting commercial real estate transactions including fixed rate loans, floating rate loans, mezzanine loans and equity investments. Prior to joining UBS, Mr. Scarola worked at Citigroup focusing on commercial real estate equity investments. Prior to Citigroup, he worked in the Real Estate Capital Markets Group of Deloitte & Touche LLP and with the E&Y Kenneth Leventhal Real Estate Group of Ernst & Young LLP. Mr. Scarola holds a B.S. in Finance & Management from the Stern School of Business at New York University.
John Bird is a Director in the Underwriting Group of Ladder Capital. Mr. Bird previously worked for eleven years for Lehman Brothers as a Senior Vice President, where he originated, underwrote and oversaw the underwriting of CMBS loans. Immediately prior to joining Ladder Capital, Mr. Bird spent two years at Grindstone Asset Management, a commercial real estate and debt advisor to banks, financial institutions and pension funds. Mr. Bird holds a Masters in Real Estate from New York University, and a B.S. in Design from Drexel University.
Matthew Jacobs is a Director in the Underwriting Group at Ladder Capital. Prior to joining Ladder Capital, Mr. Jacobs was a Senior Associate in the Real Estate Financial Advisory Services Group of Deloitte & Touche, where he provided consulting and valuation services to clients on various real estate debt and equity investments. Prior to Deloitte, Mr. Jacobs worked at UBS and Dillon Read Capital Management as an underwriter, evaluating and underwriting commercial real estate transactions including fixed and floating rate loans, mezzanine loans, and equity investments. Mr. Jacobs holds a B.A. in Economics & Finance from Washington University in St. Louis.
Stephan Mazzacca is a Director in the Underwriting Group of Ladder Capital. Prior to joining Ladder Capital, Mr. Mazzacca was a Senior Credit Officer with Centerline Capital Group, where his primary responsibilities included evaluating pools of commercial mortgage backed loans for acquisition and special servicing assignments. Prior to joining Centerline, Mr. Mazzacca worked at CW Capital Investment underwriting and managing the underwriting for the New York Office. Prior to CW Capital he was a member of the Lehman Brothers Global Real Estate Group for nearly eight years where he completed the underwriting and securitization of stabilized and transitional assets for fixed and floating rate loan structures. He holds a M.S. in Real Estate from New York University and B.S. in Accounting from St. John’s University.
Jack Weisselberg is a Director in the Underwriting Group of Ladder Capital. Prior to joining Ladder Capital, Mr. Weisselberg worked at UBS and Dillon Read Capital Management as part of the origination team, where was responsible for analyzing, originating and underwriting a variety of commercial real estate loans including included permanent financing, short term bridge loans, as well as mezzanine and equity transactions. Mr. Weisselberg holds a B.A. in Real Estate from Pennsylvania State University.
Craig Robertson is an Associate Director in the Underwriting Group at Ladder Capital. Prior to joining Ladder Capital, Mr. Robertson was a Manager in the Real Estate Financial Advisory Services Group of Deloitte & Touche, where he provided consulting and valuation services to clients on various real estate debt and equity investments. Mr. Robertson holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia.
Matt R. Jacobs is an Associate in the Underwriting Group at Ladder Capital. Prior to joining Ladder Capital, Mr. Jacobs was an Associate in the Commercial Office Brokerage division at CB Richard Ellis, where he specialized in consultation and tenant representation, providing real estate advisory and brokerage services to both public and private sector clients. Prior to CBRE, Mr. Jacobs worked at Citigroup in their Management Associate training program. Mr. Jacobs holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan and holds an M.B.A. in Finance and Leadership from the NYU Stern School of Business.