New York – Hodges Ward Elliott

Mark Elliott

Mark Elliott, President of Hodges Ward Elliott (“HWE”), joined the firm in 1983 and serves as strategic leader of the firm’s various business lines. HWE has sold more hotels corporately, and Mark has sold more hotels than any other individual in the United States. In the last 27 years, he has personally sold and/or financed almost 1,500 hotels, approximately 297,000 rooms, with a dollar volume of approximately $52 billion.
Mark is a past co-chairman of Industry Real Estate Finance Advisory Council (“IREFAC”), and he is mentioned annually as the leading hotel broker by Real Estate Forum, Commercial Property News and other publications. He has written articles for Real Estate Finance Journal and authored a chapter in the Hotel Investment Handbook, as well as being quoted in the Wall Street Journal as a lodging industry expert.
Mark is a recipient of the prestigious “Jack A. Shaffer Financial Advisor of the Year” award, the “C. Everett Johnson” award, and has been a speaker at the Harvard Business School.

Dan Peek

Dan joined HWE in June of 2019 as President of the firm’s hotel group. He is charged with leading a team that executes institutional-grade hotel and resort property transactions globally. During his career, he has completed nearly $30 billion in investment sale, debt, and structured finance transactions.
Previously, Dan served as senior managing director and head of the hospitality practice group for HFF, joining the firm in 2007 to build a dedicated hotel platform. Prior to HFF, he was a co-founder of Regent Street, an affiliate of The Plasencia Group (TPG), a boutique firm specializing in sale, financing, and advisory services for distinctive hotels and resorts throughout the Americas.
Peek is a member of the Urban Land Institute and its Hotel Development Council, the AHLA Investment Roundtable, advisory board of the Cornell Real Estate and Finance Center, and the Cornell Hotel Society. Dan is a recipient of the industry’s prestigious “Jack A. Shaffer Financial Advisor of the Year” award.

Lawrence Britvan

Lawrence Britvan is the Managing Director/Group Head of Capital Markets at Hodges Ward Elliott. Lawrence joined the company in 2016 to expand the company’s Capital Markets platform across all markets and asset classes. Prior to joining HWE, Lawrence was a Senior Managing Director at CCRE where he was a member of the senior management team that oversaw the development and operation of all parts of the business.
Prior to that, from 2005 to 2009, Lawrence was a senior member of the Real Estate Finance Group at Credit Suisse. In this capacity, Lawrence managed the origination, pricing, structuring, closing, syndication and securitization of large fixed and floating rate first mortgages and mezzanine loans throughout the U.S., Latin America and Asia. Lawrence was also critical to the group’s real estate equity investments and asset management business, including the underwriting, investment and development of hotel and casino projects throughout the United States.
From 1996 to 2004, Lawrence was an attorney solely advising on real estate financing matters. Lawrence graduated from the State University of New York at Albany and received his J.D. from Cardozo Law School.

Paul Gillen

Paul Gillen is a Managing Director in Hodges Ward Elliott’s commercial investment sales & advisory practice. Paul leads the New York commercial team and has executed office, multifamily, retail and land sales and recapitalizations for clients.
Mr. Gillen joined HWE in 2015 to help open the New York office and build its commercial team. Prior to joining Hodges Ward Elliott, Paul held officer positions at CBRE, Morgan Stanley, and UBS. At CBRE, Paul oversaw all office sale transactions in New York City and was a recipient of the Edward S. Gordon REBNY Ingenious Deal award in 2011. Before that, he was a Vice President in acquisitions at Morgan Stanley covering the MSREF and PRIME Property funds. He began his career at UBS Realty.
Mr. Gillen holds an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and a Masters in Business Administration from New York University. He is a board member, guest lecturer, and mentor for the Steers Center for Global Real Estate at Georgetown University.

Daniel Parker

Daniel Parker is a Managing Director in the Commercial Investment Advisory practice at Hodges Ward Elliott. Mr. Parker specializes in institutional-quality multifamily, office, retail and development transactions throughout the New York City market. Mr. Parker has a particular expertise and background in New York City multifamily product, including properties with market rate units, rent stabilized units, LIHTC agreements, 421a tax abatements, Mitchell Lama (pre- and post-1974), 70/30 Affordable New York programs and other regulatory agreements.
Mr. Parker has executed investment sales transactions in excess of $5 billion in the New York City market since 2011. Notable multifamily sales include 1 QPS in Long Island City ($284mm), 38-building Bronx 1000 portfolio ($140mm), 2001-2045 Story Avenue ($88mm), Chocolate Factory at 275 Park ($67mm), Rocket Lofts at 100 South 4th Street ($61mm), 424 Bedford Avenue ($44mm) and 1065-1075 Gerard Avenue ($36mm). Mr. Parker has represented clients that include the Related Companies, Rockpoint, Meadow Partners, Brickman, Carlyle, TH Real Estate, Westbrook Partners, East End Capital, and a number of private families.
Mr. Parker joined the firm in July 2015. Prior to HWE, he was a Vice President at the Related Companies, where he oversaw asset management of a 2,700 unit rent stabilized workforce housing portfolio. Mr. Parker brings a unique approach to multifamily advisory work because of his past experience managing and executing multifamily investment business plans. Prior to Related, Mr. Parker worked on the Savills (then Studley) Capital Markets Investment Sales Group and started his career at Prana Investments as a multifamily asset manager in New York City.
Mr. Parker is a frequent speaker at industry events, and is an active member of REBNY, CHIP and PREA. He earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Utah and an M.B.A. from New York University Stern School of Business. Mr. Parker is fluent in Spanish after serving for two years in Mexico City on behalf of his church. Mr. Parker enjoys golfing, hiking and boating with his family on Candlewood Lake in Connecticut.

Anthony Ledesma

Anthony Ledesma joined Hodges Ward Elliott in 2019 and serves as a Managing Director on the New York commercial investment sales team. Over the course of his 13 years in the business, he has completed in excess of $35 billion of dispositions, acquisitions and recapitalizations, in addition to the creation of numerous leasehold positions. His career has spanned all property types, and he is known for his sophisticated financial acumen, specializing in value engineering across the capital stack.
He most recently served as a Managing Director on the Investment Sales team at Jones Lang LaSalle, leading the sale, purchase and recapitalization of tristate real estate transactions. He was also the team’s primary director of institutional transactions. Prior to his tenure at JLL, he served as the Director of Investments at Wolf Realty, where he managed a family office that encompassed in excess of 80 properties through the country. His responsibilities included acquisition sourcing, dispositions and leasing. The multi-disciplinary, hands-on experience gained as a principal gives him a unique lens into how to maximize value on behalf of his clients, tailoring his marketing efforts to the sensibilities of sophisticated investors in the market.
Anthony started his career at CBRE in the Institutional Investment Sales Group, and is a 2006 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

Michael Britvan

Michael Britvan is a Managing Director in Hodges Ward Elliott’s Capital Markets Group. Michael joined the firm in 2020 to help lead and expand the firm’s loan sale advisory initiative.
Prior to joining HWE, Michael was a Managing Director at Mission Capital Advisors where he oversaw the valuation and trading of performing, sub-performing and non-performing commercial, consumer residential, business, and equipment loans in both the United States and Latin America. Over the course of his career, Michael has traded more than $15 billion of loans on behalf of financial institutions including banks, insurance companies, special servicers, funds and government clients.
Michael earned dual degrees in Philosophy Politics & Law and History from Binghamton University.

Jay Morrow

Jay Morrow leads HWE’s New York Hospitality Investment Advisory practice. He specializes in institutional-grade hotel and resort property transactions throughout North America, including investment advisory and capital placement with both domestic and international buyers.
Mr. Morrow is a frequent speaker at industry events, including the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference and other publications and conferences. He joined the firm in 2008 after earning of a B.B.A. in Business Administration from Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, GA, where he was a four-year letterman and two-year captain of the Men’s Baseball team.

Michael Straw

Michael Straw is a Managing Director in Hodges Ward Elliott’s Capital Markets group. Michael joined the company in 2016 to help form the Capital Markets platform with Group Head Lawrence Britvan and is responsible for all aspects of deal management and execution.
Prior to joining HWE, Michael was an Associate in the M&A group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, where he advised on over $40 billion of transactions across a variety of industries, including hospitality, gaming and REITs..
Michael graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University and received his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar.

Carolina Bernal

Carolina Bernal is a Senior Vice President in the Hospitality Investment Advisory practice at Hodges Ward Elliott. She specializes in institutional-grade hotel and resort property transactions throughout North America and Latin America, including investment advisory and equity placements.
Ms. Bernal joined the firm in July 2019. Prior to HWE, she spent over two years at HFF in New York where she was the lead senior analyst on 19 transactions totaling over $1.6 billion and underwrote over $13 billion worth of asset and portfolio transactions for full service, resort and select service hotels. Prior to this, Ms. Bernal worked for three years at Xenia Hotels & Resorts in Orlando as member of the investment and finance teams.
Ms. Bernal has been a member of Young Hospitality Investment Professionals since 2015. She earned a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from University of Central Florida.