Gary Baker - Director of Property Management, Houston
Gary Baker, Director of Property Management, Houston, joined Granite Properties in March 1998, with responsibility for directing Houston's property management services. His team has successfully obtained numerous awards in the last few years, including the CEL "A-List" Awards denoting excellent customer satisfaction, BOMA's International Office Building of the Year, and Energy Star awards. Gary has been active in the real estate industry since 1984, and has held various management positions with several firms including Vantage Companies and Prentiss Properties.
Gary holds the CPM designation from IREM and is a licensed Texas real estate agent. He is active in Houston IREM and BOMA organizations.
Gary received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Sam Houston State University. Paul R. Bennett - Director of Investments, Acquisitions
Paul Bennett, Director of Investments, Acquisitions, leads and coordinates the efforts of the acquisition and disposition team, including market selection and underwriting, negotiation, financial analysis, and due diligence services.
Before Paul joined Granite Properties in January of 2000, he was the Senior Director of Investments for Insignia/ESG. During his tenure at Insignia/ESG, Paul was involved in the acquisition of over $300 million of commercial real estate. Paul began his real estate career in 1992 and has held various positions with Trammel Crow and Paragon Group.
Paul is a CPA and received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas Tech University. Paul also serves as a member of the Real Estate Council.
David R. Cunningham - Director of Development/Construction
David R. Cunningham, Director- Development/Construction, joined Granite in 2000 and has responsibility for development and construction management for shell projects as well as interior construction for Granite Properties. David has over 26 years experience in property development, design and construction, which has included most property types ranging in size from 30,000 SF to over 1,000,000 SF, for clients such as Northern Telecom and Temple Inland. Prior to joining Granite, David developed projects for his own account and was the Director of Development/Construction for the DalMac Companies. David has been directly responsible for the development and construction of over 8,000,000 SF of property with an estimated value of over $1 Billion.
David has Bachelor of Science Degrees in Construction Management and Design from Texas A & M University and has completed Key Man Business and Real Estate Finance programs at Southern Methodist University and Harvard University Business School.
Will Hendrickson - Investment Manager
Will Hendrickson, Investment Manager, leads and coordinates the underwriting, financial analysis, and due diligence of Granite’s investment activity (Acquisitions, Dispositions, Financial Structuring, and Development). Since joining Granite, Will has played a key role in over $1 billion of transaction volume.
Before Will joined Granite in 2003, he spent five years in the greater Washington DC area as an investment sales broker. Will is active in TREC and was a member of The Associate Leadership Council 2004/2005.
Will received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Washington & Lee University in 1998 and a Masters in Real Estate from Johns Hopkins University in 2003.
Jim H. Kirchhoff - Director of Leasing, Dallas
Jim H. Kirchhoff, Director of Leasing in Dallas, is responsible for the marketing and leasing of Granite Properties' commercial buildings in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Jim has over 25 years of business and real estate experience and spent the previous 11 years with JPI, Inc. where he marketed over 30 office properties and has been directly involved in over 1,500 lease transactions totaling over ten million square feet. Additionally, Jim has 16 years experience with Mobil Oil Corporation in marketing, management and real estate.
Jim is a native of Nebraska and received a BBA from the University of Nebraska and received an advanced degree at New York University's Real Estate Institute in Manhattan and is a licensed real estate broker.
Melissa Labor, Director of Human Resources
Melissa Labor, Director of Human Resources, joined Granite Properties in 2008 with responsibility for directing Granite's human resources for corporate and across the portfolio. Prior to joining Granite, Melissa's 15 years of human resource experience includes retail and commercial construction industries.
Melissa earned her Bachelor of Business Administration with human resource emphasis from the University of Central Oklahoma and is a Certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) by the Human Resource Certification Institute. She is also a member of the Dallas Human Resource Management Association, Society of Human Resource Management and the American Society of Training and Development.
Matt Leyrer, Director of Investments, Development
Matt Leyrer, Director of Investments, Development, is a member of Granite’s Investment Group and is responsible for leading and coordinating the origination of new development opportunities.
Matt joined Granite Properties in 2004. His background includes the management of over 1.5 million square feet of new development projects. Matt also has experience in finance, acquisitions and asset management through prior positions held at Atlantic Capital Properties, the Archon Group and Prentiss Properties.
Matt received a BBA from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. Matt is currently a member of Leadership Plano and is a past board member of the Real Estate Group of Atlanta.
Tessie Nolan - Director of Property Management, Dallas
Tessie Nolan, Director of Property Management, Dallas, is responsible for property management operations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Her team has successfully obtained numerous awards in the last few years, including the CEL "A-List" Awards denoting excellent customer satisfaction, BOMA's International Office Building of the Year, and Energy Star awards. Tessie has over 15 years of experience in the property management business, and has been with Granite for over 10 years. She worked with Bradford Realty and Prudential prior to joining Granite.
Tessie is a CPM®, a licensed real estate salesperson, and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a Marketing emphasis, from Texas A&M University.
Clint Osteen - Director of Information Technology
Clint Osteen, Director of Information Technology, joined Granite Properties in 2004 with responsibility for directing Granite's information services and telecommunications across the portfolio. Prior to joining Granite, Clint spent 10 years in consulting, providing commercial real estate companies technology and business improvement services.
Clint received his BBA from Baylor University.
Clint is a member of NAREC and Quest, serving as past President of the Oracle Real Estate IUG. In addition, he served as Chairman of the City of Plano Heritage Commission and a member of the Realcomm Advisory Council.
Ace Roman - Director of Finance
Ace Roman, Director of Finance, joined Granite Properties in 2009. Ace’s responsibilities include capital raising transactions and the sourcing and monitoring of financial structuring investments. Granite’s financial structuring portfolio includes first mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, preferred equity and fund investments.
Prior to joining Granite, Ace was a Vice President of Merrill Lynch Real Estate Investment Banking, where he handled corporate finance and M&A advisory assignments for public and private real estate clients. Prior to Merrill Lynch, he worked in the Energy and Power group of UBS Investment Bank.
Ace received a BBA from Baylor University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Sheryl C. Troiani - Senior Controller
Sheryl Troiani joined Granite Properties in 1993. Currently she is responsible for directing Granite's accounting and financial functions, cash management, risk management, and assisting with acquisitions and dispositions. Sheryl has over 20 years experience in the real estate industry. She initially was with Arthur Andersen & Co. for four years in the audit department following graduation. In addition, Sheryl worked for Lincoln Property Company and PO'B Montgomery prior to joining Granite.
Sheryl is a CPA and received her BBA from Baylor University. She is a member of Commercial Real Estate Women of Dallas and the Lone Star Chapter of Young Men's Service League, a service organization for sons and their mothers. Steve West - Director of Leasing, Houston
Steve West has been the Director of Leasing in Houston for Granite Properties since 2001. Prior to joining Granite, Steve worked at the Paragon Group for 11 years as Vice President of Leasing prior to Insignia's acquisition of the company in 1996 and served as Insignia’s Director of Leasing for Houston until 2001. Steve was in charge of opening the firm's Austin Division, where he directed leasing of eight projects totaling approximately 1.4 million square feet of commercial office space. During his tenure at Paragon and Insignia/ESG, Steve was responsible for over 1,000 lease transactions totaling in excess of 10 million square feet. Prior to joining Paragon, Steve was a commercial real estate broker with Hank Dickerson and Company specializing in tenant representation.
Steve earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, with Marketing major, from Southwest Texas State University.
Steve is an active member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (Houston Chapter) and currently serves on the board of The Energy Corridor Management District and the board for The Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce.
Since 2001, Steve has been responsible for over 5,000,000 square feet of lease transactions for the Houston office of Granite.