Leadership committed to success

Mr. Gale joined J.E. Robert Companies from Starwood Capital Group (Starwood), where he served as Vice Chairman of Real Estate. Prior to Starwood, he was Chief Investment Officer for Real Estate at ABP Investment US, Inc. (ABP), the investment arm of Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, one of the world’s largest and most sophisticated pension funds. At ABP, Mr. Gale assembled an exceptional real estate team and built a leading investment platform while overseeing a global real estate portfolio valued at more than €20 billion.

Prior to ABP, Mr. Gale held investment banking roles at Salomon Brothers, Inc. in London and New York and at Nesbitt Burns Securities in New York. He also served as a principal at a real estate development company in New York and worked as a practicing attorney.

As an active member of the commercial real estate community, Mr. Gale serves as Co-Chair of the Real Estate Investor Advisory Council of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT) and as a member of the Property Investment Committee of the National Pension Reserve Fund of Ireland. He is a former Board member of the Pension Real Estate Association, a former Board member of AFIRE and was the recipient of the prestigious 2007 Industry Achievement Award from NAREIT. Mr. Gale also serves as a member of the Development Council of St. Hugh’s College, Oxford University and on the Board of Directors for the Shoshana Foundation, Inc.

Mr. Gale received his BA from Union College, his MA from the University of London and his JD from Columbia University.

Mr. Robert is Chairman of Business Executives for National Security (BENS), a nonpartisan national organization of senior executives dedicated to enhancing our national security, using the successful models of the private sector. Over the past 27 years BENS members have brought their expertise to bear to procedures for base closures (BRAC), created a model of public private partnerships to improve disaster relief response, and worked to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department of Defense (tooth to tail) through modern business practices. BENS is currently working with DoD and the US Congress to identify important steps that can and should be taken to improve DoD’s acquisition programs.

He is also the Chairman of the US-UAE Business Council, a collaboration of leading companies based in the United States and United Arab Emirates, which are committed to expanding bi-lateral commercial opportunities between the two countries. Due to his many and long standing relationships throughout the Middle East and Gulf region Mr. Robert was asked to be the founding Chairman. The Council is at the forefront of the Nuclear 123 Agreement between the US and the UAE and has been instrumental in its progress.

In 2008, Mr. Robert was honored by the EastWest Institute, together with former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Schultz, former Secretary of Defense William Perry, former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, for his leadership of the business community to improve national and international security. Mr. Robert was awarded the first ever Father Flanagan’s Boys Town Spirit of Youth Award and the Peter Flanagan Children First Award. He was named Washingtonian of the Year in 1997.

Mr. Robert’s philanthropic commitments are equally as ambitious. In 1990, he founded and continues to serve as Chairman of Fight For Children, Inc. (FFC), a Washington based philanthropic organization whose mission is to create, promote and invest in K-12 education opportunities that successfully prepare children for college and the workplace, and to provide quality primary health care options for our youth. Since FFC’s inception, it has raised over $310 million through contributions, matching grants and public policy initiatives to support more than 140 organizations in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. In addition, Joseph Robert is the Chairman of the Washington Scholarship Fund, one of the nation’s largest providers of scholarships to children of low income families in Washington DC. He was Chairman of the successful $300 million Comprehensive Campaign at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, which resulted in the building of the Joseph E. Robert, Jr. Center for Surgical Care at the Children’s National Medical Center.

Mr. Robert was awarded Honorary Doctorates from St. John’s College and Mount Saint Mary’s University.

Mr. Robert is a member of the board of the following organizations:

Peterson Institute for International Economics, Atlantic Council of the United States, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation, Smithsonian’s National Zoo, the National Geographic Society, the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees.

Mr. Robert is a member of the World Economic Forum, Horatio Alger Association, The Trilateral Commission, World President’s Organization, Chief Executive’s Organization, Council on Foreign Relations, Foreign Policy Association, The Urban Land Institute and The Bretton Woods Committee.

Prior to joining JER Partners, Mr. Barnes was the head of asset management (Europe, Middle East and Africa) for Merrill Lynch global principal investments in London. In this role he led a team of nine professionals in four countries and was responsible for delivering on all business plans for the acquisitions in the region. Mr. Barnes was also a member of the regional approval deal committee, focusing on a variety of property types, including retail, office, logistics, hotels, residential and non-performing loan portfolios.

Before that, Mr. Barnes held a number of positions at GE Real Estate, the most recent serving as European risk leader, where he worked with seven country platform leaders and the risk and originations teams to screen opportunities in all product areas. During his tenure at GE, he was also territory risk manager for the UK and Germany, corporate acquisitions, head of REO portfolio, and asset manager. He was involved in many major transactions including the public to private acquisitions of MEPC, Haslemere and Benchmark.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Barnes was involved in the corporate acquisition of Laing Properties while working at Chelsfield plc, London. He also held positions at Morgan Grenfell Laurie, Guardian Royal Exchange and Baker Harris Saunders, all in London.

Mr. Barnes is a graduate of Polytechnic of Central London and King’s School Canterbury Kent.

He is a member of the Global Investment Committee. Under his direction, CMBS acquisitions have exceeded $600 million in purchase price. Prior to his current role, Mr. Belcher managed the RTC Asset Management Contracts comprised of assets exceeding $3.5 billion.

Prior to joining J.E. Robert Companies in 1991, Mr. Belcher served as Senior Asset Manager for the Federal Asset Disposition Association (“FADA”), overseeing a non-performing loan portfolio in excess of $800 million. Prior to FADA, Mr. Belcher was a Vice President with InterFirst Bank in Dallas, responsible for a real estate portfolio averaging in excess of $100 million including acquisition and construction loans. In total, Mr. Belcher has more than 22 years of diverse real estate experience including loan workout, real estate management, construction lending and portfolio liquidation.

Mr. Belcher is a graduate of Southern Methodist University with a B.B.A. degree in Finance and a B.A. in Economics. Mr. Belcher is a Director for the DeBusk Foundation (a charitable foundation providing grants for elementary educational programs).

Mr. McGillis has over 25 years of diverse experience involving real estate and corporate valuations, acquisitions, sales and financing as well as financial reporting, operations and administration in both public and private companies. Prior to his tenure at JER, he worked at Freddie Mac, where he was a Vice President in finance from 2003 to 2006. Before Freddie Mac, Mr. McGillis was the Chief Financial Officer of Starcom Holdings/Constar International from 1999 to 2003. He has also worked in chief financial officer, portfolio management, corporate finance and audit capacities at AEW Capital Management/Copley Real Estate Advisors, Robertson Ceco Corporation and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mr. McGillis is a magna cum laude graduate of Northeastern University where he received a B.S. in Business Administration, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Prior to joining JER Partners, Mr. Smith was a Director at JAMESTOWN, where he was responsible for developing the firm’s opportunistic real estate investment program. He has also worked at CGR Advisors as a Vice President and Partner, responsible for acquisitions and asset management of the Rodamco North America/Abp operating company investment program. Mr. Smith began his career at LaSalle Partners in New York City and was a Regional Manager for leasing and management.

Mr. Smith has a B.A. in Economics from Hobart College and an M.B.A. in Finance from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Mr. Smith is a member of the National Association of Industrial & Office Properties.

Mr. Ward is responsible for all legal matters involving investment structuring, document negotiation and transaction closings and capital raising activities for JER Partners and JER Investors Trust, Inc.

After joining J.E. Robert Companies in 1991, Mr. Ward served as General Counsel for the J.E. Robert Companies/Goldman Sachs venture which acquired $7.4 billion in sellers’ book value in distressed US real estate and loans from the RTC, insurance companies and banks in both sealed bid auctions and privately negotiated transactions from 1991 through 1996. While at J.E. Robert Companies, Mr. Ward has directed the closings for approximately 35 portfolios with over 2,100 assets and participated in the securitization of $568 million of non-performing loans and $270 million of performing loans.

Mr. Ward is a summa cum laude graduate of Villanova University where he obtained a B.S. degree in Accounting. He received a J.D. degree with honors from The National Law Center, George Washington University. Mr. Ward is a member of the Washington, DC Bar Association.

Mr. Robinson joined JER in 2000 from the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. where he served as Vice President and Counselor to the Chairman. His responsibilities included management, strategic marketing, client relations, and advising on major international financial transactions. Mr. Robinson previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade Development at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Mr. Robinson holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Rochester and a J.D. from the University of Virginia, where he served on the editorial board of the Virginia Tax Review. Mr. Robinson is a member of the Washington, D.C. and Virginia Bar Associations.

Mr. O’Brien is a graduate of Georgetown University, where he obtained a B.A. in English Literature. He received a J.D. summa cum laude from New York Law School. Mr. O’Brien is a member of the New York State Bar Association and is also admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.