Eric Jafari

CEO

Eric's career Development

Eric Jafari is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of BridgePoint Ventures. Since inception in 2005, BridgePoint Ventures has provided equity for over 55 development projects in North America and Europe. Mr. Jafari co-founded EquityBridge Capital in addition to serving as a director to the EBC Opportunity Fund, Property Showrooms and Chief Economic Advisor to IPINglobal. Mr. Jafari earned his business degree from California Polytechnic SLO with a double concentration in international management and marketing. Mr. Jafari has over ten years of experience in real estate private equity, asset management, development finance, distressed asset reorganisation, tax structure and trading.

Experience at a glance

Mr. Jafari commenced his career with First Meridian as a wealth advisor counselling the ultra affluent in the areas of asset management, business succession, mergers and acquisitions, private equity investment, tax and estate planning. In 2004, Mr. Jafari originated and oversaw the recapitalisation of DDU Express in addition to originating and aiding in the orchestration of the merger between First Meridian and the InvestLinc Group.

Mr. Jafari has sat on the advisory boards for Strategic Wealth Alliance, Source China, and Equity One. Mr. Jafari has been requested as a key note speaker and panellist for conferences globally including IMN’s European Opportunity and Private Fund Investing Forum, China's Ministry of Construction International Exhibition on Housing, the British Global Estate Institute (GRI) and Canada's Pro-Seminars National Advisor Conference. Mr. Jafari earned the 'Certified in Mergers and Acquisitions', ‘Chartered Trust and Estate Planner' and ‘Certified Estate Planner' designations in, and successfully completed the NASD Series 7 (General Securities Representative), NASD Series 66 (Uniform Investment Advisor Law Examination), Florida real estate and Florida insurance examinations.

Mr. Jafari currently resides in London, United Kingdom.

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Peter Debs

Chief Operating Officer

Peters career Development

Peter Debs is the Chief Operations Officer of BridgePoint Ventures. He is responsible for overseeing the Due Diligence process, managing the credit committee, and undertaking the legal processes before funding each new project. Mr Debs has over 10 years of commercial, hospitality, and residential property development experience. In 2000, he formed the Debs Development Group, a private equity firm that specialised in identifying opportunities in undervalued assets. By 2007, Mr Debs had overseen the purchase and asset management of over 40 properties, including 375 hotel rooms, 250 residential units, over 160,000 squared feet of commercial space and two private marinas.

Experience at a glance

Mr Debs joined BridgePoint Ventures as the Senior Vice President of the Distressed Assets Group in late 2008 with the responsibility of strategising and implementing distressed property initiatives and developing new business in the Middle East and North Africa regions. He began his professional career as a brand builder, working for a high-powered New York marketing agency representing brands such as Heineken, Amstel Light, Campari, British-American Tobacco, Sony-Ericsson, Nintendo, and Pepsi. Raised in Dubai, UAE as an American Expatriate, he completed his MBA at the University of Miami with Honours and now resides with his wife and two children in the Miami area.

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Chris Cormier

VP of Distressed Assets

CHRIS's career Development

Chris Cormier is responsible for overseeing the firm's operations. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Marketing with a minor in Economics from Fairfield University in addition to obtaining his Master's Degree in Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University.

Mr Cormier began his career with Fidelity Investments as an Actuarial Analyst where he was responsible for administering the pension plans for Unilever Companies and Coors Brewing Company. In 2004, he obtained his real estate license and joined Exit Charde, becoming one of the nation's top first-year real estate advisors.

In 2006, Mr Cormier joined BridgePoint Ventures serving as the Vice President of Business Administration, overseeing due diligence and the financial analysis of the proposed real estate investments on behalf of the BridgePoint Ventures client base.

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Edward dePasquale

Vice President of Special Assets

Edward's career Development

Edward dePasquale is currently BridgePoint Venture's Vice President of Special Assets and is responsible for reporting on, repositioning, and pursuing final resolution to legacy assets. By utilising the resources of the company and the legal system if required, Mr dePasquale tries to ensure a positive outcome for investors. With experience in both member relations as well as due diligence, Mr dePasquale audits non-distressed acquisitions conducted by BridgePoint Ventures and maintains consistent contact to serve as liaison between our firm and legal compliance arms.

Edward studied for a Bachelor's Degree in Public Management at Florida Atlantic University, along with an undergraduate degree of Paramedical Science from Broward Community College. He is a certified OSHA trainer and is LEAN, APICS, and Sarbanes Oxsley certified. He has over 17 years of experience in the area of Logistics and Operations Management.

In his previous role as Operations Facility Manager at ABC Distributing where he worked for 6 years, Edward dePasquale oversaw one of the largest logistics operations in the state of Florida, encompassing over 1,100 employees in a one million square foot facility. During his tenure with ABC, he received Manager of the Year honours twice. His experience has seen him provide detailed logistics experience over various commodities for multiple publicly traded companies. Edward dePasquale is also a licensed Florida Real Estate agent.

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Vedrana Riley

Vice President of European Acquisitions

Vedrana's career Development

Vedrana Riley followed a first degree in International Business and Languages at the Sorbonne, Paris, with a Masters Degree in London that focused her interest in Finance. Since completing her Masters with a Distinction in 2007, Ms. Riley has spent the last 4 years in Private Equity and Real Estate Finance, culminating with her joining BridgePoint Ventures in April 2011.

Experience at a glance

A French national who was born in the former Yugoslavia, Ms. Riley is multi-lingual and confident negotiating in French, English, Serbo-Croat and German. Previous employment roles have given her a broad experience of international investment across developed Europe and CEMEA, including sub-Saharan Africa. Ms. Riley's current responsibilities at BridgePoint Ventures see her identifying projects that meet our desired criteria, in addition to negotiating with developers on behalf of the organisation. Previous experience of dealing with all of the major lenders active in the UK and European property markets also allows her to source and negotiate senior finance on behalf of developers and BridgePoint Ventures where necessary to optimise the finance solution.

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Len Bage

European Acquisitions Executive

LEN's career Development

Len Bage is responsible for the business development and administration of BridgePoint Ventures's property related activities in Europe. He began his career in the engineering industry with Durapipe Limited and the Mono Pumps Group, where he worked with major corporations such as ICI, British Steel, Alcan and Ove Arup before moving into the leisure industry with Berghaus and VauDe where he held management and director roles.

Mr Bage has held significant budgetary roles as National and Export Manager with Madison Cycles/Madison Powersports and as Managing Director of VauDe UK, providing him with international trading experience, which eventually led him into the residential tourism sector in southern Europe, specialising in real estate investment.
As Branch Manager of the Puerto Banús office and a senior management team member with Andalucian Dream Homes, Mr Bage delivered seminars at international property exhibitions and latterly, heading up the Investment office at the Majestic Group, spearheaded the sales effort to investors via a network of IFA's and introducers before running his own company, Primo International Property, for two years, specialising in property investment opportunities globally.

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James Pape

Construction and Property Management Distressed Assets Group

James's career Development

James Pape has over 15 years' experience as an industry leader in construction and distressed property rehabilitation and resurrection. Mr Pape joined BridgePoint Ventures in 2006 to oversee its distressed property team, bringing with him his long-standing, award-winning construction and renovation track record. He meticulously manages all aspects of distressed property rehabilitation; from assessing foundation and structural soundness to design and full installation. Supporting his role in distressed property management is his intuitive connection with the real estate market. He is a licensed Realtor with BridgePoint Ventures Real Estate Group. He has renovated over 500 properties since 1992 and has led the construction and design of 20 luxury custom homes. Mr Pape's extensive construction and management background includes heading up complex projects, such as leading large demolition teams on high profile projects at The World Trade Centre and Time Square renovation.

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Scott Roberts, CPA

Partner

Scott's career Development

Scott Roberts is the acting Chief Financial Officer for BridgePoint Ventures. He is a Certified Public Accountant with over 15 years of experience in the financial industry. Mr Roberts previously worked as a Senior Auditor for Arthur Andersen during which time he planned and performed all phases of audits for both private and SEC companies.

He received his Bachelors Degree in accounting from the Fisher School of Accounting at the University of Florida and his Masters Degree in Accounting from Florida International University. In addition to his CPA license, Mr Roberts holds series 7 and 66 FINRA designations, a Chartered Life Underwriter designation and a Florida insurance license. Mr Roberts is fluent in Spanish.

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David James Holt

Partner

DAVID's career Development

David Holt was the Senior Vice President of Operations for ABC Distributing, one of the largest private mail order companies in the United States, managing over 2000 employees, During his 28 years with ABC Distributing, he built the infrastructure that allowed the company to grow from $30 million to over $600 million in annual sales. In 1999, he selected the site and managed the construction of the single largest warehouse in South Florida, a one million square foot, state-of-the-art distribution facility. Mr Holt is also the Co-Founder of DDU Express Inc., a national delivery service company, PacNet Inc., one of the largest packaging supply services operations in South Florida, and uboxes.com, a national internet moving boxes and supply company.

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Dana B. Munach

Vice-President of U.S. Acquisitions

Dana's career Development

Dana Munach is responsible for identifying projects that meet BridgePoint Ventures's desired criteria in addition to negotiating with developers on behalf of the firm. Prior to joining BridgePoint Ventures, he founded Clarity International. After attending the University of South Florida, he opened his first company in 1985. Eighteen months later, he developed his first commercial property and since then, has purchased and managed several commercial properties.

Mr Munach is one of 1,600 Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) worldwide. He is also a licensed real estate broker and a member of the National Association of Realtors in addition to being a Trans-national Referral Certified (TRC) and a licensed mortgage broker. He is also a member of the International Consortium of Real Estate Associations (ICREA), American Chamber of Commerce of Panama (AMCHAM), Commercial Real Estate Professional Investor Group CREPIG, The Real Estate Developers Group, and the International Real Estate Network Group.

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Melissa Campbell

Administrative Assistant

Melissa's career Development

Melissa Campbell officially joined BridgePoint Ventures in December of 2009 after working for BridgePoint Ventures through Ascendis Employment Solutions for 3 months. Prior to joining BridgePoint Ventures, she spent five years as an Administrative Officer at Dr. Popper's Eye Looks, O.D., P.A. Throughout this time, Mrs Campbell has continued to pursue a degree in English at Broward College and aspires to become a Certified Paralegal. Her roles at BridgePoint Ventures include greeting clients, maintaining contract files and assisting in due diligence and she plays a vital role in the continued smooth operation of our organisation.

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