Our team is comprised of industry veterans many with military backgrounds. We were brought together by a shared vision of solving many of the challenges faced today in the military in finding quality housing and developing solutions that provide excellent investor returns. While we believe in the transformative power of technology, we recognize that our platform is only as good as the people and experience behind it. We’re committed to transparency, rigorous underwriting, and investor support.
Co-Founder
Co-Founder
Managing Director
Senior Vice President
Managing Director/Accend Interior Design
Director of Military Relations
Lead Interior Designer
Assistant Interior Designer
Co-Founder
For 30 years, Jeff has developed and applied his understanding of leadership, real estate, finance, law, capital markets, marketing, and strategy to create or improve enterprises in public and private settings. He began his career practicing law with a large Midwest law firm before pursuing an MBA. He was a consultant for five years, assisting a number of Fortune 500 companies with their national real estate strategies. Jeff was then selected to be the number two finance executive at a NYSE listed REIT $5 billion AUM.
His background includes roles as Interim CIO and CFO of two privately held real estate companies with holdings in excess of $2 billion. Jeff has completed over $3.5 billion in capital market transactions in the US and Europe. He has participated in acquisitions of more than $2 billion in a number of asset classes. Jeff earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in the LSA Honors College of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He earned a Juris Doctor from the Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University, and his Master of Business Administration from the Booth Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago.
Co-Founder
Mario has over 45 years of experience as a real estate professional including 38 years as a practicing commercial real estate attorney and 45 concurrent years in retail, office, industrial and multifamily acquisitions and development. During his career, Mario has successfully sourced and/or negotiated the acquisition of more than 70 projects throughout the United States comprising approximately 17,000 apartment units, 3,000 condominium units and 1,000,000 square feet of commercial, mixed use, industrial and biotech space representing in excess of $3.7 billion in real estate assets.
Mario served as Executive Vice President for Acquisitions and Development, as Chief Development Partner and as Senior Vice President of three Atlanta based privately held multifamily real estate companies with national real estate holdings valued in excess of $2.5 billion. Prior to that, he was the Senior Managing Partner of a mid-sized Northern New Jersey law firm representing several institutional lenders and national real estate developers and holding companies. Mario earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Seton Hall University and his Juris Doctor from the College of Law at Syracuse University.
Managing Director
Kyle is responsible for evaluating new investment opportunities and overseeing the revenue management program at Accend. Kyle has over 10 years of commercial real estate experience. Before joining Accend, Kyle worked as a Vice President with Bank of America’s Commercial Real Estate Banking group where he underwrote and managed a portfolio of 20+ loans in excess of $1.2-billion. He also worked for Optio, a multi-family investment and management company previously owned by the Accend Principals. Kyle received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Business Administration with a focus in Real Estate from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Senior Vice President
Ken Robbins works directly with the senior management team on several areas of Accend’s business and financial operations. Ken is a former Army officer with over 20 years of experience at the tactical, operational and strategic level of the military. He co-founded MILLIE, an online community and digital marketplace that connects members of the military and their families with trusted resources to help relieve the stress of the military moving process.
Ken received a BS from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a MPA from The Harvard Kennedy School. He also served as a White House Fellow under President Obama.
Managing Director/Accend Interior Design
Melissa oversees all aspects and activities of Accend’s affiliated interior design and furniture company. Her responsibilities include managing and directing all internal design and unit staging teams, approval and implementation of all design concepts, including finishes, fabrics, furniture, accessories, lighting, etc. for each furnished and/or corporatized unit, establishment of project budgets. She is also responsible for all procurement and coordination of logistics. Melissa has over 5 years of experience having designed and completely furnished approximately 500 apartment units with FF&E in the millions. Prior to joining Accend, Melissa worked as the Chief Administrative Officer of BAC Berlin Atlantic Capital AG , a German Investment fund, and BAC Communication Infrastructure Group (CIG) the US vehicle for acquisition of wireless telecommunication towers and distributed antenna systems (DAS) and backhaul.
Director of Military Relations
Eduardo is responsible for building a strong and lasting relationship with all Military Installations where Accend owns a property. To include assisting with assessing the needs for housing, short term and long term, near each installation. Prior joining the Accend Team Eduardo spent 21 years in the United States Marine Corps where he held many different key leadership positions. He retired as a Master Sergeant/E-8 in June, 2018
Eduardo has a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Management from the University of Phoenix. Eduardo also was certified to train Sales and Communications, Coaching and Counseling and Marine Corps Ethics through the Marine Corps Communication and Consultative Skills, Marine Corps Ethics and Marine Corps Coaching and Counseling.
Lead Interior Designer
Rebecca is a United States veteran, has a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design and over 20 years of design experience. Rebecca devotes a portion of her design time to associations such as the Coast Guard Spouses Club, Habitat for Humanity and local women’s shelters.
Rebecca is a former Coast Guard Petty Officer with four years of military service; serving her country during Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom. Rebecca served in Gulf Coast law enforcement and search and rescue operations. Rebecca is also a military spouse; whose husband also serves in the United States Coast Guard. Rebecca and Cameron are currently on their 9th (and counting) PCS.
Senior Vice President
Brooke is the Assistant Interior Designer and Procurement Director at Accend. Her responsibilities include facilitating the purchase of furniture, furnishings and household goods necessary for the implementation of the Accend model, inventory tracking and control and interior design. Brooke received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Oregon, with a focus in accounting. She is a 17-year military spouse and mother of two, whose husband currently serves in the United States Coast Guard. Her passions include Middle Eastern politics and culture, creating in all forms, and international travel. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering in her local community.