Claus Dieckell is the Founder and Chairman of Milan Capital Management, Inc and directs the firm’s overall investment strategy by providing the vision and perspective developed through many years of experience in business generally and real estate in particular. Mr. Dieckell has lived in Southern California for more than 25 years and has been active as a principal in the Southern California commercial real estate market during that time.

After initially acquiring multi-family properties in Hollywood, Mr. Dieckell opted to sell 100% of the portfolio in the late 80s, recognizing the height of the Southern California market. In 1993 he jumped back into the market at a time when values had declined to half the level at which he had sold. In 1999, he formed Milan Properties LLC in order to provide better property management for his once again substantial portfolio. In 2008, Milan Properties was incorporated as Milan Capital Management, Inc.

Mr. Dieckell is actively involved in the acquisition, repositioning and management of the company’s portfolio. He has overseen the acquisition of more than 1,200 apartment units, more than 2 million square feet of commercial space, and nearly 200 acres of land for development. With a critical eye for spotting undervalued assets and underlying market trends, Mr. Dieckell has vast experience in a wide range of project types from entitlement and rezoning to management of stabilized assets.

President of Milan Capital Management, Chris Nichelson is responsible for developing and insuring successful execution of the company’s ownership and management strategies. He serves as the firm’s overall asset manager and is ultimately responsible for all functions of the company including acquisition, debt and equity relations, and development/redevelopment planning.

June 2001, Mr. Nichelson joined Milan as the firm’s General Manager to oversee the management of the residential portfolio and to help the company explore opportunities in the commercial sector. Within the first five years, he tripled the size of the commercial portfolio, adding more than one million square feet of office and retail.

Mr. Nichelson has over fifteen years of experience in real estate development, investment, and management, having served as Asset and Property Management Director for a local community development corporation and is a licensed Real Estate Broker in California.

As Vice President of Real Estate Management, Rod Valverde directs the overall management of the company’s assets and supervises all satellite property management offices. Mr. Valverde oversees all day-to-day operations of the properties including budgeting, vendor contracting, reporting, and maintenance for the portfolio.

Prior to joining Milan, Mr. Valverde accumulated 18 years of commercial property management experience, most recently as Vice President of Colliers, the largest commercial real estate firm in Hawaii. Since joining Milan in 2006, Mr. Valverde has developed operating and reporting systems that have dramatically increased Milan’s efficiency and capacity for further growth. His next challenge will be to utilize this capacity to expand Milan’s portfolio of managed accounts.

As Chief Financial Officer of Milan Capital, Chris Gilmartin is responsible for the planning, management, and successful execution of the company’s financial and accounting services, including strategic planning, management reporting, tax compliance and the financial aspects of debt and equity relations.

Prior to joining Milan in December 2008, Mr. Gilmartin served as Chief Financial Officer for Sperry Van Ness International Corporation, a nation-wide commercial real estate brokerage firm with over $11 billion in transaction volume.

Mr. Gilmartin is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in the states of California and Florida. He brings 19 years of financial management experience that includes five years with KPMG, LLP, an international financial services firm, with his most recent responsibilities as a manager in the Assurance Services practice. Mr. Gilmartin earned a Masters of Accounting degree from the Fisher School of Accounting at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. He also earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a specialization in Finance from the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.

As Director of Acquisitions for Milan Capital, Landon Wright is primarily responsible for acquisitions, due diligence, equity and debt structures, and assists in the asset management for Milan’s portfolio.

With over 10 years experience in commercial real estate, including seven years as a commercial broker with Marcus & Millichap specializing in the sale of office and industrial properties, Mr. Wright utilizes practical market knowledge and critical underwriting standards to provide assessments on the financial and physical condition of the assets under Milan’s acquisition consideration. In addition to sourcing and evaluating investments to increase the size of the company’s portfolio, Mr. Wright also provides guidance in project management for Milan’s development and redevelopment projects.

Prior to joining Milan, Mr. Wright represented a wide spectrum of investors and owners including lenders during the REO markets of the ‘90s, pension funds advisors, development syndications, and high net worth individuals in the purchase and sale of commercial real estate throughout Southern California. Since joining Milan, Mr. Wright has facilitated the acquisition of numerous commercial assets as well as several hundred acres of land while directing the renovations and ground up development of commercial improvements to add value to Milan’s portfolio.

As Director of Planning and Development for Milan, Bret Bernard is responsible for the environmental review, planning and building entitlements, and the processing and coordination for Milan’s land acquisitions and development projects. He also assists with due diligence review of potential acquisitions and oversees the development management for the company.

Mr. Bernard brings over 18 years of experience in the public sector, most of this tenure spent as the Planning and Building Safety Director for several cities in Southern California. This experience is complimented by several additional years in economic development, including two years as the Director of Economic Development for Downtown Los Angeles.

For the ensuing eight years, he was a Senior Vice President for several real estate development companies; and, before joining Milan he was the Chief Operating Officer for a land development and engineering consortium.

Mr. Bernard has significant experience working in planning and project management throughout California, with additional land development experience in other states and overseas. While quite varied, his projects have included many coastal, mixed-use, recreational and adaptive re-use projects in addition to single-family and commercial master planned communities.