Professionals

Oaklane Capital's strategy is to place equity and mezzanine debt capital into quality commercial real estate predominantly in the greater Charlotte and Raleigh/Durham markets with a highly select group of owners and developers, and to make these investments available to accredited investors and their advisors.

James F. Harrell, Charlotte

Mr. Harrell is the Managing Partner and co-founded Oaklane in 2007. Mr. Harrell is responsible for oversight of all areas of Oaklane's operations including the management and investment committees. Prior to the start of Oaklane, Mr. Harrell served as the Chief Investment Officer of Side Street Capital Real Estate, LLC ("Side Street"), a Charlotte-based real estate private equity company. Mr. Harrell managed all areas of Side Street's operations and was responsible for the underwriting, due diligence and ongoing analysis of all investments within the Side Street portfolio. Before joining Side Street, Mr. Harrell had a 20-year career with Wachovia Bank, where he focused primarily on real estate commercial banking and capital markets. Mr. Harrell served in various real estate debt origination and risk management functions for Wachovia in the southeastern markets of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Virginia. Mr. Harrell is a graduate of the Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BS in Business Administration and a MBA.

Lee H. Roberts, Raleigh

Mr. Roberts joined Oaklane as a Partner at the beginning of 2009 to expand the Oaklane platform and assist in the launch and management of Oaklane III. Prior to that, he was a Partner at Cherokee Investment Partners ("Cherokee"), a $2 billion real estate private equity fund based in Raleigh, North Carolina. At Cherokee, Mr. Roberts served on the investment committee and was responsible for investment underwriting, asset management and international expansion. He also managed a $100 million "sidecar" separate account on behalf of a large state public employee pension fund. Prior to joining Cherokee in March 2006, he spent nine years at Morgan Stanley in London and New York, focused on real estate investment banking. He also served as Global Chief Operating Officer of Morgan Stanley Real Estate, which included its investment banking platform and its $20 billion principal investing business. Mr. Roberts earned a JD from Georgetown University and a BA from Duke University.

Edward I. Weisiger, Jr., Charlotte

Mr. Weisiger is a co-founder of Oaklane and serves as a Senior Advisor. He also is founder and a Principal of Cresset Capital Partners, a Charlotte-based private equity investment company targeting small to medium-size distributors and manufacturers. Mr. Weisiger is the President and CEO of Carolina Tractor & Equipment Company, a Caterpillar dealer and one of North Carolina's largest privately-owned companies. Carolina Tractor & Equipment Company sells, rents and services construction equipment, diesel engines, electrical power generators, material handling equipment and cranes and represents Caterpillar and other manufacturers. Mr. Weisiger is a graduate of North Carolina State University and the Harvard University Graduate School of Business.

Matthew A. Young, Raleigh

Mr. Young joined Oaklane as a Partner later in 2009 to expand the Oaklane platform and assist in the launch and management of Oaklane III. Prior to that, Mr. Young was the Executive Vice President of Capital Markets for Southern Land Company, a vertically integrated mixed-use development company, based in Nashville, Tennessee, with over $1 billion in assets under management or development. Prior to joining Southern Land in early 2009, Mr. Young was a Vice President at Cherokee, which he joined in 2004. At Cherokee Mr. Young was responsible for investment underwriting, asset management and identifying, underwriting and managing multiple operating partners. In particular, he maintained responsibility for projects with future development value of over $1 billion. Mr. Young earned a JD and an MBA from the University of Virginia and a BA in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Brian C. Richards, Charlotte

Mr. Richards joined Oaklane as an Associate at the beginning of 2009. Prior to joining Oaklane and Beacon Partners, Mr. Richards was a Development Coordinator with Colonial Properties Trust, a $2 billion multifamily real estate investment trust, focused on investments in the Southeastern U.S. Prior to joining Colonial, he was an Investment Associate with Partners Group in San Francisco, a global alternative asset manager with over $23 billion in assets under management. He focused on real estate fund and structured product investments for institutional clients. He began his career in Charlotte, NC in commercial banking and served as a financial analyst for a private real estate development company. Mr. Richards earned an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BS in Business Management from North Carolina State University.

Board of Advisors

Peter W. Lash, Charlotte

Mr. Lash is the Managing Partner of Beacon Partners-Charlotte and is a co-founder of Oaklane. Over the past 20 years, Mr. Lash and the team of development partners at Beacon Partners have developed and invested in over 10,000,000 square feet of industrial, office and flex properties in the Carolinas, primarily in Charlotte. In his role as Managing Partner of Beacon Partners-Charlotte, Mr. Lash oversees all day-to-day company activities including development and acquisition efforts. Prior to co-founding Beacon Partners in 1989, Mr. Lash worked with WestChase Development in Raleigh. Mr. Lash is a 1981 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a 1988 graduate of the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia.

Gregg E. Sandreuter, Raleigh

Mr. Sandreuter is the Managing Partner of Beacon Partners-Raleigh and is a co-founder of Oaklane. Mr. Sandreuter specializes in single and multi-story office buildings as well as urban mixed-use properties and land development. Mr. Sandreuter entered the Raleigh-Durham commercial real estate market in 1988, working with Mr. Lash at WestChase Development, and since that time has been involved in more than $250,000,000 of development, redevelopment, and acquisition projects in the Raleigh-Durham marketplace. Mr. Sandreuter's responsibilities include managing Beacon Partners' various development, acquisition, and site entitlement activities in the Research Triangle area. Mr. Sandreuter is a 1984 graduate of Hamilton College in Clinton, New York and a 1988 graduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Business.

Mark P. Vitner, Charlotte

Mr. Vitner is a Managing Director and Senior Economist at Wells Fargo, responsible for tracking U.S. and regional economic trends. Mr. Vitner joined Wachovia/Wells Fargo (then First Union) in 1993. Before that, he spent nine years as an economist with Barnett Banks in Jacksonville, FL. Mr. Vitner writes for the company's Monthly Economic Outlook report, the Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary, and provides regular updates on the housing markets, commercial real estate, regional economies, and inflation. Mark is a member of the National Association of Business Economists and co-founded its Charlotte chapter, The Charlotte Economics Club. He serves as a distinguished lecturer and practitioner at the University of Georgia and is a member of the American Economic Association, the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, and the Charlotte Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. Mr. Vitner earned his B.B.A. in economics from the University of Georgia and an M.B.A. from the University of North Florida.

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