Leadership

David Larcher is a founding principal of Vestar and has been responsible for some of the most dynamic and popular retail projects in the southwest. David is responsible for Vestar’s acquisition, development and operational activities. He is a graduate of Arizona State University with a degree in Real Estate and Finance. David is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, Urban Land Institute and is on the Board of Trustees of The Nature Conservancy of Arizona.

Patrick McGinley oversees all operations for Vestar’s 30 million square feet under management, including five regional offices. He joined Vestar in 1989 and has been involved in the significant growth and scale of the property management division. He is a graduate of University of Arizona and is a member of the Phoenix Thunderbirds, International Council of Shopping Centers, and is a past-President of Valley Partnership. Additionally, Patrick has been involved in various civic organizations, such as the Foundation for Blind Children and Executive Council of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Phoenix.

Jeff Axtell oversees Vestar’s acquisition and development strategies in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington which includes repositioning of assets, leasing and dispositions. He has been responsible for several landmark retail developments including The District at Tustin Legacy, Long Beach Towne Center and Cerritos Towne Center. Recently, Jeff acquired Riverside Plaza, Village at Orange and Peninsula Center. Prior to joining Vestar in 1997, he served as Vice President and Manager of the Seeley Company’s Retail Division specializing in the sale and leasing of community and power centers. Jeff graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a degree in Economics. Jeff is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and has served on athletic boards for the local youth sports programs.

Miles Sanchez is Chief Operating Officer and is responsible for helping lead and manage Vestar’s overall business operations. Prior to joining Vestar, he spent more than 20 years with Weingarten Realty Investors where he was directly involved in retail leasing, asset management, development, and acquisitions of more than 80 shopping centers and mixed-use projects located throughout the western United States. Miles is a graduate of New Mexico State University and is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Ed Reading is responsible for all accounting and property finance operations. Prior to joining Vestar in 1992 as Director of Finance, he held a position of Controller at Arizona Building and Development, a real estate developer, owner and property manager and served three years with the public accounting firm of Arthur Andersen. Ed graduated from the University of Arizona in 1984 with a degree in Accounting and is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Scottsdale Charros, a local civic organization.

Clint Marchuk is responsible for the identification, evaluation and execution of shopping center acquisitions. Prior to joining Vestar, Clint acquired shopping centers for both publicly traded and non-traded REITs sponsored by Cole Real Estate Investments. During his tenure at Cole, Clint was actively involved in the acquisition of over $2 billion in commercial real estate transactions. Prior to Cole, Clint served in civil engineering and land development roles with CFA, Inc. in Reno, Nevada. Clint earned his Master of Business Administration in Financial Management and Markets from Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Nevada – Reno. Clint is a member of both the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI).

Rick Hearn is Vice President of Leasing for Vestar. He oversees the leasing of the company’s portfolio throughout the southwestern U.S. He joined Vestar in 1994 as its Director of Leasing after a five-year career in the commercial real estate brokerage industry. Rick is the recipient of ICSC’s “Trustee’s Distinguished Service Award” and a past Arizona ICSC State Director. He is a graduate from the University of Phoenix with honors, receiving a Bachelors Degree in Business Management, complimenting his Business Administration curriculum, majoring in Real Estate and Finance, from Arizona State University. Rick is community-minded and actively involved in Fighter Country Partnership, supporting Luke AFB, along with Boys Hope/Girls Hope and Brokers for Kids.

Taylor Alvey is Vice President of Leasing for Vestar and is responsible for the leasing efforts of assets throughout Arizona and California.  Prior to joining Vestar, Taylor was the Vice President of Leasing for DDR responsible for over 25 shopping centers and 12 million sf in the Western Region. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Kentucky and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Tennessee.  Taylor is a former Board Trustee of the National MS Society – Buckeye Chapter and is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Angie Kory is the Vice President of Leasing. Most recently she served as the Senior Vice President of Leasing with Cypress Equities a developer of retail and mixed use projects.  Angie’s primary function was to oversee the leasing for enclosed mall redevelopments, ground up grocery anchored centers, and power centers totaling 3.5 million square feet in Arizona, Alabama, California, Louisiana, and Texas. Prior to her employment with Cypress Equities she spent 7 years with Cole Real Estate Investments/American Realty Capital Properties leasing a retail portfolio of 35 shopping centers totaling 7.7 million square feet in the West, Midwest, and Northeast. She has successfully negotiated 475 lease transactions totaling 1.8 million square feet with lease values in excess of $230 million. She currently serves as the Fresh Start Women’s Foundation Auxiliary Board Chair and the Arizona Next Generation Chair for International Council of Shopping Centers.  Angie graduated from University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

Paul Asher is the Vice President of Property Management for Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Texas and Nevada. He is responsible for leading the Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Texas property management functions.  Prior to joining Vestar, Paul worked at Hannay Realty Advisors as Director of Property Management. In this role, Paul was responsible for the operations and property management function of over 8 million square feet of commercial assets in Arizona, Nevada and California. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona and a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) and Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA).

Gabrielle Lardiere is the Vice President of Client Services and is responsible for the ongoing relationships of Vestar’s existing clients as well as sourcing new third-party institutional accounts. Prior to joining Vestar, Gabrielle was the Director of Business Development with The William Warren Group / StorQuest Self Storage overseeing the business development efforts for their third-party management services nationally. Gabrielle has worked for CBRE Group, Inc. as a broker specializing in retail real estate, and has held management positions for Los Angeles Center Studios in DTLA. She is a graduate of University of Michigan and is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and UNICEF NextGen Los Angeles.

Rachel Forman is the Vice President of Marketing and directs the strategic marketing and branding programs for the Vestar portfolio of properties. She works with the property level teams to establish innovative, results oriented, programs that add value to the company’s retail destinations. Rachel is an industry leader with over 25 years of experience and has provided marketing consulting services to a variety of clients including: Canyon Partners, Rich Development, CBRE, Federal Realty Investment Trust, Madison Marquette and The Irvine Company. She also held positions with O&S Holdings, the Los Angeles Downtown Center Business Improvement District, Talbots and The Hahn Company. Rachel is a graduate of the University of Arizona and is an active member of the Peninsula Chapter of National Charity League and International Council of Shopping Centers.

Ryan Ash is the Vice President of Development, repositioning and leasing strategies of assets in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Prior to Vestar, Ryan worked at HFF focusing on the placement of structured finance and joint venture equity partnerships for mixed-use, retail, office, multi-housing, industrial, hospitality, land and data center assets. During his career, Ryan has personally closed debt placements and structured financings totaling in excess of $2.8 billion via nearly 145 unique transactions. Ryan is a graduate of the University of Arizona and is an active member of the Next Gen Leadership Network of the International Council of Shopping Centers and an active chartered financial analyst for the CFA Institute.

Beth Understahl is the General Counsel and advises on general corporate and other legal matters for the company. Prior to joining Vestar, Beth served as counsel in the Real Estate and Land Use Group of Perkins Coie LLP.  She started her legal career in New York City at the law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP where she represented public and private companies in executive compensation and employee benefits matters. She holds a Juris Doctorate from Fordham Law School and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of California, Irvine.  Beth received her undergraduate degree in English Literature from the University of Evansville where she played Division I tennis.

Jack Van Kleunen is responsible for managing pre-development and construction of Vestar retail developments. Prior to joining Vestar in 2002, he was Senior Construction Manager for Lowe Enterprises, Koll Development Co. and Tishman Speyer Properties, managing the construction of more than 20 million square feet of commercial and retail development. During his tenure, Jack has been responsible for construction management of more than 20 new and existing retail developments, totaling in excess of 25 million square feet. Jack graduated from the University of Florida, School of Architecture in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Building Construction. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers.