Leadership

Matthew Ellis / Principal

Matthew began his career at Wachovia, a large Wall Street investment house, making debt and equity investments in market rate and affordable residential real estate. In 2009, Matthew joined a New York-based family office as CIO. During this time, Matthew grew the family’s multifamily portfolio to over $1.5B of AUM and transacted on over 4,000 market rate multifamily units. Over the past 20 years Matthew has been involved in over $5 billion of real estate transactions. He holds two BA degrees and a MA in Economics and Finance from the University of North Carolina.

Matt Jacobs / Principal

Over his 24-year career, Matt has overseen the development of best-in-class residential, retail, medical, and mixed-use projects for public and private companies, institutions, family offices, and partnerships. Before launching BLDG, Matt oversaw regional development efforts for Turnberry Ltd. and the Pulte Home Corporation. Matt holds a BA in Urban Studies from Yale University and an MBA with a concentration in Real Estate Finance from Columbia Business School.

Guy Penini / Principal

With a background in finance at a Wall Street bank, Guy helped lead the development of over $1 billion in real estate investments across asset classes as the CFO for a Las Vegas, NV developer and contractor. He has significant experience in guiding complex mixed-use and residential projects while building organizational teams from the ground up. Guy holds a BA in Literature and in Computer Science from Yale University and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business.

Karen Esparza / Asset Management

Holding nearly two decades of conventional and affordable multifamily real estate experience, Karen has contributed to the development and oversight of more than 10,000 residential units representing more than $1 billion of investment across the US. Her previous professional history includes leadership positions with Sequoia Equities and Highridge Costa. She holds a BA in Economics and EMBA from Chapman University. Karen is a member of the National Association of Home Builders, Institute of Real Estate Management, The National Affordable Housing Management Association, a CPM candidate while holding active NPCC, ARM, HCCP, SHCM designations, and real estate license in the State of California.

Sam Kuiumdjian / Acquisitions

A graduate of the University of Southern California with a BA in Policy, Planning and Development, Sam worked for several multifamily investment and brokerage companies early in his career. At a Los Angeles-based family office, where he held various roles, he led the acquisition of 1,800+ units, totaling over $500 million in value. He also managed the financing of over $750 million of debt and helped asset manage a 2.3 million square foot portfolio of office, retail and multifamily properties.

Strategic Partners

The firm works closely with select institutions, lenders, government agencies and industry partners. These partnerships help further BLDG’s mission to provide stable, attractive and quality housing to families across the country.