Mr. Ali Badran
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz Capital Group (U.S.A.) 

Ali Badran is a Lebanese born U.S. Citizen raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mr. Badran became an American citizen as a young adult and is today fluent in Arabic and English, with the ability to converse in French. As a latter teen and early adult, Mr. Badran worked as a news editorial assistant for the only English daily newspaper in the Middle East while he was also working within the family tradition in international trade. Mr. Badran moved to London (England) where he was educated with double majors in Marketing and Business Administration at the prestigious American International University. During his studies, and for some years thereafter, Mr. Badran toured Europe, began to learn the global markets, and worked as a deal maker in the import/export business. Progressively, Mr. Badran began sourcing name brands for major U.S. suppliers. Mr. Badran is presently in the final stages of obtaining his Masters in Business Administration from California Coast University.  

By his late twenties Mr. Badran decided to return to the United States yet still his career was increasingly becoming internationally focused. He also was progressively moving more into finance and business administration. Mr. Badran participated in creating structured leveraged real estate financing methods. Mr. Badran advised on and structured funding and equity deals on behalf of clients seeking to acquire and/or develop real estate projects. He also facilitated the preparation of a number of Private Placement Memoranda and became involved with several real estate focused Initial Public Offerings.

In 2007 Mr. Badran was influenced by an offered opportunity in the stunning growth taking place throughout the GCC-Mena region of the Middle East. Hence, Mr. Badran moved to Kuwait City and first became a Consultant in Investment Banking with an investment banking firm. There he was involved in the raising of capital, various syndications, market analysis, and capital placement activities. Given Mr. Badran's international finance experience, and being fluent in three languages critical to the region, it was not long before he was recruited to become the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Kuwait based consortium with a renowned Saudi Bank-IDB as one of the group shareholders. There too, he again became involved with business development and corporate finance advisory services, including syndications; asset based financial transactions, reverse mergers, and private equity placement. By this point Mr. Badran's experience in the region led him to be involved with a number of the Gulf Corporation Council's Financial Institutions and the Mena (Middle East and North Africa) Banks. He was also now dealing with projects and clients where the numbers involved often exceeded a billion dollars. Moreover, Mr. Badran had developed a close friendship and acted as a financial advisor for a Saudi Arabian Royalty, H.R.H. Prince Bandar Bin Mohamad Bin Abdulrahman Al-Saud. Working in this capacity, Mr. Badran organized a joint venture between a major United Kingdom pharmaceutical group within the Kingdom Capital of Riyadh.

In 2008/2009, being aware of the business model of the U.S. based International Globe-Allianz Network, and with a large and international network of now very high net worth clients and relationships, Mr. Badran brought together and established Fortress, www.fortresstrade.com, Corporate Finance Advisory Consortium based in Lebanon. Later that same year, Mr. Badran brought his consortium into the Globe-Allianz Network. Thus, he also now serves as an Associate Director, Globe-Allianz Capital Group.

Anita R. Bahe, Ph.D.
Director, Evolution SE and Evolution Sports 

Anita Bahe was born and raised in Nebraska, growing up involved in agriculture and outdoor activity. At an early age she became passionate about the land, nature and the environment. Dr. Bahe graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Biology and Natural Resources. Several diverse career activities thereafter included time with the United States Forest Service doing habitat research, corporate experience researching and marketing agricultural pesticides for Stauffer Chemical, and independent consulting in pest management. In 1990 Anita made the decision to advance her educational credentials and entered graduate school at North Carolina State University. There she earned her Master of Science degree in Crop Science and Ecology. Thereafter, Anita completed her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Natural Resource, Environmental Science, and Environmental Public Policy, awarded jointly from North Carolina State and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Dr. Bahe’s educational and professional endeavours have reflected her interests in integrated and multi-disciplinary approaches to addressing environmental and sustainability challenges, particularly in relationship to land use planning and development.  In part, her graduate research focused on utilization of recycled materials and employment of ecological principals in golf course design and construction. This work not only involved scientific analysis but also evaluation of these practices in term of economic and policy implications. Such method became integral to Dr. Bahe's professional practice where a multidisciplinary approach is brought to decision-making specific to urban land use, restoration and land planning, and environmental management. Having an understanding of the complexities of integrating science, economics and policy in project decision-making, design, and implementation is the key to success.

Subsequent to completing her advanced degrees, Dr. Bahe served as a Senior Project Manager with an environmental engineering firm in North Carolina. In 1997 Dr. Bahe established her own company, Lynx Group International LLC, and began providing advisory services emphasizing natural resource and environmental assessment, management, and planning, for a number of property development companies. Dr. Bahe has worked extensively in the property development and environmental marketplace with particular emphasis on golf course and mixed-use residential projects, brown-field and historic rehabilitation properties, and special destination projects. More recently, Dr. Bahe also has taken on the role of owner's representative for sustainability practices and green design. Her detailed knowledge of the various rating programs (LEED, Green Globes, Blue Flag Certification, etc.) as well as innovative strategies for energy, water, and resource management helps her clients and project teams optimize their performance goals.

In addition to consulting on projects in the U.S. and beyond, Dr. Bahe continues an involvement in contract research activities with various universities and partnering entities. Her work has encompassed alternative waste and storm water management practices and technologies; policy and communication considerations for water, wastewater, and recycling applications; emerging contaminant and antibiotic resistance in the environment; and the implications of climate change to communities. She has taught seminars on water reuse, watershed management, and environmental markets (i.e. carbon, pollutant trading, conservation banking, and more). Dr. Bahe has served on a number of private and governmental committees addressing sustainability, the environment, and development.

Globe-Allianz formed Evolution SE and Evolution Sports with Dr. Bahe (and Mr. R. Stephen Sewell) to serve the critical role of provoking and supporting ecological principals and "green" development throughout our network.

 

 

Mr. James C. Bates
Director , Boutique Hotels & Resorts International
President & Chief Operating Officer , Destination Hotel Partners, LLC and
Associate Director , Globe-Allianz Hospitality Group 

Mr. Bates has a successful track record in the hospitality industry extending for over 35 years. His innovative and dynamic approach to building brands, developing new product and executing excellent return on investment makes him a sought after expert in the market. Mr. Bates has held senior management positions with Hilton Hotels, Canadian Pacific, Best Western International, Hampshire Hotels and Resorts, Helmsley Hotels, and Boutique Hotels & Resorts International, as well as having run a number of independent properties and projects.

Mr. Bates began his career in Beverly Hills, California at the Beverly Hills Hotel, then the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, and then the Beverly Hilton Hotel. He is currently a partner in Boutique Hotels & Resorts International, a global luxury boutique hotel representation and global destination service sales company. Mr. Bates also serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of a new start-up hospitality enterprise, Destination Hotel Partners LLC. Destination Hotel Partners, together with Globe-Allianz Hospitality, Globe-Allianz Development Group, and Skanska USA Inc, are developing and building in joint venture with a number of medical schools and universities, a series of Campus based Hotel Centers throughout North America.      

James Bates has served on numerous advisory boards including: Travel Industry Association of America, Pow Wow Planning Committee, World Travel Mart, ITB Berlin, Luxury Travel Expo, Best Western International EMAC Committee, Choice Hotels, Cendant Preferred Partners Committee, NYSAE We Love New York Day Chairman and NYSAE Chairman Associates Committee, Hotel Sales & Marketing Association International and the Leading Hotels Of The World Marketing Advisory Committee. Mr. Bates has served on numerous Convention and Visitors Bureau Boards of Directors and advisory boards worldwide; and has participated on numerous panels and guest speaking engagements worldwide.

In 2008 Mr. Bates negotiated an alliance between Destination Hotel Partners and the Globe-Allianz Hospitality Group and now also serves as Associate Director within the Globe-Allianz Network.  

Mr. Donald L. Blackwelder
Chief Executive Officer, Thornton-Termohlen Group
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz

Donald Blackwelder was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and moved with his family to Provo, Utah in his latter teens. Curious about the world and fascinated by cultural diversity, while still in high school Donald took an unusual opportunity to broaden his horizons. He travelled with a college study group through some thirty countries from the Middle East to the South Pacific. After this seven month adventure that was to shape his intellectual interests for years to come, Mr. Blackwelder attended Brigham Young University and earned a degree in History and Far Eastern Studies. While a student at Brigham Young, Donald also took time to serve as a missionary for the Church of Latter-Day Saints. This work took Mr. Blackwelder to Japan where he spent almost a year, returning home fluent in Japanese. Continuing both his religious and culturally framed interests, Mr. Blackwelder next entered the University of Utah's Middle Eastern Studies Program but then received a scholarship to the American University in Cairo, Egypt. There Mr. Blackwelder earned a Master's Degree in Islamic History. Returning to the United States, Mr. Blackwelder sought to further pursue his academic interests and was awarded a scholarship to Harvard University's Doctoral Program in Middle and Far Eastern History.

Now married and with a first baby however, the realities of the need for a "real job" led Donald to forego his academic pursuits. Thus, he obtained employment within the Oil Exploration Division of Standard Oil in Stamford, Connecticut. There, he wrote background papers and undertook research to aid his employer to appreciate the diverse cultural and political framework of each of the countries within which Standard Oil was doing business. 

Tiring of the constraints of the corporate world after several years, Mr. Blackwelder chose to move into a career in real estate. He formed real estate companies in both Connecticut and New York and over the next twenty years these entities proved particularly successful with a focus in commercial sales, leasing, and development. 

The desire of his family to return to Utah, however, led Mr. Blackwelder to sell his east coast businesses, and in 1996 he founded "B & D Commercial Properties" in Orem, Utah. Within four years, Donald built his new business to be the fourth largest commercial real estate company in Utah, with sales approaching two hundred million dollars in the year 2000. The next year Mr. Blackwelder sold his company to Prudential Utah Real Estate and became the Principal Broker of Prudential Commercial Real Estate Services in Orem. He continues to function in that role to this day.

In tandem with his real estate marketing, sales, and management acumen, over the years Mr. Blackwelder has been an active real estate investor and also a developer. In 2005 Mr. Blackwelder became an investor and thereafter a principal in the "Thornton-Termohlen Group Company". This company, through its patent rights and the licensing of its technology, intends to do no less than shape the industrialization of building structure and influence the way high rise building is undertaken in the years to come. Mr. Blackwelder serves as Chief Executive Officer of Thornton-Termohlen Group and in that capacity has identified the substantial synergies to be realized by bringing his company into the Globe-Allianz Network.    

   

 

Michael “Mike” Bishop, J.D.
President, EquityLock Financial
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz Investment Group 

Michael Bishop was born and raised in Utah. He has an undergraduate degree in History from Brigham Young University and a Juris Doctorate (1996) from George Mason University School of Law. Mike was initially admitted to practice law in Virginia.   

Mr. Bishop specializes in developing and marketing unique financial products designed to protect or enhance client’s wealth.  Within the real estate industry, this focus has entailed work in real estate investment syndications, capital rising, and the creation of equity protection programs. 

After completing law school Mr. Bishop worked as the Director of Regulatory Affairs for a multi-state insurance holding company where he focused on regulatory affairs, business development, and provider contracting.  Thereafter he began working in alternative investments, asset protection, and tax planning for the high net worth market place. His firm advised, created and managed sophisticated financial transactions with an annual client transaction volume of over $100mm. This work involved an array of transactions and business entities, derivatives-based hedges, life insurance companies, captive insurance companies and real estate.  

Beginning in 2003, Mr. Bishop shifted from financial planning to real estate-based transactions.  These real estate projects have included: the initial ramp up of a destination club (i.e. second home club for affluent members); the syndication of approximately $600 million in ‘structured’ preconstruction real estate; and more recently, work with EquityLock Financial. EquityLock is a company that protects homeowners against market declines by compensating them to the extent of any market decline.  

Mike currently lives in Utah. As well as English, he is also fluent in Spanish and proficient in Portuguese. As a result of his work in real estate syndication, in 2005 Mr. Bishop began working with Madison International Venture Partners, one of the Globe-Allianz companies. In 2006 that relationship led Mike to bring EquityLock Financial into the Globe-Allianz Network.  

Mr. Brian Callahan
General Partner, HGA-BVI

Mr. Brian Callahan was born and raised in Connecticut. Brian is a graduate from Bridgton Academy and received a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.

In the late 80’s, Brian entered the financial services industry holding research and marketing positions with an investment bank owned by Trygg-Hansa SPP Group Inc, the largest insurance company based in Scandinavia.  In the early 90’s, Brian moved to H.C. Wainwright & Co., one of the oldest independent investment banks based in the United States. In the late 90’s, Brian was a Principal and Business Development Officer in the U.S. sub-advisory market for the largest corporate/institutional money manager in the world, Barclays Global Investors, a subsidiary of United Kingdom based bank Barclays, PLC. Later, Brian was hired as an independent consultant and then Vice-President - Sales Manager North America by Credit Suisse Private Advisors, owned by Credit Suisse Group, both based in Zurich, Switzerland. While at Credit Suisse, Brian was jointly responsible for launching and building the bank’s offshore financial services platform, which was oriented around international asset protection and global diversification strategies, including; investment, currency, jurisdiction and structure.

Over the past twenty plus years, Brian has developed expertise in risk management, real estate development and operations, public and private equity investment, international life insurance and annuities structuring and captive insurance structures. Brian is an owner and operator of a real estate portfolio based in the United States of self storage, luxury residential, office and hotel. As a private investor, Brian is also an active participant in private equity-special situation operating businesses. Brian is married with two children and resides in New York.

HGA – BVI is a British Virgin Islands (BVI) consulting and educational partnership. HGA – BVI educates and consults with trust companies, insurance companies, banks and private individuals with respect to compliance and risk management. HGA – BVI and its affiliates in the BVI and Cayman Islands offer a global reach of resources through longstanding relationships, partnerships and joint-ventures world-wide.

Mr. Robert Day
President, Site SiteManageWare Inc
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz Real Estate Group

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Mr. Gary Gaines
President, Quantum Commercial Consultants
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz Real Estate Group

Gary Gaines graduated from the University of Central Florida with a dual major in business and communications. After some further post graduate study Mr. Gaines went to work with Allied Department Stores. After management training, Mr. Gaines became first a buyer, then store manager, and then held various regional positions with Allied. He was promoted to Executive Vice President responsible for twenty-six locations throughout the Caribbean. Mr. Gaines then accepted the position of Executive Vice President, and later President, of the retail operations of Host International. At Host Mr. Gaines built their multiple outlets throughout the Caribbean. In the middle 80s however, seeking to be more personally entrepreneurial, Mr. Gaines left Host International to open his own company. Over the next five years Gary built his mixed business, the Blue Parrot, to be very successful until finally he accepted an offer he could not refuse.  

In 1989 Gary moved back to Florida to his family’s real estate business. Gary became the Broker for Capital Gaines Realty in 1985. At Capital Gaines Realty Gary enjoyed a very successful career in both residential and commercial real estate with clients nationwide and overseas. Mr. Gaines is a member of the National Association of Realtors.

With a strong team behind him, in 2004 Mr. Gaines saw the opportunities for commercial building owners in the little known concept of "cost segregation" and he made contact with a local Engineering Company that was contemplating starting up a division to specialize in Engineering Cost Segregation. Today, Mr. Gaines is President of Quantum Commercial Consultants, the national marketing arm of that engineering company. He also serves on the Board of Globe-Allianz and coordinates the interface between Quantum and Globe-Allianz as well as providing consultation on real estate matters within the Globe-Allianz Real Estate Network.

Mr. Peter G. Garvin
President, Garvin Enterprises Inc., and 
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz Capital Group

A graduate of the University of Denver, College of Real Estate and Construction Management, Mr. Garvin has been in the retail mortgage banking industry for more than thirty years. Mr. Garvin began his career with the Security Pacific Mortgage Builder Division and from there he has held Corporate Officer positions within several Fortune 500 financial institutions.

In 1987 Mr. Garvin started The Financial Network Corporation, a Denver based Mortgage Brokerage specializing in the financing of residential, land, golf course, and commercial properties in Colorado, Texas, Arizona, and North Carolina. Total closings within two years exceeded sixty-five million dollars. In 2000 Mr. Garvin moved to become President of Western United Mortgage, a strategic partner of American Home Mortgage. In 2004 Peter developed and introduced the National Builder Division of American Home Mortgage and he became responsible for new construction business nationally. Throughout his career, Mr. Garvin has established over five hundred homebuilder relationships in 27 states and has been directly involved with over two billion dollars in new home construction financing.  

Mr. Garvin is an Adjunct Professor at both the Metropolitan State College and the University of Denver. His specialty areas include Real Estate Law, Real Estate Appraisal, Real Estate Finance, and Mortgage Banking. Peter has taught at both institutions since 1979. He has also been published numerous times in publications like the Denver Business Journal, the Denver Post, the Rocky Mountain News, and the Ideas Magazine of the National Association of Home Builders. 

Mr. Garvin has been an active member of the National Association of Homebuilders, the Homebuilders Association of Metro Denver, the Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association, and the Mortgage Bankers of America. Peter is also a past member of the Professional Golfers of America, and he has developed a number of strategic alliances with the PGA including the "Lender of Choice Program". In addition to the PGA, Mr. Garvin has served on several other boards, including the Alumni Committee at the University of Denver, the Business Economic Awareness Group of Denver, the Southeast Development Board, and the Court of Honor Board for the Boy Scouts of America.     

Today, Mr. Garvin serves as President of Garvin Enterprises Inc., a national real estate and mortgage lending consultancy, and an Associate Company within the Globe-Allianz Network. Peter also serves as an Associate Director of Globe-Allianz Capital.    
 

Sheldon L Good, Esquire
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Sheldon Good & Company
Associate Director, The Globe-Allianz Real Estate Network

Sheldon L. Good's extensive academic credentials include a B.S. (Finance) from Syracuse University; a Juris Doctor from DePaul University School of Law; and a Doctor of Humane Letters from Robert Morris College. Mr. Good is also a licensed attorney in Illinois; and an Accredited Auctioneer of Real Estate, from the Auction Marketing Institute. 

Prior to entering the business of real estate, Mr. Good served in a variety of roles in the District of Columbia and in Cook County, Illinois. He first worked for the United States Senate and then the United States Department of Justice, Office of the U.S. Attorney,  in Washington. D.C. Thereafter he worked within the Cook County Assessor's Office; then the Building, Code and Zoning Division of Cook County, Illinois; and also the Cook County State Attorney's Office.

Mr. Good began Sheldon Good & Company in 1965 and today serves as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Good has been the driving force behind the growth of the company, which has been ranked as the largest firm in the United States exclusively conducting real estate auctions, and for a time was the sixth largest commercial brokerage firm in the country. Mr. Good has personally been involved in the sale of over four billion dollars of real estate including, commercial, office, retail, industrial, and vacant land sites.   

In addition to his legal experience, Mr. Good is a recognized expert in the fields of privately negotiated real estate sales, multiple-property auctions for residential and non-residential properties, and "lease-at-auction" programs. The "multi-property" auction and "lease-at-auction" programs, both concepts pioneered by Mr. Good, have revolutionized the real estate industry. As an established author in his field, Mr. Good is regularly quoted in Forbes, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, USA Today, Newsweek, and Savings Institution magazine.

Mr. Good is a highly sought after speaker, having given numerous keynote speeches, including in 2008 at the Forest Landowners Association Annual Convention, as well as the Staten Island Board of Directors International Symposium. He is also an accomplished author, having written Churches, Jails, and Gold Mines; and Mega-Deals from a Real Estate Maverick, which sold in the top one percent of Amazon.com. He has also written numerous articles for well recognized real estate and business publications and academic research papers.  

Mr. Good also serves as Chairman of the Board of the Real Estate Center of the John Marshall Law School and Chairman of the 2009 Realtors Commercial Alliance Committee of the National Association of Realtors. He is also on the board of a number of other prestigious organizations and is active with the American Bar Association and the National Realtors Association.   

Harold Green
Partner, Scollard Group International Inc. and Central Showplace Inc.
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz Real Estate 

Harold Green was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Mr. Green holds a Bachelor of Architecture Degree from Ryerson University, though his career has focused almost exclusively on marketing rather than the designing of real estate projects.  

Harold began his career with the Camrost Group, one of the most significant mixed-use and residential high-rise development companies in Canada. There, he launched numerous successful residential developments including One Park Lane, Manhattan Place and Madison Center. Always looking to expand his perspective, after several years with Camrost, Harold joined Tridel, at the time the largest residential condominium developer in Canada. Tridel was expanding into the development of office condominiums and within several years Mr. Green had successfully marketed more than three hundred thousand square feet of office space for Tridel before he was recruited to be Vice President for Sales and Marketing with the Toronto based Milborne Real Estate. At Milborne Mr. Green was responsible for the commercial condominiums portfolio.

In the early 1990’s however, as Canada’s economy softened, Harold focused on exploring new markets and "outside-of-the-box" marketing solutions leaving Milborne to partner with Danny See of See Realty.  With Mr. See, Harold took advantage of the large number of foreign buyers entering the Toronto markets. Together they launched in the Orient a series of presale programs for Toronto residential developers. These programs resulted in the sale of literally thousands of units in apartment building conversions, residential condominiums, and even retail condominium properties. 

Always ready to explore new marketing methodologies, in 1996 Mr. Green and colleague Clifford Bowman, formed the Builders International Real Estate Marketing Corporation (bireM), a Condominium new sales consultancy that created and managed sales and marketing programs for developers throughout North America. Some of the bireM projects included pre-sales and sales of signature residential condominium developments including the Mayfair in Dallas, the Concorde in Seattle, 245 on Market in San Diego, and the Ritz Carlton in Coconut Grove. Many of these award winning projects achieved solid sales records for velocity and volume in previously untested markets for such products. 

Over the past few years, Mr. Green has again extended the edge of the marketing envelop and created with his partner, Marie Jose Lafontaine, both Scollard Group International and Central Showplace. The Scollard Group is an international marketing and sales consulting enterprise. Central Showplace is an international real estate expo where developers can present destination and second home developments to the Canadian consumer.  

In 2008 Mr. Green was instrumental in linking both these companies into the Globe-Allianz Real Estate Network.

 

Peter A. Hegarty
Managing Director, Cayman Property Group & Executive Property Group
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz Development Group (Australia)

Peter Hegarty was born and grew up in Sydney, Australia. He attended the Charles Stuart University in Bathurst (N.S.W.) from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Business (accounting and finance). 

Mr. Hegarty's business career started in his late teens when he joined the Commercial Bank of Australia. Over the next fifteen or so years Peter's career advanced rapidly in the banking industry with moves to Westpac, then the Australian Reserve Bank (where he ran their money market desk), and finally to the Nippon Credit Bank (where he became Senior Manager of Capital Markets). In the mid 1980s, however, Peter was noting the steady expansion of tourism into Australia and he decided to leave the security yet pressured life of international banking for what he thought would be an entrepreneurial yet more relaxed business environment.

Thus, Peter established alliances with international tour entities like the United World Travel Club. It was not long before his company was serving as the inbound operator supporting more than seven thousand tourist visits annually. Seeing yet one more opportunity, within two years Mr. Hegarty also had formed Boomerang Bus Tours and soon built a fleet to handle his growing tourism business. Over the next ten years Mr. Hegarty expanded these tourism enterprises. Yet he also witnessed the stunning tourism linked real estate opportunities that were by this time emerging in the far north of Australia, Fiji, and the islands of the vast Barrier Reef chain. An offer to purchase his tourism business at about the time of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia gave Peter an entre into what would become his next business adventure, lifestyle real estate development.  

Today Mr. Hegarty employs his banking, finance, and business acumen to his role as the principal of two real estate development entities, Cayman Property Group, and Executive Property Group. The former develops high end luxury hotel, integrated multi-family, and single family resort properties primarily in the amazingly beautiful regions of the Far North Queensland coastline. The latter develops premium, high end residential and also some commercial property for the discerning buyer, mainly in and around Sydney. In 2008 Mr. Hegarty joined his companies into the Globe-Allianz Network and also now serves as the Australian Director for the Globe-Allianz Development Group.

Peter lives with his wife and family on the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, and as time permits he also enjoys his other love, playing the saxophone.        

Alan R. Kravets, Esq.
Sheldon Good & Company, President
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz Real Estate Group

Alan Kravets joined Sheldon Good & Company in 1989 as General Counsel and Broker.  Previously a founding partner of a 25-member law firm, Mr. Kravets was an FDIC-approved attorney in private practice concentrated in real estate law, banking and turn-arounds.  In 1998 Mr. Kravets was made President of Sheldon Good & Company and brought his 26-year legal background to the firm to work with developers, financial institutions, REITs, homebuilders, the hospitality industry, healthcare providers, business owners and corporations as a broker and consultant.

Mr. Kravets received his undergraduate degree in business administration at the University of Michigan School of Business Administration and his Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School.  Mr. Kravets is a licensed Illinois attorney and is licensed as a Real Estate Broker or Salesperson in 12 states, including Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, New York and New Jersey.  He is a member of several Bar Associations and the National Association of REALTORS®.  Mr. Kravets is currently a candidate to obtain the CCIM designation from the Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute.

To date, Mr. Kravets has been actively involved in sales totaling hundreds of millions of dollars for Sheldon Good & Company.  Mr. Kravets was a key participant in the workout between Donald Trump and a group of participant lenders, resulting in the $19 million sellout of the remaining units of Trump Plaza of the Palm Beaches.  He has been the architect of several notable successful auction sales, including Tannen Towers, Atlantic City, New Jersey for $5.5 million, Michigan Place Condominiums and 220 South State Street in Chicago, 100 properties for Conrail in four cities, 44 properties for BP Oil throughout Ohio, 46 properties for Amoco in three states and a $30 million, 25-property portfolio across Canada.  Mr. Kravets represented IBM in the sale of their Dayton, New Jersey facility for $10 million as well as many others.

Mr. Kravets is a prolific author, having co-written “The Auction Advantage in the Disposition of Real Estate” for The Secured Lender, “A Guide to Representing Sellers at Auction” which was published by the American Bar Association in The Compleat Lawyer and “Going, Going, Gone” for the American Bar Association.  He is widely quoted as an expert in real estate auction and disposition strategies and writes a monthly real estate column.

A highly sought-out speaker, Mr. Kravets frequently lectures on real estate, brokerage and auction matters for Continuing Legal Education and various REALTOR® and auction associations.  He also lectures on legal and disposition aspects of problem loans in programs sponsored by the Federal Home Loan Banks, the National Council of Savings Institutions and in numerous other real estate forums from coast-to-coast.  He was chosen as a member of Lambda Alpha International, an honorary land economics society.  Mr. Kravets is active in the International Association of Attorneys and Executives in Corporate Real Estate (AECRE), the Turnaround Management Association (TMA), The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) and the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association (IHLA).

Marie-Josée Lafontaine
Principal, Central Showplace Inc. and Director, Scollard Group International
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz Real Estate  

Marie-Josée Lafontaine “Josée” was born and raised in Toronto. She is a graduate in interior design from the International School of Design in Toronto. 

Ms. Lafontaine’s business management experience began with her extensive training while working in her family business, Community LifeCare Ltd. This is an entity that owns and manages retirement and nursing home communities across Ontario, Canada. By way of example, while working as the Administrator of Pine Villa, a Jewish Senior Residence located in Toronto, Ms. Lafontaine positioned the residence into a niche community, and successfully filled the residence while securing an enviable reputation in the Jewish Community.  

As an interior designer, Ms. Lafontaine established the design firm, Lafontaine Interiors, creating ingenious housing solutions for nursing and retirement homes, as well as hospitality, restaurant, condominium, and commercial spaces. Later, while working with her condominium developer clients, Josée created and inspired new programs such as developer buyer relation initiatives, suite selection programs for new sales, and turn-key suite packages for off shore investors. In 1996, Josée blended her design talents with her innovative entrepreneurial skills and purchased the 124-suite Scarborough Retirement Centre, which she developed into a thriving and highly successful retirement community.

In 1995 Josée joined bireM, an international real estate marketing company founded by Clifford Bowman and Harold Green. Though her ability to analyze consumers, market trends, and her background in design, at bireM Ms. Lafontaine was responsible for product development of luxury condominium communities marketed across North America. At bireM Josée also coordinated and matched to each development a team of award winning consultants made-up of architects, designers, public relations, creative agencies and multi-media companies. Josée was instrumental at bireM in defining a philosophy for designing Lifestyle Centers to market developments at pre-sale. 

Ms. Lafontaine left bireM to bring her unique skills to become a partner and Director of Marketing at Scollard Group International. At Scollard Group Josée has implemented award winning and innovative solutions for marketing second home developments and Lifestyle Centers in Florida, Texas, North Carolina, and California. More recently, Ms. Lafontaine became a co-founding partner of Central Showplace, an International Real Estate Expo designed to present residential projects to buyers in major markets around the world. It is within Central Showplace that Josée is now focusing much of her business attention. In 2008 Ms. Lafontaine was instrumental in bringing Central Showplace into the Globe-Allianz Network. 

Ms. Lafontaine is a member of the Retirement Association of Ontario, the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the American Marketing Association (AMA), and the National Association of Homebuilder (NAHB). As well as conducting her high intensity business life, Ms. Lafontaine is currently also studying for an MBA.

 

Gary P. Leventhal
President & Broker, Contempo Real Estate Group
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz Real Estate Group 

Gary Leventhal was born and grew up in Bristol, England. He attended the Weymouth College of Education from which he received his Teaching Certificate and also Southhamption University from which he earned the degree of Bachelor of Education.

Mr. Leventhal taught Physical Education in Corfe Mullen, United Kingdom, for some eight years and then spent a sabbatical year at the Phoenix Institute of Technology in San Diego, California. Not long after returning to England, Mr. Leventhal made the decision to leave teaching and become entrepreneurial. Thus, in 1985 he opened two franchise businesses both with Interlink Express Parcels, with outlets in Weymouth and Bath.  

It was while Mr. Leventhal was involved in his Interlink ventures that in 1989 he was invited to join his friend Donald Wherrett, who at that time was beginning a combined travel and real estate venture involving two companies called Contempo Property and Travel Services Inc, and Contempo Florida Holidays Inc, both located in Lakeland, Florida. Between the two, Don and Gary also formed two like named companies in Weymouth, United Kingdom and so the linkage between travel to resort destinations in the United States and property ownership there for British residents was forged. 

In 1997 the expansion of the Contempo Group in the United States was so substantial that Gary moved his family to Orange County, Florida. Currently President of Contempo Real Estate, Mr. Leventhal has advanced the company to become the premier vacation and investment home specialist in the United States. Now with wholly owned real estate acquisition, development, construction, and property management divisions, what less than twenty years ago was a start-up travel and real estate enterprise has become the Contempo Group, with the ambition to become the "Marriot of Single Family Home Resort Properties". Today Gary focuses on all of the real estate components of the business, from land acquisition to home sales to property management.

Mr. Leventhal now routinely travels to the United Kingdom and Europe to attract buyers for the Contempo Group. He lives with his wife of 31 years and his two adult sons in Orlando, Florida. Not surprisingly, Gary is a Rugby enthusiast.     

Mr. Frank O'Connor
Principal, O'Connor & Taylor Enterprises
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz

Frank O'Connor was born and raised in New York City. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering and Construction Management from the College of Engineering at Arizona State University. Mr. O'Connor also holds several professional licenses, including that of Real Estate Broker and General Contractor, both issued by the State of Florida. 

After completing his formal education, Mr. O'Connor was recruited into a Project Management role with the Perini Corporation (then an internationally prominent ENR 400 General Contractor). At Perini, Mr. O'Connor was given advanced management support and responsibility and autonomous financial control for a number of large and diverse commercial and high rise residential projects throughout South East Florida. Frank's next challenge came when he took up the role of Director of Operations at the Wolfe Building Corporation; a Florida based Commercial General Contracting Company. Then in 1984 Mr. O'Connor became a principal of the Fort Lauderdale, Florida based start up, Brown, Hendrickson & O'Connor. Over the next five years this company developed and built multiple institutional grade class "A" office buildings within suburban office parks in secondary markets throughout the Southeast. Some of the more notable of these properties included the Triangle Executive Park in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the Metro Business Park, in Fort Myers, Florida. The portfolio was sold to a life insurance pension fund in 1987.

The genesis of O'Connor & Taylor Enterprises began in the late 1980s when Mr. O'Connor began working with a long time colleague, Joseph Taylor. What began as O'Connor & Taylor, a residential and commercial specialty construction company, has grown into an array of wholly owned subsidiary companies including, O'Connor & Taylor Commercial Construction Inc., O'Connor & Taylor Residential Construction Inc, Trade Pro Construction Services Inc. (shell construction and concrete forming), Southern Construction Systems Inc. (pre-engineered steel building contractor), O'Connor & Taylor Realty LLC, O'Connor & Taylor Development Corporation, O'Connor & Taylor Management Corporation, and ultimately the holding company, O'Connor & Taylor Enterprises.    

In 2008 Mr. O'Connor and Mr. Taylor brought O'Connor & Taylor Enterprises into the Globe-Allianz Network, within which both men serve as Directors. Mr. O'Connor brings a wealth of both "everyday hands on" as well as highly creative general contracting and real estate development experience to the Globe-Allianz Network.  

Mr. Daniel M. O'Day
President, Globe-Allianz Accord Insurance Network
Associate Director, Globe Allianz

Daniel O’Day grew up in Chicago and attended Loyola University from which he received a B.B.A. in Management. Immediately after college, Mr. O’Day began his insurance career as an executive trainee with a major managing general agency in Chicago. During the following two years he received extensive training and completed a series of certification programs sponsored by Aetna, CNA, Royal Globe, and the Chicago Board of Underwriters. Thereafter Dan opened his own agency, Paris, O’Day and Reed, which eventually was sold to the world’s second largest agency. Mr. O’Day’s next move was to the Near North Insurance Agency where he travelled to Florida to manage the Chase Manhattan Real Estate Investment Trust account. In that context, Dan gained a wealth of real estate experience with clients that included the Sears Tower and Water Tower Place. In 1980 Mr. O’Day opened his second agency, Ensure Inc, which specialized in high premium accounts. When he sold this agency Dan then served as President of the Real Estate and Insurance Division of the Land of Lincoln Savings and Loan. During this period too, Mr. O’Day served as a Risk Management Consultant to a large number of mid-sized privately owned businesses with unusual insurance needs or risk exposures. It was during this period that Dan began a parallel business and followed his love for the markets into trading futures using his own account on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Considering a permanent move to Florida in 2005, Dan accepted an offer from a long time friend and owner of the Accord Insurance Network of America Inc. Mr. O’Day took up the position of President of the Commercial Division of the Accord Network. When in 2007 Globe-Allianz and the Accord Network created a joint venture, Mr. O’Day also became President of the Globe-Allianz Accord Insurance Network.

 

Mr. William A. Pardue
Chief Executive Officer, Qi Holdings Group
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz Sourcing

William Pardue was born in Portland, Oregon and raised into a family of builders. Mr. Pardue attended the University of California at Berkeley but was diverted by athletic prowess and so he joined the professional tennis circuit. Bill played the circuit for some four years until eventually entering the family construction business. (Pardue Industries was the largest construction company in Oregon and it specialized in fast track building techniques and precast exterior façade development).

Within a year of Mr. Pardue becoming a Project Manager in Pardue Industries, an invitation from the Chinese Government resulted in an unexpected change of direction for Bill’s life. Bill’s father and he travelled to China to evaluate construction materials and methodologies and what began as a trip turned into a several year consultancy with the Chinese Construction and Building Materials Ministry. This work was focused on the younger Mr. Perdue learning Chinese building techniques as well as sourcing machinery to facilitate the development of building systems technology. In 1995 Mr. Pardue formed a joint venture between Pardue Industries and a major Chinese company to produce architectural exterior cladding and Mr. Pardue assumed the Presidency of this new venture, Pardue Precast. The products developed by Pardue Precast not only exceeded all U.S. standards but scored the highest initial audit ever from the Precast Concrete Institute. Within several years, Pardue Precast was supplying to projects ranging from the HSBC Tower in Pudong, China, to the ODS Tower in Portland, Oregon, to the Harborview Hospital in Seattle, Washington. 

In 2002 Mr. Pardue made the decision to move beyond precast and into sourcing and he became Executive Director of CITIC/ Rising Star Holdings. Then in 2004 Mr. Perdue established Asia Pacific Building Materials which he merged into the Philippine based Qi Holding Group in 2007. Today, Mr. Perdue serves as Chief Executive of Qi Holding Group and as a Director of Globe-Allianz Sourcing. Bill has been a member of the Portland Executive Association (Construction Division), the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, the North West China Council, and the World Bank Green Building and Sustainable Urban Design Committee.

Noranit Tui Pranish
Founder, Tui Lifestyle

Born in Bangkok, Thailand, Mr. Pranich moved to Washington D.C. in 1970 when his father was promoted within The World Bank. A curious and tireless traveler, “Tui” began his travels as a child, accompanying his parents on journeys through Europe, often to visit his sister, who was being schooled in Switzerland. This exposure nurtured an inherent appreciation for art and beautiful places of the world. Some of his earliest impressions of place involve recalling palaces, grand homes and even grander lifestyles.

Mr. Pranich believes that “Good design is not pretentious, it is a pleasure made possible by an intelligent and sensitive approach.” Mr. Pranich attended Cornell University earning a degree in architecture as a third generation Cornelian. Subsequent to associations with prestigious design firms in Boston, Massachusetts and New York City, Mr. Pranich moved to Palm Beach, Florida. In 1983 he opened his first high end residential design firm. Later he opened showrooms in Chicago, Miami and New York. 

Over the last two decades, Tui Pranich and Associates has evolved into a prestigious and prolific design firm staffed by an inspired group in both interior design and wholesale showroom offices. Current residential projects include large ocean front estates in Palm Beach, chalets in Vermont and island retreats in the Caribbean. Rounding out the portfolio are residences in New York City, Boston, Miami and Long Island. Commercial projects include the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Brandeis University in Boston and the Brazilian Court Hotel in Palm Beach. 

Tui's latest large-scale project may be his most intriguing.  Devising a vision for the lobby and restaurant of the Setai in Manhattan, the 167 condo satellite of the Miami Beach hotel, “has been very challenging for me, because it is conceived as requiring decoration with a touch of Asian influences.” This project required Pranich to make seemingly endless trips to factories in Shanghai and Thailand to manufacture furniture exactly to his specifications. 

The Setai assignment yielded an epiphany, Pranich recalls recognizing that “I could do this on a mass scale. I could provide consumers with high style, but at a more affordable price than custom work”. It was from this perspective that Tui Lifestyle was born. The work of Tui Pranich and Associates has been featured in many national and international publications.  

Mr. Wayne Schmirler
President, SCT Limited, and Sino China Trading Limited, China
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz Sourcing

Wayne Schmirler was born and raised in Western Canada. Wayne's father was a builder and Wayne worked closely with his dad in construction from about age ten until he completed high school, at which time he joined the Prince Albert City Police Department. Wayne worked for five years engaged in general police duties before deciding to take a job in the construction industry. Thus, Wayne began working for Rollett & Barrett Construction and attending the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. Mr. Schmirler graduated with a degree in Construction Management, with additional certifications in Journeyman Carpentry and Painting/Decorating.

With his credentials in hand, Mr. Schmirler began his own W&S Construction doing home building until the late 80's when he was recruited as General Manager for Mogenson Construction, a rapidly growing heavy equipment company specializing in gas line and fiber optic installation. It was while working for Mogenson that Mr. Schmirler took some of his trips to Asia, trips that would lead to many more and ultimately to alter the course of his life. Meanwhile, in the early 90s, Mr. Schmirler was recruited to Sheep River Development. There he was responsible for all aspects of the creation of a large residential subdivision just outside Calgary. As this project was winding down, through contacts in Asia, Mr. Schmirler was invited by the Keaton Group to participate with them in a joint venture with Northern Telecom to build a USD100 million residential development for Nortel employees in Guangdong. Mr. Schmirler accepted the challenge, became the General Manager of the project, and brought it in on time and on budget. 

By this time Mr. Schmirler had become fascinated by the business opportunities he saw there. In his first venture, Mr. Schmirler was able to secure the China wide rights for the distribution of Crayola Crayons. From this first product, with 33 outlets across China, Wayne also built the Hong Kong based Sino China Trading Ltd.

What would become SCT Limited grew out of early requests from friends in North America asking for items from China. One early project for Wal-Mart required the custom milling of fabric and the making and shipping of furnishings in a total of 178 containers, all in 50 days. This and subsequent orders from other customers, required the milling of over 15 million meters of custom fabric in one year. SCT Limited has proved itself by working with large companies that have very high standards (Highline Wholesale, Universal Furniture, Costco, Wal-Mart to name just a few). The company exports millions of dollars of product for clients in the USA, Canada and Europe. Its principal focus today is automobile parts for Toyota USA, assorted building materials, and furniture and wood finishing's for the hospitality industry.

As well as owning Sino China Trading Ltd (Hong Kong) and SCT Limited (Shanghai), Mr. Schmirler is also a shareholder and officer in several other Asian based enterprises, including a partnership with the Sedgwick Media Group (Switzerland) and the Hong Kong and Shanghai based World3e.com. He also is a Director of, as well as a supplier for, Globe-Allianz Sourcing.       

 

   

Mr. R. Steven Sewell
Director, Evolution SE and Evolution Sports

Richard Steven Sewell is a Massachusetts native. He attended the Tilton School in New Hampshire, then Boston University’s Metropolitan College, earning his B.A. in Journalism and Creative Writing. Ability and a love of golf led Steve to successfully compete as a professional golfer and simultaneously he began his work in golf consulting. Marriage and an emerging family led to the decision to curtail competition, yet Mr. Sewell’s golf expertise and also prior golf facility management experience, helped Steve gain a number of prominent clients along the U. S. east coast. In an effort toward growing his consulting business, Mr. Sewell completed the PGA of America Professional/Management Training Program and he further studied at The National Institute of Golf Management.   

Mr. Sewell’s company, Professional Golf Resources LLC, began with an office in Salem, Massachusetts and soon expanded south to Delray Beach, Florida. Some of the services offered by Mr. Sewell’s company include golf course site selection and preparation, permitting, fairway layout and design, construction, marketing and management, both interim and long term. Expertise in these disciplines and access to an extensive resource base has been the essence of Mr. Sewell’s path to successful projects. 

As his business grew further, Mr. Sewell expanded overseas and opened offices in Northern Italy. He even moved his family there for a few years as his consulting contracts extended into France, Switzerland, Monaco, Morocco, Eritrea, and also the Dominican Republic and Bermuda. Finally, seeking to return his family to the United States, Mr. Sewell relocated to the North Carolina East Coast. Today Mr. Sewell continues to service his clients both overseas and throughout the United States but now through his new Globe-Allianz subsidiaries Evolution S and Evolution Sports. It has been through these new entities that Mr. Sewell has added a major new focus to accommodate the increasingly sought after eco-sustainable issues involved with all types of sporting properties and facilities.   

Mr. Sewell has written three books, one used by the PGA of America for use in its marketing and management program. He is also very involved within the Challenged Golfers’ sphere. Mr. Sewell has worked with this group of golfers for many years and has developed, instituted, hosted and operated a number of educational seminars, clinics and support functions geared to creating conducive access, and achieving a better quality of life through the medium of golf.

Mr. Sewell formed Evolution SE and Evolution Sports (with Dr. Anita Bahe), merged his prior company into Evolution Sports, and brought both of these companies into Globe-Allianz to benefit both companies and to serve the critical role of provoking and supporting ecological principals and "green" development both throughout sports and throughout the network.  

 

Mr. Howard Taft
Managing Director, Cohen Financial, Miami
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz Capital Group

Howard Taft was born and raised in South Florida and attended the University of Florida (Gainesville) graduating with dual degrees in both Real Estate and Accounting. In his early career, Mr. Taft was promoted to Senior Vice President of the Miami based Continental Real Estate Group. At the time, Continental was a privately owned real estate consortium providing leasing, management, brokerage, development, and financial services and it serviced a portfolio of more than one billion dollars. Mr. Taft left Continental to assume the appointment of Managing Director with Holiday, Fenoglio & Fowler, in Coral Gables, Florida. Mr. Taft served in that capacity until joining Cohen Financial in 2003.

Cohen Financial is a national real estate capital services company and an originator of commercial real estate debt and equity transactions. Mr. Taft was appointed Managing Director at Cohen's Miami Center but acts throughout the Southeastern United States and beyond. He is responsible for managing the origination, analysis, and placement of real estate debt and equity throughout the United States. Since joining Cohen Financial, Mr. Taft has successfully closed transactions totaling in excess of three billion dollars. Typical assignments involve the layering of mezzanine/equity financing with senior debt for acquisition, development, and financing for all property types.

Mr. Taft is a Florida licensed Mortgage Broker and Real Estate Broker. He is a member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, and the International Association of Shopping Centers. He is also a Past President of the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers and serves on the Advisory Board of the Warrington College of Business of the University of Florida. Mr. Cohen also co-ordinates the business relationship between Cohen Financial and Globe-Allianz and as such serves as an Associate Director, of the Globe-Allianz Capital Group.     

Mr. Kyle Waugh
Owner and Broker, Rise Realty
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz Real Estate Group

Kyle Waugh was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mr. Waugh is an entrepreneur with a longstanding passion for real estate.

At the age of 18, Kyle passed his Series 7 (Stock Brokerage) examination and thereafter enjoyed early success as a stockbroker in his native city. Within several years, Mr. Waugh became involved in the launching and then sales of a succession of flourishing, profitable start-up ventures. Following these accomplishments and consistent with his interests, Kyle was then drawn to the entrepreneurial aspects of real estate and entered the industry as an investor.

In 2002, following eight successful years as a real estate investor, Mr. Waugh was recruited by Prudential Americana Group Realtors to manage its flagship office. In this role, he promptly increased office productivity and recruitment and personally signed up over one hundred new agents. Late in 2003, Kyle resigned his management position and zealously pursued real estate sales at the Prudential Americana Group. In 2004, he achieved total personal production of over $100 million, was distinguished as one of the top three agents within the Prudential Americana organization, and received numerous professional awards and accolades – including being recognized for being in the top one percent of all real estate professionals nationwide.

Identifying a void in the market, Kyle founded Rise Realty in 2005 as a boutique real estate firm specializing in high-rise condominium and condo-hotel sales and marketing. He was contracted as exclusive Broker for Opus, Pinnacle, Echelon and Summit developments, selling over $250 million in real estate in 2006 alone. In 2007, Kyle grew the Rise Realty project portfolio to $1.7 billion while expanding his base of partners and strategic alliances with organizations offering complementary core competencies and launched the ‘Synchronize to Optimize’ suite of services. This revolutionary, vertically integrated solution has been created to give developers, resellers, investor groups and financial institutions a soup-to-nuts sales and marketing package that is unique in the marketplace. It was while implementing this program within one of his projects that Mr. Waugh began dealing with one of the Globe-Allianz companies, the bulk presales investment company, Madison International Venture Partners.   In 2006, 2007 and 2008, Kyle was voted for inclusion in the In Business LV “Who’s Who in Real Estate.” Kyle brings to any initiative extensive direct experience in sales and marketing. Among his many strengths are his abilities to recognize and attract talent, coalesce that talent into a powerful team, and striving to ensure that the team accomplishes what seemingly may be the impossible.

Seeing the value of combining his talent and Rise Realty into one more strategic alliance, in 2008 Mr. Waugh brought Rise Realty into the Globe-Allianz Real Estate Group, thus offering Rise access to the resources and opportunities of the Globe-Allianz Network and Globe-Allianz an especially powerful sales and marketing base in the stunning Nevada market.  

 

Donald Wherrett

President, The Contempo Group
Associate Director, Globe-Allianz Real Estate Group

Donald “Don” Wherrett was born and raised in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, in the United Kingdom. Don attended Grimsby Technical College where he studied building construction and accounting.

In his earliest employment, Mr. Wherrett worked himself into various management roles in sales and by his early 20’s he was beginning to identify an entrepreneurial spirit that eventually would lead him far beyond anything he had contemplated growing up. Fascinated by what he identified as a stunning growth of travel, in his late 20’s Don bought a travel franchise called “Rent-A-Villa”. This company arranged private villa accommodation for British and international tourists seeking vacations in Spain. Don built his franchise into a highly successful specialized vacation travel business but problems in the parent company made Don’s efforts progressively less viable and so he began to look elsewhere.

Mr. Wherrett’s next position was with the Swiss owned but British based Cosmos Air Holidays Ltd and he became their Director of Overseas Operations. In that role Don initially was responsible for the hiring and training of employees worldwide as Cosmos expanded. Later his role was refocused and Mr. Wherrett became responsible for the operations of the various resort facilities of the Cosmos Group, including the expansion of its operations throughout the western United States.

Now Los Angeles based Mr. Wherrett began to identify the challenge of a number of the business opportunities he saw there. Don decided to leave Cosmos and start his own venture. That venture involved the purchased of a Hollywood based retail travel agency named Contempo. Its claim to fame was its very high profile movie clientele. Don viewed this clientele as offering the opportunity to expand the scope of his new business (his early vacation home rentals in Spain had convinced him that celebrity clients particularly value a private get-away resort vacation experience). Thus, Contempo began to provide for its celebrity clients particularly successful “Villa Resort” services. Further, Mr. Wherrett also expanded this business on the wholesale side and within several years Contempo had become the principal seller of resort home vacations, through Don’s former company, Cosmos.

In the latter 1980s Mr. Wherrett recognized the expansion in Central Florida tourism and saw this as offering him the opportunity to provide a new service, providing tourists not only a stunning vacation resort experience, but also the opportunity to purchase their resort home. Thus, in 1989 Don incorporated Contempo (in Florida) and based it in Orlando. Contempo began in Florida as a major player in the short term rental industry but soon it became a major homes sales and property management enterprise. Mr. Wherrett both introduced the short-term home rental industry to Central Florida, and also served as the Founding President of the Central Florida Property Managers Association.

Ever seeking to expand the Contempo horizons, in 2008 Mr. Wherrett (together with Gary Leventhal) linked the Contempo Group into the Globe-Allianz Network.