O’Connor is

Meet The Team

Bill O’Connor

CEO, Corporate

Bill is the Chief Executive Officer of O’Connor Capital Partners. Prior to his current role, Bill served as Head of Investments for the U.S. and was based in London from 1999-2002 where he was a senior acquisitions officer. Prior to joining O’Connor in 1996, Bill was an Associate in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group of Merrill Lynch & Co., based in New York. Bill is a member of the Urban Land Institute, the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Pension Real Estate Association. He is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross (B.A.) and the Columbia Business School (M.B.A.).

Joel Bayer

President

Joel is the President of O’Connor Capital Partners. Prior to joining O’Connor in 2011, Joel was with General Growth Properties, Inc. (“GGP”) where he last served as Chief Investment Officer. While with GGP, Joel was instrumental in expediting the successful acquisition of CenterMark Properties, Homart, The Rouse Corporation and various other transactions with a combined dollar value of more than $40 billion. Prior to joining GGP in 1993, Joel held various positions with Equity Financial and Management Company (“Equity”). Among his responsibilities during the five years he was employed by Equity were supervising retail acquisitions for the Zell/Merrill Lynch Opportunity Fund and Equity Properties and Development Company. Joel is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Pension Real Estate Association, and the Chicago Council on foreign Relations. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois (B.S.) and the University of Michigan (M.B.A.).

John O’Connor

SVP, Head Of Acquisitions

John is a Senior Vice President, Head of Acquisitions at O’Connor Capital Partners. In this role, he is responsible for the sourcing and structuring of new acquisitions and joint-ventures in the retail and residential sectors. Prior to joining O’Connor in 2009, John worked as an analyst in the Investment Banking division of Citigroup focused on real estate equity offerings, and as a credit analyst for a high yield hedge fund in Greenwich, CT. John is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Urban Land Institute. He is a graduate of Williams College (B.A.) and Columbia Business School (M.B.A.).

Peter Bergner

President, O'Connor Property Mgmt.

Peter is President at O’Connor Property Management. Prior to joining O’Connor in 2016, he served as acquisition manager for The Wilder Company and President for Breslin Realty. For the past 30 years, he has been involved in several management, leasing, and development transactions throughout the country. At O’Connor, he is responsible for the site selection and development of several large-scale retail assets.

Suzanne Albright

Controller, Property Management

Suzanne Albright is the Controller for Property Management at O’Connor Capital Partners.  Prior to joining O’Connor in 2021, Suzanne was with Ram Realty Advisors 20+ years and provided leadership for all accounting functions, including property management, corporate accounting, treasury management, and financial reporting.  Suzanne graduated from Northwood University with a B.S. in Accounting.

Brett Buehrer

Senior Vice President, Development

Brett is a Senior Vice President at O’Connor. Brett is responsible for development management, including management of approvals, planning, zoning, architecture, and scheduling. Prior to joining O’Connor in 2000, he served as a Regional Manager for both Wilder Richman Management and Wesley Housing Corporation. Over the last 30 years, Brett has been directly responsible for or participated in the management and or development of 15,000 residential units. Brett is a graduate of Ohio State University (B.A.) with degrees in Finance and Real Estate and the University of Memphis Business School (M.S.).

Ya Wen Chang

Senior Vice President, Tax

Yawen is Senior Vice President – Tax at O’Connor. Prior to joining O’Connor in 2006, she was a senior consultant in the Real Estate Tax Group at Deloitte & Touche. Yawen is a graduate of the University of Illinois (M.S. in B.A.) and Fordham University (M.B.A. in Accounting & M.S. in Tax).

Antonio Crespo

Vice President

Antonio is a Vice President at O’Connor and is based at its Mexico City office. He is responsible for asset and development management and is involved in new business activities. Prior to joining O’Connor in 2006, he was with Promotora Hausbau, a residential real estate developer, performing project/development management and new business activities. Before joining Hausbau, he worked at Michael Baker International, a global provider of engineering and consulting services focused on infrastructure projects. He also co-founded and managed a successful small food & beverage company, selling his interest in 2004. Antonio is a graduate with honors of the Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City (Civil Engineering). Awarded a partial scholarship, he obtained an M.B.A. with a concentration in finance from INSEAD, one of the world’s leading and largest graduate business schools.

Ojas Desai

Senior Vice President, Asset Management

Ojas is currently a Vice President at O’Connor. He joined the company in July 2015 after working at Brixmor Property Group (formerly Centro Properties Group) in their New York corporate office for seven years. While at Brixmor, he was focused on Capital Markets and Portfolio Management and was a key team member during both the acquisition by Blackstone in 2011 and the company’s eventual public offering in 2013. Ojas is a graduate of New York University’s Stern School of Business (B.S.) and the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business (M.B.A.).

Santiago Garcia-Moreno

Senior Vice President, Head of Mexico Office

Santiago is a Senior Vice President and Head of the Mexico office of O’Connor. Prior to joining O’Connor in 2004, he was with Hines performing project/development management, asset management and new business activities largely related to Hines’ Emerging Markets Real Estate Funds’ office and industrial portfolio in Mexico. Before joining Hines, he worked as an architect and construction manager. Santiago is a graduate of the Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City (Architecture). As a Fulbright Scholar he obtained an M.S. in Real Estate Development and a Master in City Planning, both from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kate Gilbert

Leasing Representative

Kate is the Senior Leasing Representative at O’Connor handling the leasing for the large-scale retail assets in O’Connor’s portfolio. Prior to joining O’Connor in 2016, she served as the Senior Leasing Representative for Menin Development since 2003 where she was responsible for leasing and redevelopment of Menin’s portfolio of lifestyle and regional shopping centers in South Florida. Ms. Gilbert began her career in the shopping center industry working for Leonard L. Farber Incorporated as Director of Lease Administration/Tenant Coordination and subsequently was employed by Darryl R. Kaplan Company as Leasing Agent/Tenant Representative representing local, regional and national tenants throughout Florida and the United States. Ms. Gilbert holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications from the University of South Florida and is a Licensed Real Estate Broker in Florida.

Thomas Huth

Senior Vice President, Capital Markets

Tom is a Senior Vice President – Capital Markets at O’Connor Capital Partners. In this role, Tom is responsible for leading the firm’s capital markets activities, executing acquisition transactions, development asset management and asset strategy. Prior to joining O’Connor in 2005, he spent two years at UBS Investment Bank in their Real Estate, Lodging and Leisure group focusing on REIT M&A and equity offerings. Tom is member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Urban Land Institute. He is a graduate of Columbia University – Columbia College (B.A.).

Joshua Lerner

Senior Vice President, Asset Management

Joshua is Senior Vice President of Asset Management at O’Connor Capital Partners, overseeing a portfolio of real estate investments across the United States.  With more than 20 years of industry experience, Joshua manages all financial, leasing and operational aspects of his commercial real estate investments.  Prior to joining O’Connor in 2011, he was Vice President of Asset Management at real estate private equity firms in New York City and New Jersey, managing national real estate portfolios of retail, office, hotel and residential properties.  He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers.  Joshua graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania (B.A.).

Frank Nuccio

Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Frank Nuccio is a Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at O’Connor.  Frank has over 20 years of experience at O’Connor, including overseeing all aspects of accounting, financial and investor reporting and insurance.  He also works with the property management, development and asset management teams at O’Connor in overseeing investment operations and performance.  Prior to joining O’Connor in 2002, Frank was an audit manager at the Real Estate Services Group at Ernst & Young.  Frank is a graduate of Hofstra University where he earned a degree in Accounting. Frank is a CPA and a CGMA and a member of both the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and New York State Society of CPAs.

Andrew Piccola

Vice President, Technology

Andrew Piccola has been working as a Vice President, Technology at O’Connor Capital Partners for 24 years. 

Natina Rotolo

Senior Vice President, Treasury

Natina is a Senior Vice President and Treasurer at O’Connor. Prior to joining O’Connor in 1999, Natina was a Senior Manager in the Real Estate Services Group at Arthur Andersen LLP. Natina is a graduate of Binghamton University (B.S.).

Adam Schwartz

Senior Vice President, Construction

Adam is Senior Vice President of Development and Construction at O’Connor.  He is responsible for leading all construction initiatives as well as major capital projects within the operating properties.  Prior to joining O’Connor Adam was a vice president in the construction department of Forest City Ratner Companies, a Brooklyn based real estate developer.  Adam is a graduate of the Cornell University School of Engineering (BS, Civil and Environmental Engineering) and has a Master of Civil Engineering degree from NC State University (Construction Engineering and Management).