As seen at Colorado Real Estate Journal
Senior Development Manager
Mindy Rietz is a Senior Development Manager, joining the Confluent Development team in 2018. She is responsible for sourcing and executing industrial and office developments across the U.S.
Mindy has 11 years of experience in commercial real estate across multiple disciplines. Prior to Confluent, Mindy worked at Prologis for two years where she led due diligence and closing negotiations on over $767 million in transactions across North America. Mindy started her Real Estate career in 2009 in CBRE’s Minneapolis, MN office, working in accounting and industrial leasing before specializing in investment sales where she represented private and institutional owners and investors in the disposition and acquisition of industrial, office, and retail assets in the upper Midwest.
In 2016, Mindy received NAIOP’s prestigious National Developing Leader of the Year award. She is a graduate of the University of Iowa and a member of NAIOP, ULI, and CCIM.
Senior Director of Finance and Capital Markets
As a member of the finance team, Dan is responsible for analyzing and assisting with the oversight and implementation of financial strategy formulation throughout the lifecycle of Confluent’s real estate development projects and assets.
Prior to joining Confluent Dan was a Vice President of Loan Production at Essex Financial Group where he specialized in the origination and placement of debt and equity across a wide array of commercial property types.
Dan earned his M.B.A. from the University of Colorado, Boulder with a dual concentration in finance and real estate and his B.A. from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois where he was a member of the varsity baseball team. After being drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 2004, Dan spent the next few years doing his best Crash Davis impersonation before trading in his baseball glove for an HP12C.
President & CEO
With 25 years and billions of dollars in development experience, Marshall Burton co-founded and now serves as the president and CEO of Confluent Development. The full-service real estate investment and development firm features unmatched talent executing across a diverse portfolio of industrial, office, retail, mixed-use and senior housing development projects, all under one roof. Through Marshall’s leadership, the company’s footprint spans more than 100 projects and 10 million square feet of development in 22 states.
As CEO, Marshall guides the Confluent Development team’s success in all phases of real estate development, delivering custom and complex projects that add lasting impact to their respective communities. True to the Confluent name, the philosophy of unification is central to Marshall’s leadership of the firm. The company fuses its best-in-class team and stakeholders to create real estate solutions for communities to innovate, grow and inspire.
Marshall has a strong record serving on boards for successful industrial REITs. He is currently a full-cycle events director of Black Creek Industrial REIT IV (BCI IV), an industrial REIT focused primarily on high-quality distribution warehouses with more than $1.2 billion under management. He was previously a board member for Industrial Property Trust (IPT) and Industrial Income Trust (IIT), helping to steer the industrial REITs through the full cycle of their portfolios. IPT successfully sold its portfolio featuring 37.5 million square feet of industrial space for approximately $4 billion in 2020, and IIT completed its sale for more than $4 billion in 2015.
Prior to founding Confluent Development, Marshall was the executive vice president for Opus Development Company, where he led operations in the western region and oversaw the growth of its Denver office.
Giving Back in Business and Community
Marshall’s commitment to community began early in his career, when he served as an associate director for the Downtown Denver Partnership. Here, he co-founded Denver Capital Corporation, a multi-bank community lending organization.
Marshall has carried forward this spirit of community investment throughout his career. Currently, he serves on the Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation’s Corporate Leadership Council (CLC), helping to advance Children’s Hospital Colorado’s mission through philanthropy and special event fundraising. Marshall is also a member of Colorado Concern, an alliance of the state’s leading executives committed to enhancing Colorado’s business climate. Within the industry, Marshall previously served as president of NAIOP Colorado and as an active member of Urban Land Institute. Based on Marshall’s visionary leadership and commitment to community investment, the Denver Business Journal awarded him as a Most Admired CEO in 2020.
Chief Development Officer
Celeste Tanner is the co-founder and chief development officer of Confluent Development. Bringing nearly 20 years of industry experience, she established the full-service real estate investment and development firm to bring a new vision of development within the industry to life. In her role, she steers the firm’s execution across all phases of real estate development, successfully delivering custom and complex projects that create significant value in their respective communities. Since the company’s inception in 2014, Celeste has overseen more than $1.5 billion in development projects across the organization’s diverse portfolio, consisting of more than 100 industrial, office, retail, mixed-use and senior housing development projects.
Under Celeste’s guidance, Confluent has delivered award-winning projects and works with some of the country’s most sophisticated clients including Target, FedEx, Starbucks, Mikron Corporation, Vectra Bank, and Charter Communications, among others.
In her previous role as director of real estate development at Opus Development Company, Celeste led the real estate project team for its Denver office and played a key role in the ground-up development of more than 5 million square feet of commercial and multi-family space.
Celeste holds a B.A. from the University of Colorado at Denver, is an alumnus of the Downtown Denver Partnership Leadership Program, and has been awarded for her outstanding achievements from organizations such as The Denver Business Journal, CREW, NAIOP Colorado and Bisnow.
Giving Back in Business and Community
Celeste has represented the development industry both locally and nationally through her leadership in NAIOP, where she previously served as the chapter president for Colorado. Currently an executive committee member on NAIOP’s national board, she provides a voice for Colorado’s development industry at the national table.
Celeste also contributes her leadership well beyond the industry and into the community. She serves on the board of Wheat Ridge Localworks, where she contributes her industry expertise to help implement the organization’s business and home improvement loan programs, among others, focused on enhancing the city’s economic vitality and neighborhood revitalization. Celeste also represents District I as a member in Renewal Wheat Ridge (RWR), an Urban Renewal Authority committed to improving the visual aesthetics and environmental aspects of Wheat Ridge, meanwhile adhering to the wants and needs of the community.
Senior Vice President & CFO
Jon has over 17 years of experience in finance and joined the predecessor company, MVG Development in 2006, which subsequently merged with Confluent in 2015. He is responsible for all financial and accounting aspects of Confluent Development, including investor and banking relations as well as property sales.
Prior to joining Confluent, he held multiple positions in corporate finance and investment banking with a focus on acquisitions and high yield debt financing. Jon worked in the Leveraged Finance group for Bank of America Securities for five years where he participated in structuring over $10 billion worth of financings for leveraged buyouts, M&A transactions, restructuring and refinancing transactions across a broad spectrum of industries.
Jon graduated magna cum laude with a B.B.A in Finance from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA.
Managing Director of Confluent Senior Living
John is the Managing Director of Confluent Senior Living and is responsible for leading the business strategy, investment initiatives and development in Senior Housing. John works closely with Confluent’s development team to ensure successful project delivery, and the operating partners to ensure existing communities achieve asset management objectives. John also identifies and pursues new markets and sites for future projects. Confluent Senior Living is a subsidiary of Confluent Development.
Preceding the launch of Confluent Senior Living, John was a Vice President of Development at Confluent Development, focusing on office and industrial development in addition to Senior Housing. John is a member of the Executive Team at Confluent Development.
Prior to joining Confluent, John was a Senior Development Manager for Weston Solutions, where he was responsible for all acquisitions and development in the Rocky Mountain region. His experience includes the development and financing of diverse product types, including office, retail, hospitality, industrial, multi-family, and brownfield redevelopment. John has also held positions as an Acquisitions Manager with International Capital Partners, and a strategy consultant with Accenture. He is active in the Denver real estate community and a member of NAIOP, ULI and the Denver Downtown Partnership.
John has a Bachelor of Arts in finance from Calvin College, a Master of Science in economics from the Colorado School of Mines and a MBA from University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
Giving Back in Business and Community
As a member of ULI, John serves on the organization’s Senior Housing Council as well as on the Executive Board of the American Seniors Housing Association. As a past Associate Board member, John proudly supports the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver.
Senior Director of Real Estate Entitlements
H has been practicing land use and real estate development disciplines for more than 25 years. During his career, H has skillfully lead multi-discipline project teams to create development plans and gain entitlement approvals for over 13 million square feet of office, retail, industrial, mixed-use, multi-family, senior living and master-planned development, including LEED certified projects. Blending experience from the public, quasi-public and private sectors has provided H with the expertise to successfully balance project programs, owner requirements and jurisdictional design criteria to achieve implementable results. In addition to his extensive exposure to transaction, design and construction phases of real estate development, H is also a member of the Inverness Planning and Architectural Control Committee and has guest lectured on managing the entitlement process at both the University of Colorado and University of Denver. H earned his Masters of Urban & Regional Planning from the University of Colorado and received his Bachelors degree from Drake University.
Senior Director, Real Estate Entitlements
Greg Meeter manages the planning, design and entitlement process for Confluent with an emphasis on its retail projects.
He has more than 20 years of real estate development, planning and construction project management experience. He has supervised all phases of the planning and development process for residential, master-planned communities, metro districts, commercial and mixed-use estate projects. Most of Greg’s career has been in the development world with Lend Lease, Castle Rock Development Co. and Carruth Properties. Prior to joining Confluent Development he was Site Development Manager with Galloway & Company.
Greg has extensive experience managing multi-site national projects including convenience stores, fuel facilities, restaurants, banking institutions, and grocery stores. Greg has successfully secured approvals for numerous entitlement and real estate development projects for public and private sector clients. He
is proficient in managing interdisciplinary teams responsible for implementation of complex projects under budget and on time.
Greg is a Certified Planner and holds a Master degree in Urban and Regional Planning from CU, and a Bachelor degree from Kansas.
Senior Development Director
Matt Derrick is a member of the Senior Housing development team at Confluent. Matt works closely with our Senior Housing operators to ensure our existing projects receive entitlements and approvals and construction stays on schedule. Matt also assists in the identification, pursuit and acquisition of sites in new and existing markets , nationally, for future development.
Matt has a diverse real estate background and started his real estate development career over 15 years ago working with Marshall Burton and Celeste Tanner at Opus Northwest and was focused on the development of Opus’ multifamily development projects. Matt has also held positions in commercial brokerage asset management, land development, land entitlements and land acquisitions.
A Denver native, Matt is active in the community and is on the Associate Board of ACE Scholarships and is a Big Brother for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado.
Matt holds a Bachelors Degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Masters Degree in Real Estate and Construction Management from the University of Denver.
Construction Manager
Matt Ferguson is the Construction Manager for all of Confluent’s Senior Housing projects. In this role Matt works very closely with the architects, engineers, general contractors, interior designers and operators throughout the development and construction process to ensure projects move forward and are completed on schedule and in budget.
Matt’s experience in construction management and development is as broad as it is diverse, having worked in both the residential and commercial environments. Prior to joining Confluent, Matt worked for Toll Brothers, the 2012 and 2014 National Home Builder of the Year. As a Project Manager, Matt oversaw the construction, development, sales and marketing of one of the most prominent single family home gated communities in the greater Denver metro area. Before joining Toll Brothers, Matt was a Project manager for Erickson Living, where he was part of the original team which oversaw the development and construction of the Wind Crest Retirement facility located in Highlands Ranch, CO.
Matt has a B.S. in Business Administration from Miami (OH) University and an MBA in Real Estate from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
General Counsel
Christine is Confluent’s General Counsel and serves on Confluent’s executive team. In these roles, she oversees Confluent’s legal activities, policies and risk assessment. A primary part of her focus is creating solutions to simplify the support for Confluent’s development team, including automating acquisition, disposition and leasing processes.
Before joining Confluent, Christine acted as a shareholder in private practice representing various commercial real estate clients and participating in transactions both on a local and national basis, including: representing a variety of entities in connection with their ownership of real property, including drafting and negotiating commercial leases and management agreements; representing both sellers and purchasers in individual as well as portfolio acquisitions and dispositions of office, multifamily, multi-use, retail and industrial properties; and representing institutional owners in joint venture acquisitions and development of land. She was twice selected to Super Lawyers, and she was a finalist for the CREW Denver Women of Influence Top Achiever in Law Award in 2017. Christine holds a juris doctorate from the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia. She is affiliated with several professional and non-profit organizations.
Executive Vice President of Development Management
Dean Barber joined the Confluent Development management team in 2017 as the Executive Vice President of Development Management. With 30 years of development experience, Dean’s capability spans product types that include build-to-suit, multi-tenant office, medical office and surgery centers, hospitals, retail, hospitality, multi-family, senior housing, light industrial business parks and large mixed-use land developments.
Dean leads the overall execution of all Confluent Development projects. With Confluent Development making a respected name for the level of complexity in their projects, Dean’s role focuses on the firm’s development management services, which continues to scale the organization both locally and nationally with best-in-class processes critical to the firm’s continued success and growth.
Previously, Dean served as the Senior Vice President of Development Management for McWhinney, where he oversaw the execution of the firm’s commercial, hospitality and multi-family developments. During his tenure there, he developed more than 35 projects resulting in more than 3.25 million square feet of commercial space with notable projects including the revitalization of Denver’s iconic Union Station and the redevelopment of the historic Dairy Block in Lower Downtown Denver.
Dean holds Bachelor of Architecture degree from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and has completed coursework in the M.S. in construction management program from Colorado State University.
Giving Back in Business and Community
Dean is an active participant in the professional community through membership in NAIOP and previously served on the board of Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation.
Dean’s love of mentorship through sports has lead him not only to coach over 20 youth and high school football, baseball and lacrosse teams over the years but to serve on the board of organizations such as CHAMP (Character in Athletics, Make it a Priority) and Ft. Collins Youth Lacrosse. Other notable organizations where Dean is proud to sit the board include Adoption Dreams Come True, Poudre Valley Hospital, Harmony Campus, and Colorado State University’s Everitt Real Estate Center.
Development Director
Nick Kitaeff serves as Development Director leading the mixed-use and multi-family development platforms at Confluent Development. Nick has 8 years of development experience, has developed projects in 12 states totaling over 1 million square feet with a total value in excess of $320 million. Nick led the $27m Kipling Ridge redevelopment in Wheat Ridge, CO anchored by Sprouts Farmers Market, Starbucks, and a 64-unit MorningStar assisted living facility.
Nick has excelled at executing on complex urban mixed-use development projects in the Denver market that have a meaningful impact in their communities. Nick is currently leading one of Confluent’s most notable local projects – Exchange at Boulevard One in the Lowry neighborhood in east Denver. Exchange will be a 175,000 square foot mixed-use retail, restaurant, and office project anchored by a small format Target.
Nick holds a BSBA in International Business from the University of Denver, is an alumnus of the Downtown Denver Partnership Leadership Program. Nick serves on the board of DMCAR, and NAIOP Developing Leaders where he is Committee Chair of the Mentor Program, with a passion for helping younger members grow professionally and personally.
Senior Development Director
John has worked with Confluent Development for over 5 years, sourcing and executing industrial, office, and mixed-use deals nationally. He has over 13 years of experience in ground-up development across more than 1 million square feet of space across multiple deal types including Build-to-Suits, speculative, and adaptive reuse of assets with successful results.
John’s notable accomplishments include an 84,000 SF data center/office build-to-suit for Charter Communications; 115,000 SF Data Center for EdgeConnex; and working as development director on Granite Place office tower in Greenwood Village. Through every project, John adds value through his breadth of expertise and open communication with team members and clients for a collaborative development experience.
John has a BS in Civil Engineering, Clemson University and a MBA in Real Estate and Finance from CU Boulder.
Construction Manager
Cody Cowan is the Construction Manager for Confluent’s Senior Living, Industrial, and Office sectors. In this role Cody works very closely with the architects, engineers, general contractors, and environmental consultants throughout the development and construction process to ensure projects move forward and are completed on schedule and in budget. In the two years that Cody has been with Confluent he has managed the construction of over 470 square feet of Class A office space; including Granite Place at Village Center and The Circa Building.
Prior to Joining Confluent Development Cody was a Project Manager for National Oilwell Varco. He was responsible for overall construction project planning and scheduling, resource allocation, contract negotiations, project accounting and control; all while providing in the field technical direction and ensuring compliance with high quality standards. Prior to NOV, Cody was a Project and Facility Manager for RSI Group in Southern California. While with RSI Group Cody Gained career experience with site investigations, permit expediting, design, FF&E management, estimating, construction management, and facilities management.
Senior Accountant
As a member of the accounting team, Jeremiah is responsible for accurate and timely financial information that is in accordance with GAAP.
Jeremiah’s professional experience is a mixture of management and accounting with one common ingredient, improvement.
He began his career in retail management, managing retail stores in 7 locations in 4 states. By building teams of diverse, kind, respectful individuals, he was able to consistently produce sales increases in excess of thirty percent.
This success led him to Puerto Rico where he transitioned into accounting roles with a Health Care conglomerate as the AR Supervisor and Accounting Manager by focusing on the standardization of procedures and process improvement.
Immediately prior to joining Confluent, he provided his talents to a diversified sub-contractor in the Denver metro area. By learning and performing all of the roles in the accounting department he was able to identify and implement process improvements. He further improved their reporting by creating custom reports in Crystal and SQL.
Mr. Bartley has a Bachelor of Arts with dual degrees of Accounting with a finance emphasis and Business Administration from Western State Colorado University.
Legal Assistant
As a member of the legal team, Angela is responsible for a variety of tasks that include drafting legal documents for filing, maintaining calendars for legal and finance deadlines, and researching various issues with the proper authorities. She also is responsible for administrative duties that include filings, basic research, mailings, correspondence, and notarizations.
She assists team members with real property purchase and sales, lease analysis, corporate compliance and due diligence matters. Angela’s responsibilities are to support the internal office processes and follow through to achieve project goals.
Prior to joining Confluent, Angela worked in the Oil and Gas industry performing a wide variety of duties in the Land Department.
Accounting
Susan Tackett is part of the accounting team and is responsible for managing account receivables and payables for the business operation activities. She also assists in property management, plus many aspects of the construction draw process including pay application processing and document management. Susan performs and excels at special projects assigned to her by the controller and accounting team.
Susan brings a decade of construction experience in book keeping and construction operations. Her experience includes accounting, job site supervision, employee management, property management and customer service in a commercial real estate setting.
Senior Construction Manager
Matt is the newest member of Confluent Development’s Construction Management team; he brings over 20 years commercial construction experience in senior management positions. Matt’s expansive knowledge-base of operational efficiency, system analysis, contract negotiation, risk mitigation, project execution, P&L oversight and strategic planning has made him a welcomed addition to the organization. As Construction Manager, Matt will oversee the day to day construction initiatives initially focusing on the retail and industrial sectors.
Corporate Attorney
Lauren serves as Confluent’s Corporate Attorney. Is this role, Lauren is responsible for legal activities, policies, risk assessment and contract management. Lauren also works with General Counsel in creating solutions to simplify the support for Confluent’s development team, including automating acquisition, disposition and leasing processes.
Most recently, Lauren was a partner with Gelman & Norberg, LLC as a commercial real estate attorney and residential real estate attorney. She has extensive experience in commercial leasing, commercial and residential foreclosures, loan workouts, lending, and various other real estate and business matters. She actively represented clients in complex business and real estate transactions and all types of civil litigation. Prior to joining Gelman & Norberg, LLC, Lauren worked primarily in the areas of real estate foreclosures and landlord / tenant litigation. Lauren has handled hundreds of foreclosures and evictions.
Lauren is admitted to practice in all state courts of Colorado, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado.
Lauren is a Denver native and received various academic scholarships while attending the University of Colorado at Boulder. In 2004, Lauren received her degree in business finance from the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business. Lauren received her juris doctorate degree from the University of Colorado School of Law in 2007.
In her spare time, Lauren likes to spend time with her family, read, cook and watch football. Lauren enjoys traveling with her family, and she especially loves vacationing in Hawaii.
Legal Project Manager
As Legal Project Manager, Robin is an active member of company-wide development teams, managing many aspects of such projects as real property acquisition and disposition, project financing, lease and contract management, corporate and loan compliance, process improvement, and supporting business functions across the company.
Robin has over 20 years of experience in business and real estate related transactions including mergers and acquisitions; multi-family, construction and permanent financing, and commercial mortgage underwriting due diligence and compliance. Robin’s experience allows her to successfully execute projects, manage changes, and ensure company performance through the efficient use of internal and external resources and collaborating with management, clients and other relevant stakeholders.
Prior to joining Confluent, Robin was with Aimco. There, she managed underwriting due diligence, facilitated closings for single and portfolio loans and worked across departments to streamline processes.
Robin holds an M.S. in Organization Management and Project Management and a B.A. in Organization Development from Regis University in Denver, Colorado.
Membership and Professional Associations include:
Rocky Mountain Performance Excellence
Project Management Institute
The Organization of Legal Professionals
Controller
Paul oversees accounting, reporting, treasury, risk management, property management and assists the CFO on financial matters for Confluent Development. He has 18 years of accounting and finance experience in Private Equity, Real Estate, Distribution, and Public Accounting.
Prior to joining Confluent, Paul worked for Real Capital Solutions where he was responsible for all accounting and reporting functions of international and domestic multi-family asset development and home-building. He also maintained debt leveraging with 11 different banks of over $1 billion in sales of distressed condo, apartment, land and residential construction projects.
Paul also has a background in Public Accounting as a member of the audit and wealth transfer departments. In addition, he has controller experience in international distribution of construction related materials for commercial and residential use, including oversight of the accounting, finance, and credit departments.
Paul holds a BBA in Accounting and a BBA in Finance from Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX.
Development Manager
Charlie Kay is a member of the Senior Housing development team at Confluent Development where he is involved in acquisitions of existing properties, site identification for future developments in new and existing markets, and works closely with our senior housing operating partners to ensure our existing projects receive entitlements and approvals, and construction stays on schedule.
Prior to joining Confluent Development, Charlie worked for Spectrum Retirement Communities as a Development & Finance Analysis and a Project Manager/Owner’s Representative where he was involved in 15+ senior living developments. Charlie also worked at a commercial mortgage banking company, Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, in Los Angeles as an Analyst focusing on industrial, retail, and multifamily properties.
Charlie graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in Accounting with an emphasis in Finance and Real Estate.
Project Coordinator & Executive Admin
Tina Boring joined the construction and development teams at Confluent Development to provide administrative support to the many facets of the construction process. Her goal is to streamline the processes and procedures and provide support to the construction managers so they can spend their time managing the projects.
Tina has been in the construction industry working for various general contractors and specialty contractors since 1997. Her expertise and experience includes processing numerous construction documents to include subcontractor agreements, AIA contracts, and subcontractor certificates of insurance. She is an effective liaison between outside entities and the developers to ensure communication and continuity.
Growing up on a farm in Kansas provided the work ethic with a “get it done” attitude. She loves to travel with her husband to the beaches of the world whenever possible, hikes and works in their yard, and loves spending quality time with her children and grandchildren.
Senior Executive Assistant & Office Manager
AJ brings 18 years of corporate administration experience to Confluent Development with prior Executive Assistant roles at Black Creek Group, Platte River Equity and Bain Capital.
She holds a M.A. in Communications from Emerson College and B.A. in Political Science from Colorado State University.
Outside of the office, AJ is an avid reader, traveler, runner and hiker. She is currently training to climb Denali in 2019 as part of her quest to reach the top of the Seven Summits, three of which she has already summited.
Danielle Conover
Assistant Construction Manager
Danielle Conover’s insatiable thirst for learning and gregarious personality is the perfect fit for this ever-growing company. In her role as Assistant Construction Manager she will be supporting our experienced group of construction managers and Confluent Development’s Senior Living team as well as heading national retail projects.
Danielle has overseen construction install crews, managed large offices, and supported commercial construction over her varied career. Danielle comes to us from McWhinney, where she supported the commercial development team in entitlements, vertical construction, and lease management. Notable projects that she has worked on include the redevelopment of Denver’s historic Dairy Block, Great Wolf Resort in Garden Grove, California, and Nutrien’s U.S. Corporate Headquarters in Loveland, Colorado, the largest private employer in Northern Colorado.
After completing a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Northern Colorado, Danielle went on to receive a Certificate in Construction Management from Colorado State University. Having started her career working for Pella Windows & Doors, she decided to make construction and development her ultimate career goal. Danielle has been married to her husband, Ryan, since 1997. They have two teenage boys, Seth and David, and enjoy exploring this great state as a family while camping, fishing, and hiking.
Development Director
Santiago started with Confluent Development in February 2019, and is responsible for expanding the retail platform nationally with a focus on single tenant net leased development. Prior to Confluent, Santiago worked for national retailer, Starbucks Coffee Company, which helped him understand the nuances of corporate retail priorities and needs. During his time at Starbucks, Santiago was responsible for all aspects of real estate (including both new store development and the existing portfolio of stores) in three states from the Western Mountain region.
Before Starbucks, Santiago was a Development Partner at Verdad Real Estate, one of the largest national retail development firms with a focus on STNL development. While at Verdad, Santiago concentrated on client management while handling development needs for a diverse group of retailers including Starbucks, 7-Eleven, Hardee’s / Carl’s Jr, Taco Bell and others.
Santiago has been in real estate development for over 10 years, and got his start in real estate at MVG Development as an Associate, with one of his first responsibilities including the first national expansion by Dunkin Donuts into major markets west of Mississippi, including market planning and acquisitions in Phoenix AZ.
Throughout his career, Santiago has managed to completion over $150mm across more than 100 projects for various retail clients.
Santiago attended the University of Denver, studying Philosophy and International Business.
Director of Asset Management, Senior Housing
As Director of Asset Management for Confluent Senior Living, Taylor is responsible for all senior housing assets in addition to advising on underwriting, acquisitions and dispositions. She participates in strategic capital deployment, oversees assets from development to stabilization and collaborates with various operating partners to ensure continued growth and improvement.
Prior to joining the team at Confluent, Taylor was Project Director at Spieker Senior Living where she consulted on acquisitions and design, managed onsite fill-up, and drove sales and occupancy for several of California’s largest CCRCs. Before transitioning into senior living, Taylor began her career in Property and Asset Management for Spieker Partners and MHF Real Estate where she managed commercial, retail, and industrial properties throughout the west coast.
Taylor graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder, with a BA in Sociology.
Accounting Manager
As Accounting Manager at Confluent, Leslie assists the Controller with the oversight of the accounting department, the facilitation of the construction draw process and the completion of all financial reporting.
Leslie has 25 years of accounting experience specializing in the Real Estate industry. Prior to joining Confluent, Leslie spent 15 years as the Development Accounting Manager for NexCore Group where she managed all aspects of the construction draw process as well as the financial reporting for both medical office and senior living projects. During her tenure there, she worked closely and collaborated with internal finance, design and construction departments as well as outside lenders, attorneys and capital partners. Leslie also has previous accounting experience with Multi-Use, Retail and Multi-Family projects.
Leslie holds a BA in Business Administration from the University of Northern Colorado. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time outdoors, skiing, hiking and traveling.
Development Coordinator
As Development Coordinator at Confluent, Sharon is responsible for providing project coordination services, business development support, and business support administration services to the Development Team across asset classes.
Prior to joining Confluent, Sharon held several executive assistant and administrative roles supporting the Community Development Team at McWhinney and the Executive Leadership and Development Teams at Brinkman Colorado. Most recently she was the Executive Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer at Rodan and Fields, a $1.5 billion skincare company located in San Francisco, CA. Sharon and her husband are happy to be back in Colorado, closer to their five kids, many friends and extended family.
Sharon graduated from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism.
Senior Development Accountant
As a member of our Accounting team, Michael assists with ensuring the accuracy and timeliness of our financial information while providing assistance with the day-to-day accounting activities and projects.
Having spent 10 years in accounting, Michael has experience that ranges from working for large multi-billion dollar companies to small family-run operations. Prior to joining Confluent, Michael spent 3 years as a Development Accountant for Mercy Housing where he provided financial assistance during the construction of low-income housing properties.
Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Florida State University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Real Estate. He lives for anything outdoors and English football. Whether he is traveling the world, hiking/camping, or snowboarding, it is rare for him to be standing still.
Construction Manager
Bill Wells joined the Confluent Development team in 2020 as a Construction Manager for retail, multifamily, and mixed-use community driven projects. With 15 years of development and construction experience, Bill’s expertise spans product types including build-to-suit, multi-tenant office, retail, entertainment, light industrial, multi-family, hospitality, medical office, surgery centers, and hospitals.
Previously, Bill served as a construction and development manager for two Colorado based development firms as well as a project manager for a design-build general contractor. During his tenure he has constructed and developed more than 15 projects resulting in more than one million square feet of commercial space. He has worked on notable projects including the revitalization of Denver’s iconic Union Station, Denver’s Dairy Block, Loveland’s Nutrien Corporate Headquarters, Fort Collin’s Harmony Commons Retail Center, Loveland’s Foundry Mixed Use Town Center, Industrial Projects in Loveland and Broomfield, an Aloft Hotel in Thornton, and several medical projects in Texas, the pacific northwest, and Georgia.
Bill holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Colorado State University and is an active participant in the professional community through memberships in NAIOP and the Urban Land Institute. Â Bill lives in Fort Collins with his wife Julia and their daughter. Â They enjoy travel, watersports, and exploring as a family while skiing, camping, and hiking.
Finance Associate
Erik joined Confluent Development as an Associate on the Finance team in August of 2020. In this role, Erik is responsible for assisting with financial modeling and analysis of the real estate development projects at Confluent, coordinating with various internal departments on the implementation and monitoring of financial strategies and initiatives, and assisting in management of both banking and investor relations.
Prior to joining Confluent, Erik was an associate on the Capital Markets team at Logic CRE in Las Vegas where he was responsible for debt and equity placement across a multitude of asset classes, as well as financial modeling for a number of different teams throughout the firm. Before joining the team at Logic, Erik spent time at a boutique investment bank in Las Vegas and prior to that was playing minor league baseball in the Washington Nationals organization.
Erik earned both his bachelor’s degree and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he was a student-athlete for four years and later an active member in the athletic department. In December of 2019 he sat for and passed the CFA Level 1 examination and is currently studying to sit for Level 2.
Executive Chairman
Jim Dennis leads the team with his long term approach and unwavering commitment to our valued clients. Mr. Dennis is the company’s senior executive, a position he has filled since 2005.
Previously Mr. Dennis spent 30 years in the medical device industry serving as World Wide President for Johnson & Johnson’s Biosense Webster Division, President of the Cardiac Rhythm Management Division of St. Jude Medical, and President and CEO of Telectronics Pacing Systems.
Mr. Dennis received a B.A. in Business Administration and a M.B.A. from National University in San Diego, CA.
Vice President of Real Estate
With more than 20 years of development and construction experience, Coakley’s industry success with single-tenant net lease properties led to the delivery of more than 60 Walgreens properties and five Chase Bank properties, all within the Midwest and southeastern United States.
Prior to joining Confluent Development, Coakley served as president of Eyes North Corporation in Chicago, with a $100 million portfolio of single-tenant retail developments throughout the Midwest.
Coakley’s industry expertise is a valuable asset to Confluent Development’s retail development portfolio of $25 million annually. As an industry leader, Coakley’s experience allows the firm to expand its programmatic relationships that are currently focused primarily in the Rocky Mountain region with clientele that includes Starbucks, 7-Eleven, Verizon, Chipotle, Walmart, Dollar General and Taco Bueno in addition to the development of new key relationships.
Mr. Coakley is an Illinois licensed real estate broker who holds a Masters degree in Civil Engineering and a Masters degree in Architecture from the University of Illinois.
Real Estate Consultant
Mitchell Menashe works on the retail development team at Confluent where he specializes in site acquisition, conceptual planning, project underwriting, and client relationship management.
Mitchell began his professional career at Verdad Real Estate, a privately held single tenant retail development company based in Dallas, TX. While at Verdad, Mitchell worked on behalf of clients such as Starbucks, Maverik, Hardee’s, and 7-Eleven.
Mitchell is on the NAIOP Developing Leaders Committee and graduated from the University of Denver with a BSBA in General Business in 2014.
Director of Construction
Mr. Rotunda serves as a leader of the Construction Management Department with Confluent Development. His is responsible for oversite and management of all construction operations outside of the Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona markets.
Sandy has over 39 years of experience in commercial and residential real estate development, construction management and general contracting. Sandy’s extensive experience, knowledge, and leadership skills in the real estate development and construction industries are a key contributor to the success of Confluent Development projects. While managing with an understanding of the big picture, Sandy has the ability and experience to get into the detail taking a hands on approach to solving complex issues at any point of a project.
Before joining Confluent Development, Sandy has served as a senior member of several distinguished national developers and general contractors. Serving as Senior Vice President of Construction and Maintenance for Forum Real Estate, Vice President of Construction for Resource Real Estate, Senior Vice President of Design & Construction for McKenzie House Real Estate. Director of Preconstruction Services for Swinerton Builders Denver operations, Sr. Project Manager, General Superintendent and Superintendent for General Contractors Hensel Phelps, Mortenson and DPR Construction.
Marketing Manager
Laura joined Confluent in August of 2014. With more than 15 years of experience in marketing for several large firms in Denver, she has provides marketing support and leadership in a variety of key roles. As the head of Confluent’s Marketing department, Laura leads the development of marketing materials, collateral, graphics, website and overall branding.
Pre-Construction Manager
John Schieving is responsible for construction cost estimating and cost control. He works closely with development directors, design teams, and general contractors to provide the construction costs for pro formas and assure the costs presented from the general contractors are fair and accurate. He is also responsible for design and construction strategies to get and keep projects in budget.
John’s past experiences include positions in the trades as a tower crane operator and union electrician, a tax preparer and auditor for a construction specific CPA firm, and as a financial controller for a large electrical contractor. John also has had extensive experience as an estimator and project manager for several large specialty and general contractors.
John entered the development field as a pre-construction manager for MacKenzie House and has a great deal of senior housing and multi-family experience.
John has a B.S. in Financial Accounting from Metro State University and has completed all the testing and experience requirements for a CPA certification. He also holds a current Colorado Master Electrician’s license.
Staff Accountant
Jen Mah began her career in Real Estate accounting at Real Capital Solutions where she quickly moved up from an accounting assistant to staff accountant. To broaden her accounting expertise, Jen continued her career as a staff accountant specializing in Treasury and Payroll at Noodles and Company and later moved on to public accounting where she audited special districts and non-profits at Fiscal Foods Partners.
After some time away from the industry, she is happy to be back in Real Estate as a Staff Accountant at Confluent Development. Jen holds a BA in Economics from the University of Colorado and a Master’s Degree in Accounting from Regis University. In her spare time, Jen enjoys cooking and baking and can often be found exploring the outdoors with her four rescue dogs.
Statement regarding COVID-19:
Confluent Development has been closely monitoring the developments surrounding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and we are taking precautions to ensure the well-being, health and safety of all team and community members across our projects.
We will continue to service our clients in a remote environment during this situation. As the COVID-19 virus continues to impact our nation, we realize these uncharted waters are difficult for everyone. Together, we will build stronger, more resilient communities in this trying time.
Senior Construction Manager
Ted Lodigensky has been involved in real estate development and construction for over 25 years, providing a broad range of construction supervision and management services. Specific areas of expertise range from site selection and evaluation; through architectural and engineering review and coordination, including governmental approvals and permits; to project specific scheduling, management and supervision.
His experience includes the construction of retail centers and associated tenant improvements, as well as a variety of multi-family residential building types ranging from the adaptive reuse and renovation of historic warehouse, hotels and apartment buildings into rental and condominium lofts, to the construction of suburban garden apartments and senior assisted living communities.
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Board Member
After a diversified real estate career spanning more than 40 years, Mr. Shaw has established a real estate consulting practice and has recently been retained by the Fitzsimmons Redvelopment Authority to manage their real estate portfolio.
Most recently, Mr. Shaw was the executive vice president of development for the Loveland, Colorado based McWhinney organization. From 1995 until 2007, John Shaw was responsible for the Opus Denver, Kansas City, and the St. Louis operations. Prior to joining Opus, Mr. Shaw served as Senior Vice President of Rancon Financial Corporation and Senior Vice President of the Denver Technological Center.
Over his career, Mr. Shaw has had direct development responsibility for more than 24 million square feet of commercial properties located throughout the western United States.
Mr. Shaw currently serves on the Board of Governors for the University of Colorado Real Estate Council and as the President of the University of Colorado Real Estate Foundation.
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