Leadership
Executive Management Team
- » Carl Chang - Chief Executive Officer and Director
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Carl Chang founded Redwood Real Estate Partners in 2005 after more than 18 years managing the investments and real estate holdings of his family’s investment portfolio. During that time, Mr. Chang has directly acquired, developed and managed more than $425 million worth of retail shopping centers, office, multi-family, and multi-tenant light industrial properties throughout the Western United States. He has also successfully managed private equity investments in a number of early-stage companies.
From 2003 to the present, Mr. Chang has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Sullivan Hayes Brokerage and Dunton Commercial Real Estate Co., two of Colorado’s most successful commercial leasing firms and property management companies, respectively. Sullivan Hayes Brokerage is Denver's largest retail broker leasing over 6 million square feet of property over the past five years, and selling more than 500 acres of land. Dunton Commercial Real Estate Co. is one of the oldest real estate brokerage firms in the country having originally been founded in 1904 and specializes in the representation of tenants, purchasers and property owners; consistently maintaining a better than 95% occupancy rate for its property management clients in very challenging markets.
In 1993, Mr. Chang co-founded CMCB Enterprises and CMCB Development Company, to develop and invest in real estate. Prior to that time, he was a professional tennis coach, principally for his brother, Michael Chang, who is perhaps best remembered for becoming the youngest-ever male winner of a Grand Slam singles title when he won the French Open in 1989 at the age of 17. In 1996 Mr. Chang was named Coach of the Year by Tennis Magazine.
Mr. Chang is a licensed Real Estate Broker and holds a bachelor’s degree in political economy of industrial societies with an emphasis in international business and multinationals from the University of California, Berkeley.
- » Jonathan Needell - Chief Financial Officer
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Jon Needell joined Redwood in 2006 as its Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Needell oversees acquisition and development underwriting and analyses, dispositions, and asset management. Mr. Needell also oversees all strategic and business planning, sourcing and structuring construction, mini-perm, and permanent debt and joint venture equity financing, financial reporting, and lender and equity partner relations.
Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Needell was the Investment Director and Chief Financial Officer of Schnitzer West (formerly Schnitzer Northwest), a commercial real estate investment and development firm based in Bellevue, Washington. While at Schnitzer, Mr. Needell was responsible for the sourcing and structuring of the firm's debt and equity financing efforts as well as its lender and equity partner relations.
Prior to Schnitzer, Mr. Needell served at Merrill Lynch & Co. as Director - Corporate Finance Group in the Investment Banking Division. Mr. Needell started at Merrill Lynch in 1992 and held several positions in the Real Estate Group, Investment Banking Division, prior to moving to the Corporate Finance Group in 2000. At Merrill Lynch he developed and maintained client relationships relating to corporate finance products in several focus areas including real estate, media and general industrial. In addition, he worked extensively in capital raising activities and deal structuring and negotiation.
Mr. Needell holds a bachelor of arts degree with a double major in economics and history from the St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and a member of the Urban Land Institute.
Mr. Needell sits on the Board of Directors of Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) at Mission.
- » Brian Farr, CPA, CFA - Controller
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Brian Farr joined Redwood in 2007 as its Controller with more than 15 years experience in accounting, finance and taxation. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Farr was Executive VP of Financial Operations for Atherton-Newport Real Estate Investments, a real estate investment and development company based in Irvine, California.
From 1999 to 2004, Mr. Farr was the Controller for Perseus, LLC, a manager of private equity funds where he oversaw the preparation of financial statements, capital calls and distribution allocations for capital commitments in excess of $1.4 billion. Prior to joining Perseus, Mr. Farr was Deputy Director General and Investment Officer for Small Enterprise Assistance Funds, a manager of private equity funds investing in emerging markets. In that position, he managed due diligence and structured and negotiated investments for portfolio companies based in Macedonia. Mr. Farr has also provided counsel to foreign investors and companies looking to conduct business in Romania and also served in the United States Peace Corps as a Small Business Development volunteer in Romania.
Prior to joining the Peace Corps, Mr. Farr was employed by Price Waterhouse for five years as a tax associate and senior tax consultant.
Mr. Farr is a certified public accountant and a CFA charterholder. He holds a bachelor of arts in business administration in accounting and a master’s degree in taxation from Baylor University.
- » John O’Laughlin, JD - General Counsel
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John O’Laughlin joined Redwood Real Estate Partners as its General Counsel in 2007. Prior to joining the company, Mr. O’Laughlin headed his own private practice focusing primarily on corporate and real estate litigation and transactions.
From 1982 to 2004, Mr. O’Laughlin was a partner at the law firm of Butterwick, Bright & O'Laughlin, Inc., serving as the firm’s managing partner from 1990 to 2004.
During his 25 years of practice he has represented a broad spectrum of clients, including business owners, landowners and operators, developers, contractors, brokers and agents, in all aspects of the litigation process, including real property, construction, eminent domain, contract and lease disputes. His experience extends to representing clients in real property transactions such as acquisitions, sales, commercial leasing and development. In addition he has negotiated, documented and closed numerous loans secured by various types of real property including shopping centers and office complexes. Mr. O'Laughlin's exposure to a wide range of business operations as well as his litigation and transactional background provides Redwood with added advantages and insight into its legal matters.
Mr. O’Laughlin holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from San Diego State University and a juris doctor from the University of San Diego, School of Law from which he graduated magna cum laude.
- » Scott Grady - Senior Investment Manager
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Scott Grady joined Redwood in 2008 as its Senior Investment Manager. He oversees the leasing and asset management functions for the Company's retail and office portfolio and spearheads its acquisition efforts.
Prior to joining Redwood, Mr. Grady was a Principal with Realm Real Estate, an office and retail development and investment firm based in Newport Beach, California where he was responsible for acquisitions, project entitlements, financing, construction management and marketing.
Prior to Realm, Mr. Grady was a Project Director at Empire Commercial Real Estate, an Ontario, California based commercial real estate developer. While at Empire, he entitled and built retail, office, and multi-family housing developments throughout the Inland Empire in Southern California and underwrote approximately $150 million in project financing. Mr. Grady's other affiliations include Deutsche Bank/RREEF and Ernst & Young Real Estate Technology Group.
Mr. Grady earned his MBA in Finance from San Diego State University and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning a bachelor's degree in Economics. In addition to being active in various civic organizations such as the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Orange County, Mr. Grady is a licensed Real Estate Broker and a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Urban Land Institute.