T2 has led or participated in well over $1 billion in commercial real estate investments across the entire capital stack since inception.
The management team is comprised of high-integrity, high-capacity individuals with diverse and complementary skill sets.
T2 has readily available capital for deployment as debt or equity for compelling investment opportunities.
Limited bureaucracy, streamlined processes, and ready capital enables timely execution on investments.
As CEO, Mr. Brown works closely with the principals of the firm in providing broad corporate initiatives, specific investment strategies, and operational oversight. As CIO, he oversees the origination, underwriting, and day-to-day management of T2’s investments. Mr. Brown began his career in real estate in the mid-1990s when working with a national consumer finance company that was later acquired by Wells Fargo. That was followed by his tenure at a Michigan-based family office that doubled as a multi-hundred million dollar hedge fund-of-funds. Mr. Brown received his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and his Bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). While at Wheaton, Mr. Brown was captain of the football team and a 1st Team GTE Academic All-American quarterback.
Mr. Southard co-founded T2 with Mr. Brown and aids in the strategic direction of the firm. Prior to T2, Mr. Southard co-founded PowerShares Capital Management, LLC, an exchange traded fund (ETF) company established in 2002. Mr. Southard oversaw all research initiatives, portfolio management and trading operations of the company. Mr. Southard has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Crain’s, Investment News, TheStreet.com and others. He is a CFA charter holder, has a Bachelorʼs degree from Wheaton College and a MBA from DePaul University.
With over 20 years of experience, Ms. Searcy oversees fund administration, compliance, and operations for the firm. Prior to T2, Ms. Searcy was a director at a privately-held commercial real estate company in the Chicago suburbs and oversaw the management of its $300 million portfolio. Prior to this, Ms. Searcy was Vice President of the Specialty Finance division of a $13 billion publicly traded finance company based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Ms. Searcy has a Master’s degree in Accounting from DePaul University and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics from Western Illinois University. Ms. Searcy is a CPA candidate.
Mr. Felker evaluates prospective investments and manages existing investments. Prior to joining T2, Mr. Felker was a Senior Analyst at a private equity real estate firm based in Colorado with approximately $500 million under management. He joined the firm in 2010 after working as an intern within the research department at Invesco PowerShares. Mr. Felker is a CFA charterholder and graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton College (Wheaton, Illinois) where he received his Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Mathematics. He is a member of the CFA Society of Chicago and the CFA Institute.
Mr. Wloch sources investments and provides preliminarily investment underwriting for T2. He has been involved with commercial real estate financing for over 30 years and has been responsible for closing over $13B in commercial real estate loans while heading up the Midwest and National CMBS offices for J.P. Morgan and originating for Barclays and Deutsche Bank. Mr. Wloch has bought and owned extensive commercial real estate projects including condominium and apartment projects, retail centers, manufactured housing parks, office buildings and industrial properties. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.
With over 35 years of banking and real estate experience, Mr. Jacobs works among T2’s investment team in sourcing, underwriting, and managing investments for the firm. Prior to T2, he was part of J.P. Morgan’s Real Estate Banking platform and was responsible for loan originations including construction, bridge, term-loans and loans originated for CMBS execution. He brings experience in buy-side advisory, real estate investment strategies, commercial loan asset management and real estate asset valuations. He holds an MBA and Bachelor of Science in Finance from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.
Mr. Baxter spearheads the investor relations and fund raising efforts for T2. Prior to T2, Mr. Baxter served his alma mater, Wheaton College, as the Director of Principal Gifts. During his time there, Jeff assisted in securing leadership level planned and outright gifts as part of the $260 million Promise of Wheaton campaign. Prior to working at Wheaton College, Mr. Baxter worked in Private Client Services for UBS Financial Services, Inc. Mr. Baxter graduated from Wheaton College (Wheaton, Illinois) with his Bachelor’s degree in Business/Economics. While at Wheaton, Mr. Baxter was a member of the baseball, lacrosse, and debate teams.
Mr. Serenius evaluates prospective investments, conducts due diligence, manages existing investments and assists with various fund administration activities. Prior to joining T2, Mr. Serenius was a credit analyst at MB Financial where he served as an underwriter focusing on various loan structures including revolving credit lines, commercial mortgage refinances as well as acquisition loans and leveraged buyouts. Mr. Serenius graduated from Wheaton College (Wheaton, Illinois) where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Business/Economics and a minor in Mathematics.
Mrs. Jeanes provides fund administration and investor services support for T2. Over her career, Mrs. Jeanes has spent over 20 years in various operations and administrative roles within the commercial real estate industry. Prior to joining T2, Mrs. Jeanes worked with a Chicago-area, real estate investment firm.
Rod Brenneman has spent 25 years in senior leadership positions including 14 years as President and Chief Executive Officer of two different companies. Most recently, Mr. Brenneman served as Director, President and CEO of Butterball, LLC where he was tasked with turning around and leading the world’s largest turkey producer and processor. Prior to his tenure at Butterball, Mr. Brenneman spent more than 22 years with Seaboard Corporation including 11 years as President and CEO. While at Seaboard, Mr. Brenneman helped to build the company from its infancy to generating $1.7 billion in annual revenue. Mr. Brenneman is a Certified Public Accountant and has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wichita State University.
Mr. McWilliams retired from his position as President and Chief Executive Officer of CNL Real Estate Advisors, Inc. in 2010 after serving in that role since 2007. CNL Real Estate Advisors, Inc. provided advisory services relating to commercial real estate acquisitions and asset management on properties across the globe while structuring strategic relationships with U.S. and international real estate owners and operators across a wide variety of property types. From 1997 to 2007, Mr. McWilliams served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Trustreet Properties, Inc. Under Mr. McWilliams’s leadership, Trustreet became the then-largest publicly-traded restaurant REIT with over $3.0 billion in assets. Prior to his tenure at Trustreet, Mr. McWilliams spent 13 years as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch & Co. Mr. McWilliams received his MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and bachelor’s degree from Princeton University.
Mr. Carroll is a Managing Director of HFF, Inc. and leads their Chicago office. With more than 25 years of experience in commercial real estate finance, Mr. Carroll is responsible for the origination and placement of real estate capital nationwide. With an expertise across the entire capital stack, Mr. Carroll is primarily focused on first mortgage debt, mezzanine debt, and joint venture equity. Prior to joining HFF in 2013, Mr. Carroll spent 17 years at Chicago-based Cohen Financial where he was a partner and ran a team of six professionals as head of Cohen’s Chicago production office. Mr. Carroll received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin.
