About Waterton

Mr. Schwartz co-founded Waterton with Peter Vilim in 1995 and serves as CEO and chairman. Mr. Schwartz is responsible for strategic decisions and leadership of the firm’s business activities and operations, and participates on the Leadership and Investment Committees.

Prior to co-founding Waterton in 1995, Mr. Schwartz was a vice president of acquisitions for Equity Residential Properties Trust (EQR-NYSE) and, from 1985 through 1989, was with AMLI Realty Co.

Mr. Schwartz holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is a member of the executive committee, a senior officer and former chairman of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC). He is a governor of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and is previous chair of the ULI Multifamily Blue Council and a member of the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA). Mr. Schwartz is a member of the Advisory Council for the Pritzker School of Medicine and the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Chicago, and serves on the Strategic Advancement Committee for the U.S. Holocaust Museum and Memorial in Washington D.C.

Mr. Vilim co-founded Waterton with David Schwartz in 1995 and serves as vice chairman. Mr. Vilim assumed the role of vice chairman in January 2017 to spend increasing time with philanthropic and civic organizations focused on ending homelessness and providing affordable housing. Mr. Vilim continues to work from the firm’s Chicago headquarters and participates on the Leadership, Investment and Valuation Committees.

Prior to co-founding Waterton in 1995, Mr. Vilim was an investment officer with Berkshire Realty Company, Inc., responsible for Midwest acquisitions, dispositions and financings. Prior to joining Berkshire, he was the investment officer for AMLI Realty Co. Mr. Vilim started his career as a certified public accountant, working in the national real estate tax practice departments of both Coopers & Lybrand and Peat Marwick Mitchell.

Mr. Vilim holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in taxation from DePaul University. Mr. Vilim serves on the Board of Directors of All Chicago – Making Homelessness History, the collaborative applicant for HUD funding of homeless services in Chicago. He serves on the Property and Grounds committee for Bridge Communities, a non-profit transitional housing provider. He is on Advisory Councils for Mercy Housing Lakefront, a non-profit program restricted housing provider, and Housing Opportunities for Women, a non-profit developer, owner and operator of program restricted housing for women.

Ms. Brock joined Waterton in 2021 and serves as managing partner, property management. In this role, she is responsible for leading the firm’s operations team and driving the overall operations strategy for the firm’s national multifamily portfolio. Ms. Brock participates on the firm’s Leadership and Investment Committees.

Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Brock served as the senior vice president of multifamily asset management and operations at McWhinney Real Estate Services, co-leading the multifamily business unit and leading the firm’s entry into the Texas market by way of acquisition. She previously served as president of US Residential, responsible for operations at more than 40,000 units in 35 markets across the country, and as senior managing director for Greystar Real Estate’s Central Mountain Division, comprising 50,000 units in 18 states.

Ms. Brock holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from The University of Texas, Austin.

Mr. Hurd joined Waterton in 2013 and serves as managing partner, investment management. Mr. Hurd collaborates with the firm’s executive management and works closely with the acquisition and capital market teams to oversee all real estate transactions. He helps to set strategy and further develop the firm’s market focus, investment execution and network of industry relationships. Mr. Hurd participates on the firm’s Leadership, Investment and Valuation Committees.

Mr. Hurd has over 35 years of real estate investing experience with a strong focus on multifamily. Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Hurd was the co-founder, president and chief investment officer of Strategic Capital Partners, a privately held real estate investment management company that invested in value add multifamily, hotel and commercial properties across the country. Prior to that, Mr. Hurd spent almost 20 years at GE Capital Real Estate ("GE"), where he was most recently a managing director responsible for GE’s institutional real estate equity program.

Mr. Hurd holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and an MBA from Drexel University. He is a board member of The Catalyst Schools, a Chicago based chartered school organization. Mr. Hurd is a member of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and serves as Chairman of the organization's Tax Committee. He is also a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Multifamily Silver Council.

Mr. Lukowski joined Waterton in 2006 and serves as managing partner, portfolio management. In this role, Mr. Lukowski is responsible for the oversight of the portfolio and asset management team for the firm’s multifamily portfolio and collaborating with investors on its investments. He oversees the execution of fund and asset level business plans and hold sell strategies, valuations and appraisals, compliance with fund and investor agreements, real estate tax administration and commercial leasing. Mr. Lukowski participates on the firm’s Leadership, Investment, Valuation and ESG Committees.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Lukowski spent almost 20 years at Heitman LLC, most recently as senior vice president, portfolio management. In this role, he acted as senior portfolio manager for public and corporate pension fund clients and was responsible for the selection and oversight of third party management firms for multiple property types, monitoring of property operations and leasing, and coordinating investor accounting, performance and valuations. Mr. Lukowski was also employed by the accounting firm of Pannell Kerr Forster in the real estate appraisal department while attending DePaul University.

Mr. Lukowski holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and an MBA from DePaul University. He served as Chairperson of the Performance Measurement Committee of National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF) from 1995 – 1996 and has been a member since 1989. He previously served as a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and is a member of the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), National Multi-Housing Council (NMHC) and National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers (NAREIM). Mr. Lukowski is an Executive Committee sponsor member of DePaul’s Driehaus College of Business, The Real Estate Center and a board member of the One for the Kids charity organization.

Ms. Marszewski joined Waterton in 2019 and serves as managing partner and chief financial officer. In this role, she is responsible for the direct oversight of finance, corporate, residential and hospitality accounting, tax and treasury, as well as the firm’s IT, HR and benefits and compensations functions. Ms. Marszewski participates on the firm’s Leadership, Investment and Valuation Committees.

Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Marszewski was CFO of Brookfield Properties retail group where she oversaw all aspects of the accounting and finance functions including property and operational accounting, SEC reporting and compliance, corporate finance, financial planning and analysis, and taxation. She was previously chief accounting officer of General Growth Properties, Inc., which later merged with Brookfield, and, prior to that spent 10 years as a senior manager in the real estate audit practice at KPMG, focused on both public and private REITs as well as equity funds.

Ms. Marszewski holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Illinois and is a Certified Public Accountant. Ms. Marszewski is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and a former member of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trust’s (NAREIT) Best Financial Practices Council and co-chair of its Accounting Committee.

Ms. Wells joined Waterton in 2013 and serves as managing partner, investor relations. In this role, Ms. Wells is responsible for fund development and capital raising and oversees ongoing investor and consultant relations, marketing and communications. Ms. Wells participates on the firm’s Leadership, Investment and Culture Committees.

Ms. Wells has been involved in real estate investment management since 2000. Prior to joining Waterton in 2013, Ms. Wells was a director with RREEF Real Estate where she was responsible for West Coast client and consultant relations. Previously, Ms. Wells led the investor communication teams at The Praedium Group and AIG Global Real Estate and began her career in real estate-focused investor communications with AMB Property Corporation (now Prologis) where she managed investor relations.

Ms. Wells holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of California, San Diego and a master’s degree in education from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Ms. Wells previously held Series 7 and 63 designations from FINRA and is a board member of Women in Real Estate’s Chicago chapter. She is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the Multifamily Platinum Council; Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) and the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC).

Mr. Carlson joined Waterton in 2011 and serves as executive vice president, capital markets. In this role, he is responsible for sourcing, arranging and negotiating debt financing for the firm’s acquisitions as well as its existing portfolio of properties. He also leads the firm’s Freddie Mac KJ Series investment activities.

Mr. Carlson has been involved in real estate debt capital markets and private equity since 1997. Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Carlson was a senior vice president at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in its Real Estate Corporate Banking Group, where he was responsible for structuring, underwriting and managing a portfolio of bank loans to REIT, Homebuilder and Real Estate Opportunity Fund clients. Mr. Carlson also spent five years in Bank of America’s Debt Capital Markets business, where he executed over 35 private placement transactions for clients in diverse industries in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America. Earlier in his career, Mr. Carlson was an associate director in MetLife’s Private Equity Investment Group and a senior consultant at Accenture.

Mr. Carlson holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He is a member of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC).

Mr. Daley joined Waterton in 2015 and serves as executive vice president of design and construction. In this role, he is responsible for the design and construction functions of the firm’s residential and hospitality platforms.

Mr. Daley has more than 40 years of experience in development and construction. Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Daley was president for the Real Estate Capital division of Scout Development, where he was responsible for managing the internal team and consultants related to acquisition, capitalization, design, architecture, engineering, and field construction. Prior to joining Scout Development, Mr. Daley held the role of chief operating officer for Northern Heritage Development, a building and development company. He has extensive experience in both multifamily and hotel projects and is a member of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Mr. Ferguson joined Waterton in 2016 and serves as executive vice president, operations. In this role, he is responsible for the oversight and direction of the firm’s multifamily operations across the United States.

Mr. Ferguson has over twenty years of experience in multifamily operations, beginning his career at the site level before working in various regional and executive leadership roles. Prior to joining Waterton, he held several positions at Related Management Company and, prior to that, Village Green Management Company.

Mr. Ferguson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oakland University in Rochester, MI. He is a licensed Real Estate Managing Broker in Illinois and Employing Broker in Colorado.

Ms. Heigel joined Waterton in 2018 and serves as executive vice president, acquisitions. In this role she is responsible for oversight of the acquisition team and sourcing multifamily acquisitions in the Eastern United States.

Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Heigel held the role of vice president at Pearlmark Real Estate where she supported both high-yield debt and equity origination efforts in the Midwest and Southeast. Prior to that, Ms. Heigel was a financial analyst with PNC Bank in Pittsburgh, where she completed commercial credit training and graduated from the Real Estate Banking Development Program.

Ms. Heigel is a member of the Urban Land Institute (“ULI”) and currently participates as a member of the ULI Chicago Program Committee. She is also a member of the ULI National Multifamily Council (“MFC”) - Bronze and serves as a representative on the MFC-DEI committee. Ms. Heigel also volunteers her time as an Associate Board Member for City Year Chicago.
Ms. Heigel holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration in finance with a minor in economics from The Ohio State University.

Mr. Harris joined Waterton in 2024 and serves as executive vice president and general counsel. In this role, he is responsible for leading the legal, risk management and compliance teams and overseeing the firm’s overall legal strategies and processes. He participates on the firm’s Leadership Committee.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Harris served as General Counsel at Blue Vista Capital Management, where he was instrumental in forming the firm's first legal department and assumed primary responsibility for legal and regulatory affairs at the corporate, fund, and investment levels. His extensive experience also includes leading legal functions and advising senior management on strategic initiatives at Stellar National Life Insurance Company, as well as providing critical legal counsel to CEOs, chairmen, and management committees, and leading diversity and inclusion efforts at firms such as Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Foley & Lardner LLP and Mayer Brown.

Mr. Harris holds a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in English and political science, with honors, from the University of Wisconsin. He also maintains active FINRA Series 7 / 24 licenses.

Mr. Mering joined Waterton in 2019 and serves as executive vice president, hospitality. In this role, he is responsible for the formulation and execution of the firm’s hotel investment strategy, oversight of asset management and further developing investor relationships.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Mering spent six years with Graves Hospitality as director of development, where he was responsible for identifying new hospitality development and acquisition opportunities, and oversight of the company’s food and beverage operations. Prior to Graves Hospitality, Mr. Mering was a Principal at Salita Development, where he served as director of development.

Mr. Mering holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Michigan State University, and an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. Mr. Mering is also involved with All Kids Play, a non-profit with a mission to transform the lives of financially disadvantaged kids through youth sports.

Mr. Pearce joined Waterton in 2013 and serves as executive vice president of information technology. In this role, Mr. Pearce is responsible for all technology used at the corporate offices, our multifamily communities and senior living facilities. He oversees the support of all technology in use, and is responsible for the implementation of strategic solutions and the ongoing improvement of the firm’s technology platforms.

Mr. Pearce has over 33 years of information technology and leadership experience. Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Pearce was the head of information technology at Henderson Global Investors where he was responsible for the design, development and ongoing support of the technology infrastructure and systems used in support of Henderson’s Real Estate, Institutional and Retail (Mutual Fund) departments in Chicago, IL and Hartford, CT.

Mr. Pearce holds a Bachelor of Arts in business administration and information technology from the University of Hartford. He is a member of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and NMHC Innovation Committee.