Michael J. Mazzei

Chief Executive Officer & President

Michael J. Mazzei is our Chief Executive Officer and President and a member of our Board of Directors. Mr. Mazzei leads and oversees our operations, including investment and credit risk, capital raising and relationship management activities among stockholders, clients, partners, financing counterparties, research analysts and rating agencies.

Mr. Mazzei served as a member of the board of directors of Ladder Capital Corp from June 2017 through March 2020. Previously, Mr. Mazzei served as President of Ladder Capital from June 2012 through June 2017. From September 2009 to June 2012, Mr. Mazzei served as Global Head of the CMBS and Bank Loan Syndication Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Prior to that, Mr. Mazzei served as Co-Head of CMBS and Commercial Real Estate Debt Markets at Barclays Capital from March 2004 to June 2009. Prior to Barclays Capital, Mr. Mazzei spent 20 years at Lehman Brothers, including 18 years in commercial real estate finance-related functions. Having started in commercial mortgage trading in 1984, Mr. Mazzei became the head of CMBS in 1991 and served as the Co-Head of Global Real Estate Investment Banking from March 2002 to February 2004.

Mr. Mazzei received a B.S. from Baruch College and a J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law, and is a graduate of the New York University Real Estate Institute.

Andrew E. Witt

Chief Operating Officer

Andrew E. Witt is our Chief Operating Officer and a member of our Board of Directors. From February 2020 until his appointment as Chief Operating Officer in April 2020, Mr. Witt served as our Interim President and Chief Executive Officer. In addition, Mr. Witt is Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Global Credit at Colony Capital. In his roles at Colony Capital, Mr. Witt is primarily focused on credit related operations and initiatives, including product development, investor relations and marketing of private offerings globally. Prior to taking on this most recent role he served as an investment professional responsible for the identification, evaluation, and consummation of real estate related investments. Mr. Witt also served as an Executive Vice President of Colony American Homes where he was responsible for overseeing investments in single family residential property which culminated in the acquisition of nearly 20,000 homes.

Prior to joining the Colony Capital business in 2007, Mr. Witt founded and managed a business in the industrial medicine sector. Mr. Witt received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California and Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with a focus on International Economics from Stanford University. Mr. Witt was also a member of the 2000 U.S. Men’s Volleyball Olympic Team.

David A. Palamé

General Counsel & Secretary

David Palamé is General Counsel and Secretary at the Company. Mr. Palamé is responsible for legal, administrative, regulatory and compliance activities, corporate secretarial and other support for the Company’s business.

In addition, Mr. Palamé serves as Managing Director, Deputy General Counsel of Colony Capital, where he is responsible for global legal, private capital formation, investment allocation and support for the Colony Capital business. Prior to joining the Colony Capital business in 2007, Mr. Palamé was an associate with the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable William J. Rea, United States District Court for the Central District of California at Los Angeles.

Mr. Palamé received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he served on the board of officers of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.

Frank V. Saracino

Chief Financial Officer
Chief Accounting Officer & Treasurer

Frank V. Saracino serves as our Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer, having served as our Chief Accounting Officer since November 2018. Mr. Saracino also serves as Managing Director at Colony Capital where he is responsible for the financial accounting and reporting for certain Colony Capital managed real estate investment trusts and vehicles as Chief Financial Officer, which he has performed since August 2015.

Prior to joining a predecessor of the Colony business in 2015, Mr. Saracino was a Managing Director with Prospect Capital Corporation where he served from inception as Chief Financial Officer of its real estate investment trust subsidiaries and registered closed-end investment companies. From 2008 to 2012, Mr. Saracino was a Managing Director and America’s co-head of finance at Macquarie Group, and 2004 to 2008 he was Chief Accounting Officer of eSpeed, Inc., a publicly-traded subsidiary of Cantor Fitzgerald.

Mr. Saracino started his career at Coopers & Lybrand where he earned a CPA, and subsequently worked in corporate finance at Deutsche Bank. Mr. Saracino holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Syracuse University.

George H. Kok

Chief Credit Officer

George H. Kok is Managing Director of Colony Capital, Inc. and Chief Credit Officer of Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. (CLNC). Mr. Kok is responsible for overseeing the credit and due diligence of loan originations for CLNC in the United States.

Prior to joining Colony Capital in 2021, Mr. Kok served as Head of Commercial Real Estate Conduit and Head of Due Diligence and Securitization at Morgan Stanley from 2015 to 2020.  Prior to Morgan Stanley, Mr. Kok was Head of Underwriting for Ladder Capital from 2013 to 2014.  Prior to that, Mr. Kok served as Co-Head of Real Estate Structured Finance at Bank of America Merrill Lynch from 2010 to 2013. Previously, Mr. Kok served from 2001 through 2009 as Head of Merrill Lynch’s Commercial Real Estate Conduit programs in the United States and Canada.  From 1996 to 2001, Mr. Kok was co-head of Morgan Stanley’s conduit program with overall responsibility for credit.  Before moving to Wall Street in 1996, Mr. Kok spent six years at The Prudential Insurance Company of America originating commercial mortgages loans. 

Mr. Kok received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Cornell University and a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Real Estate Finance from Columbia Business School. 

Daniel E. Katz

Managing Director
Investment Management

Daniel E. Katz is Managing Director, Investment Management at Colony Capital, Inc. Mr. Katz is responsible for the identification and evaluation of new real estate investments in the United States. In addition, Mr. Katz serves as the Head of Western U.S. Loan Originations for Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. (CLNC).

Prior to joining a predecessor of the Colony business in 2014, Mr. Katz was a First Vice President at OneWest Bank where he was responsible for loan originations. Previously, Mr. Katz held investment positions at Barclays Capital, Och-Ziff and Blackstone.

Mr. Katz received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and his Bachelor of Science from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated summa cum laude.

Kevin Swartz

Managing Director
Investment Management

Kevin Swartz is Managing Director, Investment Management at Colony Capital, Inc. Mr. Swartz is responsible for overseeing loan originations for the Eastern United States for Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. (CLNC).

Prior to joining the Colony Capital business in 2018, Mr. Swartz was Head of US Real Estate Lending at Rothesay Asset Management where he was the first employee in the US office to make US CRE portfolio loans on behalf of Rothesay Life. Prior to Rothesay Asset Management, Mr. Swartz worked at 080808 Capital where he was one of two partners investing equity in microcap companies. Since starting his career in the financial industry, Mr. Swartz has held various transactional roles at UBS, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley.

Mr. Swartz received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a Masters in International Political Economics and a Juris Doctor from University of Southern California. In addition, Mr. Swartz holds a Masters in Taxation Law from New York University.

Brad Nichol

Managing Director
Portfolio Management

Brad Nichol is Managing Director, Portfolio Management at Colony Capital, Inc. Mr. Nichol is responsible for overseeing the equity portfolio management, asset management, dispositions, and valuations for Colony’s domestic equity real estate investments.

Prior to joining the Colony Capital business in 2018, Mr. Nichol was Director of Acquisitions & Vice President at Boxer Property Management Corporation where he expanded Boxer footprint into the East and West Coast market. Prior to Boxer Property Management Corporation, Mr. Nichol worked at LNR Property Corporation where he managed the due diligence process for the purchase of Hatfield Phillips Servicer by Starwood Capital. He also managed multi-hundred million portfolio of foreclosed properties in Texas and the northeast region, including: taking of title, on-site management and leasing, value add, marketing, and disposition.

Mr. Nichol received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Williams College.

Mark M. Hedstrom

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Mr. Hedstrom is the Chairman of our Board of Directors. 

Prior to the combination of Colony Capital, LLC and Colony Financial, Inc. into a predecessor of Colony Capital, Inc. in 2015, Mr. Hedstrom was the global Chief Financial Officer for Colony Capital, LLC. In that role he was responsible for management of the financial and operating aspects of its funds management business which included oversight of Colony Capital, LLC's financial, human resources, information technology, risk management and investor reporting functions.

Prior to joining the Colony Capital business in 1993, Mr. Hedstrom held senior positions with Koll International and Castle Pines Land Company. Mr. Hedstrom also spent five years with Ernst & Young, where he was a Senior Manager.

Mr. Hedstrom is a Certified Public Accountant (license inactive) and received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Colorado.

Michael J. Mazzei

Chief Executive Officer & President

Michael J. Mazzei is our Chief Executive Officer and President and a member of our Board of Directors. Mr. Mazzei leads and oversees our operations, including investment and credit risk, capital raising and relationship management activities among stockholders, clients, partners, financing counterparties, research analysts and rating agencies.

Mr. Mazzei served as a member of the board of directors of Ladder Capital Corp from June 2017 through March 2020. Previously, Mr. Mazzei served as President of Ladder Capital from June 2012 through June 2017. From September 2009 to June 2012, Mr. Mazzei served as Global Head of the CMBS and Bank Loan Syndication Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Prior to that, Mr. Mazzei served as Co-Head of CMBS and Commercial Real Estate Debt Markets at Barclays Capital from March 2004 to June 2009. Prior to Barclays Capital, Mr. Mazzei spent 20 years at Lehman Brothers, including 18 years in commercial real estate finance-related functions. Having started in commercial mortgage trading in 1984, Mr. Mazzei became the head of CMBS in 1991 and served as the Co-Head of Global Real Estate Investment Banking from March 2002 to February 2004.

Mr. Mazzei received a B.S. from Baruch College and a J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law, and is a graduate of the New York University Real Estate Institute.

Andrew E. Witt

Chief Operating Officer

Andrew E. Witt is our Chief Operating Officer and a member of our Board of Directors. From February 2020 until his appointment as Chief Operating Officer in April 2020, Mr. Witt served as our Interim President and Chief Executive Officer. In addition, Mr. Witt is Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Global Credit at Colony Capital. In his roles at Colony Capital, Mr. Witt is primarily focused on credit related operations and initiatives, including product development, investor relations and marketing of private offerings globally. Prior to taking on this most recent role he served as an investment professional responsible for the identification, evaluation, and consummation of real estate related investments. Mr. Witt also served as an Executive Vice President of Colony American Homes where he was responsible for overseeing investments in single family residential property which culminated in the acquisition of nearly 20,000 homes.

Prior to joining the Colony Capital business in 2007, Mr. Witt founded and managed a business in the industrial medicine sector. Mr. Witt received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California and Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with a focus on International Economics from Stanford University. Mr. Witt was also a member of the 2000 U.S. Men’s Volleyball Olympic Team.

Catherine D. Rice

Lead Independent Director

Catherine D. Rice is a director of Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. Ms. Rice has served as a director of Store Capital Corporation, a New York Stock Exchange publicly listed company (NYSE: STOR), since November 2017. Ms. Rice has also served as a director of RMG Acquisition Corporation II, a NASDAQ publicly listed company (NASDAQ: RMGBU), since its initial public offering in December 2020. Ms. Rice has over 30 years of experience in the real estate capital and investment markets and in the management and operation of public and private real estate companies.

From June 2015 to February 2016, Ms. Rice was Senior Managing Director of W.P. Carey Inc. (“W.P. Carey”), a New York Stock Exchange publicly listed company (NYSE: WPC), one of the largest public global net-lease REITs. Prior to that role, from March 2013 to June 2015, Ms. Rice was Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of W.P. Carey. While at W.P. Carey, Ms. Rice completed a comprehensive reorganization of the finance, accounting, and IT functions as well as the development of the investor relations and capital markets areas to facilitate the company’s growth plan. She was responsible for financial strategy, public capital-raising initiatives and company-wide strategic evaluation, and was also a member of the operating and investment committees.

Prior to joining W.P. Carey, Ms. Rice was a partner and a Managing Director at Parmenter Realty Partners, a private real estate investment firm focused on distressed and value-add properties in the southern regions of the U.S. Her responsibilities included both capital raising and investing for the firm’s fourth fund. Prior to that, Ms. Rice was the Chief Financial Officer of iStar Inc. (“iStar”) (NYSE: STAR), a publicly traded finance company focused on the commercial real estate industry, where she was responsible for financial strategy and capital-raising initiatives, financial reporting and investor relations.

Ms. Rice spent the first 16 years of her career as a professional in the real estate investment banking groups of Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Banc of America Securities. During her career as an investment banker, she was involved in numerous capital-raising and strategic advisory transactions, including REIT IPOs, public and private debt and equity offerings, mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and asset and corporate acquisitions and dispositions.

Ms. Rice received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University.

Vernon B. Schwartz

Independent Director

Vernon B. Schwartz is a director of Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. Mr. Schwartz was an independent director of NorthStar Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. and a member of its Audit Committee, positions he held between March 2016 and January 2018. Mr. Schwartz served as Executive Vice President at iStar from 2005 to February 2017, where he was responsible for managing a portfolio of real estate investments, including iStar’s condominium portfolio and its European assets. He has also served as President of AutoStar, iStar’s platform focused on the auto dealership market.

Mr. Schwartz has been active in real estate investment and development for almost 30 years. Previously, Mr. Schwartz was a founding partner and Chief Executive Officer of Falcon Financial, the predecessor of AutoStar before it was acquired by iStar in 2005. Prior to forming Falcon Financial, Mr. Schwartz was the Chief Executive Officer of Soros Real Estate Advisors, the advisor to Quantum Realty Partners, an offshore real estate investment fund sponsored by George Soros and Paul Reichmann. Mr. Schwartz previously served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Catellus Development Corporation, the largest private landowner in the state of California, and also held executive positions at both Bank of Montreal and The Hahn Company, a developer, owner and operator of regional shopping centers.

Mr. Schwartz has a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Economics and a Master of Business Administration from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.

John E. Westerfield

Independent Director

John E. Westerfield is a director of Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. Mr. Westerfield serves as Chief Executive Officer of Mitsui Fudosan America, Inc. (“MFA”) and is a member of MFA’s Board of Directors. MFA is the U.S. subsidiary of Mitsui Fudosan Group, a publicly listed real estate company in Japan. Mr. Westerfield was appointed Chief Executive Officer of MFA in April 2015 after serving as Senior Advisor to MFA’s Board of Directors from 2012 to 2015.

Mr. Westerfield spent the majority of his career as a managing director at Morgan Stanley, having joined the firm in 1985 upon graduation from business school. At Morgan Stanley, Mr. Westerfield worked in numerous roles in investment banking, fixed income and investment management, all with a specialization in commercial real estate finance and investment. In his last role at Morgan Stanley, Mr. Westerfield had responsibility for the firm’s global commercial mortgage finance business. Upon retirement from Morgan Stanley in June 2008, Mr. Westerfield formed and managed Braddock Capital Management LLC, a private company which invested in REITs and commercial real estate related assets, including various office, industrial, multi-family rental and condominium development projects, primarily in the New York area.

Mr. Westerfield received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1985 and a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Dartmouth College in 1981.

Winston W. Wilson

Independent Director

Winston W. Wilson is a director of Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. Mr. Wilson was an independent director of NorthStar Real Estate Income II, Inc. and the chairman and financial expert of its Audit Committee, positions he held between April 2013 and January 2018. Mr. Wilson has also served as a director of NorthStar/RXR New York Metro Real Estate, Inc. and as the chairman and financial expert of its audit committee between February 2015 and October 2018.

Prior to becoming a board member, Mr. Wilson most recently worked for Grant Thornton’s New York office, from August 2008 until December 2012 as Partner in Charge and Financial Services Industry Leader, and from August 2011 until December 2012 as National Asset Management Sector Leader. Mr. Wilson has over 28 years of experience with financial services companies including, among others, mortgage and equity REITs, broker-dealers, mutual funds and registered investment advisors. Prior to joining Grant Thornton, Mr. Wilson worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Credit Suisse First Boston and Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Mr. Wilson is a certified public accountant in the states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and New York State Society of CPAs. Mr. Wilson was also previously a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Investment Company Expert Panel as well as a member of the Strategic Partners Advisory Committee for Managed Funds Associations.

Mr. Wilson has a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Marketing from New York University’s Stern School of Business in New York, New York and a Master of Science in Economics and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Brooklyn College in Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Wilson also has a doctorate degree in management from Pace University, New York, where he is also an adjunct professor.