– Jeffrey Pyatt Named Interim CEO and Kevin Luebbers Named Interim President –
– Jonathan Hermes Named Chief Financial Officer –
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Broadmark Realty Capital Inc. (NYSE: BRMK) (“Broadmark” or the “Company”), an internally managed secured real estate finance company, today announced, effective immediately, the appointment of Jeffrey Pyatt, current Chairman of the Board of Directors and former Chief Executive Officer of Broadmark, as Interim Chief Executive Officer. Additionally, Kevin Luebbers, an Independent Director of the Company and Chair of the Audit Committee, has been appointed Interim President. The Board of Directors (the “Board”) is in the process of launching a search for a new Chief Executive Officer.
These appointments follow a mutual agreement to separate between the Board of Directors and Brian Ward, who will resign from his roles as Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Company, effective immediately.
Mr. Ward said, “I am grateful to the Board for the opportunity to lead Broadmark and I will be rooting for the Company’s success in its next chapter.”
David Karp, Broadmark’s Lead Independent Director, said, “The Board is taking definitive steps to effectively position the business to weather the rapidly changing economic forces in and around our industry. We are grateful to Jeff and Kevin for stepping into these roles during this period of transition. Veteran professionals in their respective areas of expertise, their collective value is immeasurable and they have both expressed their enthusiasm in working closely with the Company’s leadership team to ensure that we maintain strong financial discipline. Furthermore, having a low-levered balance sheet, access to capital and Broadmark’s proven lending platform, our focus is to thoughtfully grow the business and efficiently address our real estate portfolio and non-performing loan assets. We know that it will take time to accomplish our objectives, but we are committed to doing the hard work and to making the necessary tough decisions to deliver long term value for our shareholders and ensure the future success of the Company.”
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, we thank Brian for his contributions to Broadmark and we wish him much success in his future endeavors,” Mr. Karp added.
In addition, the Board has appointed Jonathan Hermes as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, effective December 1, 2022. Mr. Hermes will succeed David Schneider, who previously announced his intention to resign from his position in connection with accepting an opportunity at a private company. Mr. Schneider will remain with the Company until December 31, 2022 to ensure a seamless transition.
Mr. Karp further commented, “We are thrilled that Jon will be joining the senior leadership team as Chief Financial Officer. He is an experienced financial executive as demonstrated in his prior roles at PwC. Having worked with Broadmark as we were going public, Jon has a thorough understanding of our Company; and, that knowledge, along with his technical accounting and capital markets experience, make him the right person to lead our finance team. On behalf of the Board, we thank David for his numerous contributions and willingness to stay on to ensure an orderly transition as we move forward.”
Mr. Pyatt was President and Chief Executive Officer of Broadmark from its business combination on November 14, 2019 to March 1, 2022. Prior to joining the Company, he served as President of Pyatt Broadmark from the time that he co-founded it in 2010 through the consummation of the business combination. Prior to Pyatt Broadmark, Mr. Pyatt co-founded and managed Private Lenders Group, a Bellevue, Washington based private lending fund. Mr. Pyatt began his career at Moss Adams, a regional CPA firm in Seattle, as a member of their tax team. He has been in the asset-based lending business since 1994. Mr. Pyatt received a Bachelor of Science in accounting from the University of Denver and a Master of Taxation from the University of Denver College of Law.
Mr. Luebbers was a consultant to Trinity Investments and Trinity Merger Corp. prior to its business combination with Broadmark. Mr. Luebbers co-founded and has served as Managing Partner of VIC Partners, LLC, an investment partnership focused on acquiring and repositioning hotel properties since 2004. Prior to that, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at RFS Hotel Investors, Inc., a publicly traded real estate investment trust from 2000 to 2003, where he was responsible for the company’s capital markets and treasury functions. Prior to that, Mr. Luebbers served as Senior Vice President of planning and investment analysis at Hilton Hotels Corporation from 1996 to 2000. Mr. Luebbers received a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley.
Mr. Hermes was most recently a Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”), where he worked with public and private companies with capital raising transactions, mergers and acquisitions, financial statement audits, as well as assisting companies with technologies across a broad range of topics, including processes within the finance and accounting functions and SEC reporting processes. Mr. Hermes served in various roles with PwC since 2010, including within the Capital Markets group in PwC’s Amsterdam office. Mr. Hermes is a licensed CPA in Washington and Kansas and is a member of AICPA and Washington Society of CPAs. He is a graduate of Kansas State University with a Bachelors in Financial Controllership and Accounting.
About Broadmark Realty Capital
Broadmark is a specialty real estate finance company, providing financing solutions generally in the $2 to $75 million range per transaction. The company provides smart, reliable, rapid solutions across the entire debt capital stack, including senior, subordinate, and participation investments with fixed and floating rate structures available. Broadmark invests in a variety of new construction and existing properties across all asset classes throughout the United States, including hotel, industrial, medical, mixed-use, office, retail, self-storage, warehouse, multifamily, senior living, student housing, condos, larger scaled single-family, townhome, and multiplex. It has the competitive advantage of being an internally managed balance sheet lender, and the company’s proactive approach delivers dedicated in-house underwriting, asset management, loan servicing, and draw administration. More information can be found at Broadmark Realty Capital Specialty Real Estate Investments.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements made herein are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “may”, “should”, “would”, “plan”, “intend”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “seem”, “seek”, “continue”, “future”, “will”, “expect”, “outlook” or other similar words, phrases or expressions. These statements are based on the current expectations and are not predictions of actual performance. In addition, actual results are subject to other risks and uncertainties that relate more broadly to the Company’s overall business, including those more fully described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance, and speak only as of the date made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements except as required by law.
Contacts
Investor Relations
InvestorRelations@broadmark.com
206-623-7782
Media Relations
Megan Kivlehan & Greg Michaels
media@broadmark.com
