Principals

Brian Hecktman

Founder and CEO

Brian Hecktman is the Founding Principal and Chief Executive Officer of Graymark Capital. He has over 25 years of direct experience investing as a principal and working with institutional partners. Mr. Hecktman has completed over $3 billion of acquisitions in the life sciences, R&D, office, industrial and multifamily sectors.

Since 2012, Mr. Hecktman has led Graymark Capital’s growth into a $2 billion real estate investment company with over 30 properties and 4 million square feet in major markets in the western United States. The company has focused on institutional quality life sciences, creative office and R&D projects appealing to today’s modern tenants. Major holdings are in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Portland and Austin.

Prior to Graymark Capital, Mr. Hecktman served as the Senior Vice President of the Commercial Division for Fowler Property Acquisitions. Mr. Hecktman started the commercial division, building it into a 25-property, $400 million commercial portfolio in the western United States.

Mr. Hecktman has a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Science in accountancy and finance from the University of Illinois. He is an active member of ULI and NAIOP and has served a number of community organizations, including Hands On San Francisco, Project Homeless Connect and SF Moderates.

Jeff Hoppen

COO and CFO

Jeff Hoppen is COO and CFO of Graymark Capital, and is a principal of the company. He has over 20 years of direct experience in real estate debt and equity financing and investing as a principal and within institutional joint ventures. He has completed over $5 billion in transactions within his career as an investor, borrower, equity partner or lender.

Before joining Graymark Capital, Mr. Hoppen was Managing Director, Capital Markets at Digital Realty Trust, one of the 15 largest public REITs in the U.S. At Digital, he led all private capital activities for the company – including raising joint venture equity, real estate funds, secured borrowing and lender relations. He was responsible for almost $1 billion in equity and debt financings while there. Prior to Digital, he was SVP at U.S. Bank, leading a team that marketed the bank’s loan and capital markets offerings to REITs, opportunity funds and other major commercial real estate companies in the western U.S.

Prior to U.S. Bank, Mr. Hoppen spent 8 years as an executive at The Marcus & Millichap holding company, first as Chief Investment Officer, and then as a partner at subsidiary Sovereign Investment Company, a retail and office/industrial company focused on long-term leased projects. At M&M, he was responsible for debt and equity raising for the company’s investment subsidiaries, as well as sitting on the firm’s investment committee. At Sovereign, as CIO and acting CFO, he was one of two principals who managed the company’s growth from 3 to 20 employees and to almost $1 billion of acquisitions. In addition, Mr. Hoppen has held other positions as a lender and investor with both large institutions and smaller private companies.

Mr. Hoppen has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University of Toronto, and an MBA from York University. He is an active member of U.L.I. and N.A.I.O.P.

Rick Lafranchi

SVP Acquisitions and Portfolio Management

Rick Lafranchi is SVP Investments and Portfolio Management at Graymark Capital, and is a principal of the company. He has been active in real estate finance and asset management for over 10 years, with broad experience across all asset types. Mr. Lafranchi joined Graymark from Muir Group, a real estate investment firm. There he was responsible for deal origination, due diligence and asset management. Prior to this, Mr. Lafranchi worked as an associate with Cassidy Turley where he sourced and analyzed debt and equity requirements for owners of commercial real estate. Additionally, while at Cassidy Turley Mr. Lafranchi was responsible for the asset management of properties held in receivership. Asset management projects included office, retail and multifamily properties in various stages of stabilization or distress.

Previous work experience for Mr. Lafranchi includes working with Kearny Capital Partners, a boutique capital markets and receivership firm specializing in providing debt and equity and asset management services for projects ranging from $1mm -$100mm. At Kearny Capital Partners, Mr. Lafranchi worked in a Senior Analyst and Asset Management role where he arranged complex capital structures for all different property types as well as managed a portfolio of distressed properties in Receivership.

Mr. Lafranchi’s additional work experience includes launching his own real estate finance company, which engaged in both residential and commercial real estate finance, and consulting for Hines Interests, LP in Panama and working with a developer in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mr. Lafranchi received his Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of California, Los Angeles and his MBA with a concentration in Finance from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas in Austin. He is currently a member of NAIOP and the Urban Land Institute (ULI).

Gavin Hession

Vice President

Gavin Hession is the Vice President of Graymark Capital. He is responsible for new investment opportunities, asset management, and transaction due diligence. Prior to joining Graymark as an Investment Analyst, he worked in Comerica Bank’s Technology and Life Sciences division where he underwrote loan transactions to Bay Area technology and life science companies.

Gavin graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Concentration in Finance. While at Cal Poly he studied the effects of monetary policy decisions on the savings behavior of U.S. households, and helped create the business plan for DTE Materials, a sustainable building materials and modular ADU manufacturer, which went on to raise seed funding.

Gavin is a member of the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), Urban Land Institute (ULI), and NAIOP.
In his spare time he works at the California Academy of Sciences as a Volunteer Docent.

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