Civitas Capital Group Announces New Hires As It Prepares For Growth

DALLAS, Jan. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Civitas Capital Group ("Civitas") today announced the hiring of three new senior team members as the firm prepares for growth in 2020.

The team members ? Austin Khan, Managing Director, Investments; Kerry Braxton, Vice President & Deputy General Counsel; and Jorge Adler, Senior Associate, Investments ? have extensive experience in real estate and lodging, reflecting the firm's ongoing commitment to excellence in these investment areas, said CEO Daniel J. Healy.

"We are thrilled with the depth and breadth of experience these hires bring to Civitas," Healy said. "Their impressive backgrounds align perfectly with the firm's core value of uncompromising integrity. As well, the diversity of work and life experience each brings to the table helps us provide investors the relentless creativity for which the firm is known."

Background for the three hires includes the following:

Austin Khan

Managing Director, Investments

Austin Khan is an experienced hotel and real estate investment management professional and a senior member of the Investments team at Civitas. Khan's 20 years of experience in real estate principal investment and advisory roles includes hospitality, office, multifamily, and retail investments throughout the capital stack. Khan brings over $1.2 billion in lodging investment experience and $3 billion of total real estate transaction experience to Civitas Capital Group. 

At Civitas, Khan is responsible for general management of the firm's lodging investment team.  He serves on the firmwide Investment Committee as well as various other committees, boards, and the like related to Civitas lodging investment vehicles.

Khan most recently served as Managing Director of Blue Lion Capital, LLC, an investment and advisory firm focused on real estate special situations investing. Prior to Blue Lion Capital, Mr. Khan was Chief Investment Officer of Ethika Investments, a $1.2 billion real estate private equity platform focused on opportunistic equity investments and high-yield credit, with a significant focus on the hotel sector. There, he oversaw investments in 15 hotels throughout the United States, including acquisitions and significant redevelopments.

Kerry Braxton

Vice President & Deputy General Counsel

Braxton was most recently Assistant General Counsel & Vice President Legal and Corporate Risk for Lincoln Property Company, the second-largest property management company in the United States. He was responsible for overseeing the national legal functions for property management and corporate risk operations for the company.

Prior to Lincoln Property, Braxton served as Managing Senior Counsel, Legal and Risk Management, at FedEx Office. He was responsible for managing the domestic and international legal functions for the real estate legal division. Prior to FedEx Office, Mr. Braxton was a Partner at Squire Patton Boggs, an international law firm, where he provided legal advice and consultation to Fortune 500 domestic and international corporations and major financial institutions in the acquisition, development, and finance of commercial and retail real estate assets.

Braxton's combination of experience in legal, real estate, and corporate insurance and risk provides a unique asset to Civitas. Braxton is a member of the Dallas Bar Association and holds a seat on the Board of Directors of the Texas General Counsel Forum.

Jorge Adler

Senior Associate, Investments

Adler comes to Civitas from The Howard Hughes Corporation, a publicly traded firm that owns, manages, and develops commercial, residential, and mixed-use real estate throughout the U.S.

At the Howard Hughes Corporation, Adler was part of a team that was responsible for underwriting, sourcing, and closing property-level financings, strategic acquisitions, dispositions, and joint-venture opportunities. Over the past five years, Adler was responsible for closing over $1.1 billion of debt through a variety of structures and for an array of asset types.

Adler holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern California, as well as a Master's degree in city/urban planning from USC.

ABOUT CIVITAS CAPITAL GROUP

Civitas Capital Group is a global alternative investment manager with $1.7B AUM. Civitas offers compelling, niche opportunities in U.S. real estate, lodging, and alternative credit. Driven by relentless creativity, Civitas digs deeper to uncover opportunities that others miss. Civitas was founded in 2009 by Daniel J. Healy and Rafael Anchia and is proudly based in Dallas, Texas. Civitas' core values, ever-deepening cultural competency, and sense of global citizenship define the firm's purpose: to create opportunities that enrich communities, investors, and employees alike. For more information, visit civitascapital.com.

SOURCE Civitas Capital Group