Team
Creating the greatest value for its partners and investors by drawing on the team's
extensive industry experience and established capital relationships.
Thomas Olson
Partner | V-Card
Thomas Olson is a Partner at The Ardent Companies. Thomas focuses on platform partnerships, innovative strategies and capital markets. Prior to Ardent, Thomas was a Partner and CFO of Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods, a sister company of Ardent, where he directed the company’s financial strategies, corporate policies, risk management, and investments. Thomas has over two decades of experience in both building businesses and real estate investment. He has held leadership roles at notable firms such as Hines, Resource Real Estate Partners, and Warren-Hanks. Thomas serves on the Board of Directors of an Atlanta based homebuilding company, Direct Residential and niche medical technology company, ViveBio Scientific. Thomas is a Board Member of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Sports Network Advisory Board and an active contributor to the “Carter Samuel Martin Developmental Therapeutics Research Fund”. Thomas is a native of Apple Valley, Minnesota and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Corporate Finance.
Richard Benson
Managing Director | V-Card
Richard Benson is a Managing Director at The Ardent Companies in the London office. He is responsible for deal origination, capital raising, and asset management for the UK operations. As a qualified lawyer, prior to joining Ardent In January 2021, Richard was Deputy Head of Legal at the Battersea Power Station regeneration project in London where he oversaw the legal functions. In addition to his legal role, Richard was also part of the Development and Leasing teams where he was responsible for managing and delivering all major commercial transactional work at the project including the landmark lease to Apple of 500,000 square feet of office space as well as the £1.6 billion ownership restructuring and refinance of the Grade II* listed Power Station. Prior to Battersea Power Station, Richard trained and worked at major UK law firms Mishcon de Reya, Nabarro LLP (now CMS LLP), and Dentons. Richard holds an LLB (hons) in Law and French from Nottingham Trent University and gained his LPC from BPP Law School.
Mike Guynn
Managing Director | V-Card
Michael Guynn is a Managing Director at The Ardent Companies. Michael has 32 years of varied experience in commercial project management, land development, financial analysis, and distressed property turnaround. Prior to joining Ardent in January 2016, Michael served as EVP of Development for Valor Hospitality, Director of the Real Estate Group for Rialto Capital Advisors, President of Guynn Properties, Inc., and various leadership roles at Technology Park/Atlanta, Inc. Michael served as a past Chairman of The Council for Quality Growth, Campaign Chair for United Way Gwinnett County, and on various boards including Gwinnett County Boys & Girls Club, Dunwoody Nature Center. He also assumed numerous roles at Saint Jude the Apostle Catholic Church and Pebble Tossers, Inc. Michael received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Furman University and a Master of Business Administration from Georgia State University.
Andrew Hilston
Managing Director | V-Card
Andrew Hilston is a Managing Director at The Ardent Companies in the London office. He is responsible for deal origination, development, marketing, asset management and investment performance for UK operations. Andrew is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and is also a Chartered Town Planner. Andrew has over 20 years of client-side property experience at UK FTSE 100 REITs Landsec and Hammerson, as well as Brookfield. Prior to joining Ardent in January 2021, he was a member of the senior management team at the sovereign wealth backed Battersea Power Station development project. Andrew has extensive knowledge of Retail, Office and Residential asset classes as well as strategic land acquisitions and dispositions. He has been involved in a number of joint venture partnerships and corporate disposals. Andrew has a BSc (Hons) in Land Management and an MSc in Property Development from the University of Reading.
Scott Werbel
Managing Director | V-Card
Scott Werbel is a Managing Director at The Ardent Companies. He is responsible for Real Estate acquisitions and originating Bridge Loans through the Ardent Financial Fund platform. Prior to joining Ardent in July 2014, Scott was an Acquisitions Officer at RCG Ventures, a Private Retail REIT, where he managed the acquisition of shopping centers and non-performing loans collateralized by the shopping centers. Prior to RCG, Scott was Founder and Managing Principal of Impressa Group, a retail and multifamily acquisition company based in Atlanta and Chicago. Prior to Impressa, Scott was the Vice President of Acquisitions at Equity Investment Group, a private Retail REIT, where he directed an acquisition team based in Atlanta and acquired 27 retail properties. Prior to EIG, Scott was a Director of Sales at LNR, a national commercial real estate company, where he headed a disposition team which restructured, foreclosed, and sold nearly $400 million in distressed assets. Prior to LNR, Scott was an Asset Manager at Trimont Real Estate Advisors/Hatfield Philips, where he was involved with debt restructure and workouts of distressed assets. In 2019, Scott was elected to the Buckhead Community Improvement District (BCID), a nonprofit whose mission is to create and maintain a safe, accessible, and livable urban environment. Scott is also a member of the Georgia State University Real Estate Board. Scott received a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Virginia Tech and an Master of Science in Real Estate from Georgia State University.
Ricardo De Rojas
Managing Director | V-Card
Ricardo De Rojas is a Managing Director at The Ardent Companies. Ricardo has more than 20 years of experience working for nationally and internationally recognized development and construction management firms. He has led our team in development of a diverse mix of assets nationwide, including: high-end student housing, adaptive reuse and mixed use redevelopment, ground up self-storage, cannabis growth and processing facilities and industrial warehouse repositioning. Prior to joining Ardent in 2018, Ricardo was the Development Director at Regency Centers (formerly Equity One), where he was responsible for the development and redevelopment of over 1 million square feet of retail real estate. Prior to Equity One, Ricardo served as the Deputy Country Manager for Turner Construction focused on landmark projects in Mexico and LATAM. He is an active member of ICSC and an associate member at ULI. He was certified as LEED AP by the USGBC and as PMP by the Project Management Institute. Ricardo received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and a Master of Engineering in Structural Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ricardo also received a Master of Business Administration from Yale School of Management with a focus in Finance and Real Estate.
Jay Douglas
Executive Director | V-Card
Jay Douglas is the Executive Director of Development for The Ardent Companies. Prior to joining Ardent in March of 2022, Jay was the Senior Vice President of Development for SJC Ventures in Atlanta. Jay has experience in all aspects of the development of retail and mixed-use projects – including acquisition, land planning, zoning and entitlements, leasing, and project management. Jay received his juris doctor from Duke University School of Law, and has a Bachelor of Arts from Brigham Young University.
Hugo Frewin
Executive Director | V-Card
Hugo Frewin is an Executive Director at The Ardent Companies. Hugo works within the Commercial Asset Management and Investor Relations department. Prior to joining Ardent in July 2014, Hugo was Tenancy Manager for Bristol Residential, an independent residential developer, based in the UK. Prior to Bristol, Hugo was the Managing Broker for National Rental Services, the residential arm of American Invesco, a Chicago based Real Estate developer overseeing the management and leasing of 2000+ individually owned units. Hugo received a Bachelor of Arts in Leisure Management from the University of Birmingham, UK, a Master of Arts in Real Estate Management from University West of England and has recently completed his Certified Commercial Investment Manager Certification (CCIM).
Ross Mehlman
Executive Director | V-Card
Ross Mehlman is an Executive Director at The Ardent Companies. Ross oversees all debt and equity underwriting at Ardent and serves as the Head of Multifamily Investments. He is responsible for all aspects of commercial and multifamily underwriting and has acquired or overseen the development of nearly $2 billion of commercial assets since joining Ardent in 2013, including 4,000 apartments and over 8.5 million square feet of office, retail, and industrial space. Prior to joining Ardent in August 2013, Ross handled underwriting and asset management for Rialto Capital, where he was responsible for the management of a $100 million portfolio of commercial and residential assets including over 770 rental homes. He underwrote portfolios of real estate assets and loans in excess of $250 million. Prior to Rialto, Ross led the acquisition team at The RADCO Companies, a multifamily investment and management company, where he focused on underwriting and acquisition of value-add apartments. He was also responsible for working with several Wall Street banks to reposition multifamily REO assets and facilitate the successful turnaround of multiple fractured condo projects simultaneously. Ross received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Finance with a minor in Economics from the University of Tennessee Knoxville.
Joe Swindells
Development Director | V-Card
Joe Swindells is a Development Director at The Ardent Companies in the London office. Joe is responsible for development and asset management activities in support of Ardent’s investment strategies. Prior to joining Ardent in November 2022, Joe was part of the senior management team at Battersea Power Station Development Company (BPSDC). In his role he was responsible for all development and asset management activities for The Power Station project. Prior to BPSDC, Joe worked in development & asset management roles for UK based private and listed property companies including Capital & Regional PLC, Ballymore & Hammerson PLC. Joe has a BSc (Hons) in Real Estate Valuation & Management from UWE Bristol.
Gary McNamara
Investment Director | V-Card
Gary is Investment Director at The Ardent Companies in the London office. He is responsible for capital raising, deal origination and execution. Before joining Ardent, Gary was Land & Strategic Partnerships Director at Inspired Villages, a developer and operator of later living communities across the UK. There he led acquisitions, partnerships and was influential in the £500m equity JV between Legal & General and Natwest Bank to enter the market. Gary started his career at DTZ (now Cushman & Wakefield) in Auckland New Zealand, before moving to London where worked in the Investment & Corporate Finance teams. Prior to this he was business development consultant to Barings Real Estate Advisors, property consultant to BGC Partners, the co-founder of “Indirex” the Secure Information Exchange and co-founder of Arca Property Risk Management.
Gary is a Member of the RICS and holds an MSc in International Real Estate and a BEng in Engineering from the University of Reading and also sits on the charity committee for the Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors livery and also on the events committee for the Reading Real Estate Foundation charity.
Peyton Kegel
Director | V-Card
Peyton Kegel is a Director at The Ardent Companies in the New York City office. She focuses on originations, acquisitions and underwriting. Peyton has over 8 years of experience in commercial real estate acquisitions, asset management and brokerage. Prior to joining Ardent in October 2022, she worked at the Ruben Companies in New York as a Senior Associate and at HUBB NYC as an Associate. Peyton attended Princeton University where she graduated from the School of Architecture.
Davis Vanier
Senior Associate | V-Card
Davis Vainer is a Senior Associate at The Ardent Companies. His primary responsibilities include originations and assisting with retail development. Davis received an undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama and a Masters in Real Estate Development from the University of Arizona. Davis played collegiate baseball at both Alabama and Arizona prior to being selected in the MLB Draft. Prior to joining Ardent, Davis spent time at The Shopping Center Group and Joel and Granot, focusing on Retail Investment Sales.
Eliot Doub
Senior Associate | V-Card
Eliot Doub is a Senior Associate at The Ardent Companies. Eliot graduated from the College of Charleston with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business. His career began managing retail construction builds, which led him to move to DC to manage multifamily, office, school, and historic builds. His goal has always been to find success in real estate development. Outside of work, he enjoys playing tennis and soccer and also frequenting concerts.