Team

Michelle Fowler

Managing Director | V-Card

Michelle Fowler is the Managing Director of Servicing at The Ardent Companies. Prior to joining Ardent in February 2015, Michelle was the Assistant Vice President of Special Assets at Synovus, a regional financial institution in Atlanta. In her role, she led a team that managed over $500 million in non-performing loans, managed the de-leasing efforts of the financial institutions’ REO assets, and handled all leased REO properties until disposition. She also worked out or disposed of a portfolio in excess of $100 million in non-performing loans and REO assets; workouts included loan restructuring, forbearance agreements, and collection efforts. She has more than 10 years of banking experience with a concentration in real estate construction lending and special assets management.

Chris Kelly

Managing Director | V-Card

Chris Kelly is a Managing Director at The Ardent Companies. Chris has 32 years of experience in commercial real estate credit and institutional asset management and has had direct responsibility for more than $12 billion in originations. Prior to joining Ardent in January 2020, Chris served as the Managing Director and Head of CRE Lending at Amherst Capital Management (“ACAM CRE”).  As a founding member, Chris  was responsible for all facets of the business including the development and execution of ACAM CRE’s middle market transitional lending strategy and well as the development and management of ACAM CRE’s institutional client base.  Prior to Amherst, Chris was the Managing Director and Head of Real Estate with CapitalSource, a division of Pacific Western Bank. During his 12-year tenure at CapitalSouce, Chris was responsible for all aspects of CapitalSource’s national CRE lending business, including the development and management of a 35-member, six office platform. Prior to CapitalSource, Chris was a Managing Director and founding member of Natixis (f/k/a CDC Mortgage Capital) where he was responsible for the origination of senior and mezzanine loans. Previous to this, Chris was with Lehman Brothers where he originated interim and permanent debt for the Fixed Income Group. Prior to Lehman, Chris spent over eight years in the real estate division of Heller Financial in Chicago and New York. At Heller, Chris was involved in numerous activities including the origination of a wide array of senior and mezzanine debt for all types of commercial real estate.   He is a member of various real estate organizations including CREFC, ULI, MBA, ICSC, WREAA and Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center. Chris is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a former board member for the Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association.

Jennifer Wimmer

Managing Director | V-Card

Jen Wimmer is a Managing Director at The Ardent Companies. Jennifer works directly with the debt platform focusing on originations, underwriting and asset management. Prior to joining Ardent in August of 2022, she was the Director of Asset Management and Special Servicing at Access Point Financial where she managed a team and over $900 million of hospitality loans. Prior to Access Point Financial, Jennifer worked in originations for iBorrow, LP and spent eight years at Rialto Capital. Jennifer is a graduate of the Terry School of Business at the University of Georgia where she received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and a Masters of Business Administration.

Sunny Lakhtaria

UK Head of Debt | V-Card

Sunny Lakhtaria is the UK Head of Debt at The Ardent Companies in the London office. Sunny is responsible for spearheading the launch and growth of debt strategies for Ardent in the UK.

Prior to joining Ardent in September 2023, Sunny was previously a Partner and member of the Executive and Credit Committees at Urban Exposure PLC (UE). During his time at UE, Sunny led the underwriting and placement initiatives of c. £1.5bn of loans and was also responsible for capital raising initiatives, including its IPO on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market along with varying financing arrangements with numerous global institutions. Sunny also previously worked in KPMG’s Corporate Finance division, focusing on M&A and loan portfolio sales, executing over c. £100bn, by legal principal value, across various asset classes internationally. In 2021, Sunny also set up and launched a new bridge finance lender into the UK market, a subsidiary of an AIM listed lender.

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.

Greg Sullivan

Director | V-Card

Greg Sullivan is a Director at The Ardent Companies. Greg focuses on loan origination and underwriting. Prior to joining Ardent in April 2021, Greg was a Relationship Manager with Wells Fargo’s Commercial Real Estate Group where he managed a $600MM portfolio of balance sheet loans. Greg received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Real Estate from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia.

Rachel Callaghan

Senior Associate | V-Card

Rachel Callaghan is a Senior Associate at The Ardent Companies. She focuses on underwriting and asset management for debt and equity investments. Prior to joining Ardent in March 2022, Rachel was an Investment Director at The Prager Group, where she was responsible for underwriting single-family rental home portfolios along with asset management of current investments ranging from stabilized portfolios to build-to-rent construction. Rachel received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Grayson Jacobs

Senior Associate | V-Card

Grayson Jacobs is a Senior Associate with The Ardent Companies responsible for underwriting debt and equity investments and asset management.

Prior to joining Ardent, Grayson was an Associate with iStar Inc. and Safehold Inc. focused on ground lease and leasehold investments across the Southeast. He led the underwriting for more than $500M of closed transactions and evaluated more than $4B of institutional real estate. His background includes investment underwriting, asset management, and risk management.

Grayson received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Risk Management and Insurance from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia.

Ignacio Nunez

Senior Associate | V-Card

Ignacio Nunez is a Senior Associate at The Ardent Companies. Ignacio focuses on originations and underwriting on both the equity and debt platforms at Ardent. Prior to joining Ardent in March 2022, Ignacio was an Associate in Wells Fargo’s Commercial Real Estate Group where he focused on the origination and portfolio management of balance sheet loans. Ignacio received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Belmont Abbey College as well as a Master of Science in Finance with a concentration in Real Estate from Florida State University.

Jay Yuan

Senior Associate | V-Card

Jay Yuan is a Senior Associate at The Ardent Companies. Jay has spent 2 years with Ardent and he focuses on underwriting, market research, data analysis, financial modeling, and asset management for both debt and equity investments. Prior to Joining Ardent in November 2020, Jay was an Analyst at Ikigai Group, where he was responsible for market research, financial analysis and financing of single-family rental and multifamily projects. He is currently a member of Urban Land Institute. Jay received a Bachelor of Business Administration, concentrating in Finance and Real Estate, and a Bachelor of Arts in Econometrics from Emory University.

 

 

Jackson McLarty

Analyst | V-Card

Jackson McLarty is an Analyst at The Ardent Companies in the Atlanta office. He focuses on underwriting, asset management, and originations for the Underwriting Team. Prior to re-joining Ardent in 2023, Jackson had over a year of collective experience as an intern in the Atlanta office focusing on underwriting, asset management, and investor relations. Jackson holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Georgia State University.