Executive Bios

Alim Kassam, Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Kassam began his career as an Investment Banker with Lehman Brothers, Inc. where he worked with private equity firms to source and finance leveraged acquisitions and to develop strategic alternatives for their existing portfolio companies. He also worked with global industrial companies across a broad range of corporate finance projects including mergers and acquisitions, all tranches of debt offerings/underwriting (bank loan, high yield, and mezzanine), and both public and private equity offerings.

Mr. Kassam then joined CapitalSource Finance, LLC where he focused on making secured debt and mezzanine investments in healthcare companies. After CapitalSource, Mr. Kassam joined Pacificor LLC, where he was the Senior Credit Analyst focusing on stressed, distressed and special situations credit opportunities. Over his tenure, Pacificor’s returns outperformed the high yield indices by over 10% per year and the firm’s assets under management grew to $600 million from $200 million.

Mr. Kassam joined QHL as its President and CEO one week after the company filed for Chapter 11 protection. In addition to managing the day-to-day operations of the company, Mr. Kassam was responsible for navigating the bankruptcy process and architected a $167M securitization.

Mr. Kassam graduated cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A. in Business Economics and Accounting.

Brian O’Shaughnessy, Executive Vice President and President/CEO of ACG

Mr. O’Shaughnessy had his start in the mortgage banking industry with Title West Mortgage Inc. and quickly excelled to become President. During his tenure, he helped Title West grow from 20 employees to a company with 250+ employees and $160 million per month in production. Mr. O’Shaughnessy is also credited with building a wholesale division and pioneering subprime loans with Bank One in the days before credit scores were even established.

In 1998, Mr. O’Shaughnessy established his own company, Bankers Express Mortgage, with the vision of running a smaller subprime shop that put profit above production numbers. For 9 years, the entire span of its existence, Bankers Express Mortgage never had a quarter that did not post a profit. In June 2007, Mr. O’Shaughnessy sold his company to Quality Home Loans, his largest competitor, and joined the combined entity as its Chief Operating Officer. Unfortunately, two months after QHL acquired Bankers Express, the global credit crunch forced the securitization market to shut down and with no viable exits for its inventory of loans, QHL was forced to file for bankruptcy protection.

Subsequently, Mr. O’Shaughnessy was involved in the sale of the combined company to Michael Klein, a successful entrepreneur and the manager of Pacificor, LLC, a $600M hedge fund. After the change of guard, Mr. O’Shaughnessy helped QHL successfully securitize a pool of $167 million of mortgages. Unfortunately, Mr. Klein died in a tragic plane crash in late December 2007, and Mr. O’Shaughnessy moved on to launch ACG.

Jay Gangwal, Fund Advisor

Mr. Gangwal is a Principal of Legg Mason Real Estate Investors, Inc. (LMREI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. (NYSE: LM). Mr. Gangwal is responsible for sourcing, pricing, and structuring value-added joint venture and principal equity investments for the Chesapeake Real Estate Value Fund(s). Since joining Legg Mason, Mr. Gangwal has acquired over $200 million commercial real estate projects throughout the United States.

Before joining LMREI, Mr. Gangwal was responsible for originating senior and mezzanine bridge loans as a Loan Officer for CW Capital, LLC. Prior to CW Capital, Mr. Gangwal worked at GE Capital in the Real Estate Structured Finance Group. Mr. Gangwal has been involved in the origination of over $350 million in mezzanine and debt investments for commercial real estate projects.

Mr. Gangwal received a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and MIS from California State University, Northridge. He is an active member of National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, Mortgage Bankers Association, and LAMA.