Christopher Shiota
President
Download V-Card

Christopher Shiota deployed approximately $900 million of capital through joint ventures with residential builders and developers in approximately 50 transactions while at Kennedy Wilson, Isles Ranch, and Lakebridge.

Chris manages the day-to-day operations of Lakebridge while acting as its President directly or indirectly managing originations, underwriting, due diligence, asset management, accounting, and reporting.

As a key member of the for-sale joint venture group at Kennedy Wilson and as the Director of Investment Management at Isles Ranch Partners, Chris designed and implemented the majority of key processes around deal selection, underwriting, due diligence, closing, asset management, and reporting. Chris was instrumental in the creation of both platforms and assisted in growing Isles Ranch Partners to 20 employees.

Through his education at University of Southern California and training at TriMont Real Estate Advisors (the asset manager for Lehman Brothers), Chris developed significant industry knowledge and contacts. Chris attended the University of Southern California where he graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration. Chris also studied at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

R. Jeffrey Spindler
Partner
Download V-Card

As a Founding Principal and President of Land Advisors Organization-California Division, Jeff Spindler leverages his extensive experience in the real estate industry to broker and advise on residential land transactions throughout California. In his 45-year career, Jeff has played an integral role in the sale of more than 130,000 residential units for consideration exceeding $5 billion.

In 1997, Jeff established Park Place Partners, Inc., along with Co-Founding Principals, Terry Ruckle and Brian Carricaburu. In March 2009, Park Place Partners, Inc., California’s largest residential land brokerage and advisory firm, merged platforms with Land Advisors Organization, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and created the California Division of Land Advisors Organization. The combined platform is the only national brokerage and advisory network dedicated to the residential land development industry with offices located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Washington.

Along with other panels, Jeff is an annual speaker at the Zelman & Associates Housing Summit held in Dallas, Texas. Jeff is a licensed California Real Estate Broker and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from California State University, Long Beach.

Ilana Liauw
CFO & Vice President
Download V-Card

Ilana Liauw’s extensive experience in the homebuilding industry has spanned roles in finance and land acquisition for public and private builders. At Lakebridge, Ilana oversees all financial aspects of the company as well as asset management and due diligence in Southern California.

Previously as the Director of Finance and Market Analytics at The Olson Company, Ilana prepared proformas and investment packages, produced robust financial reporting, and oversaw analytics within the company including market analysis, pricing, and buyer segmentation.  

Ilana managed Land Acquisitions at Beazer Homes and SummerHill Homes (the homebuilding subsidiary of Marcus & Millichap), where she was responsible for sourcing and underwriting new land opportunities, conducting due diligence, and obtaining corporate approval of target properties. During her time at Beazer, she spearheaded the acquisition of $110 million in land closings for the California Division.  

Prior to Beazer, Ilana was a Financial Analyst at K. Hovnanian Homes, preparing business plan financial projections and assisting the Land Acquisition department in preparing feasibility books and deal underwriting.  

Ilana attended Emory University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a focus in Finance and a double major in Mathematics.  Ilana is a California CPA.

Robert Shiota
Vice President of Real Estate
Download V-Card

Bob Shiota leads the firm’s underwriting, asset management, and operating activities. Prior to working with Lakebridge, Bob held senior management positions at major public homebuilders such as Standard Pacific, Richmond American, and Beazer Homes, as well as running his own private homebuilding company. 

Bob ran the Southern California Division of Beazer Homes and became California Area President during his tenure. He oversaw offices in Sacramento and Brea with 75 employees and 600 annualized closings approximating $200 million in revenue. Bob was the Southern California Regional President for Richmond American Homes, with responsibility for three divisions with over 200 employees, and managed the Salt Lake City office. He led the growth at Richmond to over 1,000 annualized closings and opened offices in Los Angeles and San Diego counties. Bob was a Vice President at Standard Pacific for over 9 years, performing land acquisition and project management on the Irvine Ranch and other Orange County projects as well Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire.

Bob received his Bachelor of Architecture and Masters of Urban Design from the University of Southern California. Bob was a founding member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and began his career as a city planner at the cities of Lakewood and Irvine.  He is also a licensed real estate broker and a general contractor in the state of California.

Kwame Do
Vice President
Download V-Card

As Vice President, Kwame Do leads the team’s strategic financial underwriting, asset management, and market analysis.

Prior to Lakebridge, Kwame interned at Land Advisors in the summer of 2013 where he helped the LA Infill team with Competitive Market Analyses and implementation of Salesforce. Kwame launched his professional finance career at Goldman Sachs, where he assisted with risk management and funding allocation for the equity derivative synthetic product group. He was elected to the junior board of the Black Network and participated in diversity recruiting. 

Kwame attended Occidental College where he graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics and was a 4-year starter on the football team.

Abe Lipets
Associate Vice President
Download V-Card

As Associate Vice President, Abe Lipets leads financial underwriting, asset management, and market analysis for Lakebridge in Northern California.

Prior to joining Lakebridge, Abe worked in the Commercial and Investment Bank at JPMorgan Chase where he coordinated transaction financing for mid-market real estate clients. He began his career at Goldman Sachs, assisting with risk underwriting and portfolio management for the special situations group across a wide range of distressed assets, including commercial real estate.

He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University and is a licensed California Real Estate Salesperson.

Scott Matsutsuyu
Senior Analyst
Download V-Card

As Senior Analyst, Scott Matsutsuyu provides investment management support that includes financial underwriting and market analysis on all new and existing projects for Lakebridge.

Prior to Lakebridge, Scott managed institutional sales and bulk loan trading activities of DSCR and bridge product for Andreessen Horowitz-backed residential mortgage fintech start-up, PeerStreet.

He attended Drexel University graduating with a Bachelor of Finance degree. While attending college he interned for global alternative asset manager FS Investments where he focused on emerging wealth tech trends.

Loan Nguyen
Director of Marketing
Download V-Card

As Director of Marketing, Loan Nguyen leads the strategic branding and design of all Lakebridge collateral to aid in deal sourcing, capital sourcing, investment management, asset management, and investor relations.

Prior to joining Lakebridge, Loan was the Marketing Manager at Hanley Investment Group where she led the marketing team that delivered 199 closed retail listings in 2022, valued at $1 billion. With more than 11 years of experience in commercial real estate, Loan started her career with CBRE and Newmark, working on national high-profile pursuits that included office, industrial, and multifamily investments.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts from California State University, San Bernardino.

Shann Sanese
Accountant
Download V-Card

Shann Sanese has extensive accounting and financial experience in the development industry including preparing and reviewing audited financials. Shann is responsible for coordinating the timely and accurate funding of draws from equity groups and lenders. Shann has experience working with various partner formats and processes. In addition to coordinating draws, Shann reviews Project and Investor entity financials and assists in reprojections and quarterly/monthly reporting. Shann’s industry experience includes Information Technology Companies, Residential General Contractors, Heavy Equipment Rental Companies, Boarding School for Elite Skiers, and Commercial General Contractors.