Dedication and integrity are the cornerstones of Balfour Beatty Communities' leadership.
Our leadership team spans all disciplines of development, planning, project management, operations, and facility management to ensure we can provide the finest quality residences, amenities, and services for our residents.
Bruce Robinson
President and Chief Executive Officer
Bruce Robinson is President and CEO of Balfour Beatty Capital Group, Inc.and Balfour Beatty Communities, LLC, responsible for overseeing the development, management, and construction services for family and unaccompanied personnel housing located on military bases, as well as the companies’ public and private partnership initiatives throughout the United States. In addition, Mr. Robinson manages the Company's military joint venture and partner relationships. Prior to formation of the Company, Mr. Robinson served as President of the military housing division of GMH Communities Trust, a real estate investment trust specializing in the management and operation of student housing and military housing throughout the United States. During Mr. Robinson's term as President of the military housing division, the company was awarded military housing projects comprising over 40 bases, and was involved in debt financings totaling approximately $3.0 billion. In addition, Mr. Robinson previously directed GMH Capital Partners, LP, an international corporate real estate company, where he was a key participant in formation and operation of all entity structures as well as financing issues, due diligence and global planning. He also has experience as a senior tax manager for Touche Ross & Co., Certified Public Accountants, where he specialized in real estate syndication, partnerships and corporate acquisitions.
Christopher Williams
Executive Vice President of Project Management
Christopher Williams is Executive Vice President of Project Management for Balfour Beatty Communities, responsible for the long term development and operations of the military housing privatization projects. Mr. Williams manages the partnership relationships with the Department of the Army , Department of the Navy, as well as the United States Air Force. He also leads a team of experienced industry professionals in development, construction, community management, facilities, and maintenance covering the military housing business. Prior to formation of the Company, Mr. Williams held several operational positions with GMH Communities Trust, a real estate investment trust specializing in student housing and military housing throughout the United States, and its affiliated companies, which he joined in 1989.
Richard Taylor
Executive Vice President of Business Development
Richard Taylor is Executive Vice President of Business Development for Balfour Beatty Communities, responsible for leading the business development efforts. Prior to formation of the Company, Mr. Taylor served a similar position with GMH Military Housing, the military housing division of GMH Communities Trust, a real estate investment trust specializing in the management and operation of student housing and military housing throughout the United States. Under his leadership, GMH Military Housing successfully grew to one of the nation's premier providers of privatized housing to our armed forces and their families. Mr. Taylor also previously headed the commercial construction division for GMH Capital Partners, LP, an international corporate real estate company, where, he led the completion of several commercial projects, including GMH's Windsor Corporate Park in East Windsor, New Jersey, and a flight simulator facility for SimuFlite International in Dallas, Texas. Prior to joining GMH, Mr. Taylor held the position of Civil Engineer Corps Officer in the US Navy for over twelve years. He is currently in the US Naval Reserve, holding the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
Denise Hubley
Executive Vice President of Finance
Denise Hubley is the Executive Vice President of Finance for Balfour Beatty Communities, responsible for the overall financial functions of the business as well as asset management of the existing portfolio of projects. Her responsibilities include financial modeling, due diligence, project closings, debt selection, fee negotiations, municipal negotiations, quality control, projections, and refinancing. Prior to formation of the Company, Ms. Hubley held several operational positions with GMH Communities Trust, a real estate investment trust specializing in student housing and military housing throughout the United States, and its affiliated companies, which she originally joined in 1989. Formerly, she also served as the Senior Vice President of GMH Capital Partners, LP, an international corporate real estate company, responsible for directing the financial operations of the Realty Services Division, Asset Service and Construction Divisions.
Theresa Edelman
Senior Vice President of Community Management
Teresa Edelman is Senior Vice President of Community Management for Balfour Beatty Communities, responsible for overseeing the implementation and execution the Community Management, Operations, and Resident Services plans on all of the military installations managed by the Company. Prior to formation of the Company, Ms. Edelman served a similar position with GMH Military Housing, the military housing division of GMH Communities Trust, a real estate investment trust specializing in the management and operation of student housing and military housing throughout the United States. Formerly, Ms. Edelman also served as Vice President of Residential Management for GMH Capital Partners, LP, an international corporate real estate company. During that time she managed two separate portfolios that each required extensive capital improvement to position the properties for sale and repayment of debt. She identified the areas of capital improvements that would provide the most significant value enhancement, led and implemented the improvements, increased revenues, and oversaw the operations until liquidations were completed. The property sales proceeds netted $93 million.
Mark Lavin
Senior Vice President of Project Management
Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Mark Lavin is Senior Vice President of Project Management for Balfour Beatty Communities, responsible for leading, planning, and executing efforts for the Company's privatization endeavors. Mr. Lavin is also responsible for supervising ongoing privatization projects and coordinating all team efforts involving design, construction, renovation, community management, and maintenance activities for the Company's Army Portfolio. Prior to formation of Balfour Beatty Communities, Mr. Lavin served a similar position with GMH Military Housing, the military housing division of GMH Communities Trust, a real estate investment trust specializing in the management and operation of student housing and military housing throughout the United States. Mr. Lavin served as Project Director for the Fort Hamilton, NY Residential Communities Initiative and CDMP Program Manager for the Fort Stewart/ Hunter Army Airfield, GA Residential Communities Initiative. Mr. Lavin also formerly served as the Senior Project Manager for GMH Construction Services Group. Mr. Lavin retired from the US Army after twenty-four years of military service. In his final assignment, he served as the Deputy District Engineer, Norfolk District, US Army Corps of Engineers. He was responsible for the execution of $260 million of design and construction contracts in support of military installations throughout Virginia.
Robert Shepko
Senior Vice President of Project Management
Robert Shepko is Senior Vice President of Project Management for Balfour Beatty Communities, responsible for leading, planning, and executing efforts for the Company's privatization endeavors. Mr. Shepko is also responsible for supervising ongoing privatization projects and coordinating all team efforts involving design, construction, renovation, community management, and maintenance activities for Company's the Navy Public Private Venture Portfolio. Prior to this project, Mr. Shepko served as Project Director for the Fort Detrick and Walter Reed Army Medical Center Residential Communities Initiative. Prior to formation of the Company, Mr. Shepko served a similar position with GMH Military Housing, the military housing division of GMH Communities Trust, a real estate investment trust specializing in the management and operation of student housing and military housing throughout the United States. Mr. Shepko also formerly served as a Vice President of Anderson Strickler LLC, a consulting firm that focused on maximizing the utilization of land and buildings on college and university campuses.
Ron Nestor
Senior Vice President of Project Management
Ron Nestor is Senior Vice President of Project Management for Balfour Beatty Communities, responsible for leading the privatization efforts for the Company’s Air Force projects. with over twenty-five years in real estate development, acquisitions and residential construction. Prior to formation of the Company, Mr. Nestor served in several operational positions with GMH Communities Trust, a real estate investment trust specializing in the management and operation of student housing and military housing throughout the United States. While with GMH, Mr. Nestor served as Vice President of Development for GMH Military Housing, responsible for every aspect of new development projects from entitlement to construction, and as Vice President of Development for College Park Communities, the student housing division. With over twenty-five years in real estate development, acquisitions and residential construction, Mr. Nestor has experience in real estate development, acquisitions and construction for the residential, retail and commercial sectors of the industry. He has acquired and developed retail, commercial, industrial, and residential properties for top-tier investment realty firms including Landmark Investment Group, where he served as Regional Manager of Acquisition and Development. While there, Mr. Nestor was responsible for identifying prime locations for the development and redevelopment of retail properties, including assessing feasibility studies and estimating the growth potential of a property’s value.
Leslie Cohn
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Leslie Cohn is Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Balfour Beatty Communities. She is responsible for oversight of legal matters affecting the Company, including transactional, finance and compliance matters, as well as the preparation and review of all legal documentation covering the Company’s privatization projects. Prior to formation of the Company, Ms. Cohn served as Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel of GMH Communities Trust, a real estate investment trust specializing in the management and operation of student housing and military housing throughout the United States. While at GMH, Ms. Cohn was responsible for corporate, securities and transactional matters, including secured financing arrangements, corporate governance, and administration of all public company reporting requirements and compliance under SEC and NYSE regulations. In addition, Ms. Cohn served as a legal team leader for various military housing projects and assisted with compliance review for the military housing division. Prior to joining GMH, Ms. Cohn was an associate in the Business and Finance group of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, where her practice focused on corporate matters, mergers and acquisitions, securities and venture capital finance. Ms. Cohn has extensive experience in registered equity and debt offerings and private placements. She received her Juris Doctorate from The University of Michigan Law School and holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Political Science and History, with honors, from Emory University.
Louis DeRogatis
Senior Vice President of Finance
Louis DeRogatis is Senior Vice President of Finance for Balfour Beatty Communities, responsible for the financial aspects of all of the Company’s military housing privatization projects from business development phase through transaction closing. Specifically, Mr. DeRogatis is responsible for underwriting, due diligence, debt procurement, asset management, fee negotiations, municipal negotiations, and the coordination and oversight of closing documentation. Prior to formation of the Company, Mr. DeRogatis served in a similar position within GMH Military Housing, the military housing division of GMH Communities Trust, a real estate investment trust specializing in the management and operation of student housing and military housing throughout the United States. He joined the student housing vision in 1997 as Vice President of Development in which he was responsible for design, development and management. Prior to joining GMH, Mr. DeRogatis was an Asset Manager with Real Property Consultants, a regional real estate firm that specialized in the management and disposition of commercial real estate assets on behalf of the Resolution Trust Corporation.
Marina Dikos
Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer
Marina Dikos is the Chief Accounting Officer of Balfour Beatty Communities, responsible for oversight and management of the Company’s accounting and financial reporting processes and systems. Prior to formation of the Company, Ms. Dikos served as Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of GMH Communities Trust, a real estate investment trust specializing in the management and operation of student housing and military housing throughout the United States. Prior to joining GMH, Ms. Dikos served as Senior Manager-Audit and Business Advisory Services practice of KPMG LLP, and prior to that as an Experience Senior Manager with Arthur Andersen LLP. In addition to extensive SEC reporting and financial systems management, Ms. Dikos has significant experience with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, due diligence on potential acquisitions and public and private equity raises. Ms. Dikos is a member of the AICPA, PICPA, NAREIT and is a licensed certified public accountant in Pennsylvania. Ms. Dikos holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management from Gettysburg College.
Kathleen Grim
Senior Vice President of Marketing
Kathleen Grim is Senior Vice President of Marketing for Balfour Beatty Communities, responsible for the marketing and communications function for the Company. Prior to formation of the Company, Ms. Grim served in a similar position with GMH Communities Trust, a real estate investment trust specializing in the management and operation of student housing and military housing throughout the United States. Ms. Grim possesses over twenty years of experience in marketing, communications, sales, advertising and public relations in both the commercial real estate field and the consumer products market. Ms. Grim has formerly served as Vice President and Director of Marketing for GMH Capital Partners, LP, an international corporate real estate company. Prior to joining the GMH and its affiliates, Ms. Grim was the Director of Marketing and Public Relations for the O’Neill Properties Group where she was responsible for creating and developing a formal marketing and communications department. Prior to her tenure at O’Neill Properties, Ms. Grim directed internal, external and financial communications and public affairs for the Tasty Baking Company as Director of Corporate Communications.
Rosemary Phillips, SPHR
Senior Vice President of Human Resources
Rosemary Phillips is SVP Human Resources for Balfour Beatty Communities, responsible for all employee related matters for the company including, compensation, health and welfare benefits, employee and labor relations, organizational development, performance management, and recruitment. Prior to formation of the Company, Ms. Phillips served as Vice President of Human Resources of GMH Communities Trust, a real estate investment trust specializing in the management and operation of student housing and military housing throughout the United States. Ms. Phillips also formerly has served as Executive Director of Human Resources for Cenveo, Human Resources Director for Aramark, Vice President Human Resources for The Big Party and Regional Human Resources Manager for Toys R Us. Ms. Phillips has twenty years of experience in human resources, and is adept in change of management issues relating to mergers and acquisitions, labor relations, training and leadership development.
William Sweeney
Vice President of Facilities and Renovations
William Sweeney is Vice President of Facilities and Renovations for Balfour Beatty Communities, responsible to direct, hire, train and assist the Renovations Managers and Superintendents to provide the highest caliber of new and renovated homes. Prior to formation of the Company, Mr. Sweeney served in a similar position within GMH Military Housing, the military housing division of GMH Communities Trust. While with GMH, Mr. Sweeney also previously served as the Director, Facilities & Renovations responsible for the development and coordination of facilities operations, renovations and new construction at the company installations across the country. Previous to that position, Mr. Sweeney was the Regional Facilities Manager responsible for the development and coordination of facilities and maintenance staff. Prior to his work with GMH, Mr. Sweeney served as the Renovation Manager for the Fort Carson RCI program for over three years, and the construction manager for the Base Operations Contractor for seven years. Mr. Sweeney has over 40 years of experience in every facet of construction, including site management, design-build, commercial construction, road and bridge construction, residential single and multi-family housing, commercial and residential maintenance, planning and estimating, and project management.
Roland Savage
Director of Information Technology
Roland Savage is the Director of Information Technology for Balfour Beatty Communities. In this role he is responsible for designing, developing and implementing the company's technology architecture. He is also responsible for the development of custom solutions to support and differentiate the business. Prior to formation of the Company, Mr. Savage served as the Director of Information Technology for GMH Communities Trust, a real estate investment trust specializing in the management and operations of student housing and military housing throughout the United States. Prior to joining GMH, Mr. Savage was responsible for the advanced technology projects of a Fortune 500 transportation company. He has also consulted and developed software for clients in several industries, including Banking, Transportation, Distribution and Technology. Mr. Savage has over 25 years in the Information Technology industry and holds several professional certifications.
Jennifer Shannon
Director of Information Services
Jennifer Shannon, the Director of Information Services for Balfour Beatty Communities, is responsible for overseeing the Company’s operations of the Information Technology department and ensuring its operation aligns with the business objectives of the Company. She works closely with the Director of Information Technology to identify and support cost-effective technology and application solutions for all aspects of the organization. Prior to formation, Ms. Shannon served as Manager of Business Information Technology Integration of GMH Communities Trust, a real estate investment trust specializing in the management and operations of student housing and military housing throughout the United States, responsible for data conversions, BA analysis, Sarbanes-Oxley Act (Section 404) internal audit and compliance , management of the IT help desk and training. Ms. Shannon joined GMH in 2000 as Manager of Portfolio Administration for GMH Capital Partners, a business affiliate of GMH Communities Trust, and was responsible for the integration and customization of MRI real estate software with client business structures to capture lease data. Prior to joining GMH, Ms. Shannon engineered the installation of a new U.S. sales office for a European food ingredient company. Earlier, Ms. Shannon was responsible for the creation and maintenance of advertising databases for multiple offices of Fox & Lazo, Inc. Realtors.
