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ABOUT US

WHO WE ARE

In early 2022, a group of real estate executives joined forces to fill a void we saw in the commercial real estate industry: the need for a smarter, more efficient approach to capital markets.

Together, we set out to create the new CRE industry standard — a tech-enabled approach to capital markets that unites modernity and client service.

AXCS is a growing team of 50+ professionals. Our signature financing processes are built on a foundation of experience, including that of legacy capital market service provider George Smith Partners (GSP), with its record of over $75 billion in financing.

AXCS LEADERSHIP

DAVID DANESH

VP, MARKETING & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

KEVIN WELCH

EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

DAVID GRAVELLE

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

EVAN KINNE

PRESIDENT

JONATHAN LEE

PRESIDENT AXCS ADVISORS

ED STEFFELIN

CIO AXCS INVESTMENTS

BRUCE THORN

COO AXCS INVESTMENTS

SHAHIN YAZDI

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Technology Leadership

SEDRIC BENSON

DIRECTOR, ENGINEERING OPERATIONS

TOLI LEONOVICH

DIRECTOR, ENGINEERING ARCHITECTURE

OUR MISSION

We’re committed to delivering unparalleled transparency, transactional
speed, and accuracy to CRE capital markets.

BUILDING THE FUTURE
OF CAPITAL MARKETS

Address

10250 Constellation Blvd. Ste. 2700
Los Angeles, CA 90067
323-793-6588

317 Commercial Ave
Anacortes, WA 98221
360-708-8516

Contact

info@axcscapital.com

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Copyright © 2022 AXCS Capital. All Rights Reserved.

Toli Leonovich

Director, Engineering Architecture

Email

toli@axcscapital.com

Profile

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Sedric Benson

Director, Engineering Operations

Email

sedric.benson@axcscapital.com

Profile

LinkedIn

Sedric is Director, Engineering Operations at AXCS Capital. Sedric is using his experience and skills to build a technology driven CRE finance platform at AXCS Capital. He has previously held a variety of engineering and leadership positions in both eCommerce and healthcare industries at Angi and RedSail Technologies. He has led teams comprised of people from all around the world and has experience participating in each of the various roles within the software development lifecycle including architecture, design, requirements creation, front end and backend development, quality assurance, and deployment. He chose a career in technology because there is always something new to learn, and he loves a challenge. Sedric has a BS in Computer Science from Andrews University.

Shahin Yazdi

Chief Operating Officer

Email

shahin@axcscapital.com

Profile

LinkedIn

Shahin is a co-founder of AXCS Capital and the Chief Operating Officer for AXCS Advisors. Shahin also works as a Principal/Managing Director of George Smith Partners. Since starting his career at GSP in 2007, Mr. Yazdi and his team have secured over $10 billion in financing for all asset types including Multifamily, Office, Industrial, Retail, Hospitality, Self-Storage facilities, Land, RV Parks, Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing facilities, and Student Housing projects.

Shahin clients include private individuals, family offices and institutional investors. He is recognized for his expertise in underwriting and negotiating complex transactions, which include mezzanine financing or private equity for bridge, permanent, and construction loans. In 2009, at the height of the recent economic downturn, Mr. Yazdi played an instrumental role in establishing George Smith Partners advisory services arm to assist borrowers and lenders with troubled loans and distressed assets. In 2015, he became the youngest Principal in the company’s history. Prior to GSP, Shahin worked at a major commercial bank, which gave him in depth knowledge and understanding regarding the intricacies of the banking system.

Shahin is an active member of the Jewish Federation Real Estate & Construction Division, ULI, ICSC, PREA, and NAIOP. Mr. Yazdi possesses a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He’s been involved in multiple charitable organizations including Water Buffalo Club, Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House.

Kevin Welch

Executive Chairman

Email

kevin@axcscapital.com

Profile

LinkedIn

Kevin is the Executive Chairman of AXCS Capital. Kevin is an experienced and successful entrepreneur with a demonstrated track record of growing technology driven companies from inception to multi-billion-dollar entities. Kevin recently created, spun-out & sold RedSail Technologies to a private equity sponsor and in doing so created the largest provider of information systems and data services in the pharmaceutical technology sector. Prior to the RedSail, Kevin was president of Smith Technologies (representing the QS/1®, Integra®, PUBLIQTM, and PowerLineTM brands) and Chief Technical Officer of the J M Smith Corporation, a large multi-billion-dollar company and the 4th largest drug distributor in the US.

Prior to Smith Technologies, Kevin was CEO of Integra which he founded and sold. Prior to Integra, Kevin was president of Shared Healthcare System (sold to OmniCare), CTO of Sun Healthcare Systems (one of the largest public senior healthcare providers), Director of R&D of Symantec Corporation (SYMC), and a Research scientist at Genetech (sold to Roche). Kevin holds degrees in mathematics, computer science, operations research and engineering management from Stanford University.

Bruce Thorn

COO AXCS Investments

Email

bruce.thorn@axcscapital.com

Profile

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Ed Steffelin

CIO AXCS Investments

Email

ed@axcscapital.com

Profile

LinkedIn

Ed is a co-founder of AXCS Capital and the Chief Investment Officer for AXCS Investments. Ed has over 25 years of investment experience in structured products, alternative assets, and real estate. He has been actively engaged in the residential development, financing, and construction sectors for the past 10 years.

From 2009 until late 2017, he was EVP of Capital Markets at Walton International Group where he oversaw a New York based analyst team focused on land and land development projects. While at Walton, Ed was instrumental in building up their institutional relationships. During his tenure, he formed a distressed vacant developed lot fund, structured a long-term land investment vehicle with a family office and created a private equity firm focused on the residential real estate space, RAM Real Estate Capital. In 2008 and 2009, Ed was a Managing Director at ICP Capital where he was responsible for winding down several structured finance vehicles and purchasing distressed mortgage securities.

Ed graduated from Dartmouth College with an MBA degree and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with Honors from Occidental College with a BA degree in Economics.

Jonathan Lee

President AXCS Advisors

Email

jonathan@axcscapital.com

Profile

LinkedIn

Jonathan is a co-founder of AXCS Capital and the President of AXCS Advisors. Jonathan also works as a Principal/Managing Director at George Smith Partners. He sources structured capital for both high net-worth and institutional clients and leads the capital advisory business segment. Jonathan specializes in ground up construction, perm and bridge financing. He has arranged debt, pref equity and JV equity structures totaling $10 Billion+ in his career. As a former developer, John leverages his experience in ground up development to customize a client plan that manages risk profiles and maximizes returns. His expertise includes underwriting and structuring commercial real estate investments, negotiating transactions and term sheets, financial modeling, market research, and evaluating business plans through the stages of an investment cycle. He utilizes an extensive network of debt, life insurance, CMBS, Fannie/Freddie and equity relationships to achieve his client’s goals.

Jonathan is an active community and civic leader. He serves on the board at the Union Rescue Mission and supports the Ronald McDonald House. Jonathan is also a Board Member at Cal First National Bank in Irvine, CA. He is an active member of YPO and serves as Co- Chair of the Golden West Chapter. Mr. Lee graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in political science, and formerly worked at the U.S. Department of State.

Evan Kinne

President

Email

evan@axcscapital.com

Profile

LinkedIn

 

David Gravelle

Chief Administrative Officer

Email

david.gravelle@axcscapital.com

Profile

LinkedIn

David is the Chief Administrative Officer for AXCS Capital. David has over 20+ years of experience working in the financial services industry as a consultant, auditor, lawyer and compliance officer at firms such as Goldman Sachs, Fried Frank Harris Shriver and Jacobson, and Wells Fargo. Recently, David served as the Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Administrative Officer at Genesis Capital where he developed the compliance function while also overseeing a number of different functions such as vendor management and information security. David received his J.D. from Fordham Law and his B.S. in Economics from the Pennsylvania State University.

John Day

CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER

Email

john@axcscapital.com

Profile

LinkedIn

John is the Chief Executive Officer and a co-founder of AXCS Capital. John has over 20+ years of commercial real estate experience serving in a variety of different business, legal and credit functions, including, but not limited to: leading business sales and growth for a specialty lender owned by Goldman Sachs; overseeing legal and credit decisioning for a specialty lender owned by Oaktree Capital; managing acquisitions, dispositions and financing for a $2B+ privately held CRE portfolio; and providing legal representation on a wide array of complex CRE debt and equity finance transactions. John received his J.D. from University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and his Ph.D and MBA from University of Southern California.

DAVID DANESH

VP, MARKETING & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Email

david@axcscapital.com

Profile

LinkedIn

David is currently the Vice President of Marketing & Business Development for AXCS Capital. In that role, David will be utilizing his operational and proptech experience to guide AXCS Capital into developing the CRE finance platform of the future. Prior to AXCS Capital, David helped launch Belong, an A16Z backed rental platform, as the founding team member and first business hire. The team has grown to 180+ employees and raised 100MM+ to date. David also spent 2 years at George Smith Partners working as an underwriter. David has a BBA in Finance from Boston University.