CHIEF PARTNERS - Key Persons
Bill Vanderstraaten founded Chief Partners, LP in the summer of 2007 in partnership with Trevor Rees-Jones. Prior to founding Chief, Bill was one of the original Fund I partners of Thackeray Partners, a real estate private equity firm founded in 2005. Previous to Thackeray, Bill opened the Dallas office for CarrAmerica in 1997 as Dallas Market Officer. CarrAmerica was a 5.6 billion dollar national office REIT which was subsequently purchased in 2006 by Blackstone.
Bill graduated in 1982 with a BBA from Southern Methodist University. He is involved in various activities at SMU, serving on the Cox Business School Executive Board, past Chairman of the SMU Alumni Association and past SMU Trustee. In addition to SMU, Bill's other activities include the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, UT McCombs Parents Council, and the Goodwill Industries of Dallas Board/Chair Elect. Past civic involvement includes Chair of NAIOP, TREC Board, Arts District Management Board, Uptown Association Board, and Elizabeth Toon Foundation Board. Bill resides in Dallas with wife Mimi and children Emily and Will.
Job Titles:
- Asset Manager
- LP As an Asset Manager
Blake joined Chief Partners, LP as an Asset Manager in 2018. Prior to joining Chief, Blake worked for JP Morgan as an Underwriter and Client Associate in its Real Estate Banking group in Dallas, TX. Blake underwrote over $4B in commercial real estate loans from 2013-2017 with a focus on construction lending nationwide. As a Client Associate, Blake was responsible for formulating investment committee memos, strategic account planning, and prescreening investment opportunities.
Blake graduated from the University of Texas in 2013 with a BA in Economics and a Certificate in Business Foundations. He is an active member of the UT Real Estate Finance Council, TREC, and ULI and volunteers with various local non-profits. Blake resides in Dallas where he grew up and enjoys spending time with his family who all reside in Dallas.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President
- Vice President
Brian joined Chief Partners in June of 2007. As Vice President, Brian is responsible for building relationships, underwriting and due diligence, investment memorandums, forming joint venture agreements, overseeing closing processes and conducting asset management. Brian has been involved in the closing of nearly $3.5 billion in commercial real estate transactions since joining Chief Partners.
Prior to joining Chief Partners, Brian was an analyst with HFF in Dallas, Texas where he was involved in the closing of over $1.2 billion in debt and structured finance transactions, consisting of approximately 11 million square feet of commercial and multifamily space..
In 2004, Brian graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas with degrees in Management Information Systems and Economics. Brian is currently the Vice President of the SMU Letterman's Association. Previous activities include TREC Executive Board, Associate Leadership Council, Fight Night Committee, Forest Heights Neighborhood Development Treasurer, Habitat for Humanity and TREC R&D Committee. Brian lives in Dallas with his wife Kasey and children Anna, Leah and Emily.
Job Titles:
- Chief
- Senior Vice President
Liesl Ricciardelli joined Chief Partners in 2010 and focuses on formulating overall investment strategy and developing new operating partner relationships. She also oversees capital markets and portfolio management activities for the firm. Liesl led the formation of Chief Finance, Chief Partners' structured finance platform. Since her time at Chief Partners, she has been involved in executing over $3 billion of real estate investment activities.
Preceding 2010, Liesl was an associate at Thackeray Partners and Champion Partners where she participated in over $2.1B in capital markets, portfolio management, and investment decisions. Liesl graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with Business Honors, Finance and Plan II degrees. She is a member of the UT Real Estate Finance Council as well as NAIOP. She serves on the Dallas Advisory Board of Joni & Friends and volunteers with various non-profits. She and her husband Anthony live in Plano with their sons Ethan and Benjamin.
Suzanne Rickman joined Chief Partners as the Office Manager in 2008. Prior to joining Chief, Suzanne worked in the property management field for 16 years with Trammell Crow and Cousins Properties. Previous to working in in property management, she worked for American Airlines.
Suzanne volunteers at Goodwill, North Texas Food Bank and her church. When she is not working she enjoys spending time with her husband Chris, their 4 kids and 11 grandkids.