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Team

Keith Cox
Founder & Managing Partner - CEO

Keith is the founder and CEO of Resort Equities group of companies. Keith was a serial entrepreneur who co-founded businesses in the restaurant, consumer technology and venture capital industries. Prior to entering the resort industry, Keith co-founded and served as managing director of Brainstorm Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund, which invested in e-commerce and emerging technology companies such as OpenTable.com and Zappos.com. He also helped to found, fund and launch consumer internet and mobile technology companies such as Me.com, Santa.com and Ficture, Inc., serving in each case as the Chairman of the board of directors. Prior to BrainStorm Ventures, Keith co-founded and served as CEO of World Wrapps, a west coast chain of gourmet, quick-service restaurants and Hot Concepts Award winner. More recently, Keith conceived of, launched and served as CEO of another growing, venture-backed restaurant chain, Pacific Catch, which is a moderately priced, Pacific-inspired, fish house. His previous business experience included that of strategic management consultant in the consumer practice at Booz-Allen & Hamilton and financial consultant at Deloitte & Touche. Keith obtained two BAs in Business Economics and Sociology at UC Santa Barbara and his MBA at Stanford University.


Michael Burns
Partner - President & COO

Michael brings deep industry experience to Resort Equities, recently joining as its President & COO to lead the company's core development, marketing, sales and operations activities. Michael was the founder and President of Private Residence Resorts; which specializes in boutique fractional properties. Two of those properties, Les Saisons in Sun Valley, Idaho and Hearthstone in McCall, Idaho represent two of the more successful fractional properties in the industry and are now a part of the Resort Equities portfolio. Both properties are sold out and operated under a proprietary reservation and operating system, overseeing all day to day operations of the properties, owner rentals, re-sales, annual budgeting and refurbishment planning. Michael has also participated in a variety of consulting and partnership roles in more than 8 other fractional and shared ownership resorts throughout North America and is recognized as one of the leading experts and innovators in the field. Prior to forming Private Residence Resorts in 1999, Michael was the President and COO of Vacation Internationale; which was co-founded by his father in 1974 and pioneered the points based timeshare structure which is used throughout the industry today. He was the first executive hired to create Disney’s timeshare business in 1989 and served as V.P. and General Manager for nearly 8 years. Prior to Disney he was a member of the senior management team that led Marriott into the timeshare business in the mid 80’s. He is a Trustee member of the American Resort Development Association and Co-Chair of the Fractional Forum at the annual ARDA conference. He is a frequent speaker and panel member at conferences on shared ownership in the U.S. and internationally. Michael is a graduate of the University of Washington with a B.S. degree in Political Science. He is also a graduate of the Executive Development program at the Wharton School of Business.


Scott Christian
Partner - Chief Financial Officer

Scott is a seasoned financial executive with big picture vision and strong entrepreneurial spirit. Additionally, he brings a broad, in-depth knowledge of the fractional real estate industry. Scott most recently was the Founder and President of First Fractional Funding, one of only two providers of consumer financing in the fractional real estate market. In only 18 months, Scott and his team built a thriving business capturing approximately 50% market share. Prior to First Fractional Funding, Scott founded a niche real estate investment company, American Pet Care Properties. Scott's company acquired, developed and sold veterinary hospitals and other pet service facilities. Investors in Scott's company enjoyed a 50+% IRR. Scott has held executive positions in other early stage companies including: treasurer of a publicly traded REIT, CFO of a textile rental company and COO/CFO of a mail order catalog retailer. Scott spent his early career at KPMG Peat Marwick in their financial consulting division. Scott grew up in the Midwest attending the University of Kansas where he achieved both a BS and Masters in Business Administration.


Steven Muldowney
Partner - General Counsel

Steven Muldowney is an experienced real estate attorney with a strategic focus, entrepreneurial zeal and proven leadership skills. Steven spent the last fifteen years practicing law at several large firms, most recently as an equity partner in the law firm of Cox, Castle & Nicholson, LLP, where his practice focused on the areas of acquisition, disposition, financing, development and management of hospitality, resort, residential, commercial and mixed-use properties. During the last several years, Steven also (i) co-founded a banking recapitalization firm which obtains investment capital for “bruised” banks and helps these institutions devise and execute effective growth and recovery strategies; (ii) started his own real property brokerage firm (which has held over $18 million in listings to date); and (iii) developed or co-developed several single family and multi-family residential real estate projects. He is an active writer and lecturer, as well as a member of the American Resort Development Association and the Orange County Business Council. Steven is also currently a Director on the U.C. Davis School of Law Alumni Board of Directors and a Charter Member of the American Legion. Steven received his B.A. degree from Brown University in 1985, served as an officer in the United States Air Force from 1985 through 1992, and received his J.D. degree from U.C. Davis in 1995.


Jane Hamel
Vice President, Partner – Business Development

Jane Hamel is an experienced real estate executive focused on the company's commercial resort brokerage, Ragatz Resort Realty, as well as general corporate business development. Jane originally joined Resort Equities in 2007 to head up the company's fractional sales and marketing and is now currently building the Ragatz Resort Realty business. Jane came to Resort Equities with over 15 years of successful sales and business development experience in companies that include Fortune 500 companies such as Disney and Levi Strauss, as well as high tech ventures such as Infoseek. Jane also spent five years building a luxury residential real estate business as a broker in San Francisco, and achieved the Top 1% ranking of real estate professionals in the US. Her business experience includes building and managing internal and external international teams, successfully negotiating contracts with partners and clients, and generating repeatable and scalable business models and strategies for continued growth. Her professional, personalized service combines knowledgeable marketing with sophisticated technology and progressive sales techniques. Jane has made her home in the California Bay Area after living in Costa Rica, Sweden, and Australia. Before completing her MBA at Thunderbird Global School of International Management, she graduated from the University of Cincinnati with degrees in Psychology and Criminology.


Greg Traxler
Vice President, Partner - Sales & Marketing

Greg is long-time professional in resort real estate with over seventeen years of experience in sales, marketing, property development, and finance of high-end luxury projects in the Western US and Canada. From popular global brands such as Marriott and Hyatt to private projects in the Tahoe area, he has also been instrumental in developing and training large sales and marketing teams with a focus on a new-age philosophy in team dynamics, finding perfect solutions for new buyers and creating positive and memorable experiences for owners.

Within the shared ownership industry, Greg has helped create and design numerous ownership plans with a focus on providing convenient and flexible use for owners and most recently helped create and manage the nations leading independent fractional project team at Old Greenwood in North Tahoe. Since his move to Tahoe in 1994, he has also traveled extensively to visit resort destinations while serving as Director of Business Development for Resort Funding Inc., consulting for Waterfront Communities on the east coast and as Western Regional Manager for Interval International. He is also a strengths coach via Gallup University, a member of the American Resort Development Association, a Registered Resort Professional, member of The Tahoe Sierra Board of Realtors and has been a frequent speaker at regional resort fractional conferences.

He is a graduate of University of Mississippi and University of Arkansas with a BA in Advertising and Public Relations and MA in Journalism.


Nicole Reitter
Director of Marketing

Nicole Reitter has an in-depth and eclectic marketing background coupled with an entrepreneurial spirit, having at one time owned and operated her own bar and grille in downtown Truckee. Having joined the Resort Equities team in 2006, Nicole brings resort real estate experience from her tenure at Intrawest, where she handled all marketing efforts for Tonopalo, a Private Residence Club on Lake Tahoe as well as the Villages at Squaw Valley and Solitude, near Park City. Nicole has spent time on both the client and agency sides, having served as an Account Manager at Bernard Hodes Advertising as well as Smith + Jones Advertising. Her client list included high-tech, financial and hospitality accounts such as The Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino, Electronics for Imaging, KPMG, Synopsys, Adaptec and Excite!, to name a few. Nicole has also worked for acclaimed management consultant and guru Tom Peters as well as HGTV, in television production. Most recently Nicole was awarded an ADDY for her efforts on Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe's sales brochure. Nicole is a Journalism graduate of Chico State.


Monique Kohler
Manager of Owners Services

Monique Kohler has an impressive tenure within both the fractional and service industries. She and her husband served as the Innkeepers of North Lake Tahoe’s waterfront, fractional resort Tonopalo Private Residence Club. They oversaw the property and concierge staff as well as assured that all 133 owner families received five-star, club treatment. The duo were also instrumental in the opening and operation of Tallus; a boutique, fractional private residence club in Mammoth, California. Prior to entering the fractional industry, Monique spent 10 years at Yosemite National Park’s celebrated Ahwahnee Hotel. Monique held several hospitality positions including Special Function Coordinator, Assistant F&B Director and Assistant Dining Room Manager.

Monique has been part of the Resort Equities team since 2008. She has played a key role within the sales, operations and maintenance organizations and now manages owner services. When asked what she enjoys most about her role Monique said "I enjoy forming relationships with our owners and assisting families with their vacations."


Gary Himes
Director, Finance

Gary comes to [Resort Equities and Ragatz Resort Realty] with 25 years of merchant banking, corporate finance and venture capital investing experience, including more than 50 closed financing, M&A and direct investment transactions representing $1.2 Billion in value. Most recently, Mr. Himes helped found Naya Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund, where he helped close seven investments and remains an Advisor. Previously, Gary founded and was CFO/Director of Acquisitions for BGS Pharmacy Partners, a private equity backed consolidator. Before BGS, Gary helped found and achieve a successful exit as CFO for private equity backed technology company Creative Pharmacy Solutions and from 1999 through 2002, he was an Investment Officer in the Healthcare Group at Capitalsource. Gary’s transaction experience started with work as Vice President of merchant bank Colman, Furlong & Co. from 1995 to 1999, as Investment Banking Associate in the Prudential Securities technology and health care groups and, through work in the REO dept. of Glendale Federal Savings. Before his business career, Gary competed on U.S. and European professional tennis circuits winning three French club titles. Mr. Himes earned his B.A. in Economics from the University of Colorado and an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA.


Kimball Small
Founding Partner - Chairman

Kimball ("Kim") Small has more than 40 years' experience as a property developer. He founded Kimball Small Properties, Inc. in 1978 following a successful career as Executive Vice President of Sequoia Pacific (a Southern Pacific Company affiliate) during which he managed the development of more than 5,000,000 square feet of industrial space in projects throughout the Western United States. Kimball Small Properties, with a focus in Silicon Valley, has developed more than 2,500,000 square feet of industrial space in 47 separate projects, as well as landmark office buildings, luxury hotels, urban retail space and residential units. In the 1980's, Kimball Small Properties was designated by the City of San Jose as the master developer of its downtown redevelopment efforts, which led to Kim's development of the 500+ room Fairmont Hotel and adjacent office tower, a downtown retail center and 500 residential units. Kim has been twice named "Developer of the Year" in Silicon Valley and has been the recipient of many other honors for both his professional accomplishments and community service. He is a graduate of UCLA.


Grant Sedgwick
Advisor, Managing Partner of Resort Equities Investment Fund

Grant is the President of Ragatz Resort Realty, commercial resort brokerage and sister company to Resort Equities. Grant Sedgwick has acquired, financed and built major real estate projects, and managed development teams, for more than 30 years. Recently he served as general partner in resort and hospitality projects in Georgia, Pennsylvania and California. Grant is currently a real estate advisor to Classic Residence Management, LP (an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corporation) which owns and operates luxury seniors' housing communities. He is also co-founder and president of Rosedale Communities, a developer of seniors' housing and care facilities in Silicon Valley. Earlier in his career Grant served as president of Kimball Small Properties, where he managed the development of the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose and the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Santa Clara. Among his many other real estate projects are high-rise and suburban office buildings, shopping centers and business parks, as well as the Hayes Mansion Conference Resort in San Jose and the Pasadera Golf & Country Club in Monterey. Grant is a graduate civil engineer. He served as a member of the San Jose 2020 General Plan Task Force, and was a founding board member of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley as well as president of the Silicon Valley chapter of NAIOP.



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