Department: Executive Management

Kyle Curtin serves as iStar’s Chief Administrative Officer providing leadership and oversight for Operations, Technology and Human Resources. She is also responsible for driving iStar’s transformation and efficiency efforts. Prior to joining iStar, Ms. Curtin was a member of the global leadership team of American Express Global Business Travel – a private equity run joint venture between American Express and the investor group – Certares. In her role, she led the restructuring of the company’s service delivery and sales enablement organizations globally. Ms. Curtin previously held several senior leadership roles at American Express including spearheading strategic planning as well as operational consulting efforts for American Express’s merchant business. Ms. Curtin is a graduate of Smith College and received her MBA from Columbia Business School.

Theresa Ulyatt currently serves as Chief People Officer. Ms. Ulyatt is responsible for iStar’s talent acquisition and management, performance management, employee engagement, diversity, equity and inclusion, as well all traditional human resources functions. Ms. Ulyatt provides guidance and coaching to the iStar organization on leadership, developing high performing teams, and inclusive colleagueship. Prior to joining iStar in 2018, Ms. Ulyatt spent over 2 decades in the human capital space both in the Fortune 50 and in emerging, entrepreneurial organizations. Ms. Ulyatt is a Certified Diversity Executive and completed her studies in Psychology at Russell Sage College.

Brett Asnas currently serves as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Asnas is responsible for overseeing capital markets, investor relations, treasury, finance and strategy. He manages relationships across investment banks, investors and lenders, rating agencies and analysts. He directs the finance group’s budgeting, forecasting, management and performance reporting and strategic analysis. Mr. Asnas has vast experience in debt and equity capital markets across single asset, portfolio and corporate transactions via term loans, unsecured and secured notes, credit facilities, mortgage and mezzanine financing, preferred equity, convertible notes, IPO’s and secondary offerings. Mr. Asnas joined the Company in 2008 and previously held positions in the real estate private equity business at Fortress Investment Group, the real estate investment banking division at Nomura Securities, as well as structured finance advisory at Ernst & Young LLP. Mr. Asnas holds a B.S. degree in Finance from the School of Management at Binghamton University.

Jay Sugarman is our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Sugarman has served as a director of iStar Inc. (and our predecessor) since 1996 and Chief Executive Officer since 1997. Prior to forming iStar Inc. and its predecessors, Mr. Sugarman managed private investment funds on behalf of the Burden family (a branch of the Vanderbilt family) and the Ziff family. Mr. Sugarman received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Princeton University, where he was nominated for valedictorian and received the Paul Volcker Award in Economics, and his M.B.A. with high distinction from Harvard Business School, graduating as a Baker Scholar and recipient of the school’s academic prizes for both finance and marketing.

Marcos Alvarado currently serves as President and Chief Investment Officer, responsible for overseeing originations and driving growth across the company’s $6 billion investment portfolio. Throughout his career, Mr. Alvarado has closed more than $25 billion of investments across all parts of the capital structure. He was previously Head of Acquisitions & Business Operations for Cadre, a technology-enabled real estate investment platform, and a Managing Director at Starwood Capital. Prior to Starwood Capital, Mr. Alvarado served as Vice President in Lehman Brothers’ Global Real Estate Group. He started his career in Morgan Stanley’s CMBS group. Mr. Alvarado holds a BA from Dartmouth College.

Douglas B. Heitner currently serves as iStar’s Chief Legal Officer. Prior to joining iStar in 2019, Mr. Heitner was a partner in Kasowitz Benson Torres’ Real Estate Transactions group, where he represented the nation’s leading real estate companies in a wide range of real estate matters. He was previously an associate in Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP’s real estate group. Mr. Heitner is ranked in Chambers USA and has also been named to Law360’s “Rising Stars” list four times, making him one of only 156 lawyers nationwide selected for inclusion in the prestigious listing. Mr. Heitner is regularly recognized in The Legal 500, The Best Lawyers in America, and Super Lawyers. He received his J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A. from Dartmouth College.

Tim Doherty currently serves as Executive Vice President, Head of Investments. Mr. Doherty leads the investment team of Safehold Inc (NYSE: SAFE), a public REIT focused on the acquisition and creation of ground lease investments across all property types nationwide. Safehold is the first publicly traded company focused solely on ground lease investments and is externally managed by iStar. Mr. Doherty worked at iStar between 2000 and 2008 and recently rejoined iStar in 2013. Prior to becoming the Head of Ground Lease Investments, he focused on structured finance having worked on over 60 transactions totaling more than $5 billion during his tenure at iStar. The transaction structure types included first mortgage, mezzanine, B-notes, preferred equity, DIP financing, participations and corporate finance investments and included all traditional property types (office, retail, hotel and industrial) and non-traditional product types (self-storage, entertainment and land). Prior to his latest tenure at iStar, Mr. Doherty co-founded and operated Shem Creek Capital (“SCC”), a boutique real estate finance fund located in Boston, MA. Prior to joining iStar Financial in 2000, Mr. Doherty was at Archon Group, a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs, investing on behalf of the Whitehall funds. He received his BS in Finance from Georgetown University.

Elisha Blechner serves as Executive Vice President, Head of Portfolio Management. Previously, he led the firm’s asset management efforts across our real estate finance, net lease, operating properties and land & development portfolios, development risk management, reporting and servicing. Mr. Blechner has held several positions within the Investments team since joining iStar in 2004, responsible for originating, structuring, underwriting and closing investments throughout the capital structure. Prior to joining iStar, Mr. Blechner served as an Investment Banking analyst for Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. where he assisted hospitality, gaming and transportation companies with a range of capital markets activities. He holds a B.S. degree, magna cum laude, in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.