Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC

Berkadia is a leader in the commercial real estate industry, offering a robust suite of services to our multifamily and commercial property clients. Powered by deep relationships and industry-changing technology, our people sell, finance, and service commercial real estate, providing support for the entire life cycle of our clients’ assets. Our unique ownership structure allows us to put our clients’ interests first and create a marketplace that delivers a superior experience.

Berkadia’s history began in 1994, when GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corporation (GMACCM) was established as a separate operating unit of the GMAC Mortgage Group. GMACCM grew to become one of the largest commercial real estate finance companies in the industry, with operations in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Europe and Asia.

In March 2006, an investor group led by affiliates of Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), Five Mile Capital Partners, LLC and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners completed the acquisition of a majority interest in GMAC Commercial Holding Corp. The company then changed its name to Capmark Financial Group Inc. (Capmark) and established a new executive team.

In 2009, Berkadia was formed when a joint venture of Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia National Corporation (now Jefferies Financial Group) – both of which are renowned for their capital strength and sophisticated investment strategies – acquired Capmark’s mortgage origination and servicing business.

Our Leadership

Justin Wheeler, Chief Executive Officer

Justin Wheeler is Chief Executive Officer and a member of Berkadia’s Management Committee.

Prior to joining Berkadia, Mr. Wheeler was the Chief Operating Officer of Leucadia National Corporation and was appointed Vice President of Leucadia in 2006. In various roles at Leucadia, Mr. Wheeler was responsible for M&A activities, operating portfolio performance, cash management and investment, various administrative functions. He also sat on the boards of a number of Leucadia’s operating companies and investments including Conwed Plastics, National Beef Corporation, Americredit and Garcadia.

He previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of American Investment Bank, N.A.

Ernest Katai, Executive Vice President – Head of Production

Ernest Katai is Executive Vice President – Head of Production and a member of the Berkadia Management Committee. Mr. Katai has been with Berkadia and its predecessor companies for nearly 30 years, working as a leading mortgage banker throughout his tenure. In this role, Mr. Katai oversees more than 380 mortgage bankers and investment sales advisors. In 2023 and 2024, Berkadia’s total loan origination volume exceeded $47 billion while the total investment sales volume exceeded $22 billion. Since 2014, when Mr. Katai was named Head of Production, mortgage banking has grown by 150% while investment sales grew by 423% under his leadership.

Prior to his current position, Mr. Katai led Berkadia’s Detroit office to become the top originating office in Michigan, which now regularly produces a combined mortgage banking and investment sales volume of approximately $2 billion each year. Mr. Katai has an extensive background in loan origination that includes construction lending, interim loans, structured loans, tax free financing, joint ventures and equity investments, and he has originated transactions with more than 50 capital sources including multiple life companies, credit companies, banks, conduits, and pension funds. Previously Mr. Katai did construction lending for Comerica Bank and real estate structured credit financing for Ford Motor Credit.

Randall Jenson, President

Randall Jenson is President and a member of Berkadia’s Management Committee. In this role, Mr. Jenson is responsible for the finance, accounting, treasury, human resources and risk divisions, as well as mergers and acquisitions and general management.

In 2002, Mr. Jenson co-founded Ranch Capital, LLC and served as its President until 2019. Ranch identified the investment in Berkadia and introduced it to Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia. While at Ranch he also served as Chief Financial Officer of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, a Ranch Capital portfolio company.

Prior to co-founding Ranch, he held various positions at Leucadia National Corporation, including business development and president and CEO of Banking and Lending Operations for more than five years.

Greg Barratt, Senior Managing Director

Greg Barratt is a Senior Managing Director at Berkadia specializing in the sale of multifamily properties in Utah. Since 2005, Mr. Barratt has acquired a comprehensive understanding of the Utah market through his extensive experience in valuing and financing properties. He has successfully handled approximately 120 multifamily closings in Utah, with a combined value surpassing $3.5 billion. As a trusted advisor in the Berkadia Salt Lake City, Mr. Barratt provides his clients with the valuable resources of the largest apartment-related research firm in the country and has continuously delivered record high prices for sellers. Mr. Barratt has achieved highest price-per-unit and per-square-foot sales in Utah on numerous transactions which include The Vue, Nexus on 9th, and Paragon Station.

Prior to Berkadia, Barratt financed over 250 different multifamily properties across the nation while at Deutsche Bank in San Francisco. Barratt earned his degree from Cornell University, where he served as the captain of the men’s basketball team.

Phil Long, Executive Vice President – Chief Credit and Risk Officer

Phil Long is Executive Vice President, Chief Credit and Risk Officer and is a member of Berkadia’s Management Committee. In this role, Mr. Long oversees credit, Berkadia’s proprietary lending program, FNMA underwriting and HUD underwriting.

Prior to joining Berkadia in 2013, he spent nine years at Capmark and its predecessor, GMAC Commercial Mortgage, where he had numerous non-credit roles and spent the last three as Executive Vice President, Asset Management. In that role he was responsible for overseeing the workout of the bridge loan portfolio, which consisted of more than 325 assets totaling over $5.3 billion.

Prior to joining GMACCM, he was a structured finance and real estate attorney at Dechert, and before that, a law clerk for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Long served as a Sergeant in the US Air Force and holds a BBA from Temple University and a JD from Harvard Law School.

Thomas Miraglia, Executive Vice President – Chief Legal Officer

Thomas Miraglia is Executive Vice President – Chief Legal Officer and a member of Berkadia’s Management Committee. In this role, Mr. Miraglia is ultimately responsible for all of Berkadia’s legal and compliance matters. A veteran of Berkadia and its predecessor companies since 1999, Mr. Miraglia promotes collaboration and trust between the legal department and the company’s business units, serving as consigliere, transaction partner or crisis manager as the situation may require.

Hilary Provinse, Executive Vice President – Production and Capital Markets

Hilary Provinse is Executive Vice President – Production and Capital Markets and a member of Berkadia’s Management Committee. In this role, Ms. Provinse oversees more than 380 experienced mortgage bankers, investment sales advisors and their teams located in more than 70 offices across the U.S. who serve clients across all multifamily and commercial real estate channels. Ms. Provinse manages Berkadia’s capital markets relationships and ensures that clients benefit from our market leadership and deep relationships with diverse capital sources, including Berkadia’s 31 life company correspondents, banks, CMBS, debt funds, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA / HUD. In 2024, Berkadia’s combined production volume exceeded $39 billion, of which $25 billion was attributed to the mortgage banking division. Berkadia was ranked the #1 Freddie Mac Lender by Volume and the #2 Fannie Mae DUS Lender by Volume in 2024.

Previously, Ms. Provinse was SVP and Head of Customer Engagement at Fannie Mae, where she managed the team responsible for all of Fannie Mae’s production activities and customer relationships – overseeing more than $100 billion of production during her tenure. Prior to joining Fannie Mae in 2003, Ms. Provinse spent 10 years on Wall Street in investment banking, working for Goldman Sachs & Co. and Bear Stearns & Co.

Damodaram Bashyam, Executive Vice President – Chief Information and Innovation Officer

With more than 25 years of experience in technology and the financial services sector, Mr. Bashyam joined Berkadia in 2022 to serve as Executive Vice President – Chief Information and Innovation Officer. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Bashyam served as Executive Vice President, Chief Information and Digital Officer of Columbia Bank, where he led transformation initiatives including technology strategy, digital banking, data analytics and cyber solutions. He also previously served as Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer for JP Morgan Chase’s Consumer Banking business and previously held CIO-level leadership positions with Verizon. In these roles, Mr. Bashyam was responsible for several initiatives, including technology and digital transformation, and data-driven, innovative customer-focused solutions.

Mr. Bashyam has an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Engineering from PESIT, Bangalore University, India; a Master of Science degree from Stevens Institute of Technology; and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Mr. Bashyam also serves on the Board of Directors at Goodwill Industries of New York and Northern New Jersey.

Mark McCool, President – Berkadia Commercial Real Estate Services

Mark McCool is President – Berkadia Commercial Real Estate Services and a member of Berkadia’s Management Committee. In these roles, Mr. McCool oversees all Servicing Operations and Strategic Initiatives, with management responsibility for Facilities, Asset & Portfolio Management, Servicing Administration, Offshore Administration, BPO Administration, Strategic Initiatives and Banking for Berkadia’s $405 billion servicing portfolio.

Mr. McCool has more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate. After beginning his career with GMAC Financial Services in 1987, he formally moved to GMAC Commercial Mortgage in 1998 where he served as a manager in various capacities while also acting as a liaison for GMACCM.

He actively participates in various industry trade groups, task forces and committees, and has held positions with CREF Board of Governors and the CREF-C Executive Committee, is a former Co-Chairman of the Freddie Mac Seller/Servicer Advisory Council and currently sits on the Board of Directors of Berkadia’s wholly owned India subsidiary, Berkadia Services India Pvt. Ltd. Mr. McCool holds a B.S. from the University of Scranton.

India management

Sudipto Mukherjee, Country Head & Managing Director

Sudipto is the Country Head and Managing Director for Berkadia India. Prior to joining Berkadia, he was the Head of Global Finance Services at Standard Chartered Bank where he managed a complete portfolio of financial services for the Bank across sites of Chennai, Bengaluru (India), Tianjin (China), Nairobi and Accra (Africa), Warsaw (Poland). Sudipto is a Chartered Accountant by education. He started his career as an auditor at Deloitte Haskins and Sells. He has been working in the Finance Off shoring space since 1997. His professional experience includes various roles in the Finance including, Treasury, MIS, Core Accounting, Accounting Operations, Six Sigma to name a few. His stints include working with organizations like HSBC, JP Morgan, GE Capital etc.

Sudipto has worked in Indian cities like Kolkata, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai and overseas like Budapest and Fort Myers, Florida.

Sudipto’s role at Berkadia India is multifaceted to include providing leadership, management and vision necessary to ensure that the organization has the proper operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures, people and systems in place to ensure operating efficiency. He is committed to upholding the culture of Berkadia, enhancing its brand presence in the India market and leading a high-performance management team in championing initiatives aligned to the organization’s strategy and business goals.

Praveen Polavaram, Chief Financial Officer

Praveen Polavaram serves as a Chief Financial Officer at Berkadia Services India Pvt Ltd, overseeing the Finance & Accounting, Risk management and Administration divisions for India. Mr. Polavaram has over 19 years of finance and accounting experience in Business Process Outsourcing, IT and the mortgage industries. Praveen has been instrumental in designing various internal policies, incorporating internal financial controls, transitioning various finance & accounting activities. In his current role Praveen successfully strategized transfer pricing matters for the Company. Praveen is also playing a key role to provide the best facility experience of Hyderabad office. ​ Prior to joining Berkadia, Mr. Polavaram worked with GENPACT and Alliance IT Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

Mr. Polavaram holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law, a Master’s degree in Finance and holds a Post Graduate diploma in Business Management. Additionally, Mr. Praveen led the CSR initiative for Berkadia India for a period of 2 years and currently is contributing as a CSR core working committee member. Mr. Praveen has been associated with a non-profit organization called Cyberabad Security Council over 3 years and providing voluntary service as a Treasurer.

Debashish Ghosh, Senior Vice President - Human Resources

Debashish Ghosh serves as the Senior Vice President – Human Resources with the responsibility of Talent Acquisition, Employee Relations, Talent Development and Compensation and Benefits. He has over 20 years of experience in leading end-to-end operations in HR. Over these years, he has helped organizations achieve business outcomes by realizing the true potential of their human capital. He has led and driven many transformational and organizational development initiatives by combining functional expertise, technology and culture change initiatives. Prior to joining Berkadia, he was associated with GE and Genpact managing multiple roles in HR.

Debashish has been awarded with two of the most prestigious HR credentials in the world – the SHRM-SCP® and GTML™. A keen observer of human potential and behavior, he is a certified practitioner of several behavior and personality assessment tools, including DISC, MBTI® and EQ-i 2.0®. He is also a Certified NLP Practitioner.

In his personal capacity, he works with India’s leading Business Schools through masterclasses, mentorship programs and academic advisory. Debashish is a professional member with industry associations like SHRM and HRFI, and contributes through his blog, articles and speaking assignments.

Vishal Dave, Senior Vice President of Servicing Operations

Vishal Dave is Senior Vice President of the Servicing Operations in India overseeing the delivery of Financial Statement Analysis, Special Requests and Surveillance and the Inspections, Client Relations & CMBS Credit Admin functions.

He has over 20 years of experience working in areas of Mortgage Banking finance, Corporate Finance, Regulatory Reporting and Financial Planning & Analysis. Prior to joining Berkadia, Vishal spent 15 years with J.P. Morgan and 4 years with Accounting firms. He is a CPA from USA and a Commerce graduate from the University of Mumbai.

Sumana Sunkara, Senior Vice President - Global Production Operations

Sumana Sunkara is Senior Vice President of Operations overseeing Mortgage Banking, Investment Sales and Underwriting teams in Hyderabad office. Ms. Sunkara has over 15 years of experience in the Commercial Real Estate industry including 7 years in CRE Servicing. In the current role, Ms. Sunkara oversees a team of over 190 employees working around-the-clock. Prior to joining Berkadia Sumana worked with BASIX India and Foretell India in non-Banking domain.

Sumana holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from the Institute of Technology and Management. She has also completed the CMS Level I and II Certification and CRE Basics by Mortgage Bankers Association.

As the Chairperson of Spectrum, Berkadia India’s Diversity initiative, Sumana is actively engaged in driving Diversity & Inclusion. Sumana is also a volunteer at the Society for Cyberabad Security Council [SCSC] and is a Certified First Aider.

Address: 6955 S. Union Park Center, Suite 500, Midvale, UT 84047, USA

Phone: +1 801 532 4900

Address: Bengaluru, India