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Our Team

Executive Team

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Matt Salem

Chief Executive Officer of KREF, Director of KREF Board, Partner and Head of KKR Real Estate Credit

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Matt Salem

Matthew A. Salem has served as a director since February 2022 and as Chief Executive Officer of our Company since March 2020. Mr. Salem has also served as the Chief Executive Officer of our Manager since January 2021 and is a member of its investment committee. Mr. Salem previously served as Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-President of our Company from October 2015 through March 2020, and of our Manager from March 2016 through January 2021. Mr. Salem joined KKR in 2015 and is a Partner and Head of Real Estate Credit. He also serves as Vice Chairman of KKR Real Estate Select Trust Inc. Mr. Salem sits on KKR’s Real Estate Investment Committees. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Salem was a managing director at Rialto Capital Management. Before joining Rialto in 2012, he was a managing director and head of CMBS trading at Goldman Sachs. Before joining Goldman Sachs in 2006, Mr. Salem held positions at Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Alternative Investments where he invested in mezzanine debt and other high yield CRE credit on behalf of the Travelers Insurance Companies. He began his career in 1996 at Midland Loan Services in Kansas City. Mr. Salem has a B.A. in Economics from Bates College. He has served on the Board of Governors of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council and as Chair of the B-Piece Buyer Forum.

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W. Patrick Mattson

President and Chief Operating Officer

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W. Patrick Mattson

W. Patrick Mattson has served as President and Chief Operating Officer of our Company since March 2020. Mr. Mattson has also served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of our Manager since January 2021, and is a member of its investment committee. Mr. Mattson previously served as Chief Operating Officer and Secretary of our Company from October 2015 through March 2020, and of our Manager from March 2016 through January 2021. Mr. Mattson joined KKR in 2015 and is a Managing Director and the Chief Operating Officer of the Real Estate Credit group. He is a member of the Real Estate Credit Investment Committee and Portfolio Management Committee. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Mattson was a managing director at Rialto Capital Management and led the mezzanine debt platform. Prior to Rialto, he was at Morgan Stanley for nine years and held various positions within the commercial real estate groups, most recently on the securitized products trading desk. Prior to Morgan Stanley, he was at Deloitte & Touche focused on the firm’s CMBS practice. Mr. Mattson received a B.A. from the University of Virginia and is a CFA charterholder. He is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Commercial Real Estate Multifamily Finance Board of Governors.

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Kendra Decious

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

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Kendra Decious

Kendra Decious has served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of our Company and our Manager since March 2022. Ms. Decious joined KKR in 2006 and is a Managing Director in the Finance group. From 2006 to 2010, Ms. Decious was the Chief Financial Officer of KKR Private Equity Investors, L.P. Ms. Decious most recently served as KKR’s Head of Strategic Planning and Budgeting, was responsible for planning, executing and attending all KKR Board of Directors and committee meetings, and was responsible for the accounting, reporting and risk controls for all of KKR’s balance sheet investments. Previously, Ms. Decious originated KKR’s global risk management framework and was responsible for the finance groups of KKR’s Capital Markets, Hedge Funds and Stakes businesses. Previously, Ms. Decious served as a founding member of KKR’s Global Risk Management Committee, as a founding member of KKR’s Inclusion and Diversity Advisory Committee, as a member of KKR’s Energy and Infrastructure Valuation Committee, as a member of PAAMCO Prisma’s Audit Committee, and as a member of the Board of Directors and Audit Committee of CHI Overhead Doors. Prior to joining KKR, Ms. Decious was a vice president at KinderCare Learning Centers with responsibility for KinderCare’s finance & accounting and procurement departments and served as KC Distance Learning’s (subsidiary) Chief Financial Officer and was a director at Red Lion Hotels, responsible for SEC and financial reporting. Ms. Decious began her career at KPMG and is a certified public accountant (inactive). Ms. Decious graduated with honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a B.A. in Business Economics and with distinction from Ellis College, New York Institute of Technology, with an M.B.A. Ms. Decious serves on the board of MacDowell, a non-profit artist residency program.

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Kelly Galligan

General Counsel and Secretary

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Kelly Galligan

Kelly Galligan has served as the Company’s General Counsel and Secretary since October 2024. Ms. Galligan joined KKR in 2022, and is currently a Managing Director and General Counsel of Real Estate. Prior to joining KKR, Ms. Galligan was a managing director at AIG Investments, where she spent fifteen years in various roles on both the equity and debt sides of the real estate business, including serving as the General Counsel to the U.S. Commercial Real Estate Finance business. Prior to AIG Investments, Ms. Galligan was at Merrill Lynch, where she was a vice president of fixed income focused on CMBS originations. Prior to Merrill Lynch, she was in private practice at Cahill and Proskauer. Ms. Galligan has a B.A. in Political Science from St. Peter's University and a J.D. from Albany Law School. She serves on the Real Estate Capital Policy Advisory Committee of the Real Estate Roundtable and is an active mentor through Urban Land Institute and Sponsors for Educational Opportunity.

Investment and Asset Management Team

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Joel Traut

Partner – Head of Originations

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Joel Traut

Joel Traut (New York) joined KKR in 2015 and is a member of the Real Estate team. He serves as Head of Originations for KKR Real Estate Credit and is responsible for business development, the origination process and team coordination across the real estate direct lending business. In addition, he is involved in sourcing, underwriting, negotiating and structuring debt investments across all credit products, asset types and geographies. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Traut spent thirteen years at GE Capital, most recently as a region manager at GE Capital Real Estate, where he led their northeast commercial team. He focused on investing in real estate credit strategies including first mortgage and mezzanine loans. He joined GE in 2002 as part of GE Capital's financial management program and during his tenure worked across multiple GE Capital business segments including: commercial real estate, aviation services, and commercial finance corporate. Mr. Traut graduated summa cum laude from the University of Kentucky and holds a B.B.A. in Finance and Marketing. Mr. Traut serves on the University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business and Economics’ Finance Advisory Board. Mr. Traut is currently a member of the Urban Land Institute, Commercial Real Estate Finance Council, and National Association of Industrial and Office Properties ('NAIOP') where he sits on its Capital Markets Council.

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Paul Fine

Managing Director – Real Estate

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Paul Fine

Paul Fine (New York) joined KKR in 2015 and is a member of the Real Estate team. He is responsible for sourcing and executing debt investments across KKR’s real estate credit strategies. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Fine was a director at Cantor Fitzgerald where he helped to set up the real estate finance platform and was responsible for loan originations. He began his career at Credit Suisse in the real estate finance group. Mr. Fine graduated from Cornell University, magna cum laude, with a B.S. in Applied Economics and Management.

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Ali Imraan

Managing Director – Head of European Originations

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Ali Imraan

Ali Imraan (London) joined KKR in 2022 and leads European Real Estate Credit. He is a member of the Real Estate Credit Investment Committee for Europe. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Imraan was a managing director at LaSalle Investment Management, where he managed real estate debt strategies. Prior to joining LaSalle in 2016, he worked at Royal Bank of Scotland where he was responsible for CRE loans for distribution & securitisation and prior to that, was head of private equity real estate finance. Mr. Imraan began his career at Citigroup in London, initially in structured corporate credit and then in securitisations and real estate finance. Mr. Imraan holds a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering from Imperial College London.

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Adam Simon

Managing Director – Real Estate

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Adam Simon

Adam Simon (New York) joined KKR in 2015 and is a member of the Real Estate team, focused on commercial real estate lending. Mr. Simon is senior originator for KKR’s Real Estate Credit business. He is active in originations and asset management for KKR’s multiple pools of capital and plays an active role in training and talent development within the firm. Prior to KKR, Mr. Simon was a vice president at Rialto Capital Management, responsible for originating real estate debt and restructuring portfolios of distressed assets. He began his career at balance sheet lender Anglo Irish Bank in New York. Mr. Simon received a B.A. from the University of Michigan, where he currently serves on the Ross Real Estate Fund Advisory Board. He is a CFA charterholder.

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Rachel Hunter-Goldman

Managing Director – Real Estate

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Rachel Hunter-Goldman

Rachel Hunter-Goldman (New York) joined KKR in 2021 and is a member of the Real Estate team, focused on commercial real estate lending. Prior to joining KKR, Ms. Hunter-Goldman was a principal at Apollo Global Management, where she was responsible for sourcing and executing real estate credit investments. Prior to Apollo, Ms. Hunter-Goldman worked at Morgan Stanley in the commercial real estate lending group focused on large loan originations for both CMBS and balance sheet executions. Ms. Hunter-Goldman earned her B.A. in Economics and Public Policy with Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa academic distinctions from Brown University.

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Ian McConnell

Director – Real Estate

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Ian McConnell

Ian McConnell (San Francisco) joined KKR in 2020 as a member of the Real Estate team focused on commercial real estate lending. He is responsible for sourcing and executing debt investments across real estate credit strategies with a focus on the West Coast. Prior to KKR, Mr. McConnell was a senior vice president with Starwood Property Trust responsible for large loan origination. Previously, he held commercial real estate roles with Redwood Trust, Cantor Fitzgerald and Anglo Irish Bank. Mr. McConnell graduated from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill with a B.S. in Business Administration.

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Steven Schenkein

Director – Real Estate

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Steven Schenkein

Steven Schenkein (New York) joined KKR in 2015 and is a member of the Real Estate team. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Schenkein was an associate at Rialto Capital Management, where he was responsible for analyzing debt and equity investments. Prior to Rialto, he began his career as a member of the investments team at RXR Realty in New York. Mr. Schenkein holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan.

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Corey Hall

Director – Real Estate

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Corey Hall

Corey Hall (Los Angeles) joined KKR in 2022 and is a member of the Real Estate team. Mr. Hall is responsible for sourcing and executing debt investments across KKR’s real estate credit strategies. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Hall was a senior vice president at Brookfield, where he oversaw originations throughout the western U.S. for the firm's series of real estate credit funds. Prior to that, he was a managing director at Cantor Commercial Real Estate, where he focused on the origination, structuring, and disposition of both fixed and floating rate securitized debt. He began his career at Deloitte within the financial advisory services practice as part of the firm's real estate consulting team. Mr. Hall is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he received a B.S. in Business Administration, with a concentration in Real Estate Development & Finance. He is a member of Urban Land Institute and is an active member of the University of Southern California’s Lusk Center for Real Estate.

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Celine Comeau

Director – Real Estate

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Celine Comeau

Celine Comeau (New York) joined KKR in 2021 and is a member of the Real Estate team. Prior to KKR, Ms. Comeau was previously at Global Atlantic Financial Group where she was responsible for sourcing, underwriting and structuring real estate debt originations for the investment team. She has also held prior roles across capital markets and structured finance at HFF and Wells Fargo. Ms. Comeau holds a B.S. in Economics from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Robert Elson

Director – Real Estate

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Robert Elson

Robert Elson (Houston) joined KKR in 2020 and is a member of the firm's Real Estate team. Previously, Mr. Elson worked at SitusAMC in their asset management group. Prior to that, he worked with various regional banks in underwriting and asset management rolls. Mr. Elson received a B.B.A. from Baylor University in Finance and Commercial Real Estate Finance.

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Matt Vargo

Director – Real Estate

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Matt Vargo

Matt Vargo (San Francisco) joined KKR in 2021 as a Principal on the Real Estate Credit team. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Vargo was a vice president at Starwood Capital Group, where he held roles in credit, underwriting, and asset management. Prior to Starwood, he worked at GE Capital Real Estate as well as at Deutsche Bank. He holds a B.S.B.A. from University of Missouri Columbia, and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.

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Saurav Chakraborti

Director – Real Estate

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Saurav Chakraborti

Saurav Chakraborti (London) joined KKR in 2022 and is a Director on the European Real Estate Credit team. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Chakraborti was an executive director at Goldman Sachs in London, working in the real estate financing group within the investment banking division. He holds a B.E. Honors in Manufacturing Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, India.

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Turner Trapp

Director – Real Estate

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Turner Trapp

Turner Trapp (London) joined KKR in 2018 and is a member of the Real Estate team. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Trapp worked with the real estate specialties group of Bank OZK in its New York originations office, where he was involved in the underwriting and execution of bridge and construction lending opportunities across the Northeastern United States. Mr. Trapp received a B.A. from Hamilton College with concentrations in Mathematics and French.

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Duncan Chalfant

Principal – Real Estate

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Duncan Chalfant

Duncan Chalfant (New York) joined KKR in 2018 and is a member of the Real Estate team. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Chalfant began his career at Bellwether Asset Management where his responsibilities included underwriting and asset management of varying real estate debt products. Mr. Chalfant holds a B.S. in Public Policy with an emphasis in Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California.

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Andrew Palmieri

Principal – Real Estate

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Andrew Palmieri

Andrew Palmieri (New York) joined KKR in 2021 and is a member of the KKR Real Estate Credit team. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Palmieri was a member of the capital markets team for MUFG Union Bank in the real estate capital solutions group. Previously, he worked for Annaly Capital Management in the commercial real estate asset management group. He received a B.S. in Finance from The College of New Jersey.

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Jackie Goodison

Principal – Real Estate

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Jackie Goodison

Jackie Lee Goodison (Los Angeles) joined KKR in 2019 and is a member of the Real Estate team. Prior to joining KKR, Ms. Goodison worked at Hines in New York and Blackstone in New York. In her prior roles, she was responsible for sourcing, underwriting and closing real estate equity and debt investments. Ms. Goodison received a B.S. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with concentrations in Finance and Real Estate.

Finance Team

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Leo Michalakos

Director – Finance

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Leo Michalakos

Leo Michalakos (New York) joined KKR in 2019 and is a Principal in KKR’s Finance group. He supports KKR’s Real Estate Credit business, with a focus on the firm’s flagship publicly traded REIT, KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF). Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Michalakos served as controller for Terra Capital Partners, a real estate investment manager. He previously held positions at JP Morgan within the private equity fund services group and at Morgan Stanley within the merchant banking group. Mr. Michalakos received a B.S. in Accounting from the City University of New York’s Brooklyn College and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Executive Team

Picture of Matt Salem

Matt Salem

Chief Executive Officer of KREF, Director of KREF Board, Partner and Head of KKR Real Estate Credit

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Matt Salem

Matthew A. Salem has served as a director since February 2022 and as Chief Executive Officer of our Company since March 2020. Mr. Salem has also served as the Chief Executive Officer of our Manager since January 2021 and is a member of its investment committee. Mr. Salem previously served as Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-President of our Company from October 2015 through March 2020, and of our Manager from March 2016 through January 2021. Mr. Salem joined KKR in 2015 and is a Partner and Head of Real Estate Credit. He also serves as Vice Chairman of KKR Real Estate Select Trust Inc. Mr. Salem sits on KKR’s Real Estate Investment Committees. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Salem was a managing director at Rialto Capital Management. Before joining Rialto in 2012, he was a managing director and head of CMBS trading at Goldman Sachs. Before joining Goldman Sachs in 2006, Mr. Salem held positions at Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Alternative Investments where he invested in mezzanine debt and other high yield CRE credit on behalf of the Travelers Insurance Companies. He began his career in 1996 at Midland Loan Services in Kansas City. Mr. Salem has a B.A. in Economics from Bates College. He has served on the Board of Governors of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council and as Chair of the B-Piece Buyer Forum.

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W. Patrick Mattson

President and Chief Operating Officer

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W. Patrick Mattson

W. Patrick Mattson has served as President and Chief Operating Officer of our Company since March 2020. Mr. Mattson has also served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of our Manager since January 2021, and is a member of its investment committee. Mr. Mattson previously served as Chief Operating Officer and Secretary of our Company from October 2015 through March 2020, and of our Manager from March 2016 through January 2021. Mr. Mattson joined KKR in 2015 and is a Managing Director and the Chief Operating Officer of the Real Estate Credit group. He is a member of the Real Estate Credit Investment Committee and Portfolio Management Committee. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Mattson was a managing director at Rialto Capital Management and led the mezzanine debt platform. Prior to Rialto, he was at Morgan Stanley for nine years and held various positions within the commercial real estate groups, most recently on the securitized products trading desk. Prior to Morgan Stanley, he was at Deloitte & Touche focused on the firm’s CMBS practice. Mr. Mattson received a B.A. from the University of Virginia and is a CFA charterholder. He is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Commercial Real Estate Multifamily Finance Board of Governors.

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Kendra Decious

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

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Kendra Decious

Kendra Decious has served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of our Company and our Manager since March 2022. Ms. Decious joined KKR in 2006 and is a Managing Director in the Finance group. From 2006 to 2010, Ms. Decious was the Chief Financial Officer of KKR Private Equity Investors, L.P. Ms. Decious most recently served as KKR’s Head of Strategic Planning and Budgeting, was responsible for planning, executing and attending all KKR Board of Directors and committee meetings, and was responsible for the accounting, reporting and risk controls for all of KKR’s balance sheet investments. Previously, Ms. Decious originated KKR’s global risk management framework and was responsible for the finance groups of KKR’s Capital Markets, Hedge Funds and Stakes businesses. Previously, Ms. Decious served as a founding member of KKR’s Global Risk Management Committee, as a founding member of KKR’s Inclusion and Diversity Advisory Committee, as a member of KKR’s Energy and Infrastructure Valuation Committee, as a member of PAAMCO Prisma’s Audit Committee, and as a member of the Board of Directors and Audit Committee of CHI Overhead Doors. Prior to joining KKR, Ms. Decious was a vice president at KinderCare Learning Centers with responsibility for KinderCare’s finance & accounting and procurement departments and served as KC Distance Learning’s (subsidiary) Chief Financial Officer and was a director at Red Lion Hotels, responsible for SEC and financial reporting. Ms. Decious began her career at KPMG and is a certified public accountant (inactive). Ms. Decious graduated with honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a B.A. in Business Economics and with distinction from Ellis College, New York Institute of Technology, with an M.B.A. Ms. Decious serves on the board of MacDowell, a non-profit artist residency program.

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Kelly Galligan

General Counsel and Secretary

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Kelly Galligan

Kelly Galligan has served as the Company’s General Counsel and Secretary since October 2024. Ms. Galligan joined KKR in 2022, and is currently a Managing Director and General Counsel of Real Estate. Prior to joining KKR, Ms. Galligan was a managing director at AIG Investments, where she spent fifteen years in various roles on both the equity and debt sides of the real estate business, including serving as the General Counsel to the U.S. Commercial Real Estate Finance business. Prior to AIG Investments, Ms. Galligan was at Merrill Lynch, where she was a vice president of fixed income focused on CMBS originations. Prior to Merrill Lynch, she was in private practice at Cahill and Proskauer. Ms. Galligan has a B.A. in Political Science from St. Peter's University and a J.D. from Albany Law School. She serves on the Real Estate Capital Policy Advisory Committee of the Real Estate Roundtable and is an active mentor through Urban Land Institute and Sponsors for Educational Opportunity.

Investment and Asset Management Team

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Joel Traut

Partner – Head of Originations

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Joel Traut

Joel Traut (New York) joined KKR in 2015 and is a member of the Real Estate team. He serves as Head of Originations for KKR Real Estate Credit and is responsible for business development, the origination process and team coordination across the real estate direct lending business. In addition, he is involved in sourcing, underwriting, negotiating and structuring debt investments across all credit products, asset types and geographies. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Traut spent thirteen years at GE Capital, most recently as a region manager at GE Capital Real Estate, where he led their northeast commercial team. He focused on investing in real estate credit strategies including first mortgage and mezzanine loans. He joined GE in 2002 as part of GE Capital's financial management program and during his tenure worked across multiple GE Capital business segments including: commercial real estate, aviation services, and commercial finance corporate. Mr. Traut graduated summa cum laude from the University of Kentucky and holds a B.B.A. in Finance and Marketing. Mr. Traut serves on the University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business and Economics’ Finance Advisory Board. Mr. Traut is currently a member of the Urban Land Institute, Commercial Real Estate Finance Council, and National Association of Industrial and Office Properties ('NAIOP') where he sits on its Capital Markets Council.

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Paul Fine

Managing Director – Real Estate

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Paul Fine

Paul Fine (New York) joined KKR in 2015 and is a member of the Real Estate team. He is responsible for sourcing and executing debt investments across KKR’s real estate credit strategies. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Fine was a director at Cantor Fitzgerald where he helped to set up the real estate finance platform and was responsible for loan originations. He began his career at Credit Suisse in the real estate finance group. Mr. Fine graduated from Cornell University, magna cum laude, with a B.S. in Applied Economics and Management.

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Ali Imraan

Managing Director – Head of European Originations

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Ali Imraan

Ali Imraan (London) joined KKR in 2022 and leads European Real Estate Credit. He is a member of the Real Estate Credit Investment Committee for Europe. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Imraan was a managing director at LaSalle Investment Management, where he managed real estate debt strategies. Prior to joining LaSalle in 2016, he worked at Royal Bank of Scotland where he was responsible for CRE loans for distribution & securitisation and prior to that, was head of private equity real estate finance. Mr. Imraan began his career at Citigroup in London, initially in structured corporate credit and then in securitisations and real estate finance. Mr. Imraan holds a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering from Imperial College London.

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Adam Simon

Managing Director – Real Estate

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Adam Simon

Adam Simon (New York) joined KKR in 2015 and is a member of the Real Estate team, focused on commercial real estate lending. Mr. Simon is senior originator for KKR’s Real Estate Credit business. He is active in originations and asset management for KKR’s multiple pools of capital and plays an active role in training and talent development within the firm. Prior to KKR, Mr. Simon was a vice president at Rialto Capital Management, responsible for originating real estate debt and restructuring portfolios of distressed assets. He began his career at balance sheet lender Anglo Irish Bank in New York. Mr. Simon received a B.A. from the University of Michigan, where he currently serves on the Ross Real Estate Fund Advisory Board. He is a CFA charterholder.

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Rachel Hunter-Goldman

Managing Director – Real Estate

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Rachel Hunter-Goldman

Rachel Hunter-Goldman (New York) joined KKR in 2021 and is a member of the Real Estate team, focused on commercial real estate lending. Prior to joining KKR, Ms. Hunter-Goldman was a principal at Apollo Global Management, where she was responsible for sourcing and executing real estate credit investments. Prior to Apollo, Ms. Hunter-Goldman worked at Morgan Stanley in the commercial real estate lending group focused on large loan originations for both CMBS and balance sheet executions. Ms. Hunter-Goldman earned her B.A. in Economics and Public Policy with Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa academic distinctions from Brown University.

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Ian McConnell

Director – Real Estate

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Ian McConnell

Ian McConnell (San Francisco) joined KKR in 2020 as a member of the Real Estate team focused on commercial real estate lending. He is responsible for sourcing and executing debt investments across real estate credit strategies with a focus on the West Coast. Prior to KKR, Mr. McConnell was a senior vice president with Starwood Property Trust responsible for large loan origination. Previously, he held commercial real estate roles with Redwood Trust, Cantor Fitzgerald and Anglo Irish Bank. Mr. McConnell graduated from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill with a B.S. in Business Administration.

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Steven Schenkein

Director – Real Estate

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Steven Schenkein

Steven Schenkein (New York) joined KKR in 2015 and is a member of the Real Estate team. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Schenkein was an associate at Rialto Capital Management, where he was responsible for analyzing debt and equity investments. Prior to Rialto, he began his career as a member of the investments team at RXR Realty in New York. Mr. Schenkein holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan.

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Corey Hall

Director – Real Estate

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Corey Hall

Corey Hall (Los Angeles) joined KKR in 2022 and is a member of the Real Estate team. Mr. Hall is responsible for sourcing and executing debt investments across KKR’s real estate credit strategies. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Hall was a senior vice president at Brookfield, where he oversaw originations throughout the western U.S. for the firm's series of real estate credit funds. Prior to that, he was a managing director at Cantor Commercial Real Estate, where he focused on the origination, structuring, and disposition of both fixed and floating rate securitized debt. He began his career at Deloitte within the financial advisory services practice as part of the firm's real estate consulting team. Mr. Hall is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he received a B.S. in Business Administration, with a concentration in Real Estate Development & Finance. He is a member of Urban Land Institute and is an active member of the University of Southern California’s Lusk Center for Real Estate.

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Celine Comeau

Director – Real Estate

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Celine Comeau

Celine Comeau (New York) joined KKR in 2021 and is a member of the Real Estate team. Prior to KKR, Ms. Comeau was previously at Global Atlantic Financial Group where she was responsible for sourcing, underwriting and structuring real estate debt originations for the investment team. She has also held prior roles across capital markets and structured finance at HFF and Wells Fargo. Ms. Comeau holds a B.S. in Economics from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Robert Elson

Director – Real Estate

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Robert Elson

Robert Elson (Houston) joined KKR in 2020 and is a member of the firm's Real Estate team. Previously, Mr. Elson worked at SitusAMC in their asset management group. Prior to that, he worked with various regional banks in underwriting and asset management rolls. Mr. Elson received a B.B.A. from Baylor University in Finance and Commercial Real Estate Finance.

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Matt Vargo

Director – Real Estate

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Matt Vargo

Matt Vargo (San Francisco) joined KKR in 2021 as a Principal on the Real Estate Credit team. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Vargo was a vice president at Starwood Capital Group, where he held roles in credit, underwriting, and asset management. Prior to Starwood, he worked at GE Capital Real Estate as well as at Deutsche Bank. He holds a B.S.B.A. from University of Missouri Columbia, and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.

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Saurav Chakraborti

Director – Real Estate

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Saurav Chakraborti

Saurav Chakraborti (London) joined KKR in 2022 and is a Director on the European Real Estate Credit team. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Chakraborti was an executive director at Goldman Sachs in London, working in the real estate financing group within the investment banking division. He holds a B.E. Honors in Manufacturing Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, India.

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Turner Trapp

Director – Real Estate

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Turner Trapp

Turner Trapp (London) joined KKR in 2018 and is a member of the Real Estate team. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Trapp worked with the real estate specialties group of Bank OZK in its New York originations office, where he was involved in the underwriting and execution of bridge and construction lending opportunities across the Northeastern United States. Mr. Trapp received a B.A. from Hamilton College with concentrations in Mathematics and French.

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Duncan Chalfant

Principal – Real Estate

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Duncan Chalfant

Duncan Chalfant (New York) joined KKR in 2018 and is a member of the Real Estate team. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Chalfant began his career at Bellwether Asset Management where his responsibilities included underwriting and asset management of varying real estate debt products. Mr. Chalfant holds a B.S. in Public Policy with an emphasis in Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California.

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Andrew Palmieri

Principal – Real Estate

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Andrew Palmieri

Andrew Palmieri (New York) joined KKR in 2021 and is a member of the KKR Real Estate Credit team. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Palmieri was a member of the capital markets team for MUFG Union Bank in the real estate capital solutions group. Previously, he worked for Annaly Capital Management in the commercial real estate asset management group. He received a B.S. in Finance from The College of New Jersey.

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Jackie Goodison

Principal – Real Estate

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Jackie Goodison

Jackie Lee Goodison (Los Angeles) joined KKR in 2019 and is a member of the Real Estate team. Prior to joining KKR, Ms. Goodison worked at Hines in New York and Blackstone in New York. In her prior roles, she was responsible for sourcing, underwriting and closing real estate equity and debt investments. Ms. Goodison received a B.S. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with concentrations in Finance and Real Estate.

Finance Team

Picture of Leo Michalakos

Leo Michalakos

Director – Finance

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Leo Michalakos

Leo Michalakos (New York) joined KKR in 2019 and is a Principal in KKR’s Finance group. He supports KKR’s Real Estate Credit business, with a focus on the firm’s flagship publicly traded REIT, KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF). Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Michalakos served as controller for Terra Capital Partners, a real estate investment manager. He previously held positions at JP Morgan within the private equity fund services group and at Morgan Stanley within the merchant banking group. Mr. Michalakos received a B.S. in Accounting from the City University of New York’s Brooklyn College and is a Certified Public Accountant.

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