about

John is the Founder and Managing Partner of Peak 15 Capital. A capital advisory and syndication firm servicing commercial real estate operators and sponsors in identifying, sourcing & securing their capital stack. John is also a Managing Member of MACC Venture Partners, a Southeast focus owner/operator of multifamily assets. In his leadership of Peak 15, he directs strategic development, investor and client growth, and new acquisitions and syndications. He also heads the investment committee, capital management and growth.  John is also the head of the Peak 15 Coaching program for new syndicators and sponsors.

Previously he was a co-Founder and Managing Partner of Boston Venture Partners (BVP), a private equity consulting and finance firm based in Boston specializing in real estate development, and structured finance.  At BVP he worked on a cumulative portfolio of $1.8 Billion spanning from Boston to Miami as well as London. His previous roles as an equity trader and commercial banker in financial institutions and banks such as Bank of America and Morgan Stanley provided an integral understanding of debt and equity markets as well as deal structure, honing his skills and insights into the critical planning issues relevant to growing successful companies.

John is a podcaster and Co-Host of his own podcast called Breaking Resistance as well as being a regular guest speaker in various commercial real estate conferences and Podcasts.  John serves on the boards of directors of several non-profit and for-profit organizations. He holds a BA from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte and an MBA from Boston University Questrom School of Business.

Francisco is Partner and Head of Investments for Peak 15 Capital and its current fund. As part of the Senior Management Team at Peak 15, Herrera oversees all production development, investor relations, and multifamily division. Herrera is responsible for all production activity through sourcing and managing general Co-GP investment opportunities as well as other strategic initiatives for the Peak 15.

Herrera also serves as a member of the firm’s investment committee and co-heads the Peak 15 Coaching Program for new, up-and-coming sponsors-operators.

Herrera’s involvement with Peak 15 Capital began since inception. Prior to his tenure, he worked for a New York based private equity consulting firm who specialized in commercial real estate and real estate development.

Since inception, Herrera participated in and closed transactions exceeding $100 Million in equity across a full range of assets, from ground-up Class A urban core to Class C multifamily in the U.S. markets. He is also a podcaster and Co-Host alongside John Azar in their show called Breaking Resistance.

Herrera is a native of Orange County, CA where he resides in the Anaheim community with his wife and daughter.

Jim Froehlich is the Northeast Director for Peak 15 Capital and also serves as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Peritus Ventures, where he is responsible for finding and vetting deal opportunities, due diligence, deal structure, financial & market analysis, and company systems and processes.

Having recently served as Director of Acquisitions & Development for a private firm, Jim understands and excels at the full spectrum of private equity real estate deals to include Acquisitions, Syndications, Development, Investor Management, Equity Growth, Marketing, and Asset Management.
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Jim has in depth expertise in Systems Engineering, Program Management, and Intelligence Operations executing technical projects across a myriad of Homeland Defense, Security, and Law Enforcement agencies. Jim has managed hundreds of people, dozens of teams, and over $500 million worth of projects during his 25+ year career.
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Jim graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is a veteran of the United States Air Force and is based out of New Hampshire, where he also lives with his wife of 26 years; Jim has two adult sons and enjoys writing, competitive sports/games, and spending time outdoors. He also hosts Podcasts4Patriots where he interviews veterans and active duty military who are successful real estate investors and is a GP on over $450 million worth of real estate (for rent and ongoing development).

Neill offers nearly 25 years of business acumen and over a decade of international experience working alongside some of the world’s most ambitious real estate developers and planners. Neill specializes in developing sustainable residential communities and mixed-use development programs that foster urbanity.

To that end, he has advised large scale developers, semi-governmental organizations and community stakeholders - guiding them through public reviews and approvals.  His vast experience includes Urban Planning to develop fully integrated communities, Management Consulting while advising Fortune 100 organizations, Asset repositioning and optimization by leading  the acquisition, redevelopment and repositioning of underperforming, multi-family assets to generate increased rent roll and occupancies generating satisfactory IRR for investors and growing AUM for a value-add fund.

Neill in addition has experience in Public Private Partnerships advising public entities, as well as experience in Market Due Diligence while directing research efforts in support of financial feasibility studies.  

Neill holds an MSRE in Real Estate Management from New York University, an MBA from University of Bradford and a BS in Finance from University – BS Finance from Salisbury University.

Peter Vermette is the newest addition to the Peak 15 team. As our Director of Operations, Peter works closely with the investor relations team, helps organize our day-to-day operations, and serves as a point of contact for many of our outreach and client service programs.

Peter also manages client onboarding and ongoing communications. Through his keen study of the market, he is a contributor and organizer of Peak 15 newsletter which provides updates as well as perspective on the operations of Peak 15 Capital to our community of investors and clients.

Peter was born in New Jersey and grew up in Apex, North Carolina, before graduating from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and earning degrees in economics and mathematics. Before working for Peak 15, Peter worked as a contract estimator and sales administrator in the commercial landscaping industry based in North Carolina.

Mr. DePaoli is the Director of Acquisitions for Peak 15. In this capacity, he manages the underwriting and due diligence on potential acquisitions both in house and with client sponsors.  Mr. DePaoli is a leader in the field of commercial buildings and operations management.  In 2005 he began working for ACMS Group, an industrial construction company whose operations included project management, construction management, and facility maintenance. Mr. DePaoli helped grow this business from $3 Million to $30 Million.

After leaving ACMS, Mr. DePaoli ventured into the fitness sector where he purchased 2 failing gym chains entering bankruptcy and turned them around in under 1 year from purchase and continues to add to his success. It is now the goal of Mr. DePaoli to diversify, scale, and grow a portfolio of assets across various business sectors over the coming years.