Team

Wes leads all aspects of Abacus Capital’s investment activities. In this capacity, his responsibilities include overall investment strategy formation, capital raising, acquisition sourcing, transaction structuring, business plan implementation, ongoing asset oversight and portfolio management.

Recognized as one of Charlotte’s 40 under 40 rising business leaders, Wes’ unique perspective on identifying compelling risk-adjusted real estate investment opportunities has been cultivated over 17 years and >$3.5B of transactions as a large cap private equity investor, a bulge bracket real estate investment banker and most recently as a principal at one of the most active real estate private equity operating groups in the Southeastern US. Through these diverse yet complementary experiences, Wes has acquired/developed, administered and harvested investments as both an LP and GP in many of the 25 largest markets in the country and nearly every major product type including office, industrial, multifamily, retail, self storage and MHC assets.

Wes graduated with distinction from Washington & Lee University and earned an MBA from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Brick has primary leadership over all aspects of the execution of Abacus Capital’s investment activities. In this capacity, his responsibilities include overall investment strategy formation, acquisition execution, transaction structuring, business plan implementation, ongoing asset oversight and portfolio management. In addition, Brick leads the firm’s capital raising and investor relations initiatives.

Brick’s expertise in the spatial markets complements the firm’s differentiated perspective on the real estate capital markets to provide clients with a comprehensive approach to managing risk and driving outperformance in the firm’s investment activities.

Brick graduated from UNC and as a licensed Broker-in-Charge leads the brokerage efforts of Abacus’ sister company. Brick is also very active in the local community having coached for 10+ years at Myers Park Trinity Little League and as well as currently serving as the Chairman of the Parents Council at First Presbyterian Church.

Mason has primary leadership over Abacus Capital’s multifamily and development activities. In this capacity, Mason’s responsibilities include underwriting, sourcing, financing, ongoing asset oversight and execution of existing investments as well as new sourcing new opportunities.

Prior to joining Abacus Capital, Mason held leadership roles with several leading national multifamily development and investment firms.

Mason graduated from Wofford College and earned an MBA from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. Mason is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and serves as a youth basketball coach.

Will McGinnis joined Abacus Capital in 2021 as a Vice President, where he focuses on the underwriting, analytics, and execution of the firm’s acquisition and development activities.

Before joining Abacus, Will worked at Core Property Capital. Prior to Core Property Capital, Will worked on Eastdil Secured’s Debt Placement team, where he assisted in the marketing and placement of more than $4.5 billion in commercial real estate loans to institutional partners across all real estate classes. Prior to Eastdil Secured, Will worked as an analyst in Wells Fargo’s Real Estate Capital Markets group where he was responsible for the underwriting and securitization of commercial mortgage-backed securities.

Will has a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Real Estate from the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina and earned an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

John Grantham joined Abacus Capital in 2022 as a Vice President, where he focuses on the execution of all aspects of Abacus Capital’s development and investment activities including underwriting, due diligence, development oversight and coordination and business plan implementation.

Before joining Abacus, John worked for Elmington Capital, a Nashville-based real estate investment and development firm, for 8 years where he oversaw commercial acquisitions and asset management. John’s experience includes the acquisition and development of over 30 properties across the Southeast including 1.5MM square feet of commercial space and 4,500 multifamily units. In addition, John was responsible for asset management functions including the execution of investment strategies, lender relations, investor reporting and dispositions.

John graduated from Wofford College with a BA in Finance and Accounting.

As Abacus Capital’s construction manager, Ryan is responsible for leading the firm’s construction-related activities.  In this role, Ryan is responsible for pre-construction pricing, budget and design optimization, day-to-day management of capital improvement projects and the overall execution of the firm’s value enhancing capital initiatives. In addition, Ryan is a Partner in Colony Commercial’s third-party construction management practice. Prior to joining Abacus Capital, Ryan was a project manager and oversaw the Charlotte region for a leading institutional general contractor.

Over his career Ryan has worked for leading regional architecture and general contractors and has led the delivery of over $100M of ground up development projects since 2018 across a variety of product types and for a number of institutional-quality clients.

Drew Smith joined Colony Commercial in 2021 as a Construction Manager, where he oversees the execution of projects from design through construction.  Drew is responsible for preconstruction activities, including design and value engineering reviews, as well as the firm’s day-to-day management of clients’ capital improvement projects.

Before joining Colony Commercial, Drew worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for 12 years in three different districts, which included Savannah, Germany and New York City.  Drew has a broad range of experience managing a multitude of military, marine, ground-up construction and renovation/adaptive reuse projects.  In addition to managing construction, Drew ran the Army Corps Value Engineering Program for several years.

Drew graduated from North Carolina State University with a BS in Civil Engineering and later earned a Master of Building Construction from Auburn University. Additionally, Drew is a licensed Professional Engineer in North Carolina and Georgia.

As a Construction Manager, Sam’s main focus is on multifamily construction while also assisting in Colony Commercial’s adaptive reuse projects. Sam is involved in the early stages of design where he assists with design optimization and constructability, and then handles the day-to-day management of the multifamily projects.

Before joining Colony Commercial, Sam worked for a Civil Engineering firm in Charlotte, NC for 3 years where he assisted on multifamily, office, retail, and mixed-use projects all around the city. Prior to working as a Civil Engineer, Sam worked for a Structural Engineering firm in Raleigh, NC doing residential structural design and inspections.

Sam graduated from North Carolina State University with a BS in Civil Engineering. Sam has received his Engineer in Training Certification (EIT) and is currently pursuing his Professional Engineers License (PE), as well as his Project Management Professional Certification (PMP).

Amber is responsible for all aspects of the financial management of the firm.  In this capacity, she has primary leadership over property and corporate accounting, cash management and investor reporting.

Amber previously owned and operated a retail franchise for 10 years and was a Vice President at Banc of America Securities where she led a trading and sales management reporting team.

Amber graduated from the University of Dayton.  She has served as Treasurer for a Parent- Teacher Organization and a local Girl Scout troop and also coached recreational soccer for 5 years.

Catherine joined Abacus Capital in 2022 as their Office Manager. She oversees all facets of administrative support and operations to ensure the office functions smoothly. Catherine is the point of contact for guests visiting the office as well as third-party vendors working alongside Abacus Capital. Also, Catherine assists in the company’s marketing efforts to promote services and increase brand awareness.

Before joining the team, Catherine spent 5+ years in property management as a Leasing and Marketing Manager. There, she developed, coordinated, and implemented strategic marketing plans to maximize property occupancy and rental rates.

Catherine graduated from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration - Marketing.