Dekel Capital, a Los Angeles-based real estate merchant bank has established an office in San Diego, CA under the direction of Mike Easter, who joins the firm as Managing Director.

“While we find financial solutions for commercial real estate investments and developments throughout the country, the vast majority of our clients are located in Southern California, with a growing number of those in San Diego and Orange Counties,” said Dekel Capital Managing Principal Shlomi Ronen. “Having an office in San Diego will us to better serve those clients while also giving us the added bandwidth with which to effectively expand our operations.”

Prior to joining Dekel, Easter served as Vice President of Capital Markets for San Diego-based development and investment management firm JPI Companies, responsible for sourcing, structuring, and negotiating debt and equity in connection with more than $300 million in annual construction starts.

Over the course of his 20-year career in the commercial real estate capital markets, Easter held senior level positions and was recognized as a top producer at JLL, Newmark, and CBRE. During that time he executed approximately $2.5 billion in real estate debt and equity capital transactions across a broad spectrum of deal types including land, construction, and bridge financings, as well as debt and equity recapitalizations and permanent financings.   

“Mike’s diverse background allows him to provide clients with unique insight and expertise across all aspects of investment real estate,” Ronen said. “He focuses on merging broad capital relationships with progressive systems and technology to deliver clients the best and most efficient capital and deal execution.”

Easter earned an MS degree, in Real Estate & Construction Management from the University of Denver and a BS degree in Business Administration and Finance (with minors in Real Estate & Entrepreneurship) from the University of Colorado.  He holds designations as a CCIM and as a Financial Modeling and Valuation Analyst (FMVA).

Easter has served on the CCIM Institute’s National Board of Directors as a Regional Vice President and was previously a member of the Board of Trustees for Funding Partners, a community development financial institution.