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OUR TEAM
Paul Froning
Co-Managing Partner
Mr. Froning is a co-founder and Principal partner of Focus Healthcare Partners LLC. Mr. Froning has more than 26 years of involvement in healthcare and senior housing as an investor, operator, advisor, and investment banker. Prior to founding Focus, Mr. Froning was a Managing Director of Fortress Investment Group until October 2009, with senior responsibility over healthcare private equity investments by Fortress including the day-to-day oversight of the operation and restructuring of Holiday Retirement, the second largest Senior Housing owner and operator in the United States with more than 35,000 units. Prior to Fortress, Mr. Froning was an Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of Brookdale Senior Living and was directly responsible for all of Brookdale’s external growth. Under his guidance, Brookdale grew from less than 15,000 units to more than 50,000 units and became the largest owner and operator in senior housing. Prior to Brookdale, Mr. Froning was a senior investment officer at healthcare and real estate investment fund managers JER Partners, Lazard Frères and Security Capital. Mr. Froning earned a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame.
Curt Schaller
Co-Managing Partner
Mr. Schaller is a co-founder and Principal of Focus Healthcare Partners LLC. Mr. Schaller has been involved in the healthcare real estate sector for over 25 years and prior to co-founding Focus served in senior leadership positions with two of the leading lenders in healthcare, General Electric and Merrill Lynch Capital. Mr. Schaller has sourced and closed over 200 senior housing and healthcare transactions with an investment value exceeding $4.5 billion. Mr. Schaller most recently was the Senior Managing Director for GE Healthcare Financial Services’ $8 billion real estate investment group. Mr. Schaller joined GE as part of its purchase of Merrill Lynch Capital in early 2008. Mr. Schaller joined Merrill Lynch Capital as Director of Originations in 2003 and was recruited to develop its fledgling healthcare group. Under his guidance, Merrill's real estate portfolio grew from less than $300 million to over $3 billion in under five years. Prior to Merrill Lynch, Mr. Schaller held a variety of other positions in the healthcare real estate industry at GE and Heller Healthcare Finance. Mr. Schaller is a respected leader in the healthcare industry having served on the executive boards of both the American Seniors Housing Association and the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC). Mr. Schaller earned a B.A, from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Michael Feinstein
Managing Director
Mr. Feinstein serves as a Managing Director of Focus is responsible for implementing the acquisition and asset management activities for the Firm. Previously, Mr. Feinstein was a Vice President at Buchanan Street Partners, the real estate private equity subsidiary of the TCW Group. The Firm managed investor commitments for the acquisition and adaptive reuse of office, retail, multi-family, medical office, and select senior housing properties throughout the United States. Prior to his work at Buchanan Street Partners, Mr. Feinstein worked on the acquisition team of Brookdale Senior Living. Under the direction of the Executive Vice President & Chief Investment Officer, the acquisition team expanded the Brookdale portfolio to more than 50,000 units, today representing one of the largest portfolios of senior housing assets in the country. In total, Mr. Feinstein has been involved in $4.5 billion of transactions during his 19 years of experience in real estate, private equity, and healthcare investing. Mr. Feinstein earned a B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, with concentrations in real estate and finance. Mr. Feinstein earned an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Scott MacGregor
Managing Director
Mr. MacGregor serves as a Managing Director with Focus and is responsible for implementing the acquisition and asset management activities for Focus. Prior to joining Focus, Mr. MacGregor was an acquisition officer for Pearlmark Real Estate Partners, a real estate private equity firm investing throughout the United States. While at Pearlmark, Mr. MacGregor sourced, underwrote and asset managed value-add and core-plus investment opportunities for the Firm’s dedicated multifamily fund. During his seven-year tenure at the Firm, Mr. MacGregor was involved in over $1 billion of transactions. Prior to joining Pearlmark, Mr. MacGregor worked as a structured finance analyst within Merrill Lynch’s Global Markets and Investment Banking Division. Mr. MacGregor graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a B.B.A. in Finance and has served as an auxiliary board member for both Meals on Wheels Chicago and One Hope United.
Tom Girard
Senior Vice President, Controller & Risk Manager
Mr. Girard serves as Senior Vice President, Controller & Risk Manager at Focus and is responsible for coordinating the accounting, treasury, insurance, and administration functions related to the firm’s investment vehicles. Previously, Mr. Girard spent 18 years in the accounting and financial areas as a Vice President and/or Controller at Brookdale Senior Living, the nation’s largest provider of senior living. Prior to his work at Brookdale Senior Living, Mr. Girard worked on the accounting teams of JMB Realty, and subsequently Heitman Financial. Mr. Girard has over 30 years of experience in accounting, reporting, and financial analysis with previous responsibilities that included both fund-level accounting and public SEC reporting requirements at his former employers. Mr. Girard earned a B.S. from Northeastern Illinois University with a dual concentration in accounting and management and has passed the CPA exam.
Steve Blasco
Vice President
Mr. Blasco serves as a Vice President at Focus and is responsible for fundraising, acquisitions, and asset management activities at the firm. Prior to joining Focus, Mr. Blasco was an Investments Manager at Ventas, a leading Healthcare REIT and an S&P 500 Company. While at Ventas, Mr. Blasco was involved in the underwriting, due diligence, and execution of more than $1 billion of acquisitions, debt investments, developments, and redevelopments in the Senior Housing, Medical Office, and Life Science segments. Prior to Ventas, Mr. Blasco worked on the investor relations, institutional fundraising, and investment teams at First Industrial Realty Trust. Mr. Blasco graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. in Finance and earned his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Joshua Schwartz
Assistant Vice President
Mr. Schwartz serves as an Assistant Vice President at Focus and is responsible for acquisition, asset management, and portfolio management activities at the firm. Prior to joining Focus, Mr. Schwartz served as an Associate at Speedwagon Properties, a Chicago-based real estate private equity firm investing in opportunistic and value-add investments across multi-family, office, retail, and student-housing segments. During his tenure at Speedwagon, Mr. Schwartz contributed to the underwriting, acquisition, and asset management of more than $300 million of investments across the Midwest. Mr. Schwartz holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan.