John Steele—CEO

As Capital Development’s founder in 1999 and a 19-year veteran of the commercial lending and investment industry, John brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his position as managing partner. This includes over 7 years as Director of Investments for Prime West Development, where he closed over 2 million square feet in sales and leasing of new construction and helped Prime West grow to become a significant regional developer. He also worked for over 3 years with LaSalle Advisors’ Pension Fund Group, engaging in strategic planning and reporting to provide investment management services for a large commercial real estate portfolio.

As Capital Development’s managing partner, John is responsible for strategic planning to advance the company's mission and objectives -- to promote revenue, profitability and growth while maintaining stability by funding only secure loans.  He is also focused on ensuring the Company adapts to changing conditions using cutting-edge technologies. His goal is to steadily grow the Company as a scalable system that operates efficiently without limits -- in both volume and location throughout the country.

John is excited that the commercial real estate industry is readily adopting the concept of a secondary market for individual small-balance loans, and that Capital Development is directly contributing to how commercial real estate lending is conducted on a national level. 

“When we provide funding for a small business, we’re helping to strengthen the economy for everyone. Mortgage brokers directly benefit as they are now able to gain access to a secondary market that was previously only available to lenders.” John enjoys working with brokers, adding, “The commercial lending industry requires a team approach to effectively close every loan. Brokers do their part in managing the expectations of borrowers while we focus on structuring and closing the loan.”  

John holds an MBA with emphasis in Real Estate Finance from the University of Denver (1990) and a Bachelor’s degree in Public Finance from Indiana University.

Joseph V. Sanfilippo–Board of Directors

Joe brings to Capital Development his extensive operations experience as a hands-on executive with a major airline carrier, American Airlines.  He rose up through the company to the level of Regional Managing Director and possesses a strong foundation in management, financial controls, and administration.  During 35 years with American, Joe worked as both a staff and line executive as part of a team who built American Airlines from a modest North American carrier to an international carrier, and America’s largest airline. 

Joe’s experience managing the annual operating budget for American’s Western Division and directing over 1,000 employees in 14 cities uniquely prepares Joe to help guide Capital Development as a nationwide lender in strategic planning, financial discipline, operational efficiencies, and human resource management.

Prior to this, Joe advised Lockheed Aviation on contract proposals, Huntley Corporation on operational efficiencies and formulated strategies for law firms resulting in successful litigation.

Says Joe, “I believe that my experience in strengthening a company through both internal growth and acquisition should add value to Capital Development’s business model. It is an opportunity to help shape a dynamic company.”  

Rod Turner–Board of Directors

Rod brings to Capital Development a wealth of experience in building large scale successful businesses.  Before joining the Company, he was Adviser to the CEO of a number of significant firms providing counsel on core business strategy, financing, marketing, sales, business development and channel operations.  He has extensive experience and contacts in the US Venture Capital business, and was instrumental in both raising capital from VC leader Kleiner Perkins for, and then building Symantec into the world leader in PC utilities, as its Executive Vice President. Rod has been instrumental in taking three companies public (Ashton Tate (TATE), where Rod was VP Sales and Marketing, Symantec (SYMC), and Ask Jeeves (ASK)).  Two other business entities that he has played a key role in building have been merged at a premium into existing public companies (Mobile Automation, for which Rod was co-founder and Chairman, and Knowledge Adventure, for which Rod was President/CEO).

Concurrently, he served as Vice Chairman of Autofusion, raising $8 million in angel and venture capital and helped guide the auto product-and-service provider through a challenging market environment.  Prior to this, Rod founded and was managing partner of Irvine Ventures, guiding entrepreneurs and raising $32 million in angel and venture capital for eight startup companies.

Says Rod "I am very pleased to be involved with Capital Development, because I see the potential for us to grow the company into a very large scale business over the coming years.  It is enjoyable for me to bring my experience to help achieve that goal".

Rod holds a First Class Honors Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from Aston University, England. He was also awarded the HE Pulsford prize for outstanding academic merit.

Will Harrison—President

Will got his start in the industry with Metropolitan Mortgage as a commercial mortgage banker in 1993. Moving from accountant to cash-flow analyst and finally executive vice president, he was involved in all aspects of operations, including underwriting, loan servicing, investor relations and customer relations.

Will joined Capital Development in 2005 and is currently responsible for managing the daily activities in sales, marketing and operations. He also works with the company’s CEO in establishing and implementing organizational objectives and strategies. Besides building a reputation for getting loans closed, Will is bringing new tools to the trade, such as eDocLending™, rate sheets and ePAS.

Says Will, “The industry is dynamic in that every loan I see is somewhat unique with different challenges. The industry continues to evolve with new loan products available to benefit brokers and borrowers.”

Will holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder with an emphasis in accounting and finance. He has also passed the CPA exam.

 

Corbin Rich
Credit Analyst

Corbin joined Capital Development in 2008 and acts as a credit analyst.  He performs initial underwriting analysis on loan requests and helps manage active transactions.  He says, “Underwriting requirements are more stringent than they have been in the past and I enjoy the challenge this presents. I also enjoy the process of working with clients to find the most suitable type of loan, be it conventional financing, SBA, or hard money.”   
 
Prior to joining Capital Development, Corbin spent time with local real estate investment firm, Inverness Properties.  Before that he worked for Shaw Construction, where he assisted in the construction management of a 150,000 sf private university project in Parker, Colorado.  Corbin began his real estate career in Southern California, working as a sales agent for First Team Real Estate.  
 
Corbin holds a Master’s of Science in Real Estate (2008) and a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration (2002) from the University of Denver.

 

John Aryan
Wholesale Account Executive

John has more than 10 years of experience working in the mortgage business that includes direct sales and management from both the retail and wholesale perspective. Formerly with Countrywide Finance, he opened one of the most profitable offices in the State of Colorado, managing 20 loan officers and being recognized as a top 5% producer.

His management skills have led sales teams to achieve high levels of productivity and success in several industries. John is focused on helping clients realize their financial goals through resilient effort to get loans approved and funded. John says “I like helping my clients better understand the evolving commercial lending industry to build long lasting relationships. I am responsible for placing loans in the right program and ensuring consistent communication. The fact is, nothing is ever exactly the same on any two deals and every deal requires creativity and tenacity.”

John holds a Liberal Arts degree in English Education from Colorado State University. He also has a license in Ethnic Studies with an emphasis in African American Studies.

Jim Bates—Web Developer

A retired USAF major, Jim has over 30+ years of programming experience and is one of 430 Macromedia Certified ColdFusion MX Advanced Developers in the world. He has been a systems administrator for Novell and Xerox networks, and for Windows, Unix, Irix and Macintosh computers. From 1997 to 2003, he served at a multimedia and web development firm, helping to produce 5 CD-ROM titles and several large e-commerce Web sites.

Jim’s various enterprise Web applications include online loan document management systems, online environmental management information systems, as well as e-commerce and learning management systems. On the cutting edge of industry, Jim has developed eDocLending™ and various related web applications.

With Capital Development, Jim is responsible for developing and maintaining the systems that most efficiently process loan packages and work with brokers.

Says Jim, “I enjoy the technical challenges of building Web applications that streamline business processes, and the satisfaction of serving clients and helping them improve their bottom line.”

Jim holds a Master’s degree in computer & information resource management from Webster University. Jim also teaches Web design at Pikes Peak Community College.