Gary Bechtel heads the investment management leadership team at Oak Real Estate Partners (OREP). As Managing Partner and CEO, he has direct oversight of all loan portfolios and operations for the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based firm.
In addition to his duties with OREP, Gary is Chief Executive Officer of Red Oak Capital Holdings, a family of commercial real estate finance and investment companies that primarily caters to investors within the Broker-Dealer and RIA channels. As such, he is responsible for managing the lending operations and business development efforts for the firm, which provides commercial real estate lending, servicing, workout, and turnaround products and services.
Over the course of his nearly 40-year career, he has been involved in the origination, underwriting, structuring, placement and closing of more than $10 billion in commercial debt transactions, utilizing various financing structures including permanent, bridge, equity, mezzanine, and construction loans.
Gary has held multiple leadership roles with both lenders and intermediaries throughout his career. He joined OREP and Red Oak after serving as President of Money360, where he directed and executed the firm’s expansion strategy and sat on its Credit Committee and Board of Directors. Prior to that, he was Chief Lending and Originations Officer of CU Business Partners, LLC, a major national credit union service organization, preceded by positions with such companies as Grubb & Ellis, Meridian Capital, Johnson Capital and FINOVA Realty Capital.
Gary attended the University of California, San Diego, majoring in economics. He currently sits on the Executive Board of the California Bankers Association and has been a longtime member of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA), National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), and International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Gary has been a featured moderator/speaker at numerous industry events and is a frequent contributor to several regional and national publications.
