Our Team

Eric Samek is the Founder of Brasa Capital Management and is responsible for deal origination, transaction execution, portfolio management and overall management of the firm’s operations. Prior to forming Brasa in 2018, Mr. Samek worked at AEW Capital Management for over 10 years, most recently as Head of the Western US for AEW’s Opportunity Fund. Prior to joining AEW, Mr. Samek served as Director for real estate private equity investments at Broadreach Capital Partners. He started his career as an investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs in New York.

Ji Jeon is the CFO and CCO of Brasa Capital Management where her primary responsibilities include financial & risk management, reporting, tax, operations, fundraising and investor relations. Ms. Jeon has over 15 years of experience in corporate financial management in privately-held companies. Prior to that, she worked at Colony Capital and started her career at Arthur Andersen in San Francisco specializing in the financial services industry.

Matt Milich has been with Brasa Capital Management since its inception and is responsible for the acquisition and asset management of investments across the Western US and Texas. Prior to Brasa, Mr. Milich was the lead acquisitions officer for Pearlmark Real Estate’s West Coast efforts. Prior to Pearlmark, Mr. Milich worked directly under Mr. Samek at AEW Capital Management. At AEW he was involved in the acquisition, disposition and asset management of over $900MM of value-add and opportunistic investments.

Elliot Weinstock joined Brasa Capital Management at its launch and oversees the acquisition and asset management of projects in the Western US. Before joining Brasa, Mr. Weinstock was a Vice President at Kearny Real Estate Company, an operator focused on the development and investment of office and industrial properties in Southern California. Mr. Weinstock was involved in the acquisition and asset management of over $400MM of value-add and opportunistic investments, partnering with equity providers that included AEW, Morgan Stanley, PCCP and Sequoia.

Alexis Lewis is a Vice President of Investments at Brasa Capital Management. Prior to joining Brasa, she served as an Economic Policy Manager for the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Economic Development. While in this role at the Mayor’s Office, Ms. Lewis spearheaded City efforts to drive commercial development in South Los Angeles and co-led the Mayor’s Evolve Entertainment Fund, a public-private partnership.

Jess Himmel is a Vice President of Acquisitions and Asset Management at Brasa Capital Management focusing on investments in the Western US and Texas. Prior to joining Brasa Capital, Ms. Himmel was a Vice President of Acquisitions and Originations at PCCP, LLC in Los Angeles where she led the closing of over $2.5B in transactions. Prior to PCCP, Ms. Himmel worked in acquisitions and asset management at Norges Bank Investment Management in New York. Ms. Himmel also worked at Bain & Company in Toronto, Canada and Ogilvy & Mather in Beijing, China. Ms. Himmel speaks Mandarin and French.

Henry Castillo is an Associate at Brasa Capital Management and focuses on the acquisition and asset management of projects in the Western US and Texas. Prior to joining Brasa Capital, Mr. Castillo was an Associate at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) where he completed over $600MM of debt and equity transactions, with a focus on multifamily financing. Mr. Castillo joined JLL as part of their acquisition of HFF, where he served as a Debt & Equity Analyst since 2018.

Eli Weintraub is the Controller at Brasa Capital Management. Prior to joining Brasa, Eli was the Assistant Controller at Main Street Advisors, a strategic investment advisory firm. While in this role, Eli managed the transactions and operations of the investment entities and the management company.

Shelly Mittal is a Senior Associate at Brasa Capital Management, focusing on investments in the Western US and Texas. Prior to joining Brasa Capital, Ms. Mittal led investor relations for FranShares, a Chicago-based financial technology firm, where she led a $20 million Seed A fundraising round. Before her time at FranShares, Ms. Mittal worked as a private equity associate at Council Capital in Chicago, venture capital associate at MetaProp in New York. and as an investor relations associate at a quantitative hedge fund, Two Sigma, in London.

Soledad Vitale is an Associate in the Finance department at Brasa Capital Management. Prior to Brasa, Ms. Vitale worked as a Senior Accountant consulting for multiple clients, including Griffin Realty Trust, assisting with fixed assets and quarterly reporting. Before Griffin, she worked with Westfield Construction as a Senior Construction and Development Accountant for the development of a $500M retail development project in Century City, Los Angeles.

Owen Muller is an Associate at Brasa Capital Management and focuses on the acquisition and asset management of projects in the Western US and Texas. Prior to joining Brasa, Mr. Muller was a Senior Analyst at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) where he supported over $2B of studio and office transactions throughout Los Angeles. Mr. Muller joined JLL’s Capital Markets team as an Office Investment Sales Analyst in 2021.

Michelle Tran is an Analyst at Brasa Capital Management. Prior to joining Brasa, Ms. Tran worked as a Claims Specialist for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. Ms. Tran specialized in CA and NV auto and homeowner litigated claims in which she participated in numerous mediations, and trials.

Nahiyan Khan is an Analyst at Brasa Capital Management and focuses on the acquisition and asset management of projects in the Western US and Texas. Prior to joining Brasa Capital, Mr. Khan was a Summer Analyst for Redcar Properties.