Executive Team

Elisa Aldecoa

Elisa Aldecoa serves as the firm’s In-House Counsel providing strategic legal advice on acquisitions, dispositions, leasing and loan transactions. Prior to joining Republic Investment Company, Elisa was an In-House Counsel for a prominent real estate development company in the Bay Area and has worked at various national law firms specializing in the areas of real estate, transactional, litigation and business law. Elisa earned her BA in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley and her JD from Whittier College.

Darren J. Smith

Darren J. Smith is the Director of Operations for all of Republic Investments portfolio of real assets. His primary role is to align corporate real estate strategies, and to design and implement all real estate policies, processes, and procedures. Mr. Smith is responsible for ensuring the financial success of owned and prospective projects by identifying potential areas of cost reductions and optimizing the effectiveness of capital expenditures. Prior to joining Republic Investment Co., Mr. Smith has held various executive roles in construction management, real estate development, and property management. Mr. Smith earned his degree in Marketing and Finance from St. Peters College.

Lisa Qin

Lisa Qin is a Senior Accountant at Republic Investment Company. Her primary responsibilities include maintaining accounting records, preparing monthly financial statements, and overseeing cash management for all properties. Prior to her time at Republic, Lisa worked in various accounting capacities for commercial and residential real estate companies, including receivership, bankruptcy and insolvency cases. Lisa graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Business Economics and Accounting.

Ben Nehmadi

In 1983, led by founder and managing principal Ben Nehmadi, Republic Investment Company began acquiring rent-stabilized multifamily properties in the New York metropolitan area. Mr. Nehmadi became adept at buying under-managed rental buildings and adding value by making substantial capital improvements to the units and common areas, bringing construction, management and leasing activities in-house, and improving the overall financials.
Following years of success in New York City, Mr. Nehmadi began expanding the firms reach by acquiring properties in major gateway cities across the United States and Central America.
In response to demand for short-term, quickly accessible commercial real estate financing, Mr. Nehmadi founded Republic Funding LLC in 1993. Since inception, the entity has provided borrowers over 200 competitively-priced bridge loans for the purpose of acquiring, repositioning and renovating existing commercial real estate.
Mr. Nehmadi has overseen the growth of the firm to include over 40 active investment properties throughout the United States.

Pamela Zane is the Executive Assistant to the President Mr. Ben Nehmadi. Pamela’s key responsibilities include representing the president internally and externally, managing the workflow and communications of the executive offices, and overseeing special projects. Pamela’s background includes starting her own business from the ground up and operating it successfully for 5 years, as well as a combined 16 years’ experience in property management, marketing, and executive administration. Pamela graduated from Rider University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

Judith Ponce

Judith serves as the Executive Bookkeeper. Her primary responsibilities include maintaining, organizing, and reconciling financial data and bank records. Other duties include recording and preparing payroll, as well as accounts payable/receivable. Judith has been working in real estate for 24 years, and has been an employee of Republic Investment Company for over 13 years.

Clinnie Conley

Clinnie is the Executive Assistant to Elisa Aldecoa.  Her responsibilities include supporting and representing our In-House Counsel through excellent customer service and office management.  Clinnie brings to the table over 26 years of customer service and office management experience.  Clinnie attended the Art Institute of Los Angeles, where she majored in computer animation and graphic design.

Robert Hunter

Robert Hunter serves as the firm’s Vice President of Investments. His primary responsibilities include evaluating the financial viability of potential acquisitions and assisting with strategic capital events including refinancing and disposition of current assets. Prior to joining Republic Investment Company, Robert worked for a prominent real estate development company and a public equity real estate research firm in Newport Beach. Robert earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley and most recently completed his MBA from Oxford University. Robert is also a CFA Level III candidate.

Lydia Westdickenberg

Sylvio Savidis

Amber Iwanski

Amber Iwanski serves as an accountant at Republic Investment Company. Her primary responsibilities include handling cash management for all of our properties, assisting in preparing financial reports, and account payables and account receivables. Amber graduated with her B.S. in Finance from California University State of Northridge.

Frank Zuo

Mr. Zuo is the Managing Director at Republic Investment. He has been with us for over 10 years with in-depth experience and primary responsibilities in acquisitions, disposition, financial structuring, and asset management. He focuses on a broad array of debt and equity positions within distressed, value added and core plus strategies across multifamily, office, retail, industrial, hospitality, development land in commercial real estate as well as natural resources. His investment management expertise and insights provide us with the necessary tools to navigate and access the world of global capital markets.

Prior to joining Republic, Mr. Zuo worked at BNY Mellon and accumulate extensive portfolio management experience in structure finance