About Us

Michael Hooks

President & CEO

Michael Hooks, President & CEO, founded Ladera Capital Partners in June 2018. Mr. Hooks serves as Chairman of Ladera’s Investment Committee and is active in all aspects of the company, including responsibility for the strategic direction of the firm. In addition, he sources and oversees investments for the fund.

Mr. Hooks has over 30 years of experience in the multifamily real estate industry, including from 2007-2018 with IMT Capital. As a Managing Director for IMT, Mr. Hooks led the investments team nationally, overseeing acquisitions, dispositions, and capital markets activities. Prior to joining IMT, he spent approximately 15 years as a real estate investment banking intermediary, predominantly with market leaders HFF and Northmarq Capital.

Mr. Hooks holds a BA in Managerial Studies and Political Science from Rice University.

Amie Henry

Chief Operating Officer

Amie Henry, Chief Operating Officer, joined Ladera Capital Partners in January 2019. Ms. Henry is a Partner and serves as a member of the Investment Committee. She oversees fund management, asset management, and investor reporting. In addition, Ms. Henry is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the firm.

Ms. Henry has 23 years of real estate investment management and fund management experience. Prior to joining Ladera, Ms. Henry served as SVP of Portfolio Management and was a principal at Hawkeye Partners, LP. At Hawkeye, she worked on the Scout Funds investing over $1.2 billion in AUM with a focus on launching first time institutional investment management programs. Additionally, Ms. Henry managed the portfolio of a $100 million discretionary separate account. Prior to joining Hawkeye, Ms. Henry was with Cypress Real Estate Advisors where she served as Investment Manager handling portfolio and asset management for residential, industrial, retail and land assets. Ms. Henry started her career with Archon Group, a Goldman Sachs company.

Ms. Henry holds a BA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Real Estate Center at the University of Texas, on the Advisory Board for ULI Austin and is a member of PREA.

Peter Giles

Managing Director

Peter Giles, Managing Director, joined Ladera Capital Partners in January 2022 and serves as a member of the Investment Committee. Mr. Giles is responsible for overseeing capital markets strategies and is active in Ladera’s sourcing, investment, and operational activities. In addition, he is leading the DEI and ESG initiatives for the company.

Mr. Giles has over 34 years of experience in the real estate industry, including from 1998-2021 with Freddie Mac. He held senior leadership positions across many programs and led the Production & Sales team for the Western and Central regions. Mr. Giles and his teams were responsible for the placement of over $210B of multifamily debt (as of September 2021, the Freddie Mac portfolio of $404B has zero credit losses and zero delinquency). In addition, Mr. Giles launched the Green Advantage® program at Freddie Mac, which during his tenure funded $62B in loans. He was a member of the company’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) steering committee addressing issues in equity and sustainability. Prior to joining Freddie Mac, Mr. Giles earned a decade of experience in life company commercial lending at Metmor Financial, a wholly owned subsidiary of MetLife Insurance and Mellon Bank.

Mr. Giles holds a BA degree from the University of Oklahoma. He is a member of ULI and PREA.

Dillon Everett

Director, Investments

Dillon Everett, Director, joined Ladera Capital Partners in November 2020. Mr. Everett is responsible for asset management for the firm and investment activity in Dallas, Denver, and Atlanta, with a focus on deal sourcing, underwriting, investment strategy and operational optimization.

His background includes working with private and institutional owners on garden, mid-rise, and high-rise multifamily investments across Texas and the Southeastern U.S. Prior to joining Ladera, Mr. Everett oversaw expansion efforts in his dedicated markets at both Alliance Residential and Mark-Taylor Residential. During his tenure with both firms, he onboarded over 26,000 units and $3 billion of multifamily product.

Mr. Everett earned his Bachelor of Science in Business at the University of Missouri, where he was captain of the baseball team and on the SEC Academic Honor Roll. After graduation, he played professional baseball in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim organization. Mr. Everett is active in the Urban Land Institute (ULI), Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) and holds his Real Estate license in the state of Arizona.

Rhett Cardwell

Associate

Rhett Cardwell, Associate, joined Ladera Capital Partners in September 2020. As an associate with Ladera, Mr. Cardwell is responsible for asset and fund level modeling as well as assisting in the firm’s investment activities and asset management.

His background includes consulting for Texas based companies, sales and fundraising for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, as well as marketing for his alma mater, Rice University.

Mr. Cardwell holds a BA in Sports Management and in History with a minor in Business from Rice University. While at Rice, he lettered in football and was on the Honor Roll all four years.

Akvile Girdauskaite (AK)

Executive Assistant

Akvile Girdauskaite, Executive Assistant, joined Ladera Capital Partners in 2019. Ms. Girdauskaite is responsible for managing schedules, documents, meetings, and events as well as the day-to-day organization and functionality of the office. Additionally, she assists in the firm’s acquisitions process and with accounting and marketing functions.

Prior to joining Ladera Capital Partners, Ms. Girdauskaite served as a restaurant manager at several Boston based restaurants taking on responsibilities such as private event sales, catering, and general restaurant staff training. Ms. Girdauskaite holds a BA in Marketing from Plymouth State University.