Jordan Kavana's career in the real estate industry spans over two decades, during which he has emerged as a prominent figure, particularly noted for developing one of the earliest nationally-operating single-family home-for-rent platforms since 2008. As the founder and chairman of ARK Homes For Rent, Kavana has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to providing quality housing that enhances the well-being of residents through community-focused amenities. His vision also encompasses generating strong risk-adjusted returns for investors, blending societal impact with financial pragmatism.
In 2008, Kavana laid the groundwork for this vision by establishing Transcendent Investment Management (TIM). Under his leadership, TIM pioneered a data-driven approach in the single-family residential space. The creation of the vertically integrated Build US Back line of companies under TIM marked a significant step in this journey. This initiative enabled the firm to handle the entire spectrum of property management, including research, acquisition, renovation, renting, and resale, all managed in-house.
Kavana's innovative strategies and business acumen led to his inclusion in a 2014 Harvard Business School case study titled “Build U.S. Back: Opportunities in the U.S. housing market.” This study underscored his significant role in shaping the U.S. housing market.
Under his leadership, TIM successfully completed over $3.5 billion in real estate transactions, showcasing his expertise in the major Sunbelt markets. To further this trajectory, Kavana co-founded Transcendent Electra Management in 2021, a joint venture between TIM and Electra America. This venture, reinforcing the ARK Homes For Rent platform, set out to acquire or develop approximately $3 billion in single-family rental housing over three years, focusing on Build to Rent homes.
ARK Homes For Rent stands out in the industry, primarily for its unique approach of purchasing only newly built homes and integrating a preventative health platform, ARK Living. This innovative model underscores Kavana's foresight in aligning real estate investment with health and wellness trends.
Before his foray into real estate, Kavana had successfully launched and grown an international high-tech toy company in China, which he sold in 2003. He then returned to the U.S. to co-found JL Real Ventures, a private equity fund focusing on multi-family properties in the Southeastern United States.
Kavana's academic journey includes a B.A. in Hospitality Management and Finance from Florida International University, graduate-level studies in real estate finance at Harvard University, and completion of Harvard Business School’s OPM program.
His contributions extend beyond business ventures. Kavana is a founding member of AIPAC’s Miami club and has served as a trustee on the Florida State Pension Plan Board. He is currently on the Advisory Board for Aviator Capital Management and was recognized in Latin Trade’s TOP 100 Most Powerful Businesspeople listing in 2017. Furthermore, as a founding member of Mosaic, part of YPO International, and its Global Impact Officer, he leads over 300 global members in making a positive impact.
While Kavana served as the CEO of ARK Homes For Rent until 2023, his transition to the role of chairman marks a new chapter in his distinguished career, continuing his legacy of innovation and leadership in the real estate industry.
John Isakson is the CEO of ARK Homes for Rent, overseeing the growth of the business and managing the company’s entire SFR/ BTR portfolio. Isakson brings 30 years of experience across multiple segments of the public and private real estate industry including finance, asset management, development, and construction/renovation management.
Prior to joining ARK Homes For Rent, Isakson served as Chief Financial Officer to Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc., (NYSE:APTS), a publicly traded US Real Estate Investment Trust, that acquired and operated multifamily and grocery anchored retail properties throughout the United States. As a partner with John Williams, former CEO and founder of Post Properties, Isakson was part of the senior team that took Preferred Apartment Communities public in a $51MM IPO in 2011. During Isakson’s tenure, the company grew from a $51 million market capitalization and a portfolio of $90 million to a market cap of approximately $3.2 billion and $6 billion in total assets at its sale to Blackstone in 2022. The sale resulted in an almost 17% IRR to any common stock IPO investor who held the stock from IPO to the sale (including the dividends paid).
Prior to APTS, Isakson served as CEO and co-founder of Williams Asset Management, managing a $300MM private equity fund focused on acquiring and renovating multifamily properties in the Southeast and Southwest. Isakson merged the company he founded, a small fund focused on multifamily, with John Williams’ group to create Williams Asset Management. Early in his career, Isakson ran the acquisitions and finance group for a private developer in Atlanta and also worked at Wachovia Bank in Real Estate lending.
Active in politics on the local, state and national level, Isakson learned the real estate trade from his late father, Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA), a real estate executive and politician, who served in a variety of elected and appointed positions, including US Congressman, over a 45 year career in state and national politics.
Isakson’s philanthropic endeavors include serving on the Dean's Advisory Council at Tulane University, and he has served on the national board of the Arthritis Foundation and the National Building Museum. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics at Tulane University, and a master’s degree in economics at the University of Georgia.
Miles Adams is the Chief Operating Officer for ARK Homes For Rent and has over 20 years of experience in the real estate industry. Miles began his career at a Big 4 Accounting firm where he served a variety of public and private REITS, real estate developers and owner/operators in the industry. After leaving public accounting, he served as Chief Accounting Officer for BSR Trust (BSRTF; Toronto Exchange) and entered the single-family industry in 2014 as CFO of HavenBrook Homes, which was owned and sponsored by PIMCO. After the sale of HavenBrook to Front Yard Residential (FYR), a public SFR, Miles served as Senior Vice President of Operations. In this role, he led the property management team and integration of the 15,000 homes owned by FYR prior to the Company’s eventual sale to Pretium Partners in 2021.
Miles holds both a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Accounting from the University of Georgia. He is a certified public accountant, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and is a CPA licensed in the state of Georgia.
Wendy Gill serves as the Chief Financial Officer for ARK Homes for Rent, overseeing all accounting and reporting functions and supporting the company’s corporate initiatives, including strategic financial planning. She has more than 25 years of accounting and finance experience, with an emphasis on the real estate sector and serving institutional investors. Wendy’s career path reflects long-term dedication to organizations while serving in progressively senior roles, establishing and growing public and private company financial and operating platforms, and significant experience with large transactions and integrations. She has a proven track record of adapting to dynamic and complex operating environments and possesses in-depth knowledge of technical accounting rules and institutional financial reporting.
Prior to joining ARK Homes for Rent, Wendy served as Interim Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, and Chief of Corporate Operations for Columbia Property Trust (NYSE: CXP), a publicly traded U.S. Real Estate Investment Trust that owns and operates office and retail properties in gateway markets. At Columbia Property Trust, Wendy led preparations for a NYSE listing and concurrent tender offer, including the acquisition of the predecessor advisory company, implementing public company financial reporting and governance systems, and establishing a full suite of corporate operations. She served as management’s liaison to the Audit Committee and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. Wendy coordinated finance and accounting for merger-and-acquisition activities, including Columbia Property Trust’s go-private transaction in December 2021. Under private-equity ownership, Wendy restructured finance, accounting, reporting, and corporate functions to serve the new investors’ interests and worked with lenders and advisors to modify more than $2.0 billion of structured and secured debt.
Previously, Wendy served at Wells Real Estate Funds, Columbia Property Trust’s predecessor advisory firm, for 11 years in progressively senior roles, culminating in Chief Accounting Officer for a series of publicly registered non-traded REITs and funds. During her tenure at Wells Real Estate Funds, Wendy rebuilt the firm’s accounting and finance functions to support rapid growth, significantly expanded the firm’s SEC financial reporting and GAAP accounting capabilities, and led the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley.
Earlier in her career, she worked for Arthur Andersen as an audit and assurance manager in the firm’s Atlanta and Washington, D.C., offices with a focus on clients in the real estate, hospitality, and financial services industries.
Wendy holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Delaware. She is a Certified Public Accountant licensed by the state of Maryland and an emeritus member of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts’ Best Practices Financial Council.
Gentry Ashmore Hoit is the Chief Strategy Officer for ARK Homes For Rent. She runs the firm’s Capital Markets vertical and is focused on growing the business. She has an institutional background in CRE including capital markets, advisory, private equity, investment, and development. Formerly, she was CEO and Founder of GAH Real Estate LLC and a Senior Advisor to Finback Real Estate.
Prior to that, Gentry was a Partner and Head of Strategic Business Development at GreenOak Real Estate. Earlier, Gentry was at Park Madison Partners, Atlantic Assets Group, Rubenstein Partners, Shorenstein Company, and Hines. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from Georgetown University.
Jaekwon Soh is the Director of Asset Management for ARK Homes For Rent. He has over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. Jaekwon began his career in accounting, where he served several private corporate clients. After leaving the accounting field, he gained experience in banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, serving a variety of roles ranging from MBS allocations, fixed income operations, and merger transitions.
In the SFR industry, Jaekwon served as the Director of Acquisitions and Transactional Management at Sylvan Road Capital, where he was responsible for purchasing over 2000 assets with an average gross cap of 12.0% across 15 Sun Belt and Mid-Atlantic MSA markets. Also, as the Executive Director of Project Management, he led enterprise, strategic initiatives on technology enhancements, market expansion, due diligence of portfolio acquisitions & dispositions, and the setup of new funds/JVs. He is a firm believer in establishing simple and repeatable policies and procedures for scalability and growth.
He graduated cum laude from Georgia Institute of Technology with a focus in Finance, Accounting, and Marketing.
Lory Freiman is currently serving as the Chief Accounting Officer for ARK Homes For Rent. With 20 years of experience in both public and private organizations, Lory is a certified public accountant who started her career at a Big 4 Accounting Firm where she provided services to domestic and international clients. During her tenure of 11 years at Deloitte & Touche, she specialized in conducting audits for companies in the real estate, construction, and hospitality sectors.
Subsequently, Lory joined MasTec, Inc., a multinational infrastructure engineering and construction company based in Coral Gables, Florida. She served as a Corporate Senior Manager of Special Projects and Technical Accounting, where she focused on mergers, acquisitions, and complex, non-routine transactions. After five years at MasTec, Lory joined The Allen Morris Company, a real estate development firm located in Coral Gables, where she led the Corporate Accounting department. During her tenure at The Allen Morris Company, Lory led several company-wide strategic initiatives, including system conversions and migrations, team restructuring, and process improvements.
Lory's hands-on approach is based on transparency, discipline, accountability, and strong execution. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with dual majors in Accounting and Finance from the Florida International University. She is a member of both the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Kimmi Le is a co-founder for ARK Living Health and Wellness. In her previous experience, she has always chosen opportunities where she is a part of something that promotes wellness through entrepreneurial ventures and faculty roles. As a former faculty at NSU in the College of Pharmacy, Kimmi understood that there is a great need for preventative health in a way that is attainable and accessible to and for all. As one of the founders of a thriving vitamins and herbs-powered juice and eatery chain, Kimmi successfully interacted with people from all walks of life who were or had been dealing with health matters. She knew they could have avoided the health issues with preventative care and health-oriented lifestyles. Kimmi is always looking for new ways to share that a healthy lifestyle isn’t just reserved for the wealthy.
