Our People
Arnold Whitman
CEO and Co-Chairman
Over the past 25 years, Arnold Whitman has been actively involved with investing in senior housing and healthcare. His career started in 1985 as Director of Acquisitions for MediPlex (publicly traded specialty healthcare company) and evolved into his role as Vice President of Meditrust (publicly- traded REIT) in 1986. In 1993, he left Meditrust to form Health Care Capital Finance (HCCF 96-96), a private debt provider, where he developed a successful securitization program for Senior Housing and Care. HCCF eventually merged into PRN Mortgage Capital (a partnership with SouthTrust Bank and ContiFinancial services) where he acted as President and oversaw over $2 billion of debt investments into Senior Housing and Care. In 2000, Mr. Whitman created Formation Capital as an advisory and equity investment firm for Senior Housing and Healthcare.
In addition, Mr. Whitman is a founder in Prime Care Properties and a founding member and current executive board member of Care Institute, a not-for-profit owner of seniors housing and care properties. He is Chairman Emeritus of the National Investment Center for the Senior Housing and Care Industry (NIC). He has served as a speaker for the following organizations: Australian Senior Housing Summit, Retirement Villages Association of New Zealand, NIC, American Senior Housing Association (ASHA), Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA), National Council on Senior Housing, American Health Care Association and LTC100. Mr. Whitman has written articles for many healthcare publications, including Contemporary Long Term Care, Assisted Living Today, Modern Healthcare and Real Estate Forum.
Steve Fishman
President and Co-Chairman
Steve Fishman has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, including 20 years as a CPA serving the health care and real estate industries. He has been involved in all aspects of the capital markets, private equity, debt structuring, asset management and more importantly has consistently demonstrated his ability to close highly complex transactions during difficult economic times involving many parties and substantial moving parts. He co-founded Formation Capital with Arnold Whitman on January 1, 1999.
From 1999 to 2006, Mr. Fishman was one of the driving forces in the acquisition and roll up of six long-term care portfolios totaling more than 17,000 beds. In 2006, these portfolios were sold to General Electric for a price in excess of $1.4 billion.
Since then, Mr. Fishman as been involved in the acquisition of a public company (Genesis HealthCare) and the purchase of three other long-term care portfolios. The four acquisitions valued in excess of $3 billion, are actively managed by Mr. Fishman and the Formation team.
In addition to the above, he has been involved in all aspects (acquisition, management, and sale) of a very successful health care services company, which is the industry leader in its field. He recently led a team that completed a sale which closed in December 2008 to two large private equity firms providing substantial returns to all of the principals and investors in the transaction. He is currently serving on the board of directors of the acquiring company.
Mr. Fishman graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Drexel University and passed the CPA examination in 1979 at the age of 23.
Chris Sertich
Chief Financial Officer
Chris Sertich brings broad experience in health care consulting and financing to Formation Capital. Prior to assisting in the establishment of Formation Capital, Mr. Sertich was Chief Financial Officer and a Director of PRN Mortgage Capital, LLC. Through the use of secondary market sources such as loan securitization and direct loan placements, the entity closed more than $1.5 billion of loan volume over a three-year period. Mr. Sertich also has worked in the public finance arena, completing more than $750 million of tax-exempt bond offerings in both feasibility consultant and advisory capacities. Prior to entering mortgage banking, Mr. Sertich was in the healthcare consulting practice of Coopers & Lybrand with responsibilities for project management and client development within the healthcare industry. Areas of professional competence included financial feasibility, analysis and support of acquisitions and strategic and financial planning for acute-care hospitals, long-term care facilities and related entities.
Mr. Sertich has been active in many of the senior housing and long-term care trade associations, including the National Investment Center for the Senior Housing and Long-Term Care Industries (NIC), Assisted Living Federation of America and the American Health Care Association, among others. He has a Master of Business Administration from the University of South Carolina and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Michael T. Jones
COO and Senior Vice President
Mike Jones joined Formation Capital in 2002 and is actively involved in all aspects of the company’s operations. Most notably, Mr. Jones is responsible for acquisition/divestiture activities and oversight of portfolio management. During his tenure at Formation Capital, Mr. Jones has lead or participated in transactions totaling in excess of $4 billion spanning various asset types such as independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing/long-term care, institutional pharmacy, rehabilitation, hospice, mobile imaging and medical supply businesses.
Prior to joining Formation, Mr. Jones was Director/Vice President of LinksCorp, LLC and Client Manager for John Hancock’s Group Benefits division.
Mr. Jones received an MBA from Wake Forest University with a concentration in finance and a Bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University.
Scott E. Brown
Vice President, Asset Management
Scott E. Brown joined Formation Capital in June 2007 as Vice President of Asset Management. In this position, Mr. Brown is responsible for investment portfolio performance and compliance.
Mr. Brown has more than 15 years of progressive experience in corporate finance, strategy development, operational turnarounds, and portfolio management. Most recently, Mr. Brown served as a corporate finance executive at DS Waters, a highly-leveraged, private-equity backed water delivery company. In this position, he built a centralized shared-services organization and consolidated finance operations for 7 acquisitions comprising nearly 150 branch locations. Before DS Waters, Mr. Brown reorganized the Massachusetts Office of Business Development under the Romney administration. As the Executive Director, he fostered economic development and real estate investment by administering state and local tax incentives, launching a tax-increment financing program, and commercializing surplus government property. Prior, as a corporate executive at CMGI, Inc., Mr. Brown managed an internet technology investment portfolio and served as strategic advisor to each portfolio company’s board of directors. Earlier in his career, as a consultant at Bain & Company, Mr. Brown developed growth strategies and financial plans for private-equity investors as well as Fortune 500 clients. Mr. Brown began his career at Procter & Gamble, where he managed manufacturing operations and new product launch initiatives.
Mr. Brown earned a mechanical engineering degree with high distinction from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard.
Christina K. Firth
Vice President
Christina Firth joined Formation Capital in 2005 as Vice President. She is responsible for investment analysis, underwriting, deal negotiation, structured finance transactions, litigation management, and corporate governance. Since joining Formation Capital, Ms. Firth has participated in transactions totaling in excess of $4 billion encompassing various asset types such as independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing/long-term care, institutional pharmacy, rehabilitation, hospice, mobile imaging and new market tax credits for senior housing purchases.
Prior to joining Formation Capital, Ms. Firth was Litigation Manager for Mariner Health Care Management Company, an Atlanta based company. While at Mariner, she participated in the successful merger of National Senior Care and Mariner Health Care, Inc., an acquisition totaling $1,055,000,000 in real estate assets and managed over 400 general liability/professional liability lawsuits nationally.
Ms. Firth holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, with a concentration in healthcare management and a Bachelor of Arts from Agnes Scott College. Ms. Firth is also a member of the Turnaround Management Association and is currently working towards her CTP certification.
Martin D. Brew
Vice President Finance
Marty Brew joined Formation Capital as a consultant in February 2007 and began serving as our Vice President Finance in January 2008.
Primary responsibilities include development of strategic planning initiatives, along with oversight of portfolio-level financial audits and tax compliance.
Mr. Brew has over twenty years of financial management experience with both public and private companies operating in the real estate and hospitality industries. He began his professional career as an auditor with KPMG, one of the Big 4 public accounting firms.
Mr. Brew earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Indiana University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Diane S. Bullens
Director of Human Resources
Diane Bullens brings experience to Formation Capital from both the real estate and healthcare industries. While living in Boca Raton, Florida she was involved in real estate sales and new project development. Prior to joining Formation Capital in 2001, she was employed at the Dartmouth Hitchcock / Cheshire Medical Center, a regional health care system in New Hampshire.
At Formation Capital, she is responsible for a broad scope of personnel management functions, including compensation and benefits administration, compliance issues relating to regulatory concerns of employment, employee relations and services for Formation Capital, Formation Healthcare Group and Formation Development Group. In addition, as assistant to the Controller, she is responsible for day-to-day accounting and financial reporting.
Ms. Bullens holds a Master of Business Administration from Franklin Pierce University and a Bachelor of Science from Westbrook College at the University of New England.
She attended the Executive Development Program at Johns Hopkins University sponsored by the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing and Care Industry.
Ed Hart, CPA
Controller
Ed Hart, CPA, became the Controller of Formation Capital, LLC, in August 2005. He is responsible for the accounting and treasury functions of Formation Capital, LLC and its related entities. He also provides support for the acquisition and asset management activities.
A graduate of Boston College, Mr. Hart began his accounting career in the New York Office of Arthur Andersen & Co. He has both public and private accounting experience as well experience in real estate management, development and acquisition.
Gregory Carr
Asset Manager
Gregory Carr joined Formation Capital in May 2006. His primary duties include document compliance, operations analysis, and investor reporting.
From 2001 to 2006, Gregory worked as a financial analyst for Colonial Properties Trust. While at Colonial, he prepared financial analyses on approximately $635 million of successful office building developments, acquisitions, and dispositions. In 1999 until mid-year 2001, he worked as an analyst at Tri-Mont Real Estate Advisors.
In 1999, Gregory received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in Real Estate from The University of Georgia. He is a proficient ARGUS software user, with over seven years experience.
Stephen Leake
Director, Asset Management
Stephen T. Leake joined Formation Capital in September 2007 as Director, Asset Management. In this position, Mr. Leake is responsible for post–closing transaction oversight, portfolio performance, and compliance.
Mr. Leake has more than 13 years of progressive experience in corporate finance, private equity, operations, and portfolio management. Most recently Mr. Leake was a principal at Incentive Capital Management, where he managed public and private equity investments, transactions, and financing. In this capacity, he also evaluated deals and lead operations.
Prior to Incentive Capital, Mr. Leake was hired by the Department of the Army to run the $468 million US reconstruction program for Anbar Province, an area the size of Illinois comprising the western third of Iraq. In this capacity, Mr. Leake served 15 months traveling around the Sunni Triangle where he provided strategic direction and leadership for a program of 200+ complex, multi–million dollar infrastructure projects covering all major phases of public infrastructure including power, water, healthcare, education, waste water, roads, and public safety. As Regional Director for the Iraq Project and Contracting Office, he was permanently embedded with the U.S. Marines in Ramadi, Najaf, and Fallujah and held the civil service rank equivalent of a colonel.
With a SECRET security clearance, Mr. Leake coordinated at the regimental commander and general officer levels with the U.S. Marines, U.S. Army, U.S. State Department, U.S. Navy Seabees, and Iraqi government. He was awarded the Joint Meritorious Unit Citation for mission success and more than a year of continuous service in a combat environment.
Before working for the US government in Iraq, Mr. Leake was Director of Research at private equity firm EndPoint Capital in Atlanta where he was responsible for the equity research function and due diligence efforts on post–venture restricted shares. Prior to EndPoint he was a senior investment analyst for Trusco Capital Management and SunTrust from 1995 to 2000.
Mr. Leake has a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Emory University. He is a Level III candidate in the CFA Program.
Paul O'Sullivan
Manager, Financial Reporting and Analysis
Paul joined Formation Capital in January 2008. He is responsible for streamlining Formation’s financial reporting, modeling, underwriting, and analysis. Paul has eight years experience in financial reporting and, prior to joining Formation, he worked as the Senior Financial Analyst for Aelera Resources. At Aelera, Paul was responsible for financial modeling, budgeting, forecasting, and month end close processes. Prior to Aelera, Paul worked as the Senior Financial Analyst for Jameson Inns. At Jameson, Paul was responsible for the accounting and management of $250 million of mortgage debt, SEC reporting of debt, financial analysis, and debt covenants. Paul is highly proficient in Excel, Access, FRx, and is self taught in Visual Basic.
Paul holds a BA in Accounting from The University of Georgia and an MBA in Finance from Georgia State University. Paul is a Marine in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and is the recipient of the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal, National Defense Medal, and the Rifle Expert badge. Paul is a Level III CFA candidate in the CFA program, a member of CFA Institute, and CFA Society of Atlanta.
Melissa Miller
Controller, Tandem Health Care
Melissa Miller joined Formation Capital as Controller of Tandem Health Care, LLC in January 2009 and leads the accounting team for the Tandem portfolio. Her primary responsibilities include the development of the in-house accounting team, GAAP and financial reporting, and tax compliance.Melissa has over ten years of progressive financial experience with both public and private companies in the real estate industry. She began her professional career in public accounting, and her real estate experience began in the REIT segment as Assistant Controller of EastGroup Properties, Inc. Most recently, she was Corporate Controller of Novare Group Holdings, LLC, developer of mixed-use high-rise communities in U.S. urban markets, where she managed the financial reporting, tax compliance and investor relations functions of the company.
Melissa is a Certified Public Accountant, and she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Professional Accountancy from The University of Southern Mississippi.
Kelly Burns
Senior Accountant, Tandem Health Care
Kelly joined Formation Capital in March 2009 as part of the accounting team brought in-house for Tandem Health Care, LLC. Her responsibilities include managing the day-to-day accounting processes related to the general ledger and treasury activity. She is directly involved in the monthly financial close process and financial reporting. Prior to joining Formation, Kelly held an Accounting Manager position with a privately-held company in the homebuilding industry for several years. Prior to that, Kelly worked at Earthlink, Inc. for six years where she successfully served several positions with increased responsibilities through promotions and advancements in their Accounting & Finance department.Kelly transferred to Atlanta in 2000 from California, where earlier, she had earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting from California University, Chico. She is currently pursuing her studies to pass the exam for her CPA license.
Melanie Adams
Tandem Health Care
Bio coming soon.
Katy E. Warren
Executive Assistant and Marketing Coordinator
Katy Warren joined Formation Capital in October 2005. She is the Executive Assistant to Arnold Whitman and provides support to the Alpharetta office. In addition to her assistant duties, Mrs. Warren is responsible for designing and coordinating all events and marketing projects for the company, as well as maintaining the website.
Before joining Formation Capital, Mrs. Warren served as the Executive Assistant and Marketing Coordinator for the Corporate Investigations division of Smith & Carson, a legal services firm headquartered in Atlanta. Mrs. Warren supported the CEO, EVP and a team of forensic accountants and investigators, while also being an integral component of the Marketing department. She designed several marketing pieces and collaborated with the Director of Marketing on the firm's national branding and marketing campaign. Mrs. Warren attended North Carolina State University.
Casey Bullens
Executive Assistant
Bio coming soon.
