VMD Executive Team
Jim Vitas founded VMD Companies in 2004 and is the Executive Chairman and Founder of the firm. At VMD, Mr. Vitas focuses on the commercial real estate market, from acquisition and entitlements through financing, leasing and disposition. With special efforts directed towards opportunistic and value-add investment strategies, Mr. Vitas strives to optimize the firm’s yields through equity syndication and creative debt structuring.
Mr. Vitas has since been involved in growing the organization by launching multiple verticals, thus ensuring the company remains multi-faceted. Mr. Vitas enjoys deeply analyzing consumer trends and positioning the firm in a manner that will allow it to capitalize on market gyrations.
In 2012 VMD was awarded project of the year by the New Hampshire Planners Associate and American Society of Civil Engineers. In 2016 VMD was awarded project of the year by the State of New Hampshire. Under Jim’s stewardship, VMD has actively overseen and developed in excess of $500MM in real estate, with projects ranging from New England to South Florida.
Mr. Vitas graduated from the University of New Hampshire with degrees in: Business Management, Communications and a Minor in community development. Jim was heavily involved in continuing education programs throughout his college tenure, such as: LEED Accreditation, Development from Beginning to End, and the John T. Riordan School of Professional Development which was hosted in Lansing, Michigan.
Dave Durgin joined VMD Companies as the Chief Operating Officer, with an additional focus on commercial leasing, operations, and asset management.
Prior to joining VMD, Mr. Durgin started his career in real estate focusing on accounting and finance before shifting to operations. He has 5 years of financial and operational experience in the real estate industry, including leasing, property and consolidated budgeting, capital project management, and software integration. Most recently, Mr. Durgin managed the leasing and operations for a diversified portfolio valued over $350M, consisting of multi-family, retail, and office assets located throughout Greater Boston.
He holds a B.S. in Accounting and a M.B.A. from Southern New Hampshire University.
Prior to joining VMD, Mr. Beaton worked at Boston Capital, where he was responsible for the disposition of real estate assets and limited partner interests, maximizing yield for the company’s investors. Since joining Boston Capital in 2015, he assisted in closing more than 300 real estate transactions valued over $1.0 Billion. James has more than 6 years of diversified experience within the real estate industry, including investment sales/capital transactions, asset management and underwriting of a variety of property types across the country.
Mr. Beaton earned a B.S. in Finance from Bentley University. He is a licensed Real Estate Salesperson in Massachusetts.
Kirk Balcom joined VMD Companies as the Director of Construction, his focus on all construction related activities. Mr. Balcom offers over 19 years of construction industry experience bringing a vast knowledge of construction techniques and general practices. He has in-depth experience managing a diverse range of large-scale projects that include new construction and renovation work, from several patient-care facilities, K-12 schools, to occupied additions, and building renovation.
Prior to joining VMD, Mr. Balcom managed all aspects of public, ground-up construction projects including construction document control, complete project financial management, schedule performance, with constant collaboration with owners, architects and subcontractors throughout the duration of each project. He has successfully managed both LEED Platinum and LEED Silver certified projects.
Mr. Balcom earned a B.S. in Construction Engineering from the Wentworth Institute of Technology.
Steve Gallagher joined VMD as Director of Development, with a responsibility for leading the company’s development projects from acquisitions through stabilization. He has extensive experience in real estate finance, design, entitlements, and construction.
Prior to his time at VMD, Steve worked as a real estate developer in Massachusetts and as an architect in Massachusetts and New York. He also has years of site experience in the construction industry. Steve holds a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in Real Estate Development from MIT. He is a licensed architect in Massachusetts.
Michael Ghiloni joined VMD Companies as the Controller. In this role he handles all accounting responsibilities and financial reporting at both the asset and corporate level. He is responsible for budgeting and forecasting for all assets as well as implementing internal controls to mitigate the company’s risk. In addition, he works closely with the development team on underwriting potential investments and helps to maintain relationships with lenders on behalf of the company.
Prior to VMD, he held financial leadership positions at several real estate companies in Boston, as well as a national general contractor. He handled underwriting, financial reporting, system integration, and both project and property accounting for assets within all industries in these roles.
Mr. Ghiloni earned both a B.S. in Finance and M.B.A. from Providence College.
Aaron Peterson brings a wealth of experience and motivation to VMD Companies in his role as Facilities Manager. After serving nine years in the United States Navy, he returned home to Massachusetts and set his sights on a career in Facilities Maintenance.
Focusing on safety, best practices, and tenant satisfaction, Mr. Peterson excelled in technical roles while employed at CBRE and Longfellow Real Estate Partners. VMD Companies gives him the opportunity to achieve his maximum potential in the high stakes, team oriented environment that characterized his military service.
Mr. Peterson enjoys volunteering at his local VFW Post and is an avid bass fisherman.
Steve Anderson is the Founder and Principal of Hickory Real Estate Advisors. Mr. Anderson was formerly the CEO of LH Charney Associates in New York City, where he oversaw a portfolio consisting of two high-rise office buildings in Times Square and a 250,00 sf shopping center in Manchester, CT.
Prior to joining LHC, he enjoyed a 20-year career in the commercial real estate lending arena as a Managing Director at RBS Greenwich Capital and later Loan Core Capital, where he originated the acquisition loan on One American Legion Highway on behalf of VMD and Atlantic Management. Mr. Anderson’s real estate career began in 1983 as a leasing broker in CBRE’s Midtown New York City office and spanned 15 years with a primary focus on Tenant Representation.
Mr. Anderson lives with his wife in Darien, CT and summers in West Falmouth, MA.
David Douvadjian Sr. joined Newmark in 2016 as head of the firm’s Boston-based debt group. In this role, he leads a five-person team that primarily executes debt and equity placements throughout New England. Capital sources include local, regional and national banks, life insurance companies, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and debt funds with a recent expansion into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Mr. Douvadjian works closely with Newmark’s Boston Capital Markets team, one of the leading investment sales groups in the country with specialties including office, industrial, retail, medical and multi-family assets. He assists in securing financing for acquisition and development transactions overseen by this group in addition to cross-selling its services.
In his 34-year career, Mr. Douvadjian has been involved in more than $10 billion worth of transactions spanning the full spectrum of product types, including suburban and Downtown office, industrial, multi-family, hotel and retail assets as well as new developments. Highlights during his tenure at Newmark Capital Markets include: 300 Baker Avenue (suburban office), 1200 Beacon Street (hotel), Dot Block (multi-family development), 75-101 Federal Street (Downtown office/retail) and Rustcraft Corporate Center (suburban office/industrial). With the ability to follow his clients throughout the country, Mr. Douvadjian’s client roster includes a variety of well-respected local, regional and national firms.
Stephen G. Miller is currently the Co-President of SB360 Capital Partners, LLC one of the premier asset disposition firms in North America. During his career, Stephen has led the charge on many of the largest multi-asset disposition events and has been able to provide enhanced yields to all constituents. He’s widely recognized as an industry leader in the evolution of the disposition model. Stephen was the Co-CEO of Polaroid, Linens ‘N Things, Bombay, and he served as a member of the board of directors for The Sharper Image.
Stephen’s team led the effort in the acquisition and repositioning of these high-profile brands into a licensing model for the global marketplace. These transactions resulted in successful and profitable turnarounds, and returns to their investors. Stephen Graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
A 1984 graduate of the University of Vermont’s College of Engineering & Mathematics, Steven Keach is a Licensed Professional Civil Engineer in the States of New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine & Connecticut. Upon relocating to New Hampshire, Mr. Keach practiced civil engineering at two established consulting firms prior to co-founding Keach-Nordstrom Associates (KNA) in 1994. Today, Mr. Keach serves as KNA’s President and Principal Civil Engineer. Although he remains active in planning, design and permitting functions for a wide variety of public and private sector land development and infrastructure improvement projects, for the past decade, Mr. Keach has primarily focused on managing KNA’s municipal client assignments.
Today, Mr. Keach and KNA serve as consultants to approximately a dozen New Hampshire communities, providing a wide range of engineering, planning and technical support services on an on-going basis. In addition, Mr. Keach continues to provide KNA’s municipal clients with assistance in preparing and maintaining land use regulations, zoning ordinances, capital improvement programs and master plans. As a resident of Merrimack, Mr. Keach has served his community as a planning board member, assistant town moderator, scout leader and youth sports coach.
