Who We Are

Team

Francis P. Kavanaugh

President and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Kavanaugh has 30+ years of diverse experience in real estate investment, business restructuring, and operational leadership. Mr. Kavanaugh is currently employed as a Managing Director of Fort Ashford Funds, LLC. He has served as its manager since the company’s inception in 2004. Mr. Kavanaugh is also the founder of Inc 500 companies, including Force Protection Inc., which he grew from less than $1 Million to over $1 Billion company in just six years.

Mr. Kavanaugh received his B.S. in Information and Computer from University of California, Irvine.

headshot of brent winn

Brent Winn, Jr.

Chief Financial Officer

Prior to his appointment as the Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Winn provided chief financial officer services as an independent contractor of the Company beginning in February 2018. During his tenure, Mr. Winn has established the accounting, internal control and financial reporting systems of the Company, managed the financial accounting and reporting for the Company and its subsidiary entities, prepared the quarterly and annual financial statements and other financial elements of quarterly and annual reports and coordinated the annual audit and quarterly reviews. Mr. Winn’s experience in the commercial real estate industry dates to 1987 when he held various positions with CSX Realty, the real estate development and management subsidiary of CSX Corporation, including as an analyst in both the development and asset management groups, and as a manager in the development group. Subsequently, Mr.Winn also held positions in shareholder and investor relations for CSX Corporation. After his tenure with CSX Realty and CSX Corporation, Mr. Winn was a partner in the real estate consulting firms MGT Realty Advisors, Inc. and Realty Advisors, LLC, where he provided investment, development and asset management advisory services to institutional real estate owners. He was formerly the Senior Vice President, CFO and COO of the Virginia Home for Boys and Girls and the chief financial officer of Marz Industries, Inc.

Mr. Winn received his B.A. in History from the University of Virginia, Master of Business Administration from the Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary and a post-graduate degree in Accounting from the Virginia Commonwealth University.

Ben Ore

Controller

Mr. Ore has been working on the Medalist Diversified REIT finance team since 2021. Prior to joining Medalist, Mr. Ore was the Manager of Financial Reporting and Accounting for Equitable Holdings in Charlotte, NC. In his role with Equitable, he oversaw a team of accountants responsible for all monthly and quarterly reporting of Equitable Advisors. Previously, Mr. Ore was a Financial Analyst at Newport Group where he was the lead analyst for the Bank Owned Life Insurance team. Mr. Ore is experienced in financial reporting, modeling and analysis, team management, and brokerage and real estate accounting.

Mr. Ore received his B.S. in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 

Erin Burke

Chief of Staff

Ms. Burke is a strategic business manager who provides the organizational framework to enable informed business decisions. She builds out processes, systems, and procedures to efficiently produce accurate, timely, and succinct reporting and shares key information across the team. Ms. Burke’s experience is rooted in the development and implementation of operating procedures, utilizing a thorough understanding of existing corporate policies to identify and correct process gaps. She proactively resolves issues, while identifying, developing, and executing a variety of projects designed to significantly improve client satisfaction, employee collaboration, cross-team communication, and business efficiency.

Ms. Burke received her BA with a major in political science and government from Humboldt State University and played on Humboldt’s NCAA women’s volleyball team.

Deron Colby

Counsel

Mr. Colby has 26+ years practicing law and managing several securities focused firms including the Newport Beach, California, office of a mid-sized firm located in New York. Mr. Colby has negotiated, structured and closed numerous mergers and acquisitions and has extensive experience in all aspects of SEC disclosure. He has negotiated and assisted in the raising of both private and public investments. Mr. Colby has extensive experience in real estate sales, acquisition, and commercial leases, including representing landowners, developers, and real estate investors. Mr. Colby has experience in land use issues including land use entitlements. Mr. Colby has represented clients in disputes before state and federal courts and a significant number of non-judicial forums from federal and state regulatory agencies to arbitrations and mediations.

Mr. Colby has acted as a securities expert in litigation matters, including matters involving the Sarbanes Oxley Act.