MEET THE PWD ASLAN TEAM
PWD Aslan produces results with our greatest asset – our human capital. We have seasoned Partners whose overriding philosophy is to steward and enhance Travel Center/Truck Stop real estate. This is accomplished through a comprehensive and disciplined approach during our initial evaluation, underwriting, due diligence/zoning/entitlements, capital structuring, and asset disposition. Aslan Partners are responsible for the oversight of all functional real estate aspects.
Mr. Schafer is Founder and President of Aslan Capital Management. Mr. Schafer’s efforts focus on sourcing capital, structuring transactions and developing business strategies. Under Mr. Schafer’s direction, Aslan has participated in transactions in excess of $2.5 Billion.
Mr. Schafer has over thirty years of management experience within the real estate industry. During his career he has managed and/or transacted over $3.5 Billion in real estate assets. Prior to founding Aslan, Mr. Schafer co-founded and served as the President of Lyon Capital Ventures, a multi-family investment and development company based in Southern California.
Mr. Schafer graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Miami University and earned a Masters of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School. He enjoys fitness, golf and Cincinnati Bengals football. He has been married to his wife Barb for 38 years and has three adult daughters.
Mr. Rakow is the Chief Operating Officer at Aslan Capital Management and a founding Partner in the firm. Mr. Rakow’s efforts focus primarily on sourcing capital, asset acquisition and divestitures, as well as corporate operations. Since joining the firm, Aslan has participated in transactions in excess of $2.5 Billion.
Mr. Rakow has thirty years of experience within the real estate, investment banking and medical device industries. He began his career at Bristol Myers-Squibb Co, where he held senior level sales and marketing positions in the medical device divisions. Thereafter, Mr. Rakow transitioned into Investment Banking where his responsibilities included extensive interaction with Wall Street investment firms, venture capital and small capitalization companies. He has participated in numerous Private Placement, IPO and Secondary Offerings.
Mr. Rakow graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Marquette University. He enjoys fitness, road biking, boating and supporting USC & Green Bay Packers football. He has been married to his wife Peggy for 34 years and has two adult daughters. Mr. Rakow is also fluent in German.
Mr. West is a co-founder and partner of Pine West Development. He is responsible for company operations, project management, strategy, deal structuring, and financing for the PWD Aslan team.
Mr. West has more than 10 years of commercial real estate development and investment across all product types. Prior to PWD, Mr. West worked at a Dallas-based real estate PE firm focused on multifamily, mixed-use, and retail. Mr. West sourced, closed, and oversaw the development & acquisition of 9 multifamily properties totaling 2,500 units and $410m in direct costs. Mr. West began his career working in the Dallas office of Trammell Crow Company. During his tenure at TCC, he played an integral role in the land acquisition, financing and development of nine industrial & office projects (5.6 MSF, $590m costs) and six multifamily projects (1,300 units, $280m cost).
Mr. West graduated with a BBA (Finance) and BS (Economics) from Southern Methodist University and earned his MBA from Vanderbilt University. After living in Dallas for over a decade, Mr. West recently moved back to Southern California, where he was born and raised.
Mr. Lieberman is a co-founder and partner of Pine West Development. He is primarily responsible for the sourcing of new sites, entitlements & permitting, and managing tenant relationships for the PWD Aslan team.
Mr. Lieberman has more than 20 years of experience in M&A and real estate development with 17 of those years spent working for some of the nation’s largest c-store operators including Sunoco, Circle K, Kum & Go, & Casey’s. During his time with these companies, Mr. Lieberman was directly responsible for leading aggressive growth plans while deploying over $3.0 billion in capital towards acquisitions and development across 75% of the US. During these years, he gained a rare and fundamental understanding of every aspect of the c-store business.
Mr. Lieberman graduated with a BBA (Management & Financial Services) from Grand View University and earned his CCIM designation in 2011. He has been married to his wife Brandi for 21 years and has two teenage daughters.
