Westwood Financial Continues Trajectory of Rapid Growth

August 21, 2017

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (August 21, 2017) – Westwood Financial, a leading retail investment firm with a portfolio of 118 shopping centers in the U.S., has announced the addition of Matt Lougee as its new Executive Vice President to lead the firm’s ongoing growth and expansion.

“As a forward-looking firm, we are committed to creating a best-in-class leadership team to drive the expansion and management of our industry-leading portfolio,” explains Co-CEO Joe Dykstra. “This new appointment will advance our long-term objective to grow our platform, refine our corporate strategy, and strengthen our capital relationships, thereby positioning us to better serve our clients and investors.”

In this role, Lougee will be responsible for spearheading Westwood’s corporate strategy and finance. He will also facilitate financing for the firm’s retail investments, oversee capital formation and investor relations, and negotiate joint-venture partnerships.

“Matt brings over a decade of real estate finance experience, specifically in value-oriented shopping centers, and will be integral in guiding the growth of our firm,” adds Co-CEO Randy Banchik. “This new addition to our executive leadership team, coupled with our recent consolidation of 275 partnerships into a single entity, reflects our commitment to evolve from a traditional real estate sponsor into a sophisticated real estate institution, and will position us to stay competitive in this evolving retail landscape.”

Prior to Westwood, Lougee served as a Senior Vice President of Finance at DDR Corp., a REIT that owns over 300 open-air shopping centers, where he was involved in asset management, transactions, capital formation, corporate finance and accounting, and investor relations.

He graduated from Colgate University with a degree and is also a graduate of DDR’s management training program.