Our Team

David Lifschitz

David Lifschitz is Chief Executive Officer of The Gehr Group overseeing all aspects of The Gehr Group’s four principal business units – Gehr Hospitality, Gehr Development, Gehr Industries, and Gehr International. Mr. Lifschitz joined The Gehr Group in 1995 as CFO and CIO. In 2009 he became COO, in 2010 he became President, and in March 2015 he was appointed as CEO. As CEO, David directs the company’s operations, as one of only two executives with oversight across all divisions, with the objective of maximizing efficiency and return on invested capital. He is actively involved in business strategy, marketing activity, and operations at the division level. Mr. Lifschitz also serves as a trustee for the Gehr Family Foundation.

Prior to joining The Gehr Group, David spent a decade at the Enterprise Group of Arthur Andersen, advising public and privately-held and fast-growing companies in the entertainment, broadcasting, manufacturing, publishing, high-tech, wholesale distribution and retail industries. Mr. Lifschitz is a CPA, received his MBA from University of Southern California (USC), and his BA in Psychology from University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

Mark Goldman

Mark Goldman is Chief Chief Counsel of The Gehr Group. Mr. Goldman joined The Gehr Group in 2012 after previously serving as outside counsel for 28 years. Mark is in charge of all legal matters for The Gehr Group and its subsidiaries, as well as overseeing all work conducted by outside law firms pertaining to business transactions and litigation. Mr. Goldman also serves as a trustee for the Gehr Family Foundation.

Mr. Goldman has over 50 years of experience working on sophisticated legal cases in entertainment, family, and real estate as well as advising in numerous real estate transactions. Prior to joining The Gehr Group, Mr. Goldman was the owner of his own law firm  Goldman & Kagon Law Corporation. He also served as in-house counsel for Mapleton Investments where he handled all acquisition, divestitures, legal contracts, and agreements for the private venture capital firm. Mr. Goldman received his JD from University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)’s School of Law and also received a BA in economics at UCLA.<

Molly Caccamo

Molly serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Gehr Hospitality where she oversees the sourcing, acquisition, financing and asset management of the firm’s existing and future investments. She previously served as the Vice President of Acquisitions for the company.

Prior to joining Gehr, Molly was a Director with Cushman & Wakefield’s Global Equity, Debt & Structured Finance team and, previously, a Director with Ackman Ziff’s Hospitality Group where she completed approximately $1.5 billion in hotel transactions. Molly served as a Senior Associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers in their Hospitality and Leisure Practice where she provided consulting services including market studies, feasibility analyses, acquisition due diligence, REIT lease structuring, and valuation of hospitality and commercial real estate investments. Molly holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration and an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.

Ed Duess

Ed Duess serves as the Vice President of Asset Management for Gehr Hospitality, where he focuses on maximizing the value of the company’s investment portfolio. His responsibilities include executing the portfolio’s business plans, project managing renovations, and streamlining property operations.

Prior to joining Gehr Hospitality, Ed worked with DiNapoli Capital Partners, a privately held real estate investment firm. During his time there, Ed focused on asset management activities such as improving the hotel portfolio’s performance, project managing renovations, underwriting prospective acquisitions and acted as the interim General Manager for one of their properties. Prior to DiNapoli, Ed spent over a decade in various management roles in the rooms, food & beverage, and sales & marketing divisions at several hotels, most recently The London West Hollywood, The Beverly Hilton, and the Hollywood Roosevelt.

Ed earned a Master of Business Administration at UCLA Anderson School of Management with a focus on Real Estate Finance. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration.

Rana Mehdizadeh

Rana Mehdizadeh serves as the Portfolio Management Associate for Gehr Hospitality where she is involved in the oversight of various aspects of the company’s portfolio. Ms. Mehdizadeh joined Gehr in 2018 and works in various roles supporting acquisitions, dispositions, capital initiatives, and asset management. Her  responsibilities include, monitoring and reporting of financial and operational performance, working closely with lenders, and supporting the Asset Management and Acquisition teams.

Prior to joining Gehr, Rana served as Relationship Associate at Churchill Management Group. Rana holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from California State University Northridge and a Certificate of Real Estate with a concentration in Investments from UCLA.

Max Paetzold

Max Paetzold is the Chief Financial Officer for The Gehr Group. He oversees all finance and accounting related functions, including accounting, financial reporting, tax, compliance, credit & collections and internal controls. His responsibilities also include financial aspects of modeling for sales, procurement, inventory management and overhead.

Prior to joining Gehr, Mr. Paetzold held leadership positions at several companies including at The Honest Company where he was VP Financial Operations and VP Corporate Controller, at JR286 Inc. where he was Director of Finance, and at 20th Century Fox where he was Senior Vice President Finance for International TV Distribution. Previously Mr. Paetzold was an Experienced Manager with the Enterprise Group at the Los Angeles office of Arthur Andersen, providing accounting and financial advisory services to middle-market private and public companies in the professional services, consumer products, retail, entertainment, advertising, hi-tech, real estate, food services, and manufacturing and distribution industries. Mr. Paetzold is a CPA and holds a MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Loyola Marymount University.

Mario Yanigiharo

Mario Yanigiharo is the Vice President Controller for The Gehr Group. He oversees consolidated financial reporting for Gehr’s 19 entities and cash flow management for the company.

Prior to joining Gehr, Mario served several rolls at GE Brazil including Accountant, Cost Accountant, and Financial Planning & Analysis Manager. Mario completed the Financial Management Program (FMP) at GE Brazil and holds a BA in Business Administration from Pontificial Catholic University of Sao Paulo – Brazil.

Kathryn Siow

Kathryn Siow serves as the Manager of Financial Reporting with The Gehr Group. She oversees analytical reporting for all Gehr Group divisions as well as office management and coordination. Her responsibilities also include assisting the CEO in all company matters. Kathryn joined The Gehr Group as a Staff Accountant before accepting the position of Senior Financial Analyst in 2013.

Prior to joining Gehr, Kathryn was the general manager of Tran Luu Fashion. Prior to that she was the office manager for LDL Trading Company’s U.S. office. Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Accounting from California State University Los Angeles.