Executive Profiles

James C. Mastandrea is chairman and chief executive officer. He has more than thirty years of experience as a real estate investor, manager and developer. Under his direction, the portfolio value of First Union (NYSE:FUR), a real estate equity and investment trust (REIT), increased more than three-fold to $1 billion, its stock more than doubling.
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John J. Dee is chief operating officer, executive vice president and director of finance. He is responsible for accounting, audit, legal, technology, finance and SEC reporting. He also has approval responsibility for all tenant leases and major operational projects. He has worked closely with Chairman Mastandrea for the past 14 years.

A native of Ohio, Mr. Dee graduated summa cum laude from Cleveland State University, Cleveland, and joined the audit staff of Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., then one of the nation's largest accounting firms. In 1978, he joined First Union, a real estate investment trust, where he met Mr. Mastandrea in 1993. Mr. Dee later rose to senior vice president and chief accounting officer.

In 2000 he joined Frantz Ward LLP, a Cleveland-based law firm, as director of finance and administration. In 2002 Mr. Dee joined Midwest Development Corporation, established in 1978 by Mr. Mastandrea. Mr. Dee served as senior vice president and chief financial officer, leading the firm’s acquisition analysis program.

A year later, he joined Paragon Real Estate Investment Trust, a Cleveland-based REIT then listed on the American Stock Exchange, as chief financial officer and a trustee with Mr. Mastandrea who joined at the same time as chairman and chief executive officer. Mr. Dee was responsible for accounting and finance, SEC reporting, legal, technology and shareholder relations, and served as the corporate secretary.
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David K. Holeman is chief financial officer. He is responsible for corporate finance, capital markets, investor relations, accounting and SEC reporting. He has more than twenty years of multi-industry experience in public and privately held companies.

Prior to joining Whitestone REIT, he served as chief financial officer of Hartman Management, the previous management company.

From 2004 to 2006 he served as vice president, chief financial officer and corporate secretary of publicly held Gexa Energy. He joined Houston Cellular, a partnership of publicly held companies AT&T and Bellsouth in 1995 as controller. Houston Cellular was acquired by Cingular Wireless, a partnership of publicly held companies SBC and BellSouth, in January 2001. Mr. Holeman was promoted to chief financial officer, head of shared services, in 1999. He left Cingular Wireless in 2003.

Mr. Holeman joined HMSS, a Houston-based alternative site healthcare business, in 1988 as senior accountant. During his eight years with the firm, he rose from the position of financial manager to controller, director of finance and director of restructuring. In 1989 the company was acquired by Secom, Japan's first and largest security corporation. In September 1994, HMSS was sold to Coram Healthcare as part of a roll-up of five alternative site health care companies. Mr. Holeman held the position of director of restructuring for Coram Healthcare, a NYSE-listed company.

Having graduated from Abilene Christian University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting, Mr. Holeman began his career as an auditor with Deloitte and Touche in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1985 to 1988. He is a licensed CPA by the State of Texas.
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Daniel Nixon, Jr. is senior vice president of leasing and redevelopment for Whitestone REIT. He is responsible for all leasing functions of the Office, Industrial and Retail divisions of the company as well as redevelopment of properties with strong revenue growth potential.

Mr. Nixon has more than thirty years of experience in commercial real estate. Prior to joining Whitestone REIT, Mr. Nixon was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hull Storey Retail Group, LLC, Augusta, Georgia, which owns seventeen enclosed malls and thirty-six shopping centers in the south.

He also held several senior executive and leasing and property management positions with First Union REIT, Cleveland, Ohio, leaving as executive vice president, director of retail. A graduate of Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio, he has a Bachelor degree in Economics and a minor in Business Administration.
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Valarie King is senior vice president, property management. She is responsible for the construction department and property management staff, including assessing and monitoring the property operations and performance; tenant relations; compliance and legal issues; business development support, and new property transition.

Her responsibilities include supervision and training of property management staff; inter-departmental communication and coordination; office site administration and compliance issues; preparation of annual budgets for thirty-five properties; and planning, organizing, staffing, directing and managing the property management department.

Ms. King has more than fifteen years of property management experience and has held property management positions with Helmsley Spear National Real Estate and Trammel Crow Companies. She is a member of International Council of Shopping Centers and Building Owners and Managers Association.
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Samuel Demissie is director of acquisitions and asset management. He is responsible for financial modeling and analysis of properties, portfolios and redevelopment.

He identifies properties in line with the company’s strategic plan and identifies potential acquisitions that would enhance the company’s portfolio.

Mr. Demissie’s career has been primarily in the electronics industry. He has held senior management positions for such companies as NEC America, Philips Semiconductor and Holley Communications. From 1989 to 1999, Mr. Demissie was senior product planner at NEC America.

Prior to joining Whitestone REIT, he was president of Hop-on Wireless, Irvine, California. Mr. Demissie is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree in economics.
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Richard A. Vaughan is vice president of marketing and investor relations. He is responsible for marketing functions and corporate communications of the company and oversees investor relations.

With more than twenty-five years in the investment industry, he has worked for several national financial services companies, including Farmers Financial Services and Legacy Advisors.

Mr. Vaughan is a graduate of the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Business Administration; he also has done graduate work in finance, marketing and management.
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Greg Belsheim is vice president of human resources. He is responsible for providing overall strategic human resources leadership, including coordination of strategies and tactics, oversight of initiatives and operations, planning, budgeting and measurement of results. Mr. Belsheim is also responsible for leading the development and implementation of human resources policies, programs and practices; including employment, labor relations, compensation, learning and development, organizational development and employee services.

He has more than twenty-five years of human resources management experience in the retail, wholesale and manufacturing industries. From 1997 to 2005, Mr. Belsheim was vice president of human resources of Rice Epicurean Markets, the oldest family-owned supermarket chain in Houston.

A graduate of the University of New Mexico, Mr. Belsheim holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Oklahoma City University.
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Roger Nassif is construction manager. He is responsible for all matters related to design and construction. With the support of his team, he maintains a database of as-built drawings, provides space planning services to prospective tenants and manages the construction of tenant and building improvements.

With more than twenty-five years of experience in the design and construction management industry, Mr. Nassif has held several senior management positions with real estate holding companies and general contractors in the Houston area and on assignments overseas.

Mr. Nassif is a graduate of the University of Houston with a Bachelor and a Master of Architecture.
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Theodore R. Zeck is vice president, information systems. He is responsible for all information technologies, including data and voice communication and data processing, security and storage. Mr. Zeck first worked at Whitestone REIT as a consultant and later joined the company as director, information systems.

After five years in public accounting, Mr. Zeck was controller and treasurer of The HOMZ Group, a multi-state real estate development and management firm. From 1997 to 2007, he was in private practice, providing implementation, training and support of Yardi Systems, Inc., property management software for hundreds of clients nationwide.

Mr. Zeck is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting and is licensed as a CPA by the State of Wisconsin.
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J. R. O’Brien is senior counsel. He is responsible for managing and overseeing contract negotiation and drafting acquisition and disposition transactions. His responsibilities include managing the leasing division of the legal department. Mr. O’Brien also helps resolve shareholder questions, advises all departments on numerous legal matters and oversees tenant disputes and/or litigation. He works in conjunction with outside counsel.

Prior to joining Whitestone REIT, Mr. O’Brien was a name partner in two Houston law firms and spent sixteen years in private civil practice focusing on general corporate matters and litigation, specializing in corporate representation, product liability, real estate transactions and professional liability, including the defense of real estate companies and their agents.

Mr. O’Brien is A/V rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a graduate of South Texas College of Law with a Juris Doctorate.
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