Team

We are proud of the accomplishments of our colleagues at the firm. Collectively, the professionals at National Standard have participated in their careers in excess of $13 Billion in financings, real estate acquisitions or investments and project financings. In addition our team and strategic partners have managed more than $3 Billion of public private capital programs over the past 5 years.

Our professionals are made up of diverse backgrounds from public finance and investment banking to healthcare administrators and previously government officials. Their professional accomplishments are exemplary, and the sophisticated knowledge they provide to the firm is an invaluable resource to our clients.

Hugo Barreca, J.D., President & Chief Operating Officer
hbarreca@NatStandard.com

Hugo Barreca is President and Chief Operating Officer at National Standard Finance, LLC. Mr. Barreca is responsible for day to day management of the firm, strategic planning, deal structures, and portfolio management of National Standard's investment entities. Mr. Barreca is a financial and legal specialist focusing on financial planning and reporting, contract drafting, deal negotiation, and legal affairs. His corporate experience includes senior positions with Time Inc., The New York Times, Knowledge Strategies Internet Group and Proclivity Systems, Inc. He has held the CFO position in two publicly traded companies as well as in several privately held companies. He has been involved in the structuring of complex business and investment arrangements, advising on company formation, stock plans, business plans, financial forecasts, loans and equity investments. Hugo brings more than 25 years of experience to National Standard across management, financial management and business law. He holds an MBA from New York University, a JD from Fordham School of Law, and a Master's Degree in Public Policy from the City University of New York. He is admitted to the New York and Connecticut Bars.

Tavner Highsmith, III, Executive Director & Chief Investment Officer
thighsmith@natstandard.com

Tavner Highsmith is Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of National Standard Finance, LLC. Mr. Highsmith is responsible for day to day operations and management of the firm and supervises the underwriting, investment pricing and due diligence related activities of the firm. He has extensive background and career in commercial real estate lending and capital markets experience ranging from construction lending to sale-leaseback transactions. Prior to National Standard Finance, Mr. Highsmith was at Credit Sovereign, where he was responsible for originating and closing commercial real estate financings, build-to-suit and sale-leaseback transactions. Mr. Highsmith has personally completed more than 100 sale-leaseback real estate transactions over the past five years making Mr. Highsmith one of the most experienced sale-leaseback investors in the country. Since co-founding National Standard, Mr. Highsmith oversees our underwriting and investor relations activities and is our Chief Investment Officer, which includes being a member of our investment committee. Mr. Highsmith also assist with oversight of the firms portfolio and asset management activities.

Russell Duke, Managing Principal
rduke@natstandard.com

Russell Duke is Managing Principal of National Standard Finance, LLC. Mr. Duke is responsible for leading the company´s strategic growth, managing its daily business operations globally, setting corporate strategy and maintaining and building relationships with institutional investors, business partners and clients. He also is actively engaged in day to day operations and oversight of the firm´s most complex and highest priority investment transactions leading a global team of officers, deal makers, underwriters and legal professionals. Mr. Duke also chairs the Management Committee and serves on the investment committee. Mr. Duke brings a diverse background of experience and knowledge to National Standard Finance, LLC and its clients. Mr. Duke has in-depth experience in debt and equity project financings, complex investment banking and structured finance transactions due to his experience as a merchant banker, investment banker and private equity investor. Since joining National Standard, Mr. Duke has navigated the firm’s rapid growth by expanding its investor and client base which has resulted in a rapidly growing portfolio and an annual pipeline of more than 300 transactions annually originated. Mr. Duke has been the lead investment banker and/or a Principal on numerous large scale financial transactions and has created international exposure due to his accomplishments and efforts in infrastructure and project finance. His direct investment banking and investment career includes transaction experience in providing and/or advising on both debt and equity to domestic and foreign companies, as well as government agencies, totaling financial commitments of several billion dollars during his banking career. Mr. Duke is highly experienced in international transactions including Europe and Asia. Mr. Duke directly oversees all investments in municipal/government, infrastructure and international assets globally.

Jan Petrenko, Principal
jpetrenko@natstandard.com

Jan Petrenko is a Principal at National Standard Finance, LLC a leading public private investment firm active in Public Private Partnership investments for municipalities, energy and healthcare sectors based in San Francisco. Mr. Petrenko is a life long public finance banker in the municipal bond industry catering to small and mid-sized municipalities. Mr. Petrenko brings a substantial wealth of experience, knowledge and relationships to National Standard after a successful track record in the municipal/public finance industry, where he originated in excess of $2 billion dollars of public finance transactions in his prior five years of public finance work prior to joining National Standard, as well as significant experience in renewable energy and infrastructure project financings. Prior to National Standard Mr. Petrenko was a Managing Director of an international merchant bank focusing on energy and project finance and just prior was Vice President of a San Francisco based municipal securities firm. Jan has worked on complex fixed income transactions in many facets of the investment banking and public finance sector and has built institutional relationships domestically and abroad. Mr. Petrenko oversees all west coast activities as well as manages the firms energy portfolio group globally in addition to managing business partner relationships located on the West Coast. Jan holds his Series 6, 7, and 63 licenses from the securities governing body and is the President of a local Not-for-Profit in his community.

Larry Burden, Senior Vice President
lburden@natstandard.com

Larry Burden's real estate financial experience includes his role as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Freddie Mac, where he was directly involved in the underwriting, purchasing, servicing and securitization of tens of billions of dollars in large multi-family and other transactions with commercial banks and Wall Street firms. In the hospital and healthcare sector, he has raised institutional and private capital and establishes sales alliances and sales channels for corporate growth and real estate needs. These efforts included establishing alliances with leading hospital associations and hospital and surgical center design and construction firms. Mr. Burden is a Director and founder of Health Forecasts, a provider of hospital planning and expansion services.

Paul Anderson, Managing Director
panderson@natstandard.com

Paul Anderson is a Managing Director of National Standard Finance, LLC and is responsible for international deal origination and management of the firm’s corporate, government and financial relationships outside the United States. Mr. Anderson brings over 30 years of real estate development and investment banking experience to National Standard. Prior to joining National Standard, Mr. Anderson was President of Anderson Resource Partners, a boutique real estate investment banking firm with offices in Denver and Los Angeles. Founded in 1984, the firm represented buyers, sellers, lenders and equity providers in the structured finance of major commercial transactions nationally and abroad. His understanding of developmental procedures, capital markets and alternative financing structures assisted his clients in transactions exceeding $1 billion. Within National Standard, Mr. Anderson is actively engaged in international operations wherein national governments and private entities join forces to establish Public Private Partnerships for the development of major infrastructure projects.

John McCulloch, MHSA, Senior Vice President
jmcculloch@natstandard.com

John McCulloch is Senior Vice President of National Standard Finance, LLC and manages the healthcare real estate group. Mr. McCulloch is a graduate of the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business and the George Washington University with a Masters degree in Healthcare Administration. As a former hospital administrator, John is uniquely qualified as a healthcare real estate investor due to his in-depth and hands on experience in the healthcare field bringing over 25 years of experience in the healthcare and real estate industries. John brings his invaluable experience working internally with physicians, administrators and decision makers in the medical community. Mr. McCulloch was a former Principal and Co-Founder of National Healthcare Properties, Inc. a healthcare real estate investment company that acquired and managed over $63 million in medical office properties in its portfolio.

Jerry Carrington, J.D., Managing Director
jcarrington@natstandard.com

Jerrold Carrington is a Managing Director of National Standard Finance, LLC. Mr. Carrington is a 21 year private equity investor with a demonstrated history of working with growth companies. He is also Deputy Executive Director for the Chicago/Gary Regional Airport Authority, which oversees the Gary Chicago International Airport, Midway and O'Hare Airports. Mr. Carrington was the CEO and co-founder of SCAH Investments, LLC, the Manager for Prequel, LLC, a $25 million real estate private equity fund (leveraged) that invested in distressed residential real estate in Southern California. Over the past 20 years, Mr. Carrington has made 31 investments, excluding real estate, totaling over $1 billion across a wide variety of industries and has served on the Board of Directors of seven private companies.

MyungKeun Oh, Managing Director
moh@natstandard.com

MyungKeun Oh is responsible for business development and transaction management in South Korea and surrounding regions. During Mr. Oh's career he has been actively involved in project management, planning, consulting as well as raising capital for mid to large scale infrastructure projects in Korea, Southeast Asia, Africa and Russia. Mr. Oh operates full time from his location in South Korea and reports directly to the senior management.

Roger Bergren, Vice President
rbergren@natstandard.com

Roger Bergren is a Vice President with National Standard Finance and has more than 40 years of experience in management, marketing, real estate and banking. After a lengthy corporate career with Brunswick, Mr. Bergren most recently was employed by a regional commercial bank in the capacity of investor relations and reporting to the Chairman directly. Mr. Bergren focuses his efforts at National Standard on business development and corporate relations.