As Westlake’s Chief Financial Officer, Paul Kerwin’s primary responsibility is oversight of all aspects of the company’s finance, accounting, treasury management and analysis.

Prior to joining Westlake, Paul was a Senior Accountant at KPMG, LLP from 1999-2002. During his three years at KPMG, Paul specialized in the Financial Services and Consumer Markets practices where his experience included sub-prime lending, due diligence and various consulting projects.

Paul joined Westlake as Controller in 2002 and was responsible for financial planning and reporting. He was named Chief Financial Officer in 2004. According to Paul, “the Hankey organization’s unique philosophy has resulted in consistent and steady growth for over 20 years,” adding that “Westlake’s employees and management are focused and determined on expanding and continuing this impressive success.”

Paul graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Accounting from the University of San Diego. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Scott earned his MBA with honors from the University of Southern California in 1994, with a major in Real Estate Finance. Following that, he formed the Highlands Group, and consulted for such firms as Colony Capital and the Koll Company.

Prior to moving to California, Scott spent 5 years working in New York for Merrill Lynch and Salomon Brothers, analyzing company-wide risk and credit for the firms’ derivative products groups and structuring and hedging financial transactions. Scott’s relationship with Hankey Group started in 1997, and he joined the organization full time in 1999.

Eugene advises on a number of subjects including general business transactions, real property transactions, commercial real estate finance, landlord-tenant law, corporate law, employment law and defined contribution plans.

Eugene holds a BA in Political Science and Russian Literature from the University of California at San Diego, and a JD from Pepperdine University School of Law.

Priyesh is responsible for originating new investment opportunities as well managing the overall bridge lending platform for Hankey Capital including originations, underwriting, and servicing. Priyesh is the managing principal and member of the firm’s investment committee.

Over a nearly 20-year career in commercial real estate investment, Priyesh has worked for real estate private equity groups like the Carlyle Group and CityView as well as real estate family offices like the Hankey Group, the Fifteen Group, and Stuho. Priyesh has direct involvement in over 150 investments with a combined capitalization exceeding $3 billion. Priyesh is proficient in land entitlements, multifamily residential, retail, and hotel property types. His investment experience spans most metro markets nationally but has most recently focused on California coastal and metro submarkets.

Priyesh holds a Master of Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California (MRED 2012) and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Irvine (2002).

Gracia is the Chief Financial Officer for the Hankey Group and serves on the Board of Directors for Knight companies. Gracia’s main responsibilities include overseeing the management and execution of Hankey companies’ financial strategies, financial controls and accounting procedures, overseeing Hankey Group Cash Management, corporate and individual members’ taxation, as well as overseeing the payroll, benefits, and human resources for Hankey companies.

Gracia joined Hankey Group in 2001 in Business Management, responsible for accounting, financial operation, and business management, including Hankey Group Cash Management. She started to oversee payroll, benefits, and human resources for the group in 2005. Since 2013, Gracia has been Hankey Investment Company’s Chief Financial Officer, overseeing all accounting, financial, cash management, taxation, payroll, and benefits functions.

Gracia graduated with honors from Texas A & M International University with Master of Professional Accountancy and from Tarumanagara University with Bachelor of Science in Accounting. She is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Kelechi Ogbunamiri serves as the Chief Investment Officer of the Hankey Group. Prior to joining the Hankey Group, Kelechi served as a Portfolio Manager at Guggenheim Partners overseeing $10 billion of corporate credit assets. Kelechi began his career as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch.

Mr. Ogbunamiri graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors of Science degree in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University and obtained his Masters in Business Administration degree in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Tonia Douglas is the Group Director of Human Resources Operations.

Tonia’s career with Hankey Group began in 1998 at Midway Ford in the Accounting Department. She held the positions of Business Manager at Midway Ford Sales in 2003 and Knight Management Insurance Services in 2009. Tonia transferred to Hankey Investment Company in 2012, assuming the role of Human Resources Manager overseeing Payroll, Benefits, and the HG Wellness Program for all Hankey Group companies.

Tonia’s career path and advancement are an extraordinary testament, highlighting opportunities available to employees within the Hankey Group organization. With a “we can” attitude, she leads major projects that enable the Human Resources team to use technology and a hands-on approach to increasing efficiencies and improving employee engagement.

Tonia’s background includes accounting, business management, payroll, benefits, Human Capital analytics, and workforce management. Certifications: SHPR, SHRM-CP, CPSP

Her passions range from outdoor hiking, running 5k to full marathons, cycling, reading fiction novels to spending time with her family in the Inland Empire & Los Angeles areas.

Gary was promoted to President of Midway Auto Group in 2022 after joining Midway in 2020 as Vice President of Sales & Marketing, where his contributions helped lead the company to historical levels of success. His prior 26-year tenure at Enterprise Rent-A-Car included a track record of expansion across multiple markets and business segments. He had most recently served as Fleet Strategist in Southern California, one of the company’s largest and most competitive regions, and Regional Vice President in Houston, TX. Honors included Exceptional Achievement Awards in Daily Rental, Remarketing, and Business Management.

AJ Salahieh joined North Hollywood Toyota in 2004 and currently serves as the General Manager. His introduction into the auto industry began during his high school Summer breaks where he started selling cars and quickly realized that he had found his calling. AJ joined North Hollywood at the age of 20 and has been serving the dealership and its customers ever since.

After graduating from high school with Honors, AJ was offered a prestigious full ride scholarship to UC Berkeley. AJ had a passion for the business however, and instead chose to forgo his scholarship opportunity in order to focus on the auto industry. With hard work and dedication, he quickly rose through the ranks, holding titles of increasing responsibilities over the years: Sales Associate, Floor Manager, Finance Manager, Sales Manager, and currently General Manager.

Keeping in sync with his staff and remaining very approachable are both extremely important principles to AJ. He believes that each role he has held throughout his career has helped achieve these principles. AJ is focused on continuing the success of North Hollywood Toyota by conducting the business with integrity and respect. He fully embraces the rapidly changing auto industry and is dedicated to working side by side with his colleagues and staff to stay ahead of the curve. AJ currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, and was born and raised in Southern California.

Jeff Brodsky is the President HFC Acceptance, LLC. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of La Verne. Jeff joined the organization in 2002 after 5 years with Ford Motor Credit Company Commercial Lending Services. Prior to that, he was employed with Comerica Bank. He holds advanced certifications in both cash flow analysis and corporate financial analysis. He brings 10 years of specialized commercial finance management experience to the organization.

Ken Sopp is the Chairman of Credit Union Leasing of America, a company purchased by Westlake Financial in 2017. Prior to the purchase of CULA, Ken has been instrumental in building and developing Midway Fleet Leasing, focusing on studio vehicles, car rental and fleet programs.

Before joining the Hankey Group in 2010, Ken owned a Los Angeles area Ford dealership where he worked in all areas of dealership operations and automotive finance. He holds a BA in Economics with a concentration in Business from Northwestern University and is a board member at the National Vehicle Leasing Association.

Ken’s family has been in the automotive business for four generations.