Our Team

Brian Duggan is responsible for overall execution of fund strategy, with particular emphasis on financing, operations, and investor relations. Mr. Duggan brings Guardian almost two decades of experience in entrepreneurship, real estate, finance and investments having acquired, developed, managed and disposed of more than $1 billion in real estate across all asset classes. He was previously a Director at the Harlem Irving Companies and also worked with Mesirow Financial Real Estate, Ernst & Young Corporate Finance, and UBS Paine Webber. Mr. Duggan has a degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master of Science in Accounting and Financial Management from the University of Virginia, and an MBA in Finance and Real Estate from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is also an Illinois Real Estate Broker.

Megan VanVelzel has been a member of Guardian’s team for over a decade. Primarily responsible for overseeing, managing and optimizing revenue of the Residential and Commercial Investment portfolio. Prior to joining Guardian Capital, Ms. VanVelzel assisted with loss mitigation and asset management duties at Bank of America. Megan holds a bachelor’s degree from the Arizona State University.

Gregory Martin manages all new construction and rehab at Guardian Capital. He has acquired, demolished, re-developed, rented and sold multiple single family and multi-unit projects over the last five years. As an employee of Vivify Construction from 2012 to 2014 Greg was responsible for the financing paper work, sub-contracting, project management and construction overview of over 250 units and provided oversight to over 40 million dollars of work in place. Since then, as principal with Guardian Properties, Greg has provided oversight to over 20 successful rehabs, began the construction of 3 single family homes and laid the groundwork for what will be a 5-10 million dollar new construction year for Guardian in 2015.

Andie Smith is a Senior Accountant and Operations Manager at Guardian. As Senior Accountant, she supervises accounting for Guardian’s investment portfolio and prepares financial statements. She also spearheads all accounts payable, bank reconciliations and several other general accounting functions. As Operations Manager, she is liaison for staff, suppliers and clients. Prior to Guardian, she was employed by the Los Angeles Times and Target Media Partners, in various capacities, from General Financial Accounting to Digital Ad creation, Customer Care and User IT Support.

John Holland is responsible for identifying and executing new acquisition opportunities. Prior to joining Guardian, Mr. Holland was a real estate broker focused on Sunbelt multifamily properties. Mr. Holland has a degree from the University of Miami.

In 2022, Brian retired from Varde Partners after a 17-year career, culminating as a Partner and Head of North America Real Estate and Mortgages. During his tenure, AUM grew from $1 billion to $14 billion. Prior to this role, he excelled in structured products, loan portfolio acquisitions, and aircraft/equipment finance. Brian also contributed significantly to Piper Jaffray’s M&A investment banking division.

Brian resides in Minnesota with his family, enjoying skiing, biking, and outdoor adventures with loved ones. His educational background includes an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BSc from the University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management.