Fernando Levy Hara and Stephan Gietl realized their shared passion for real estate and architecture while attending the Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate (AMDP) at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, of which they graduated in July 2010. AMDP is exclusively for entrepreneurs and senior-level professionals with at least 15 years of real estate-related experience. Despite the U.S. experiencing one of the worst economic crises in the last century, Levy Hara and Gietl believes the country will make a strong comeback from the downturn. For their AMDP end-of-program project, the two scholars realized their shared vision for succeeding in a changed real estate climate and developed a business plan that would offer sound investment solutions in a volatile and much riskier business environment. In 2009, Levy Hara and Gietl co-founded Aventura-based mckafka Development Group, a real estate investment firm specializing in the acquisition of distressed properties by purchasing broken condominiums in default, loans in default and real estate owned bank properties in South Florida. Divisions under the MDG umbrella include: - mckafka Realty - mckafka Property Management - mckafka Development. Stephan Gietl is a principal and co-founder of Aventura,FL-based mckafka Development Group. He serves as the Chief Finance Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the company. Gietl also operates European Property Development (EPD), a leading development company founded in 1990 in Central Eastern Europe, with a history of experience in the Czech Republic. Today, EPD is a major player on the Prague market, and has developed assets in excess of € 600 million. As Chief Executive Officer, Gietl was responsible for the successful and timely completion of a downtown mixed used project of the more than one million square feet of retail office and parking space at trophy property “Palladium” in Prague in 2007. Prior to entering the real estate industry in 2002, Gietl’s background included serving as Chief Finance Officer in both the Private Equity and Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industries and in 1994 held title as Controller at IBM. In July 2011, Gietl and Levy Hara will participate in the"Distressed Assets" program curriculum as instructors for the Executive Summer Program for the AMDP at Harvard University. Gietl is also a member of the International Shopping Center Counsel (ISCC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). Gietl was born in Austria. He holds a Masters in Business degree from the Austrian School of Business Administration and the California State University. In 2010, Gietl graduated from the Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Levy Hara is a principal and co-founder of Aventura, FL-based mckafka Development Group. He serves as a Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer, as well as the Broker and Founder of mckafka Realty, LLC, one of three separate divisions under the company umbrella.    Levy Hara also operates G&D Developers, a development company founded in 1985. G&D Developers currently has offices in Argentina, Uruguay and the U.S. With this company he has planned, designed and developed more than 1 million square feet of commercial and residential projects in South and Central Florida, including Bayview Lofts and Regatta, both in Miami Beach, FL. and One Aventura Executive Center in Aventura, FL. Prior to this, he worked as a designer and developer in Buenos Aires from 1988 to 2001 completing more than 1.3 million square feet of residential and commercial development. He relocated to Florida in 2002 with his wife Jaqui and his two kids, Brian and Ivan.    Levy Hara is a contributor and guest columnist for several real estate publications and is often called upon for authoritative commentary on real estate panels and at seminars. He wrote in 2010 as a co-author the book “El arte de financiar proyectos inmobiliarios” (The Art of financing real estate projects), published in Argentina by Bienes Raices Ediciones.   He is Professor of Real Estate Development in the Master in Urban Economy at Universidad Di Tella in Buenos Aires, and he is a LEED-AP certified by the US Green Building Council. He is Vice Chairman of the Aventura Marketing Council, Trustee Member of the Argentina-Florida Chamber of Commerce and a Member of  the Business Tax Equity Advisory Board of the City of Aventura, FL.    In July 2011, Levy Hara and Gietl will participate in the "Distressed Assets" program curriculum as instructors for the Executive Summer Program for the AMDP at Harvard University. Levy Hara was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He received his Masters Degree in Architecture from the University of Buenos Aires in 1989, as well as his Masters in Urban Economy degree from the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in 1999, where he has been a frequent guest lecturer and a professor of Real Estate Development since 2005. In 2010, Levy Hara graduated from the Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate at Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
	mckafka Development Group One Aventura Executive Center 20900 NE 30th Avenue, Suite 603 Aventura, FL 33180 United States of America p: +1.305.917.7673 (US) p: +54.11.4777.5003 (Argentina) p: +420.603.281.082 (Czech Republic) p: +43.1.369.86.60 (Austria) e: info@mckafka.com