Our Team

David Lifschitz is Chief Executive Officer of The Gehr Group overseeing all aspects of The Gehr Group’s four principal business units – Gehr Hospitality, Gehr Development, Gehr Industries, and Gehr International. Mr. Lifschitz joined The Gehr Group in 1995 as CFO and CIO. In 2009 he became COO, in 2010 he became President, and in March 2015 he was appointed as CEO. As CEO, David directs the company’s operations, as one of only two executives with oversight across all divisions, with the objective of maximizing efficiency and return on invested capital. He is actively involved in business strategy, marketing activity, and operations at the division level. Mr. Lifschitz also serves as a trustee for the Gehr Family Foundation.

Prior to joining The Gehr Group, David spent a decade at the Enterprise Group of Arthur Andersen, advising public and privately-held and fast-growing companies in the entertainment, broadcasting, manufacturing, publishing, high-tech, wholesale distribution and retail industries. Mr. Lifschitz is a CPA, received his MBA from University of Southern California (USC), and his BA in Psychology from University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

Mark Goldman is Chief Operating Officer and Chief Counsel of The Gehr Group. Mr. Goldman joined The Gehr Group in 2012 after previously serving as outside counsel for 28 years. Mark is in charge of all legal matters for The Gehr Group and its subsidiaries, as well as overseeing all work conducted by outside law firms pertaining to business transactions and litigation. Mr. Goldman also serves as a trustee for the Gehr Family Foundation.

Mr. Goldman has over 50 years of experience working on sophisticated legal cases in entertainment, family, and real estate as well as advising in numerous real estate transactions. Prior to joining The Gehr Group, Mr. Goldman was the owner of his own law firm Goldman & Kagon Law Corporation. He also served as in-house counsel for Mapleton Investments where he handled all acquisition, divestitures, legal contracts, and agreements for the private venture capital firm. Mr. Goldman received his JD from University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)’s School of Law and also received a BA in economics at UCLA.

Alfred Somekh is a highly regarded multifamily and hospitality real estate industry leader.

As an experienced real estate leader, who has spent most of his career in Real Estate Property Management, Development, and Ownership, Alfred has overseen over 38,000 multi-family units and over 1 million square feet of Office, Hospitality, Retail and Industrial properties. He has worked with a broad spectrum of clients, from small family trusts to large institutional investors.

Alfred is involved in philanthropic activities, which include the American Film Institute, Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Pacific Symphony, UCI Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Alfred attended and graduated from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science in 1975.

Alfred Somekh is the President of Gehr Development Corporation (GDC), where he directs all aspects of the company’s real estate property and construction activities, including acquisition, development, financing, and leasing.

A GDC Officer since 2006, Alfred has overseen the GDC real estate portfolio which included Multi-Family, Luxury Single Family, Commercial, Office, Industrial, Hospitality, Nightlife, and Retail properties. In 2016, the Hospitality and Nightlife properties are now part of Gehr Hospitality Inc. (GHI), which primary assets include the Fairfield Inn Times Square and Four Points by Sheraton Times Square.

Alfred is on the Advisory Board of the University of California Irvine – Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and a Board Member of the Commerce Industrial Council Chamber of Commerce. He has also served as a Member of the Board of Directors, Research and Policy Council and Political Action Committee Trustee for the California Apartments Association.

Alfred began his career in real estate while attending UCLA, obtaining his real estate license in 1977 at age 20. While attending UCLA, Alfred sold over 20 properties. He attributes a lot of that success to his parents, a successful Beverly Hills real estate agent and aerospace engineer.

Upon graduating UCLA, worked as the Assistant to the President of Calfina Investment. Calfina was a real estate company, owned by the billionaire Brener’s family, developing the 22-story high-rise Mirabella Condominiums designed by the renowned architect Maxwell Starkman on Wilshire Boulevard in West Los Angeles.

Following that period, Alfred transitioned to become General Manager of the Century Park East Condominiums (CPE) in Century City. As the General Manager of this property, this was a fantastic experience for Alfred, managing 460 units within two towers with staffing of more than 50 people. During his 5-year tenure, Alfred conducted successful negotiations with two unions AFL/CIO and the International Union of Operating Engineers, a significant exterior and interior remodeling program and the innovative creation of a real estate brokerage company which revenue benefited the homeowner’s association.

Following Century Park East, Alfred was recruited to work for R&B Enterprises, Oakwood Apartments, as a Leasing Manager. Another turning point of his career, Alfred embraced the Management and Training Programs. He was rapidly promoted from Leasing Manager to General Manager, to Budget Analyst supporting over 50% of the Oakwood Apartments portfolio in the United States.

Following 5-years of service, Alfred was recruited by Kenneth Leventhal company to work for Heron Financial, the U.S. holding company for Gerald Ronson’s Heron International, the 2nd largest privately held corporation in the United Kingdom, as Vice President of Asset Management. He oversaw their hospitality, commercial, office and multi-family portfolio in various positions.

Before Gehr Development, Alfred was Senior Vice President of Legacy Partner/Lincoln Property Company. He headed the Business Development arm of the company and was the Designated Officer Broker for California. In this role he was responsible for acquiring third-party fee management contracts, creating and maintaining client relationships, and the expansion of alternative revenue opportunities including condominium marketing and sales.

His accomplishments at Legacy Partners includes the addition of 30,000+ apartment homes (120+ multi-family communities and Business Developments role into alternative revenue sources, such as Brokerage and Finance.

Alfred developed relationships with a broad spectrum of clients, from small family trusts to large institutional investors. Working with respected organizations such as AFL-CIO, BlackRock Real Estate Advisors, Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, and C.S. First Boston, GE Capital Corporation, GE Capital Advisors, Goldman, Sachs & Company, Heitman Real Estate Advisors, Invesco, J.E. Roberts, John Hancock, Mass Mutual, Metropolitan Life, Mutual of New York, Prudential Realty Group, and TIAA-CREF.

In 1997, Alfred was identified by the Los Angeles Times as having a solid reputation, “carefully cultivated” connections in the real estate industry and noted as a “watchable Player in the industry,” a true observation that continues to this day.

Max Paetzold is the Chief Financial Officer for The Gehr Group. He oversees all finance and accounting related functions, including accounting, financial reporting, tax, compliance, credit & collections and internal controls. His responsibilities also include financial aspects of modeling for sales, procurement, inventory management and overhead.

Prior to joining Gehr, Mr. Paetzold held leadership positions at several companies including at The Honest Company where he was VP Financial Operations and VP Corporate Controller, at JR286 Inc. where he was Director of Finance, and at 20th Century Fox where he was Senior Vice President Finance for International TV Distribution. Previously Mr. Paetzold was an Experienced Manager with the Enterprise Group at the Los Angeles office of Arthur Andersen, providing accounting and financial advisory services to middle-market private and public companies in the professional services, consumer products, retail, entertainment, advertising, hi-tech, real estate, food services, and manufacturing and distribution industries. Mr. Paetzold is a CPA and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Loyola Marymount University.

Mario Yanigiharo is the Vice President Controller for The Gehr Group. He oversees consolidated financial reporting for Gehr’s 19 entities and cash flow management for the company.

Prior to joining Gehr, Mario served several rolls at GE Brazil including Accountant, Cost Accountant, and Financial Planning & Analysis Manager. Mario completed the Financial Management Program (FMP) at GE Brazil and holds a BA in Business Administration from Pontificial Catholic University of Sao Paulo – Brazil.

Kathryn Siow serves as the Manager of Financial Reporting with The Gehr Group. She oversees analytical reporting for all Gehr Group divisions as well as office management and coordination. Her responsibilities also include assisting the CEO in all company matters. Kathryn joined The Gehr Group as a Staff Accountant before accepting the position of Senior Financial Analyst in 2013.

Prior to joining Gehr, Kathryn was the general manager of Tran Luu Fashion. Prior to that she was the office manager for LDL Trading Company’s U.S. office. Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Accounting from California State University Los Angeles.