Our Team

As Managing director of Columnar Commercial, Matthew is responsible for overall operations, development, and property acquisitions for the commercial development platform.  Since co-founding Columnar Commercial in 2022, Matthew has helped to develop the firm’s investment strategy, evaluating opportunities across multiple asset classes on both Columnar owned and non-owned land for development or acquisition.  Prior to joining Columnar, Matthew was a principal at Glenstar Properties, a Chicago and Dallas based real estate development firm.  In 2015 he opened Glenstar’s Texas headquarters and has been involved in over $5 billion of developments and investments, mainly partnering with large institutions.   Matthew holds a B.S. in Business Administration from University of Kansas.

As Director of Development for Columnar Commercial, Jim directs the execution and delivery of the firm’s asset procurement and development, from acquisition through completion.  Since 2002, Jim has worked in the real estate industry, utilizing his years of commercial construction experience across a wide range of product types including speculative industrial warehouse parks, office build-to-suits, Class-A office campus redevelopments, tenant improvements, luxury and market rate apartment developments, senior housing developments (ILF / ALF & Memory Care), hospitality, retail, and parking.  Before joining Columnar, Jim was Executive Director of Development for Glenstar Properties, where he oversaw their national commercial development & redevelopment platforms.  Jim additionally spent twelve years with McShane Construction where he led a business unit as a Project Executive.   Jim holds a B.S. in Construction Management from Illinois State University, and has LEED AP, AC, and OSHA 30-Hour certifications, and has held memberships in key associations like NAIOP, AGC, CBC, and ASA Chicago.

As Vice President of Columnar Commercial, Christian is responsible for all underwriting and due diligence aspects for new development opportunities. Furthermore, Christian also plays an integral part in the asset management and disposition of all Columnar Commercial projects. Christian has been involved in commercial real estate investments/developments for over 8 years beginning his career at a global private equity firm. Prior to joining Columnar, Christian worked for Diamond Realty Investments, Inc the U.S. equity investment arm of Mitsubishi Corporation. While at Diamond Realty Investments, Christian sourced and closed over $1.3B in total project capitalization for ground up multifamily, student housing, and senior housing investments across the nation. Christian holds a B.B.A in Business economics from Texas Tech University and a M.S. in Finance with a Real Estate focus from University of Texas at Dallas.

Daniel has deep roots in engineering, spending the early stages of his career in the building and heavy civil construction industries. Daniel founded Columnar in 2009 under its parent Traylor Capital and has since expanded the family real estate interests to include commercial real estate investment/development and production homebuilding respectively through the Columnar Commercial and RockWell platform companies. Daniel leads Traylor Capital as Managing Principal and holds a B.S. from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from H.E.C. Paris, Grande Ecole.

Thatcher carries five years of experience in residential and commercial development in Central Florida. As Sr. Associate of Operations, he assists in the procurement of entitlements, supports construction management, and produces development cost analyses. Prior to joining Columnar, his time in land development was spent as a project engineer, managing the design and production of construction plans for over 2,500 units across five central Florida counties. Thatcher earned his B.S. degree from Florida State University and maintains his PE license in the state of Florida.

Sean has worked in Central Florida land development for 25 years. He began his career as a licensed Professional Engineer responsible for the design and permitting of residential, commercial, roadway, and institutional projects. Sean then left engineering to work for a national homebuilder as a land development manager responsible for the due diligence, entitlement, and construction support for multiple communities in Central Florida. Sean joined Columnar in 2015, where he serves as Director of Operations overseeing the entitlement and construction of our Florida projects. Sean holds a B.S. from the University of Central Florida and maintains his PE license in the state of Florida.

As the Managing Director of Columnar Land, Sean is responsible for the overall operations of our Land Investment and Lot Development Fund platforms. Sean has been with Columnar since its founding and oversees the company’s acquisition and development strategy as well as Division expansion into new markets. Prior to joining Columnar, Sean was the president of Park Square Land, one of the largest privately held residential developers in Florida at the time. Over his career, Sean has been involved with over 70 discreet residential real estate development projects encompassing over 30,000 lots. He earned a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida.

Dawn Hall began her career in the Central FL Land Development industry in the 1980’s through her family’s site construction company where she started in the field on the survey crew and ultimately in the Accounting and Finance department. After graduating from Rollins College, Cum Laude, in 1990 and until 2014, she underwrote approximately $2B in financing for master-planned developments throughout FL and the Southeast US as a Senior Lender with Investment Banking institutions such as R&G Financial Group, First Horizon Construction Lending, and United Development Funding. Since 2014, she has acted as Director of Acquisition and Development on dozens of residential projects throughout FL with Oak Hall Development, Sunbelt Land Management, and most recently ONX Homes prior to joining Columnar in late 2023.

A Texas Aggie two times over, Logan started his real estate career in commercial lending. His experience spans all aspects of residential real estate; from front-end de- sign and entitlements of several projects, including Easton Park and Kissing Tree while at Brookfield Residential, to design and construction of more than 1,300 units of multifamily as part of the team at Greystar, including student housing, active adult, and traditional apartment homes. Zoning and planning 4,000+ acres of master plans and more than 15,000 residential lots, Logan garnered detailed experience with major infrastructure improvements, public-private partnerships, and the intricacies of land use politics. He has headed up land acquisition and development for production homebuilders as well. Logan earned his B.A. and M.B.A. from Texas A&M.

After working as a commercial airline pilot, in 2006 John joined a real estate investment group focused on large-scale land acquisition and entitlement projects in the Southwestern United States. He has acquired and entitled more than 15,000 acres of land, creating 30,000-plus lots. John joined a fast-growing production homebuilder in 2017, leading land acquisition and development for the Texas and Colorado divisions. John’s network and experience span Austin, Houston, and Denver with expertise in land, water, and homebuilding. John earned his B.S. from the University of Colorado.

Jeff joined Columnar in 2022 following a comprehensive +20-year career track covering all aspects of land sourcing, acquisition and development for two top-ranked national homebuilders, a national REIT and other private developers/homebuilders in the highly competitive and challenging Orlando MSA.  In his most recent position with NVR, Jeff facilitated their regional growth in Central Florida, establishing them as a top tier builder in the market.  Initially joining Columnar to lead operations and land development for the Florida Division, his role has expanded to include overseeing the Lot Development Fund across Columnar’s sunbelt markets. A current Florida-licensed professional engineer, Jeff spent the first six years of his career as a civil engineering consultant designing and permitting retail, multifamily, industrial, healthcare and theme park projects throughout Central Florida.   Jeff leverages his broad-based experience and long history in Florida to compliment the overall team strength of Columnar Land and its related subsidiaries.

Michael brings 18 years of finance and accounting experience within the real estate industry working with a wide variety of asset classes for developers, vertically integrated owner/operators, and a sponsor/advisor of publicly traded and non-traded REITs. He has been directly involved in the acquisition of over $5 billion of real estate with a strong focus on applying sound underwriting principles to complex deals. In his current role, he leads the finance function for Columnar Land including financial analysis and underwriting, capital and debt structure, and financial process integration post-acquisition. Michael holds a B.S. in Finance from the Pennsylvania State University.

Ben has worked in real estate his entire professional career, focusing in the single-family housing market in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. Prior to joining Columnar in 2023, Ben was the Land Acquisition Manager at Union Main Homes, where he was responsible for developing and executing a strategic land plan resulting in the acquisition of over 900 lots and development of over 250 lots in a two-year period. Before Union Main, Ben was a part of Ernst & Young’s Commercial Real Estate Valuation practice where he was responsible for assessing the value of properties across a variety of real estate assets.

Doug has worked in the construction and land development industry for 33 years. This includes 10 years in petroleum storage tank removal, remediation, and construction, 5 years in general contracting, and 18 years in real estate development. Prior to joining Columnar in 2023, Doug progressed from Construction Manager to Senior Project Manager with Newland Communities over 16 years, overseeing development of seven premier mixed-use, master-planned communities in five southeastern states. Doug earned his B.S. from Clemson University.

Charlie Walls brings more than 17 years of real estate development and construction experience nationally across diverse sectors including advanced tech, commercial, government, healthcare, higher education, life sciences, and senior living. Prior to joining Columnar, Charlie held leadership positions at companies such as DPR Construction, Digital Building Components, and CoreCivic. Throughout his career, Charlie has managed over $2 billion of projects encompassing millions of square feet of building space. Charlie joined Columnar in 2024, where he serves as Vice President of Land overseeing the site acquisition, entitlement, and construction of our South Carolina projects. Charlie earned his MBA from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management and Bachelor of Science in Construction Science & Management from Clemson University.

Michael has been involved in public and private sector real estate for more than 20 years. Over the past 16 years, he has closed more than a half billion dollars in residential development acquisitions. Prior to joining Columnar, Michael was Vice President with Kolter Homes, WCI Communities/Lennar, and Toll Brothers with experience in the Southeast, Southwest, Central and North Florida markets. He is a veteran of the Texas and Florida National Guards serving as a logistics officer for the 49th Armored Division and Master Planner for the Texas Adjutant General’s Department. Michael earned his M.B.A from Baylor University.

Mark Hanson has over 18 years of experience in land investments specializing in master-planned communities in CA, HI, and TN.  Over the course of his career, he has entitled, and/or developed over 12,000 residential lots and 3.4 million plus sq. ft. of commercial.  In addition, he has worked in Amazon’s Strategic Property Program leading the effort to develop an innovative “campus of the future”, and acquisition of $315mm of land holdings.  Mark has also acquired, designed, constructed, and preserved 4,563 acres of environmental mitigation properties in CA in collaboration with Habitat Conservation Plans, Army Corps, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, EPA, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and California Water Board. Mr. Hanson is a graduate of the California State University, Chico with a degree in Business Administration.

Robby began his career in public accounting with Arthur Andersen in Columbia, South Carolina. Since his entry into homebuilding, Robby has worked with Standard Pacific (now CalAtlantic Homes), Ashton Woods Homes, and Beazer Homes in roles ranging from Division VP of Finance, Regional CFO to Division President. Prior to joining Rockwell Homes, Robby was the COO/CFO of Creative Homes in Minnesota, where he tripled revenue, exceeding $100 million annually in just four years.

Master of Science in Accountancy, University of South Carolina

Bachelor of Business Administration, Accounting Concentration, The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina (1992)