The Team of Lionscove
The Team
The LIONSCOVE team is a collection of individuals with diverse backgrounds and expertise who have come together to enrich your life. We ensure each team member is dedicated to living out our company values (link to company values section) and is aligned with our mission to create a cohesive working group.
Education and Professional Affiliations
About
About our team
From an education perspective, the team holds various advanced degrees from some of the most prominent institutions around the world, such as Yale and University College London. This education, coupled with deep professional expertise, has resulted in hundreds of millions in originations across private lending, non-QM, conventional, government, and commercial loans since inception. Additionally, the leadership team are also active real estate investors, which adds an additional layer of knowledge and understanding when running the business. The LIONSCOVE team was handpicked and designed to have the largest impact on our investors, borrowers, our company, and the communities we serve.
Our Team Members
Liam Leonard
Ceo/Founder
Liam is the leader and visionary for LIONSCOVE. Liam established LIONSCOVE because he wanted to have a greater impact in his community and free himself from the mental model that organizations make choices for you. He wanted to create something that didn’t necessitate being on the road all the time or tied to his phone. Family needed to come first, and that’s precisely the culture Liam has established at LIONSCOVE.
Liam has been involved in real estate lending for 5+ years and is responsible for originating hundreds of loans personally during that time. He is also an active real estate investor with a portfolio of projects spanning ground-up development projects, turnkey rentals, adult family homes, short-term rentals, and even international rentals. Prior to LIONSCOVE, Liam held executive positions at T-Mobile across a variety of functions which prepared him to have firsthand knowledge of key corporate functions to be able to effectively lead LIONSCOVE. He holds a BA in economics from Yale and an MBA from UCLA Anderson where he took as many real estate finance courses as offered.
Giving back is part of what defines Liam and his family; they are dedicated to providing housing and services for women and children in transition. He loves spending time at church and socializing with his church community. When he’s not working, he can often be found enjoying one of many outdoor activities with his family and friends, such as kayaking, hiking, rafting, adventuring, or on the soccer field as a professional referee. When the weather isn’t cooperating, Liam loves board games, puzzles, escape rooms, and anything that will stretch and challenge his mind.
5 years of experience.
I set the vision and establish the culture for the company, holding people and teams accountable to the values and goals we have set together.
When I established LIONSCOVE it was because I wanted to have a bigger impact in the community that I worked and free myself from the mental model that the organization that you work for makes the choices for you. I didn’t want to be on the road all the time and tied to my phone, family needed to come first and that’s exactly what we established at LIONSCOVE. I also wanted to use my skills to work on a local level where I knew I would be successful.
Aidan Leonard
Chief Strategy Officer/Founder
Aidan oversees the strategic direction of the company to ensure it supports the mission and vision. He prioritizes key initiatives to steward the growth and success of LIONSCOVE. He embodies a healthy tension with Liam, his older brother, to keep him accountable and ensure all relevant perspectives have been evaluated. Aidan founded LIONSCOVE out of a desire to create an organization that possessed a values-based culture and people-first mindset. He’s proud to run the business with the belief that integrity and transparency are more important than profiting at the expense of others.
Aidan has deep expertise in consulting and overseeing strategic projects. He is an expert in analytics and synthesizing complex information into concise bite-sized pieces. He worked with leading healthcare consultancies throughout his career before settling in on the “client” side of BioMarin. Aidan received his B.S. in neuroscience from Brown University and an MBA from the Berkeley Haas School of Business.
When he’s not helping grow LIONSCOVE, Aidan can be found enjoying a plethora of outdoor activities, such as mountain biking, snowboarding, camping, and backpacking. He also trains in Muay Thai and enjoys the arts of coffee roasting and grilling.
6+ years of experience
I’m in charge of making sure the strategic direction of the company supports the mission and vision of the company. I make sure the right things are prioritized to have the biggest impact in our growth and success. I hold the CEO accountable and create a healthy environment of questioning decision making to ensure all relevant perspectives have been evaluated.
The possibility of building something great that will have a lasting impact on our communities, friends, family, and employees.
Michael Gieseke
President of Revenue
Michael is responsible for all loan originations for the company through leadership of the originations team. Michael joined LIONSCOVE in 2020 as a loan officer and has been responsible for originating more than $100 million in loans since that time.
Prior to joining LIONSCOVE, Michael’s experience spanned engineering (registered professional engineer) and real estate. He started his career in engineering consulting, working on complex infrastructure before transitioning to real estate development. He has borrowed more than $100MM in debt and equity capital, partnered with investors on urban infill developments, and owns a portfolio of rental properties and development projects. Michael has a B.A. in Civil Engineering from Washington State University and an M.S. in Industrial and Systems engineering from the University of Washington. He also has an M.Sc. in Economics from University College London, where he studied real estate investment and development trends in the United States.
In his spare time, Michael enjoys reading economics and philosophy books, real estate investing, watching Premier League on weekend mornings with the family, skiing/snowboarding, working out, fair-weather sailing, and going to the driving range.
2.5 years of experience
The company is devoted to making an impact in the communities it serves, particularly for the people we lend to. The language is pervasive and represented in all areas of the business which is refreshing considering the industry we’re in.
The big goals and the people capable of achieving those goals
Creighton Van Horn
Vice President of Investor Relations
Creighton is responsible for attracting new investors and maintaining relationships with the current investors of LIONSCOVE. He first joined Lionscove as an investor and was involved during the formation and early years of the Fund in a consulting capacity. Given Creighton’s extensive sales background, he was a natural at explaining the complex fund structure to investors.
Creighton is a sales expert, spending the entirety of his career in sales-related roles, including 35 years in aerospace consulting, working with various aerospace clients in over 7 countries. Creighton retired from an aerospace consulting firm in 2020 before joining Lionscove shortly thereafter. Creighton holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and an MBA from California Lutheran University
Creighton enjoys splitting his free time between his lifelong passion for badminton, supporting his church, and spending time with his 4 grandchildren.
3 years of experience
I am responsible for acquiring and keeping all investors.
I was an investor first.
Michelle Harryman
Office Manager / HR Manager
Michelle is responsible for ensuring the company is in good working order and that everything moves smoothly for the team, from the office environment to HR-related activities, to IT. She handles it all. Michelle is the go-to person for spearheading resolutions of any company issues. She was drawn to LIONSCOVE because of the small but mighty team at the time and the tight-knit culture that created a feeling of immediately feeling at home. She is leveraging her past experience to be a driving force to grow LIONSCOVE into an extraordinary company.
When not working at LIONSCOVE, Michelle can be found volunteering with her son’s high school football booster club. She also loves baking and sharing her passion for fun desserts with others.
3 years of experience
I run our HR and Recruiting department. I also currently help with any special projects, IT needs and more.
It was a small company that just had a few employees. I knew that I could use my talents and experience to help grow the company and make it successful.
Tuesday Pitzer
Operations Manager
Tuesday manages the LIONSCOVE Operations team, which consists of front-end and back-end processing and asset management. She helps drive team building, improving the borrower experience, and training across roles. Tuesday values the family-first work environment and the mission of LIONSCOVE to always do what’s right.
When not at work, Tuesday loves spending quality time with family, enjoying a good book, and baking.
1 year of experience
I manage the Operation’s team, which consists of front-end and back-end processing and asset management. I focus on team building, borrower experience, process improvement, training and efficiency throughout these roles.
The company values align with my own, growth potential and ability to maintain good work- life balance.
Ashley Bruns
Transaction Coordinator
Saundra White
Sr. Loan Processor
Lisa Adlhoch
Executive Assistant to Creighton Van Horn
Haley Beuthel
Jr. Processor
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