The Team
The Team
Leadership
Co-founder, Managing Principal,
Investment Committee Member
Art Falcone
Arthur J. Falcone is a co-founder and Managing Principal of Encore Capital Management and sits on the Investment Committees of its three funds. Art is also the founder and Managing Principal of Miami Worldcenter, one of the largest master-planned urban developments in the United States. Spanning more than 30 acres across nine blocks in the heart of downtown Miami, the entitled project allows for more than 15 million square feet of mixed-use development, including retail, restaurant and entertainment, hotel, residential, and office. Art started his career in development more than 35 years ago, investing in fast food restaurants, hotels and health clubs in New York, and at the age of 22 became the youngest operator of a McDonald’s franchise. He eventually became the owner and operator of more than 100 McDonald’s, Wendy’s and other family-style restaurants throughout New York, Florida and California, and was also a Days Inn Hotel franchisee. In 1988, Art formed the homebuilding and land development company Transeastern Properties, Inc. Transeastern began purchasing residential and mixed-use properties from distressed and bankrupt sellers and capitalizing on foreclosures against distressed housing debt brought on by the national recession in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. As the economy rebounded, this asset base fueled Transeastern’s growth, within 15 years Transeastern had become the largest private homebuilder in Florida and one of the top 25 homebuilders in the United States. Since 2004, Art has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Falcone Group, a vertically- integrated real estate and land development organization specializing in residential, retail and apartment assets. In 2005, Art sold Transeastern to Technical Olympic USA (“TOUSA”) for a total consideration of $1.6 billion. During this period, Art developed or acquired interests in over 20,000 multifamily apartment units. In 2006, Art sold his remaining apartment portfolio for $480 million.
Co-founder, Managing Principal,
Investment Committee Member
Tony Avila
Tony Avila is a co-founder and a Managing Principal for Encore Capital Management. Over the past 25 years, Tony has served as an advisor in over 85 homebuilding merger and acquisition transactions valued at over $12 billion and helped to raise approximately $10 billion in over 75 debt and equity issuances for publicly traded and private homebuilding and land development companies.
Tony founded Builder Advisor Group in 2008 and has been working as a homebuilder investment banker since 1996. Tony has served as an investment banker in more homebuilding transactions than any other advisor. Most recently Tony closed the sale of several top 100 builders including Transeastern Homes, Town and Country Homes, American West, Wade Jurney, Dan Ryan Builders, and Arbor Homes. Tony has also raised capital for dozens of builders and developers, including Johnson Development, Metro Development, LGI Homes, Dream Finders Homes, Beazer Homes, and Century Communities.
Tony’s experience in the housing sector began during the S&L crisis when he worked at the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco overseeing troubled, government-controlled savings and loans. He joined Montgomery Securities in 1996, which became Banc of America Securities in 1998. While at Bank of America Securities, Tony was an advisor to the Pebble Beach Company, helping to bring the Pebble Beach Resorts back to U.S. ownership. In 1999, Tony represented The Irvine Company in its acquisition of Irvine Apartment Communities. In late 2001/early 2002, he advised D.R. Horton for the acquisition of Schuler Homes, the second largest homebuilding acquisition in the U.S.
In 2002, Tony joined JMP Securities where he founded and lead the Homebuilding Investment Banking team for six years. Some notable transactions include advising Transeastern Properties on its sale to TOUSA in August 2005, advising Town and Country Homes on its sale to The Blackstone Group and K. Hovnanian Homes and advising on the formation of a $250 million joint venture between Metro Development and D.E. Shaw to acquire distressed land. In 2008, he advised MatlinPatterson Global Advisors LLC, a global distressed private equity firm, on its capital investment in Standard Pacific Homes. Tony worked on the restructuring of $75 million of Beazer Homes debt and assisted in establishing a joint venture between GTIS Partners and LGI Homes.
Tony is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley. He is a ULI member and active participant of the Community Development Council. Tony is a board member of the Positive Coaching Alliance and a member of the Finance Advisory Board for the Sisters of the Holy Family. Tony is an avid Ironman triathlete and has participated twice in the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. Tony has also run the Boston, Big Sur, San Francisco, California International, Chicago, and New York Marathons.
Leadership
CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER
Art Falcone
Arthur J. Falcone is a co-founder and Managing Principal of Encore Capital Management. He leads the investments and guides the strategic vision across the entire firm with a specific focus on Florida projects. Art is also the founder and Managing Principal of Miami Worldcenter, one of the largest master-planned mixed-use urban projects currently under development in the United States.
In 1986, he founded Transeastern Properties, which grew to one of the largest privately held builders in Florida. In August 2005, Transeastern was acquired by TOUSA for $1.6 billion. Mr. Falcone has developed or acquired and sold over 30,000 multifamily rental units across Florida, Arizona, and Nevada. Art has been named to the H.Wayne Huizenga School of Business Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame at Nova Southeastern University (2006) and was honored with the Horatio Alger Award for Distinguished Americans (2020).
Art spends his time outside of Encore with his expanding and extended family while serving on several boards supporting various youth-focused educational and philanthropic charities including:
- Junior Achievement Biz Town, South Florida. Financial support for programs that empower youth with the knowledge, ability, and confidence to navigate their future drives economies and leads communities.
- SOS Children’s Villages, Coconut Creek, Florida. SOS provides care for abused children suffering from various forms of neglect in South Florida. Falcone has supported the development of over twenty residences for children in need.
- Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, New York, NY. CFFA Scientific Board Member
- Nova Southeastern University, Davie, FL. Board of Trustees
- Horatio Alger Association, Alexandria, VA- Elected Member
CO-FOUNDER & MANAGING PRINCIPAL
Tony Avila
Tony Avila is a co-founder and Managing Principal of Encore Capital Management. He leads the investments and guides the strategic vision across the entire firm with a specific focus on California projects. Mr. Avila has overseen the acquisition and realization of twenty-five residential real estate projects on the West Coast.
Mr. Avila is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Builder Advisor Group, a boutique investment banking firm that advises residential real estate and land development companies on financial transactions including capital raising, debt restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions. Through his family office, Mr. Avila has personally invested in numerous real estate projects in California since 1981. Mr. Avila is a member of the Urban Land Institute and sits on the Community Development Council. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy of Industrial Societies and a Minor in Business Administration.
Tony spends his time outside of Encore with his family, participating in Ironman Triathlons and supporting several educational, social impact, and children sports development charities including:
- Moreau Catholic High School, Hayward, CA. Scholarship and Financial assistance to over 70+ need-based students for high school and college tuition expenses.
- Positive Coaching Alliance, San Francisco, CA- A coach and participant in PCA which provides research-based training and resources for coaches, parents, athletes, and leaders to ensure a positive youth development experience for ALL kids.
- Finance Advisory Board member, Sisters of the Holy Family, San Francisco, CA (since 1999)
Chief Operating Officer & Chief Compliance Officer
Oscar Vasquez
Oscar Vasquez oversees all fund and firm operations and investor relations. Prior to Encore, Oscar led the Management Consulting organization in California for EMC, one of the world’s largest technology companies. In this role, he was responsible for operational, profit/loss, and business development for the unit, which presided over 30% year-on-year growth of revenue. Earlier in his career, he also worked for Accenture/Andersen Consulting and Deloitte Touche. Oscar earned his BS in Computer Engineering from U.C. San Diego
Chief Financial Officer
John Chiste, CPA
John oversees all financial aspects of the fund, as well as maintaining compliance procedures. Prior to Encore, John was the Chief Financial Officer for the Falcone Group and its affiliates. For 10 years prior to joining the Falcone Group, John was the Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of Bluegreen Corporation, a publicly held timeshare and residential land developer. In addition, John held various leadership positions at Bluegreen Corporation, Comscript, Computer Integration Corporation, and Ernst and Young LLP. Chiste holds a BBA in Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant.