Senior Management

Paul Salib
Managing Principal

As a co-founder and Managing Principal of Castellan Real Estate Partners, Mr. Salib directs the acquisition and asset management of Castellan's investment holdings.

Previously, Mr. Salib was a Senior Vice President at Red Stone Partners, where he was involved in the acquisition and financing of over $1 billion in commercial real estate transactions. Mr. Salib was primarily responsible for performing valuation analysis, due diligence and transaction execution.

Mr. Salib received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Syracuse University and received his Master's degree in Real Estate Finance and Investment from New York University. Mr. Salib is also an Adjunct Professor at NYU's Schack Real Estate Institute and on the Board of Directors of New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH).

John Salib
Managing Principal

As a co-founder and Managing Principal of Castellan Real Estate Partners, Mr. Salib is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the firm’s investments and operations.

Mr. Salib began his career at Salomon Smith Barney in New York, where he focused on fixed income finance, real estate acquisition finance and mortgage securitization. Mr. Salib was a member of transaction teams that originated and / or securitized approximately $3 billion of debt financing for a variety of commercial and residential real estate clients.

Mr. Salib was subsequently a member of the Salomon Smith Barney team in Tokyo, focusing on debt origination / securitization and distressed debt acquisitions from Japanese financial institutions. Mr. Salib was primarily responsible for performing valuation analysis and due diligence on potential acquisition / financing candidates. Mr. Salib is also a founder of Landmark Advisors LLC, a value oriented alternative investment management firm.

Mr. Salib received a Bachelor of Arts from Colgate University and a Masters of Business Administration from Columbia Business School.

Joel Hammer
Chief Financial Officer

As Chief Financial Officer of Castellan Real Estate Partners, Mr. Hammer is responsible for leading and directing the Finance and Accounting functions.

Mr. Hammer has more than 25 years of experience in leading the financial, accounting, operational and administrative aspects of real estate investment and management companies. He has deep experience with investor administration and reporting, the creation of tax efficient investment vehicles, in addition to involvement with acquisition and disposition transactions.

Mr. Hammer spent the early part of his career at KPMG, specializing in private and publicly registered companies in a broad range of industries, including real estate and emerging businesses. Subsequently, Mr. Hammer spent 17 years as the Chief Financial Officer at AIG’s Global Real Estate group, playing a significant role in the group’s expansion from startup to a company whose global portfolio had more than $25 billion of assets under management, with upward of 53 million square feet in more than 50 countries.

Mr. Hammer, a CPA, graduated magna cum laude from the University at Albany, SUNY with a Bachelor’s degree in accounting. Mr. Hammer is also an Adjunct Professor at Baruch College teaching Real Estate Finance and Investments.

Sergey Shayakhov
Managing Director

Mr. Shayakhov is Managing Director at Castellan Real Estate Partners. He is responsible for overseeing the underwriting, due diligence, and loan servicing of the bridge loan portfolio. He has been with Castellan for over 12 years and previously worked as a Finance Manager.

Mr. Shayakhov graduated summa cum laude from Brooklyn College with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Finance and received his Master’s degree in Information Systems from Baruch College.

Jake Zorfas
Vice President Originations

Jake Zorfas is Vice President of Originations. Jake is responsible for originating, structuring and underwriting bridge loans.

Jake began his career at Castellan in 2018 and has since held roles at Verus Commercial Real Estate Finance (VCREF) and CoreVest prior to rejoining the firm in 2026.

Jake graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University.

Dhruva Parmar
Vice President Real Estate Credit

Ms. Parmar serves as a Portfolio Manager for Castellan Real Estate Partners, overseeing the underwriting, due diligence, and loan servicing aspects of the bridge loan portfolio.

With a background as a Chartered Accountant and Law graduate, Ms. Parmar brings over a decade of extensive experience in the banking and finance sector. She has worked with global organizations such as KPMG, UBS AG, and prominent Indian banks, where she specialized in credit underwriting, debt syndication, project finance, and stakeholder management.

Ms. Parmar is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.