Meet the Team
+ Brent Cunningham
Brent Cunningham founded Highland Partners Corp in 2008 with a simple mission statement: “work with the best people in the industry, provide the highest level of service for the client, and make sure you have fun along the way.” Brent continues to integrate this philosophy into his daily practice and into the Highland brand.
He commenced his career in 1995 with CB Richard Ellis where he specialized in retailer representation. While at CBRE he represented CVS Pharmacy, Office Depot, Smart & Final, BevMo, Wells Fargo and McDonalds to name a few. During his tenure at CBRE he was a consistent top producer and was involved in excess of 300 transactions.
Brent attended Washington State University where he obtained a degree in Business with an emphasis in Real Estate Finance, Investment and Development.
Contact Brent
[email protected]
DRE #01203913
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+ Maryl Binney
Maryl joined Highland Partners Corp in 2012 to focus on the growth of Highland’s landlord representation brand. Current and former clients include Costco Wholesale corporation outparcel pads, Lowe’s Excess Property/ Disposition, DJM with the disposition of Pier 1 and Toys R Us boxes in the Southern CA market, Champion Development, Gerding Edlen Development, and Black Equities.
She commenced her career in 2002 with Epsteen & Associates where she successfully created the landlord representation division. She grew the division to represent over 5 million square feet of projects that range from neighborhood/community centers to ground up mixed-use developments in dense urban markets to life-style centers and retail storefront streets.
Maryl attended San Diego State University where she obtained a BA in Communications.
Contact Maryl
[email protected]
DRE #01357931
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+ Greg Spounias
Greg Spounias joined Highland Partners Corp in 2016 after spending over 25 long years inside the real estate industry holding many positions. Greg joined Highland Partners with a profound and up-close understanding of retail tenant’s processes, their real estate needs, and strategic plan implementation throughout the Southern California market.
He commenced his career in 1991 with Business Real Estate Brokerage specialized in retail tenant & Landlord representation. He soon leveraged his experience into the corporate real estate sector by taking positions with 7-Eleven Inc, Wendy’s International, Circle K – Alimentation Coush Tard & Longs Drugs Inc. developing new strategic locations throughout Southern California. Greg returned to the SoCal Brokerage community with Retail Insite Brokerage, focusing on retail tenant representation for tenants such as Kroger Companies, 7-Eleven Inc., Einstein Brothers Bagels & AutoZone Inc.
Greg attended San Diego State University where he obtained a degree in communications.
Contact Greg
[email protected]
DRE #01200692
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+ John Cigliano
John joined Highland Partners Corp in 2020. He will contribute to the growth of Highland’s Investment Sales Division and will work in close collaboration with Highlands unmatched team of Tenant & Landlord reps, leveraging the firm's many Tenant relationships to further maximize growth & arbitrage for all our clients. Prior to joining Highland, John spent 6 years working as a Senior Investment Advisor in the Net Lease space, successfully closing in excess of $100 million in retail investment sales.
He commenced his real estate career in 2013 with Sands Investment Group, specializing in single tenant net lease (STNL) investment sales across the country. While at SIG he helped to both build a platform & grow a team dedicated to restaurant investment properties nationwide. John's loyalty and dedication to his clients coupled with his consistent ability to help them grow, create, exercise leverage, and preserve capital make him a true credit to our profession.
John attended the University of Southern California where he obtained a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Negotiation & Deal Making, Strategic Management, and Entrepreneurship.
Contact John
[email protected]
DRE #01944544
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+ Michael Borman
Michael Borman is one of southern California’s top-producing retail real estate brokers. Over his 16-year career, Michael has successfully completed more than 700 transactions valued in excess of $2 billion in gross consideration. Michael represents some of the country’s leading retailers/brands, including: Ross Dress for Less, dd’s DISCOUNTS, ALDI Food Market, ULTA Beauty, Amazon, and AT&T, to name a few. He plays an integral role in overseeing and implementing real estate strategies on his client’s behalf; this includes strategic entrances into California, growth implementation, LOI negotiations, disposition, and lease restructuring. His unparalleled knowledge of the territory, coupled with his ability to find solutions and close transactions, makes him an invaluable asset to his clients.
Michael has a client list that also includes some of the industry’s most prominent national and regional landlords. His landlord assignments have ranged from 150,000 sq. ft. ground up centers in the Inland Empire, to high profile listings throughout Los Angeles. Some notable projects include: the Capital One building and the West Elm building in downtown Santa Monica, the Bel-Air Camera building in Westwood Village, and the Friendly Hills Marketplace shopping center in Whittier, CA.
Prior to joining Highland Partners in 2020, Michael spent 16 years with Epsteen & Associates. Michael is well-respected for his strong work ethic and dedication to his craft. As the retail world continues to evolve, he strives to be ahead of industry trends and makes use of the latest technologies to give his clients a leading edge. In an industry where relationships are crucial, Michael has developed a widespread professional network composed of numerous landlords, retailers, developers, and brokers. His access to this network and his drive to provide exceptional client service have contributed to his proven track record.
Michael graduated from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor in 2004 with a BA in economics. He is a registered Broker in the state of California and is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers. He lives in Sherman Oaks, CA with his wife and three children, Stella, Reid and Winnie.
Contact Michael
[email protected]
DRE #01515302
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+ Tom Breen
Tom Breen commenced his career in 2000 with Epsteen and Associates and specialized in retailer representation. While at Epsteen he represented Starbucks Coffee, Ross Dress for Less, dd’s Discounts, Smart & Final, The Habit Burger, Amazon and Benihana Restaurants to name a few. During his tenure at Epsteen he was a consistent top producer and was involved in excess of 1,000 transactions valued in excess of $3.00 Billion in gross consideration.
Tom joined Highland Partners Corp in 2020. Tom brings an in depth understanding and unparalleled level of experience in the retailer representation sector coupled with expertise in the development and landlord sector. Tom has established and excellent reputation with major landlords, developers and brokers throughout California driven by the strong relationships he has with his clients.
Tom attended Michigan State University where he obtained a BA in History and he also completed the UCLA certification in Real Estate studies.
Contact Tom
[email protected]
DRE #01379294
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+ Ellie Plouff
Ellie focuses on marketing and transaction management for nationally recognized brands serviced by Highland's tenant representation platform.
She has extensive background in brand marketing and public relations for global companies, along with experience in corporate communications in multiple industries.
Ellie attended the University of Southern California (USC) where she obtained a degree in Public Relations from the Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism and a minor in Marketing from the Marshall School of Business.
Contact Ellie
[email protected]
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+ Leila Cunningham
Leila joined Highland Partners Corp in 2020. She focuses on retailer and landlord accounts and specializes in the health/wellness, fitness and medical categories within the retail space.
She commenced her career in 2000 with CB Richard Ellis and spent seven years working in the greater Los Angeles market. She transitioned out of brokerage for a period of 13 years to launch her own company within the retail/fitness industry. After selling her company Leila joined Highland to continue her career in brokerage and also retains an active role in the operations side of the company.
Leila attended Loyola Marymount University where she earned her B.A. in Business Administration.
Contact Leila
[email protected]
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+ Kevin Crow
Kevin joined Highland Partners Corp in 2021. He focuses on investment sales and procuring development sites to further bolster Highland’s investment/development platform.
Prior to joining Highland Partners, Kevin worked at Lyon Stahl Investment Real Estate where was in charge of the disposition of investment assets including multifamily, mixed use retail.
Kevin attended the Arizona State University where he earned a B.A. in Business Communication
Contact Kevin
[email protected]
DRE #02079973
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+ Patrick Sheekey
Patrick Sheekey joined Highland Partners Corp in 2022. At Highland Partners he continues to focus on both private and institutional clients. Born and raised in the Los Angeles region, Patrick brings a “street brokerage” approach to the market - further complementing the Highland brand - and a wealth of knowledge to each transaction.
Patrick’s real estate career began in 1998 when he joined the family business, Sheekey Commercial Investment Company, where he focused on prospecting for buyers and tenants in the Los Angeles market. In 2000, Patrick transitioned to WESTMAC Commercial Brokerage Company. At WESTMAC, he was responsible for negotiating transactions in the office and retail sectors within the greater Los Angeles market. Patrick was a top producer at WESTMAC during his 22-year tenure.
Patrick attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo University where he obtained a degree in Agricultural Business and a minor in Marketing.
Contact Patrick
[email protected]
DRE #01290968
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+ Alaina Bucy
Alaina joined Highland Partners in 2022 as an intern and has now transitioned to her role within the full-time runnership program. In the program, she continues to broaden her knowledge of the retail industry with a focus of mastering LA County’s retail landscape. Alongside the program, she continues to support the tenant representation and landlord representation brands at Highland.
Prior to her start at Highland, Alaina interned in the e-commerce and consumer brand products space. She also held a prominent role in the Real Estate Society and completed the Real Estate Certificate Program while studying at LMU. Outside of the classroom, Alaina was an executive member of the Delta Gamma fraternity where she served as the Vice President of Membership.
Alaina graduated from Loyola Marymount University in May 2023, majoring in Entrepreneurship and earning a degree in Business Administration.
Contact Alaina
[email protected]
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+ Paul Collins
Paul joined Highland Partners Corp in 2022 with 18+ years of experience in the retail real estate industry. Paul will continue to leverage his expertise to further bolster Highland’s tenant and landlord representation brands in greater Los Angeles as well as grow the development driven lines of business within the Highland Partners platform of the company.
Paul was born and raised in the Los Angeles area. His career began with Panda Restaurant Group and McDonalds Corp as a Real Estate Manager covering the Southern California markets. He then transitioned to the Orosco Group in 2015, where he was a Director of Leasing and was responsible for sourcing new ground-up retail development opportunities as well as leasing existing assets. He brings a wealth of experience to Highland and his transaction expertise coupled with his knowledge of fast-growing national retail brands will further assist Highland's initiative of offering the highest level of service to each account Highland represents in Southern California.
Paul graduated with a BA from Stanford University and has a Masters of Real Estate and Construction Management from the University of Denver.
Paul is a licensed broker in California specializing in retail real estate.
Contact Paul
[email protected]
DRE #01392835
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+ Kurt Hurtzog
Kurt joined Highland Partners in 2024. He focuses on investment sales, development opportunities and tenant representation within the corporate real estate sector.
He commenced his career in 2015 with Farmers and Merchants Trust Company, where he oversaw a nationwide portfolio of trust-held commercial assets with a focus on acquisitions, dispositions, leasing and construction projects. He obtained his CA salesperson license in 2016, broker’s license in 2018 and achieved CTFA candidacy in 2021 with the completion of Cannon Financial Institute’s Trust I, II, & III. Following his time at F&M, Kurt spent two years at Lyon Stahl Investment Real Estate.
Kurt attended Tufts University where he earned a degree in Communications. Kurt was born and raised in Southern California and currently resides in Orange County.
Contact Kurt
[email protected]
DRE #02011145
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+ David Cole
David joined Highland Partners Corp in 2024 to spearhead Highland's development projects, site acquisitions and further bolster Highland's presence in the representation of national brand tenants.
He commenced his career over 35 years ago and is a veteran in the real estate industry. He has extensive experience in multiple markets throughout the Western United States and has been involved in over 100 projects over the past few decades.
Contact David
[email protected]
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