Matthew Sickman is the Staff Accountant at Brandy Investments, Inc., where he supports the company’s financial reporting, accounting operations, and compliance functions across its diverse portfolio.
Matthew earned his Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of San Diego in 2020. After graduation, he began his career at Leaf & Cole, LLP, a local accounting firm, where he specialized in nonprofit and housing audits as well as financial statement preparation. He later spent a year with Robert Half, focusing primarily on accounting projects for nonprofit organizations.
Matthew joined Brandy Investments in 2023, bringing with him a strong foundation in audit practices, financial reporting, and client service within the nonprofit and housing sectors. His analytical approach and attention to detail contribute to maintaining the company’s high standards of financial accuracy and integrity.
Mackenzie Essway is the Senior Accountant at Brandy Investments, where she manages the day-to-day financial operations for the non-property Arendsee entities. In her role, she manages accounts payable for the Tennessee properties, processes evictions and maintains records for KAWA Insurance. Mackenzie works closely with Chief Financial Officer Carol West to ensure accuracy, compliance, and efficiency across Brandy’s accounting functions.
With more than a decade of experience in financial accounting, Mackenzie has developed deep expertise across both public and private sectors. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Financial Management from Sonoma State University and began her career at Deloitte in San Francisco, where she gained broad exposure to audit procedures and financial reporting across multiple industries. She later joined Lindsay & Brownell in her hometown of San Diego as a Senior Auditor, specializing in not-for-profit organizations. It was there that she was introduced to Brandy Investments, a new client at the time, and in 2019, she made the transition from public accounting to join Brandy full-time.
Mackenzie resides in San Diego, California, with her husband, Jerrod, and their four daughters.
Alva Whetton serves as the Chief Administrative Officer and Sr. Executive Assistant to Allan Arendsee at Brandy Investments. In this dual role, she provides strategic support to the executive leadership team—including the COO and CFO—while directing the company’s administrative operations. Alva ensures compliance across all legal entities and maintains critical records related to taxes, insurance, loans, leases, legal matters, foundations, vendors, and subscriptions. In addition to serving as office manager, Alva leads a range of high-impact initiatives spanning public relations, community engagement, database management, website development, and succession planning. Known for her ability to “wear many hats,” she plays a central role in ensuring the smooth and efficient functioning of the organization and advancing the company’s long-term success.
Alva’s career spans several industries—including hospitality management, parking management, and commercial real estate development—resulting in a deep well of administrative expertise and operational insight. She graduated magna cum laude from California State Polytechnic University (Cal Poly), earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel, Restaurant, and Travel Management, along with a Minor in Business Administration. She began her career in hospitality as a Food & Beverage Director for Wyndham International in San Diego. After stepping away from the workforce for several years to homeschool her two children, Alva returned to pursue a successful 20-year career as an Executive Assistant. Her professional journey includes key Executive Assistant roles at Packard Management Group, ACE Parking, and Dealy Development, Inc.—where she notably served as Senior Executive Assistant and Development Coordinator for the $1.9 billion, 2.4 million-square-foot RaDD Project, a landmark life science office and retail development in downtown San Diego.
Alva brings decades of experience in project management and high-level administrative support to her current role ranging from routine administrative tasks and office operations, HR coordination, meeting and event planning, website management, stakeholder relations, to strategic problem-solving, and anticipating issues and needs to aid in ensuring the continued success and smooth operation of Brandy Investments and the Arendsee Family Group. She is deeply committed to excellence and takes pride in contributing to Brandy Investments’ mission to provide high-quality housing for hardworking Americans. As a vital member of the leadership team, Alva continues to drive operational success across the Arendsee Family Group of companies.
Alva and her husband, John, a General Contractor, have been married for over 32 years and reside in San Diego, California. Together, they have two adult children, both of whom live and work within San Diego County.
Carol West is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Brandy Investments. She is primarily responsible for managing the financial reporting activities of the Arendsee Group portfolio including property and non-property entities. In addition to being CFO Carol also handles HR for Brandy Investments. Carol has 30+ years of experience in the financial accounting and management consulting industries. She graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the Carroll School of Management. She also received a Master of Business Administration from Pennsylvania State University and earned her CPA certificate in the state of Massachusetts.
Carol began her accounting career as an auditor at Price Waterhouse in Boston where she gained extensive knowledge of financial statement review and analysis, internal controls and auditing procedures. After 4 years in public accounting Carol moved on to the private sector as a corporate Controller where she worked for many years. She eventually relocated to Chicago, again in the position of Controller, where she gained even more experience in managing the financial aspects of a company.
Carol then took some time off to concentrate on her family and raised three children, worked as an independent contractor in accounting and obtained her MBA. She then returned to the work force full-time as a Managing Consultant in the Global Business Services at IBM. She spent 6+ years working as an IBM consultant for Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP).
Carol and her husband Jimmy, who is a retired Navy Officer and works for the government, have been married 36 years and have three grown children, one who is a lawyer for a corporate law firm, one who is a design engineer with a mechanical engineering degree, and one in finance who works for a wealth management company.
Luigi Cardillo Jr. is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Brandy Investments, where he leads the Arendsee Group portfolio with a strategic focus on multifamily real estate in the Dallas–Fort Worth and Nashville markets.
The Arendsee Group is a multi-generational family enterprise committed to building enduring businesses that reflect both strong values and long-term vision. Under Luigi’s leadership, the organization prioritizes its people—teammates, partners, and stakeholders—while strengthening the family’s financial foundation, managing risk with discipline, and ensuring decisions are guided by integrity.
A third-generation leader, Luigi oversees all business lines within the Arendsee Group, including Arendsee Family Holdings, Brandy Investments, KAWA Insurance, WAK Management, and the Family’s Foundations & Trusts. He is dedicated to cultivating a loyal, high-performing team and ensuring the family’s businesses remain optimized and positioned for success across generations.
Luigi earned his degree in Finance from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. He began his career at New York Life Insurance Company in New York City, where he spent a decade in roles spanning Finance, Case Development, Training, and Business Development. As a Business Development Consultant, he supported more than 1,100 licensed agents across the Northeast, providing training in product knowledge and client engagement while helping families access financial security through tailored insurance solutions.
His experience in Texas with WAK Management further deepened his expertise in multifamily real estate and property management. Working hands-on with tenants at a newly acquired Fort Worth property, Luigi gained direct insight into operations across the family’s portfolio and developed a practical understanding of what differentiates WAK Management in the marketplace.
Today, Luigi also serves on the Board of Directors for Brandy Investments, KAWA Insurance, and WAK Management. He is a LEAD San Diego Impact Graduate (’25), an Advisory Committee Member of NMHC, and a founding member of Family Business Compass – Key Executives Peer Group.
Luigi resides in Coronado, California, with his wife Andrea and their two children, Vita and Arlo.
Allan W. Arendsee is a real estate investor and the primary owner and manager of the Arendsee family holdings which owns several apartment communities in Dallas/Fort Worth and Nashville. He is the Chairman and CEO of Brandy Investments, the administrative vehicle for the extended Arendsee family’s investments. Additionally, he is the Chairman and largest shareholder of WAK Management, the property management firm that manages the 4,300 plus units the Arendsee family owns. Mr. Arendsee is the CEO and largest shareholder of KAWA Insurance Inc., a licensed Texas captive insurance company. In addition, the Arendsee’s have several other personal real estate investments.
Mr. Arendsee started working immediately upon graduation from the University of Redlands with a B.S. in Economics in 1984. He joined Four Winds, an international moving and forwarding company and started working in Long Beach, California. After two years, he and his wife Lyndsey transferred to Connecticut and worked in New York. The Arendsee’s returned to San Diego in 1987 where Allan began working as a commercial real estate broker at Walsh & Chacon. The firm, with Allan as a co-owner, became one of Downtown San Diego’s pre-eminent commercial real estate brokerages.
In 2000 Arendsee stepped out on his own to create A.W. Arendsee Real Estate, focusing on representing commercial property owners in Downtown San Diego. Seven years later, at the time of the sale of A.W. Arendsee Real Estate to BRE Commercial (that would later become Grubb & Ellis and eventually Cushman & Wakefield) A.W. Arendsee Real Estate, Inc. and its six brokers represented about 24% of all the office space in Downtown San Diego.
Starting in late 1997 (while still working as a real estate broker) Arendsee was a founding director of a community bank in north San Diego County. Southwest Community Bank was started with $5.4 million in initial capital and sold in 2006 for $175 million to Placer Sierra Bancshares in an all-stock transaction. Arendsee joined the board of NASDAQ traded Placer Sierra (PLSB) until its sale to Wells Fargo in early 2007. Arendsee received Wells Fargo stock in exchange for the Placer Sierra stock.
After the sale of A.W. Arendsee Real Estate, and the sales of Southwest Community Bank and Placer Sierra Bank, Arendsee was mainly monitoring his portfolio and dabbling in real estate investments in Texas. During that period, he received a master’s degree in executive leadership from the University of San Diego. He “unretired” and has been working with the family-owned apartments and running Brandy Investments and the other entities since April of 2007. He currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Burnham Moores Real Estate Committee at USD.
Since Allan joined the family business in 2007 the portfolio has grown from under 1,000 apartment homes to 4,354 as of May 2025. The overall net worth of the group has increased approximately ten-fold in that time frame.
In 2007 Allan & Lyndsey Arendsee created The Allan & Lyndsey Arendsee Family Foundation to direct charitable gifts, and since then have given away more than $1 million to other 501c3 organizations. In 2024 Allan and his brothers began serving as directors for the Arendsee Family Foundation, another 501c3, which holds nearly $10 million earmarked for charitable donations.
In 2008 Allan Arendsee became Chairman and largest shareholder of Seacoast Commerce Bank which grew to become one of the top ten Small Business Administration (SBA) 7A lenders in the country and had offices in some 20 cities around the nation. Seacoast Commerce Bank traded over the counter as SCBH until its sale to Enterprise Financial Services Corp. in November 2020. The bank grew from $67 million in assets to $1.32 billion in assets over his 12 years as Chairman.
In 2025 Allan Arendsee joined the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, the University of Redlands.
Mr. Arendsee and his wife, Lyndsey, have been married for more than 40 years. Together, they are the proud parents of two married adult children and the grandparents of four. Allan & Lyndsey have made their home in Coronado, California, since 1991.
