Allan Arendsee
Allan is president and CEO of Brandy Investments. The company provides oversight and administrative services for the Arendsee family investments, which consist primarily of multi-family properties in the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, (DFW) and Nashville, TN markets. Allan served as the chairman of the board at Seacoast Commerce Bank until it's sale to Enterprise Financial Services in November 2020. He is a private investor and is chairman of WAK Management, a property management firm in the DFW area, and serves as CEO of KAWA Insurance. He is the manager of several of the SPEs that own the Arendsee group investments.
Previously, Allan was the founder and president of A.W. Arendsee Real Estate, a commercial real estate brokerage in downtown San Diego. He also served as a founder and director at Southwest Community Bank and as a director at Placer Sierra Bank until its sale to Wells Fargo. Allan was voted the outstanding young alumni from the University of Redlands in 1994, and he received a Masters Degree in Executive Leadership (MSEL) from the University of San Diego in 2008.
He and his wife Lyndsey have been married 39 years and reside in Coronado, California.
Dick Arendsee
(1934-2023)
Dick started Brandy Investments following his founding and sale of Four Winds, a worldwide shipping, forwarding, and transportation company with offices in 14 countries and 24 offices in the United States.
In 1990, he founded WAK Management Company with his good friend Al Rabalais in Dallas, Texas, for the purpose of acquiring property in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for investment, rehabilitation, management, and new construction.
Luigi Cardillo Jr.
Luigi Cardillo Jr. is Chief Operating Officer at Brandy Investments. He oversees the Arendsee Group portfolio, mainly focusing on their multi-family properties in the DFW and Nashville markets. Luigi graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor’s of Science in Finance from the Robert H. Smith School of Business. He is originally from New York and worked 10 years for New York Life Insurance Company at the Madison Avenue corporate offices.
Starting his career in the Finance department, Luigi transitioned to the newly formed Case Development Team. Here, he helped agents nationwide create and present portfolios for all types of investors. After gaining a robust knowledge of the products and services NYL offered, he was eager to develop his client facing skills and was promoted to head up the Training department for all Worksite products. Here, Luigi helped investors procure safe and secure products for their families’ peace of mind. These insurance products were offered through the workplace (schools, police stations, manufacturing plants) to blue collar workers that could not obtain insurance privately. Luigi ended his career with NYL as a Business Development consultant where he traveled the entire Northeast region training agents on their product and presentation skills. He was responsible for 1,100 licensed agents in the Northeast region.
Before heading to San Diego, he spent time in Texas learning the Arendsee family operations and working for WAK Management (our property management firm). He was responsible for tenant experience in a newly acquired property in the East Fort Worth submarket. Luigi holds his Series 7, 63, and 65 licenses as well as his Financial Planning, Taxation, and Life Insurance Products courses for the CFP Certification.
He now resides in Coronado, CA with his wife Andrea, and their daughter Vita and son Arlo.
Keith Arendsee
After graduating from Pepperdine University, Keith began his career at Wells Fargo Bank in San Diego. He was trained in all areas of commercial and consumer lending, cash management, and retirement planning. At Wells Fargo, Keith was the primary banking officer for several hundred business banking relationships. He was later recruited by Bank of America to serve as the Southeast Region Business Banking officer, then by Merrill Lynch who recruited him for their new banking division. While at Merrill, Keith earned his series 7, 63 and 65 licenses, and was charged with securing business relationships and gaining the investment business of the owners, utilizing lending products. During his years at Merrill, Keith built a book of business with over $300 million in assets.
Eager to assist in the family business, Keith turned his attention towards understanding, developing and expanding their real estate assets and in 2015 Keith joined WAK Management, and spent the next three years splitting his time between Tennessee and Texas, learning the ins and outs of the apartment business. While in Texas, Keith trained in all aspects of the business including on-site leasing, rent collection, payable management, and improvement of community culture. He worked with maintenance teams to streamline work orders, make-ready turnovers, as well as improving general site conditions. He has spent time identifying potential acquisition candidates, handled negotiations and complete property renovations. In 2018, The Arendsee Group bought their first asset in Nashville, Tennessee. Now full-time in the Nashville area, Keith continues to oversee all aspects of the existing assets and will continue to expand the company’s real estate portfolio in the Tennessee region, currently around 800 units.
Carol West
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 25+ 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 31 years and have three grown children, one attending college, one currently in law school and a graduate who has successfully started his career as a mechanical engineer.
John Gillespie
John Gillespie is the President and CEO of WAK Management and essentially runs all operations in Texas. He was born in St. Paul, MN and remained there until he left to serve in the US Navy. After receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy John attended Georgia Southern University, Armstrong College, in Savannah Georgia where he graduated cum laude with a BBA in 1975. John attended graduate school while also working for the Department of the Army as a Procurement Officer and received his MBA in 1977.
In 1979 John went to work for Four Winds Enterprises where he served in various management positions beginning in Savannah, GA. Followed by three years in the San Francisco Bay area, John was eventually promoted to vice president in charge of operations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. John continued working in the International freight forwarding industry after Four Winds was sold. John relocated to the DFW area to work with WAK Management Company in 1999. This was an opportunity for John to once again work with the Arendsee Group that previously owned Four Winds. John remains with WAK Management today as President and CEO of the property management company and is a partner in many of the Arendsee Group apartment communities. John is on the board of directors of the Apartment Association of Tarrant County and is Chairman of the Government Affairs Committee. John is also on the board of directors of the Texas Apartment Association. John and Linda, his wife of 40 years, live in Flower Mound, TX.