TEAM

Senior team

Beat Kähli

President & CEO

Marybel Defillo

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Ross Halle

Senior Vice President

Stephanie Lerret

Senior Vice President of Marketing & Community Relations

Mari Robles

Senior Vice President and HR Director

JJ Sofarelli

Senior Vice President of Development

Trey Fragala

Senior Vice President

Cynthia Novoa

Senior Vice President of Accounting

Eric Wills

Land Development Director

Location Management

Matt Wren

Facilities Manager Orlando

Kimberly Edwards

Director of Healthcare Operations Orlando

Nery Thorimbert

Commercial Leasing Manager Orlando

Jacqueline Seaton

The 5th Floor Orlando Manager

Principals

Eric Marks

President, Avex Homes

Richard Kunz

President, Avalon Park Texas, LP

Ravi Kumar

Principal, Investments

Andreas Derzsi

Principal, Investments

Dr. Christoph Stutz

Principal, Investments

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Address:

3801 Avalon Park East Boulevard, Suite 400 

Orlando, FL 32828 USA

Hofackerstrasse 40B, 4132 Muttenz Switzerland

2 Venture Drive #14-02 Vision Exchange 608526 Singapore

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Address:

3801 Avalon Park East Boulevard, Suite 400 

Orlando, FL 32828 USA

Hofackerstrasse 40B, 4132 Muttenz Switzerland

2 Venture Drive #14-02 Vision Exchange 608526 Singapore

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Join our newsletter to receive monthly updates.

Copyright 2022 APG. All rights reserved.

Designed by noughtlabs

Copyright 2022 APG.
All rights reserved.

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Phone:
407 658 6565
Avalon Park Group

3801 Avalon Park East Boulevard,

Suite 400 

Orlando, FL 32828 USA

Hofackerstrasse 40B, 4132 Muttenz Switzerland

2 Venture Drive #14-02 Vision Exchange 608526 Singapore

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Beat Kähli

As Founder, President, and CEO of Avalon Park Group (APG), Beat Kähli leads an Executive Leadership Team focused on the mission to change the way the world lives, learns, works and plays. Under his leadership, APG drives the vision for creating sustainable communities under an umbrella of diverse companies, spanning multiple industries.

Mr. Kähli’s real estate investments include single family, multi-family, commercial, retail, office and industrial opportunities. He has also expanded his operations into Europe by opening Avalon Park AG in Zurich, Switzerland, where Mr. Kähli serves as CEO of the publicly traded Swiss Company, sitEX Properties, AG. Some of Mr. Kähli’s top projects include 2,000-acre Master Planned Developments in Orlando and Tampa, Florida. Each of these projects includes a town center consisting of commercial, retail and office space surrounded by single family and multi-family units. Mr. Kähli’s Orlando based project was the number one selling development in the Orlando area for four years with a total value upon completion of $1.5 billion. Mr. Kähli’s Tampa based project is similar in size and scope to Avalon Park and is anticipated to have a value upon completion of $1.1 billion.

Mr. Kähli also found success in the concrete industry, where, together with a partner, Mr. Kähli developed Prestige/AB Ready Mix, which became the largest independent concrete producer in the State of Florida before it was sold. Other portfolio investments include, Avex Homes, Data Transfer Solutions, Pasco Mines, Encore Assisted Living and Memory Care Community, Avalon Park Home Health and additional ventures that continue the vision of the company. With over 30 years of experience in the fields of real estate, investment banking and financial consulting, Mr. Kähli provides direction and guidance for all APG operations, including the development of strategic alliances and joint venture relationships.

Mr. Kähli has been named by the Orlando Business Journal as one of the Top Ten Most Influential Businessmen and the Reader’s Choice, Most Respected CEO in Central Florida. He has also been recognized by the Orlando Business Journal as Top Ten Most Influential Newsmakers and Top Ten Most Influential Businessmen in Central Florida. Additionally, the Orlando Magazine awarded Beat Kähli the honor of one of the 50 Most Powerful People in Orlando for three consecutive years.

While Mr. Kähli has been fortunate in his business ventures, he has also donated his time and financial support to several philanthropic causes. Mr. Kähli has served on the board of many community not-for-profit organizations including the Red Cross of Central Florida, the Central Florida YMCA, the Central Florida Boy Scouts, the University of Central Florida’s Health and Public Affairs and the Florida Hospital Orlando’s Board of Directors.

Mr. Kähli earned his Business Degree from the Zurich Business School. He resides in Winter Park, Florida with his wife Jill and their four children, Daniel, David, Alex and Anna.

Marybel Defillo

Marybel Defillo came to Avalon Park Group in the Spring of 2014, where she serves as Chief Financial Officer. Marybel comes to Avalon Park Group with over 15 years of public accounting experience mainly from top national firms. While working in public accounting, she mainly served companies in the construction, real estate, manufacturing and wholesale/distribution industries.

Marybel has earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a Master’s Degree in Finance and is a Florida licensed Certified Public Accountant. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Ross Halle


Ross received his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Miami, and received his Masters in Architecture and Certificate in American Urbanism from the University of Virginia. Prior to joining The Avalon Park Group in 1999, Ross worked for Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Dover, Kohl and Partners and Roger Fry Architects. In addition to Avalon Park, Ross has worked on other notable projects such as CityPlace- West Palm Beach, I’On – Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, the Miami Lakes Town Center, and the plans for Downtown Ft. Pierce’s redevelopment.

Currently, Ross is the Senior Vice President for the Avalon Park Group and is responsible for the design, permitting, and implementation of both the horizontal and vertical development endeavors associated with The Avalon Park Group.

Stephanie Lerret

Stephanie Hodson Lerret came to Avalon Park Group in the Fall of 2003. She graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Political Science and Anthropology.

Stephanie handles the planning and production of the marketing and special events for Avalon Park Group-owned entities. She is actively involved in the community by participating in organizations such as the Rotary Club and the East Orlando Chamber of Commerce.

She also sits on various boards, such as the YMCA, Team Volusia, Volusia Association for Responsible Development, Pasco Economic Development Council and the Arthritis Foundation of Florida.

Mary Robles

Mari Robles came to Avalon Park Group in 2009 as a property accountant. With over 9 years of experience in human resources, she quickly accelerated to her role where she currently serves as Senior Vice President, overseeing all human resources for the Avalon Park Group of companies. Her desire to create a positive and inviting employee experience for the entire team led her to apply for and receiving a $150,000 grant with AdventHealth (formerly Florida Hospital) to transform the company into one of the healthiest companies in Central Florida. Her forward-thinking quickly extended that goal into the communities being built by Avalon Park Group, where the LiveWell brand was born and is being developed. She continuously strives for the ultimate employee experience through listening, training and understanding the team.

Mari attended West Coast Christian College in Fresno, California.

JJ Soffarelli

JJ Sofarelli oversees all vertical development projects within the USA based group of companies. He also works closely with senior management of the company to identify, contract and close new real-estate related opportunities, manage investor, lender, and other stakeholder relationships, and generate and maintain many of the financial models for prospective and existing projects and opportunities.

 

A Central Florida native, JJ graduated magna cum laude from the University of Florida where he studied Construction Management and Business Administration. He was also a member of the Honors Program and Florida Blue Key. JJ was a scholarship grant recipient from the University of Florida – Hough Graduate School of Business, where he received his Master of Science in Real Estate. Before coming to Avalon Park Group in the summer of 2015, JJ gained experience in both preconstruction and operations at several construction companies, including J. Raymond Construction Company in Longwood and Holder Construction Company in Atlanta.

Trey Fragala


Originally from Lakeland and a true Florida native, Trey grew up in land planning and development. From a young age, he worked in his family’s urban planning consulting practice for both public and private clients. It was in those formative years that he developed a passion for land development. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and earned post graduate certificates in Project Management and Executive Leadership from the University of Florida. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Prior to joining the Avalon Park Group, Trey served as the Chief Operating Officer for another one of APG’s portfolio companies, responsible for the daily operations of the firm’s GIS-centric applications development, technology, transportation planning, infrastructure management, and engineering consulting. He was a key member of the company’s C-level executive leadership team and helped grow the firm from fifteen employees when he joined to more than one hundred. His experience spans more than 20 years in land planning/development, transportation planning, civil infrastructure management, program management and operations.

He has previously served on the Boards for Santa Fe Catholic High School in Lakeland and the Good Shepherd Catholic School in Orlando. He was recognized by the Orlando Business Journal as one of the Top 40 under 40 and received the Orlando Sentinel’s Cutting Edge Award for the Top 100 Companies for Working Families. Trey currently serves as a Senior Vice President and Project Director for the Avalon Park Group.

Cynthia Novoa

Cynthia joined Avalon Park Group in 2020 as our VP of Accounting. Prior to joining our team, she served as CFO of Data Transfer Solutions for 12 years. As part of the leadership team, she was an integral part of the growth of the company from under $5M to over $25M in annual revenue. As the CFO she managed the successful acquisition of DTS by SNC Lavalin in 2017. After the acquisition, Cynthia served as the Federal Business Unit Controller for Atkins North America, an SNC Lavalin company. She has also worked as a Controller in the telecommunications and insurance industries for different companies. She has over 20 years of experience in accounting and finance, as well as management, human resources and general business administration.

She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the Florida Atlantic University and a Master in Business Administration with a track in Accounting and Finance from the same institution.

Eric Wills

Eric Wills joined Avalon Park Group in 2017.  He currently serves as Land Development Director overseeing the horizontal site development of the company’s Florida properties.  Eric has thirty years of experience in land acquisition, permitting, and development having worked as a planner in the public sector and land  manager for four local residential homebuilders.

 

A native Central Floridian, Eric grew up on Merritt Island on Florida’s east coast.  He holds an undergraduate degree from Rollins College, where he graduated with honors, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Central Florida.  Eric is also a licensed Florida Real Estate Broker.

Matt Wren

Matthew Wren came to the Avalon Park Group in November of 2011. He graduated from Southern High School in Harwood Maryland and went on to work at the Army Corps of Engineers building where he learned the ins and outs of building maintenance. Matthew is now happily employed as Avalon Park Group’s Facility Manager and uses his wealth of gathered knowledge to help guide his maintenance team to be the best that they can be for the residents, commercial tenants and buildings in Downtown Avalon Park.

Kimberly Edwards

Kimberly Edwards is the Director of Health Care for Avalon Park Group. In that role, she serves as the Executive Director for Encore Assisted Living and Memory Care. Kim has devoted her entire career to the field of aging. She started her career as a licensed nursing home administrator. She is a passionate advocate for the elderly, and enjoys helping families and elders navigate the challenges of aging while supporting their vital lifestyles. She holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Florida Institute of Technology. Kim finds great joy in combining her passion for business development and serving the older adult population.

Jacqueline Seaton

Jacqueline Seaton joined Avalon Park Group in December of 2020, as Manager of The 5th Floor Orlando.  She relocated to Orlando from New York City and brings an extensive background in operations and sales management, with over 13 years of experience in management in the co-working industry. Jacqueline’s conscientious and innovative approach to management has fostered the establishment of The 5th Floor Orlando as an integral part of the Avalon Park Community.

Eric Marks

Eric Marks joined Avalon Park Group as Vice President in January 2005 and now holds the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

Before coming to Avalon, Mr. Marks was a shareholder at Akerman Senterfitt, a prestigious Florida law firm with over 400 attorneys. During his nearly eight year tenure with Akerman Senterfitt, Mr. Marks served as lead counsel to local developers and nation retailers in all manners of real estate and corporate transactions, including over $50 Million in commercial sale leaseback transactions and the creation of hotels and casinos.

Mr. Marks has been active in the Orlando community, serving as Chairman of the City of Orlando Citizens Police Review Board, an Executive Board Member of Lighthouse Central Florida, and an advisory board member of Threshold, Inc., a non-profit organization helping autistic children.

Mr. Marks earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida.

Profile Photo by Orlando Business Journal

Richard Kunz

Richard Kunz heads Avalon Park Texas L.P. founded in 2008, a joint venture with Avalon Park Group, Orlando. 

Mr. Kunz is a Swiss national, lawyer by education, entrepreneur by passion. Avalonpark Texas L.P. invests in real estate ventures with a focus on niche products in the Central Texas area, but also invests in non-real estate related companies and ventures, thereby teaming up with other partners individually tailored for each project. “We are constantly looking for new investment opportunities in all kinds of business segments which sell products or provide services in niche markets. 

Our goal is to joint venture with partners who share the same entrepreneurial and long term views with Beat Kahli and me and who can bring complimentary skills and know how to the table to ensure the success of our projects.”

Ravi Kumar

As partner of Avalon Park Investments, Ravi Kumar is responsible for managing the group’s investments globally and growing the portfolio companies. He is an experienced investment professional, having worked as an associate at Momentum Ventures, a Singapore corporate venture capital and Sienna Enterprises, a boutique corporate finance and investment advisory firm. He has worked on numerous cross border transactions in the real estate and project financing space.
He is currently CEO of Nought Labs, the growth strategy arm of APG and executive director of Sumner Capital, an Australian real estate investment manager with AUD300mn in AUM. He is also director of Bimwedo, a real estate technology solutions company based in Asia.
He graduated from the National University of Singapore with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and completed an exchange program at the Technical University of Eindhoven, Netherlands. He is a two-time recipient of the ASEAN Scholarship and a national athlete for Malaysia having competed at several international competitions in the sport of Floorball.

Andreas Derzsi

As partner, Andreas Derzsi is responsible for international business development. He is the director of Amber Capital Pte. Ltd., a consulting and advisory company with a focus on real estate and finance. Through his company, he mainly consults and advises sitEX Properties Holding AG, which he also serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors since July 2013. With his support, the company has grown to be one of Switzerland’s best-performing publicly-traded real estate companies, with a 10-year average IRR of 19%. While helping sitEX grow, he has also focused on optimizing business processes and financial structures within the company, bringing down operating expenses by 60% while lowering its debt-to-equity ratio by half.

 

He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration at University of St. Gallen in Switzerland and underwent an exchange program at Singapore Management University. He also received his master’s degree in investment management at Cass Business School in London UK. Upon completing his education, he gained valuable experience in an international business consultancy, the Swiss embassy in Singapore, as well as in a multifamily office with a focus on private equity transactions.

Dr. Christoph Stutz

Based in Basel, Switzerland, Dr. Christoph Stutz oversees business strategy of the group in Europe. He graduated as a lawyer from the University of Basel, specializing in building and planning law, in particular, district and development planning for the rezoning of large land plots. His firm, Büro Dr. Stutz, a project management and real estate development company has been active since 1997. He began his career in Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe (BVB), the city’s public transport operator, later becoming Deputy Director. In 1988, he was elected to the Grand Council of Basel-Stadt, serving for 8 years.

Presently, he is the Chairman of sitEX Properties Holding AG (sitEX) and serves as board member of various companies in the real estate, ancillary construction and energy sectors.

He is also a member of the steering committee for urban development at the Klybeck plus site (260,000 m²) in Basel with the three partners Novartis – BASF – Canton Basel-Stadt. As a member of the Foundation Board committee of the Fondation Beyeler Basel/Riehen, he continues to serve the Basel community.

His former involvement in public transport, health care and as a member of the cantonal government of Basel-Stadt has provided him with a broad field of knowledge and experience. Among his larger projects are the overall management of the “Bahnhof Ost, Peter Merian Haus and Jacob Burckhardt Haus” development next to the Basel main train station with an investment volume of CHF 700 mn and a gross floor area of more than 100’000 m². He was also jointly responsible for the construction of several condominium and rental apartment buildings in the greater Basel and Zurich area with investment volumes of between CHF 10 mn-75 mn.

sitEX

Investment into sitEX Properties Holding AG, a publicly traded Swiss real estate development company with activities in Northwest Switzerland, Central Florida and Texas. Largest shareholder. Top performing publicly traded company in Switzerland with a 10-yr IRR of 19.4%.