Our Team
Mike Rose
Office: (708) 390-1609
Michael H. Rose is the Founder and Principal Partner of Location Finders International (LFI), a vertically integrated real estate investment and development firm with a distinguished track record in commercial asset development and strategic site acquisition. With over 45 years of experience in real estate, Mr. Rose has cultivated a career defined by vision, execution, and long-term value creation across a broad range of sectors.
As Principal Partner, Mr. Rose leads LFI’s strategic direction and capital relationship development. He is responsible for cultivating institutional and high-net-worth capital partnerships, guiding project focus, and aligning investment opportunities with market and asset-class trends. Under his leadership, LFI has grown into a diversified platform with holdings spanning retail, industrial, hospitality, mixed-use, and alternative energy sectors. Over the course of his career, Mr. Rose has developed, owned, or directed development on more than $1 billion in commercial real estate assets both domestically and internationally. Notable projects include:
-Development of a marquee Amazon Fulfillment Center in Monee, Illinois, with approximately 3 million square feet of floor space
-Development and ownership of 30 Walgreens locations nationwide
-Development and ownership of a limited service hotel for Marriott Hotels
-Founder and President of Theros International Gaming, Inc., operator of a flagship casino and hotel in Patras, Greece
Beyond real estate, Mr. Rose is one of two core investors in TPG/Petram and LFI Energy. Mr. Rose also holds a stake in Lynx, a cutting-edge smart satellite technology company. His investment activity reflects a focus on innovation, infrastructure, and high-growth market sectors. Earlier in his career, Mr. Rose co-founded multiple successful ventures, including The Chicago Dough Company, a legacy restaurant business operating for 48 years in Bourbonnais, Illinois. He also developed and owned many Car-X Tire & Auto service centers, establishing long-term commercial and operational partnerships with franchise operators and conducting market-level feasibility analyses for regional expansion.
Michael H. Rose is widely regarded for his deep understanding of commercial real estate markets, his high-caliber professional network, and his ability to translate complex development opportunities into lasting value for investors.
Dan’s more than 16 year career in real estate and finance brings experience on projects that cover a wide spectrum of the real estate industry. After graduating from Wake Forest University in 2005, he took a position with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in their real estate lending division in London, England. At RBS, he participated in 3 different groups: as a credit analyst in the credit department, as a relationship manager on the lending team, and as an analyst on the strategic property finance team overseeing the large transaction approval process within the bank. In 2006, Dan returned to Illinois to work on the finance team with Mid-American Development Partners (Midco), a middle market regional real estate development firm with a focus on retail. While at Midco, Dan oversaw more than $500 million dollars in real estate finance consisting of debt, mezzanine, and equity sources. He reported directly to the CFO of the company, and by the time he left, was in charge of retail deal feasibility. His main area of focus was retail, although the company was also in many hotel and mixed-use developments, where Dan assisted when necessary at the request of the CFO.
Since joining LFI, Dan has been an integral part of both the leasing team as well as the finance team but is a principal now and the director of retail development. is the primary LFI contact for many of the national retailers/clients in addition to brokers in the Chicago marketplace. On new projects, his underwriting expertise is used for feasibility analysis. Dan continues to take an active role in the day-to-day management of projects. Dan has served as a special project manager for politically sensitive developments. In 2016, Dan founded LFI Energy, a mineral rights royalty company that owns a minority share of an operating mineral rights royalty company in Denver Colorado. He currently sits on the board of Petram LLC to help steer the direction of that investment. Dan is a core member of the LFI team on corporate strategy and is critical in developing the direction of the overall business.
Joe brings more than 28 years of commercial investment and real estate finance experience to the LFI Team. He is responsible for relationships with all financial institutions. He is actively involved in underwriting of acquisitions, due diligence and capital enhancement programs. Joe is responsible for implementing all LFI’s financial policies and strategies. Joe represents LFI to financial partners, including financial institutions, investors, auditors and public officials. He oversees cash flow planning and ensures availability of funds needed. Joe develops and utilizes forward-looking, predictive models and activity-based analyses to provide insight into the LFI’s operations and business plans. He manages the LFI accounting department to ensure proper maintenance of all accounting systems and functions.
Joe’s Finance Team interacts with the Property Management, Transactions, Development and Construction areas to control costs, ensure quality, limit risks and maximize the benefit of all capital spending. Joe anticipates critical issues, potential problems and risks that may occur within the development process and works with his team to resolve all development issues. Further, Joe communicates the status of all development projects to the Senior Management Team (Partners).
Joe continues his active role in the day-to-day management of all real estate projects and LFI’s finance while being a critical member of the LFI Senior Management Team, where he provides clear objectives and solutions to LFI’s Corporate Strategy and Management. Joe earned his AB in Economics from The University of Chicago and an MBA in Finance and Accounting from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
David is the Chief Operating Officer of the Development Team. The Development Team sources, documents, entitles, negotiates real estate transactions, works with design professionals and manages all developments through construction with a clear focus on timely delivery of great projects that exceed investor expectations. His team is closely aligned with the Finance, Property Management and Leasing Teams to ensure proper collaboration on all LFI opportunities.
David’s experience spans three decades, starting his career in the Planning Department with the City of Crystal Lake, Illinois and then moving on to the private development community, with an international architectural & engineering firm, on the retail side with Jewel Osco and development companies JPS Interests and Mid-America Development Partners prior to joining LFI. David has a BA and MA in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. David is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Kunz brings extensive experience in real estate financing and development to the LFI team. He is responsible for organizing and managing various aspects of LFI’s development projects, currently overseeing nine projects in different stages of development. Kunz works closely with the Property Management, Transactions, and Construction teams to ensure quality, control costs, and manage risks throughout the development process. He anticipates potential issues that may arise during the development phase and collaborates with his team to resolve them efficiently.
Kunz plays an active role in LFI’s day-to-day project management, contributing valuable insights to the Senior Management Team (Partners) and supporting LFI’s overall corporate strategy. His wealth of experience in the commercial real estate sector enhances LFI’s ability to innovate and succeed in the marketplace.
Prior to joining LFI, Kunz served as Vice President at Northmarq, where his strategic approach to real estate financing contributed to the company’s success. Before that, he was part-owner of Baird & Warner Real Estate Capital, where he helped expand the firm’s prominence. Kunz earned his bachelor’s degree in Urban Development from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Kunz’s connection with LFI spans 25 years, during which he
worked closely with the team before officially joining the company. His
leadership continues to drive LFI’s growth and commitment to excellence in the
commercial real estate sector.
Alan brings more than 15 years of commercial real estate experience to LFI, focusing on leasing, sales, brokerage and development of retail, medical and industrial properties. Alan has knowledge and experience in all aspects of the deal making process; product leasing, tenant representation, acquisition and development.
Alan’s main focus at LFI is overseeing the leasing of its existing real estate portfolio which consist of over 900k square feet of retail, medical office, daycare facilities and industrial.
Alan works closely with LFI’s Property Management and Development Team, to retain existing tenants, fill available vacancy, address tenant matters and development of LFI’s available land sites.
Alan works with select 3rd party Landlord’s on leasing and sales of their retail assets. These Landlords include regional & national development companies, public REITs and private ownership groups.
Alan has provided tenant representation for regional and national restaurant groups, physical therapy group, regional medical group and other retail concepts in their Chicagoland expansions.
Alan is a licensed Illinois Real Estate Broker and an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Steve Brasky
Office: (708) 390-1620
A Certified Public Accountant, Steve has more than 20 years of accounting and finance experience and serves as LFI’s Controller. Steve oversees the completeness and accuracy of the daily financial transactions for LFI’s global portfolio of properties and entities. His responsibilities also include financial reporting to the Senior Management Team (Partners), global cash management, and implementation of internal controls to ensure compliance with third-party loan and financial reporting requirements. Steve’s expertise includes budgeting and cash forecasting, tax planning and preparation, and implementation of cost segregation techniques.
Prior to joining LFI in 2005, Steve spent ten years in the public accounting industry. During this time, Steve was a financial consultant for a number of clients in various industries. His responsibilities included analyzing accounting systems and functions, auditing and preparing financial statements in accordance with accounting standards, and providing sound strategies for his clients to reach their financial goals.
Steve earned his Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Steve Chmelik
Office: (708) 390-1623
Steve brings more than 20 years of financial analysis and project management experience to the LFI Team. In his role as Asset Manager, he works collaboratively with the Development, Leasing and Construction divisions to develop and execute leasing, operating and capital strategies for LFI portfolio assets. Steve is responsible for monitoring portfolio performance including NOI, cash flow, and progress toward achieving asset goals. Steve represents LFI to tenants, vendors, public officials, and financial partners. In addition, he manages the company’s relationship with Walter E. Smithe Furniture.
Steve joined LFI in a development capacity as a Project Coordinator. In this role, he led pre-development planning, design, budgeting and project feasibility efforts and was responsible for execution of development projects. Additional responsibilities included obtaining entitlements, project scheduling, construction oversight, leasing and management of external resources including architects, engineers and general contractors.
Prior to joining LFI, Steve was with Chicago based management consulting firm specializing in business strategy. He worked on teams across diverse industries including CPG, transportation, airlines, metal fabrication and building products. In addition, at ConAgra Foods, Steve worked on teams that successfully completed the redesign and rationalization of the Company’s international logistics network.
