Our People

Debi Sambuchi serves as head of Marketing for Griffin Capital Company and is responsible for managing and executing strategies to expand the Company’s brand awareness among its key constituents including investors, financial advisors and their broker-dealers and registered investment advisors. Mrs. Sambuchi also oversees the digital marketing initiatives across various media platforms.

Mrs. Sambuchi joined Griffin Capital in 2005 as a Transaction Coordinator and assisted in marketing the firm’s 1031 Exchange and Delaware Statutory Trust transactions. During her tenure, Mrs. Sambuchi has evolved through several marketing positions and has become an integral part of the firm’s ability to adapt and succeed in various sectors.

With over 16 years of industry experience, Mrs. Sambuchi has been intimately involved in the development of the Company’s direct real estate divisions and is an active member in several of the firm’s committees. She holds a B.A. from the University of Connecticut.

Mr. Street is a Senior Vice President – Operations and Due Diligence for Griffin Capital Company, LLC and is primarily responsible for overseeing the due diligence relations, fund development and marketing functions of Griffin Capital Private Equity, LLC.

Prior to joining Griffin Capital in 2018, Mr. Street served in several capacities for KBS Capital Markets Group, the last of which was Director of Product and Due Diligence.

Mr. Street has over a decade of real estate and financial services experience. He is a CFA® charterholder and holds a B.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara

Mr. Marohnic is the Managing Director of Portfolio Management at Griffin Capital Company, LLC, where he is responsible for helping to develop and oversee the execution of the investment strategy for the various investment vehicles managed by the firm. In this capacity, he is involved with identifying target markets, asset selection, underwriting, portfolio management, and maximization of value. Mr. Marohnic interfaces with the firm’s executives across Acquisitions and Asset Management.

Mr. Marohnic originally joined Griffin Capital in 2015 as an Associate and was responsible for assisting in the underwriting of acquisition opportunities for Griffin Capital-sponsored investment vehicles. He rejoined Griffin Capital in May 2018 after serving as an Associate Vice President for Mirae Asset Global Investments where he focused on the acquisition and development of commercial real estate assets across the United States.

During his 12-year career in real estate, Mr. Marohnic has been involved in the acquisition, financing, development, management and disposition of over $4.0 billion of commercial real estate transactions throughout the United States. He holds an MBA from the University of California at Los Angeles – Anderson Graduate School of Management, and an M.S. and B.S. from Arizona State University.

Mr. Messori is a Managing Director of Real Estate Development for Griffin Capital Company, LLC. He focuses on the company’s development activities and plays an integral role in the direction and oversight of all development projects.

Prior to joining Griffin Capital in 2015, Mr. Messori was a Senior Vice President with Mar Ventures, Inc. where he developed over 2 million square feet of office, industrial and retail space along with obtaining entitlements for over 150 acres of land for over 2 million square feet of commercial space and more than 300 residential units. Prior to Mar Ventures, Mr. Messori was a Senior Manager – Real Estate with Hughes Electronics where he managed a portfolio in excess of 55 million square feet of leased and owned space with an asset value of over $10 billion.

Mr. Messori has over 35 years of real estate development experience across office, industrial, retail, residential and hospitality. He holds an MBA from University of Southern California and a Certificate in Executive Management from Claremont Graduate University.

Ms. Gordon has worked as an external HR Consultant to Griffin Capital since 2011 and now joins the firm to lead and support people initiatives that will further the firm’s vision and employee experience. She has over 30 years of experience leading the human resources function in the financial and professional services sectors. Ms. Gordon joins Griffin Capital from ABD Insurance and Financial Services, where she managed strategic initiatives and fulfilled outsourced HR leadership roles as a senior HR Consultant. Prior to her consulting tenure, Ms. Gordon held senior HR management positions with Wachovia Financial (Wells Fargo), leading the development and delivery of HR for wholesale banking divisions. She has also served as an instructor for the Society of Human Resources Management.

Mr. Kaplan has over 30 years of hands-on experience in commercial real estate, encompassing over 100 transactions totaling over $4 billion throughout North America. Mr. Kaplan's career has focused on property acquisition, ownership, asset management and debt and equity financing. Prior to joining Griffin in February 2013, Mr. Kaplan served 11 years at IRG, LLC, a privately-held opportunistic buyer of commercial real estate. He was one of three partners responsible for acquisition, ownership and management of over 90 million square feet of primarily office and industrial real estate in 23 states. While Mr. Kaplan was ultimately responsible for identifying, underwriting and closing acquisitions, he was also responsible for leading all due diligence on acquisitions, procuring debt and equity financing and maintaining investor relationships. Prior to IRG, Mr. Kaplan was employed for approximately 14 years in various acquisitions, asset management and debt and equity capital raising roles with Morgan Stanley, JMB Realty Corporation, Chemical Bank and J.P. Morgan.

Prior to joining Griffin Capital, Ms. Higgins was a partner at the law firm of Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon LLP in Chicago, Illinois. Ms. Higgins has been Griffin Capital’s primary real estate transaction counsel for more than 16 years and she worked together with Griffin Capital’s principals on nearly all of the firm’s acquisition, due diligence, leasing, financing and disposition activities during that time period.

Mr. Shields founded Griffin Capital in 1995, serves as the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and is based in the firm’s headquarters in El Segundo, CA.