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Mr. Smith co-founded Regal Ventures in 2019 and serves as a Managing Partner. He is responsible for leading capital raising efforts with institutional partners as well as shaping the firm’s investment vision.

Prior to forming Regal, Mr. Smith directed the Cohen Family Office’s real estate portfolio from 2016 to 2019. The office primarily focused on opportunistic through core-plus investments in gateway markets across the United States. During his career, Mr. Smith has raised over $500M in capital investments across debt and equity.

Mr. Smith previously worked in acquisitions for another New York City based family office. He began his real estate career as an investment sales broker in New York City before transitioning to raising capital and acquiring multi-family assets in Allentown, PA.

Mr. Smith graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from The George Washington University and currently resides in Madison, NJ with his wife and two children.

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Joey Cohen co-founded Regal Ventures in 2019 and serves as a Managing Partner.  He is responsible for leading capital raising efforts with high-net-worth partners as well as growing the firm’s tenant partnerships.

Currently, Joey’s responsibilities are shared between Regal Ventures and the Cohen Family Office where he actively manages the family’s real estate portfolio.

Prior to forming Regal, Mr. Cohen managed the investments of the Cohen Family Office from 2016 to 2019. The office primarily focused on real estate opportunities in gateway markets across the United States. During his career, Mr. Cohen has managed over $1B in investments in AUM.

Mr. Cohen began his real estate career as an investment sales and leasing broker in New York City. He currently resides in New York City.

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Sean Dainese joined Regal Ventures in 2020 and has been a Managing Partner since 2022. He is responsible for investment structuring and execution as well as shaping the firm’s investment vision. 

During his tenure at Regal, Mr. Dainese has been responsible for directing organizational growth across the firms’ divisions including Acquisitions, Investor Relations, and Asset Management.

Prior to joining Regal, Mr. Dainese was a financial consultant with Accenture in its Client Financial Management division focused on financial forecasting and optimizing business efficiencies. In 2014, he began his real estate investment career acquiring residential investment properties in the northeast.

Since 2016, Mr. Dainese has invested in a food and beverage group based in Washington DC with multiple acclaimed concepts including a Michelin Star restaurant. He assists the group with capital raising and real estate efforts.

Mr. Dainese graduated from the Penn State Smeal College of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Finance, as well as minors in Economics and Information Systems Management. He currently resides in New York City with his wife.

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David joined Regal Ventures in 2021 and now leads the firm’s Acquisitions division. He is responsible for sourcing, underwriting, and due diligence as well as supporting new acquisition execution.

Prior to joining Regal, Mr. Lawrence earned a Master of Science in Real Estate and Infrastructure from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.

Mr. Lawrence was previously an investment sales broker as an Associate Director on Avison Young’s Tri-State Investment Sales team. During his tenure at Avison Young, he was responsible for property valuations, client relationship management, and negotiations for property sales with an aggregate value over $400M. Mr. Lawrence began his real estate career as an office leasing broker with Savills in their New York City office.

Mr. Lawrence graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges with a Bachelor of Arts in both Economics and French. He currently resides in New York City.

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Robert joined Regal Ventures in 2024 and co-leads the firm’s Asset Management division. He is responsible for leasing initiatives, tenant relationship management, and property management oversight.

Prior to joining Regal, Mr. Kaplan was Vice President of Operations at Hidrock Properties where he began his real estate career in 2004. During his career, he has executed over 200 commercial lease transactions with an aggregate value exceeding $250M in addition to over 200 apartment leases and renewals across multiple mixed-use properties. Additionally, Mr. Kaplan managed over 125 repair and construction projects which encompassed more than 400,000 square feet and a cumulative project value exceeding $35M. 

Mr. Kaplan graduated with honors from the Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. He currently resides in West Long Branch, NJ with his wife and three children.

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Jessica joined Regal Ventures in 2024 and leads the firm’s Investor Relations division. She is responsible for investor relations efforts with the existing capital partner base as well as supporting the firm’s capital raising efforts.


Prior to joining Regal, Mrs. O’Brien was Vice President of Originations at Pelorus Capital Group where she led loan originations, due diligence, and transaction closings for cannabis real estate assets. During her tenure, she assisted in loan workouts, asset management, and the development of a propriety data analytics platform. Mrs. O’Brien began her real estate career at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) underwriting balance sheet loans for institutional clients and managing a $1BN real estate loan portfolio.  


Mrs. O’Brien graduated from the University of Rochester with a Bachelor of Science in Business -Accounting/Finance. She currently resides in New York City with her husband.