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Richard Caldwell serves as Director of Originations at Avatar Financial Group LLC (Avatar), operating out of Northern California. His primary responsibilities involve the origination and underwriting of commercial real estate loans, as well as new business development and expanding the firm’s national platform.

Richard has amassed a wealth of experience in commercial real estate finance, fund management and banking for over the past 25-plus years. His expertise includes extensive lending and joint venture equity structuring for commercial real estate investments across a broad spectrum of product types.

Before joining Avatar, Richard was Chief Lending Officer of Extensia Financial, a credit union service organization (CUSO) focused on nationwide commercial real estate lending.  His career has also included positions as EVP & Chief Lending Officer at Pacific National Bank, where he was responsible for over $2 billion in real estate loans and significant growth of bank assets. 

Earlier, Richard was a founding Partner at Buchanan Street Partners, a California-based real estate equity fund manager founded in 1999 with focus on joint venture investments in value-add real estate projects located in the western U.S. As Partner & Regional Manager, he oversaw operations for Buchanan’s San Francisco, Denver, and Seattle offices.

Richard, whose entrée into the industry as a Corporate Account Officer for Bank of America, is well versed in U.S. commercial real estate structured finance, domestic and international banking, fund management and property investments. As a C-Suite team member, he has been responsible for lending, operations, credit management, policies and compliance, and team leadership.

Richard completed a Master of International Business Management at Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Bachelor of Arts at University of Oregon.  He is also actively involved with various community service organizations.