About the Founding Principals
QuakerLane was founded in late 2018 with a wealth of experience, decades of relationships, and diversity of thought.
As an emerging, minority-owned business enterprise, our personal experience underpins our organization. We like to think we see things differently, and with that comes unique opportunities and creative deals. We explore opportunities on and off the beaten path. We strive for optionality and lean into complexity when we need to. We look for the best and brightest, even if they’re up and coming. QuakerLane is more than entrepreneurial; we’re motivated to see real change and ingenuity in investment, development, and capitalization.
In less than five years, we have grown both our team and portfolio around the idea that great deals are made by creating economic value, and maximized by uncovering the intrinsic value that makes places important to those who use them. This balance – not just great assets, but those that ‘matter’ – permeates every element of our business.
We’re just getting started. Connect with us.
CARLOS FEBRES-MAZZEI and PUJA SUNEJA PERUTO
Minority Owned
and Operated
We are a meritocratic organization that celebrates diversity of thought, creativity, and ingenuity. We challenge the status quo and raise the bar for inclusion as we build our team and partnerships.
Our Values
We are tenacious, adaptable, and unafraid of complexity. Our investment strategies and execution are founded in diligence, data, and analytics, married with our own diverse experience and intuition. We seek optionality in our business plans and look for the opportunities others miss.
We strive to continuously improve, reflect often on how we can evolve, and look to work with others who do the same. We create and celebrate opportunities to find emerging, high-caliber, and often underrepresented partners throughout the vertical.
We work to challenge the industry status quo and raise the bar as we build our team, partnerships, and capital strategies. Equity, diversity, and inclusion are not goals for QuakerLane; they are who we are as a firm and affect every aspect of our business.
We believe the most valuable assets are those that matter to the people and communities that use them. We develop and reimagine properties where people want to spend time, create connections, and do their best work.
Meet the Team
We are a true MBE/WBE, and are proud to have diverse and female leadership across our organization. With combined decades of institutional experience in commercial real estate on some of the most complex deals in the United States, including large scale mixed-use, life science, office, and multifamily, our team brings a high degree of sophistication and professionalism to every project. We are engaged in our communities, serving on numerous non-profit boards, committees, and industry thinktanks to maximize impact.
Carlos Febres-Mazzei
Carlos is a lifelong real estate professional, having spent over 12 years advising developers and institutional investors on complex equity and debt capitalizations, sales, and capital markets advisory while at Eastdil Secured, CBRE, and HFF, with over $19 Billion in total transaction experience in knowledge markets across the United States including life science, urban mixed-use, office, and most product types, most recently in Boston, Cambridge, San Francisco, and Seattle. Carlos has a Bachelors in Landscape Architecture with a focus in Urban Planning, and a full-time MBA (magna cum laude) from Babson College. He was awarded the Boston Business Journal “40under40” in 2012 and Urban Land Institute’s Global “40under40” in 2014. Carlos sits on numerous non-profit boards and committees, including Global Governing Trustees for ULI, District Council Chair for ULI Boston, Product Council Vice Chair for ULI UDMUC-RED, led the conception and fundraise for a major minority scholarship initiative for ULI, and sits on the board for CRJ. Carlos lives in Boston with his wife and two children and spends his free time cooking, playing sports, and skiing in Vermont and Colorado.
Puja Suneja Peruto
Puja leads the Philadelphia office for QuakerLane and has over 20 years of experience in real estate advisory providing institutional clients with strategic guidance and execution for operations, and asset management. Most recently, Puja oversaw the creation of various platforms for a middle-market real estate private equity firm. She has a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Puja lives in Philadelphia with her family and serves the community through various organizations including ULI and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
Jeff Heidelberg, PE, LEED AP
Jeff is a LEED-AP accredited Professional Civil Engineer with 21 years of experience. Jeff has managed the entitlement, design, and development of complex urban mixed-use projects, as well as retail, residential, office, and hotel developments. He has directed and managed teams responsible for over 3 million square feet of retail space, 2.5 million square feet of office/lab space, and 2,500 residential units. Jeff previously worked at Beals and Thomas assisting developers with large projects. Jeff worked as a project manager and on the development side at Boylston Properties, Toll Brothers, Eagle Rock Properties, and WS Development. Jeff has a Bachelor of Science in Physics and in Environmental Studies from Rutgers University.
Jessica Danziger
Jessica Danziger brings over 18 years of broad commercial real estate experience to QuakerLane. She is responsible for developing and executing the firm’s asset strategies, and continually optimizing portfolio operations as QuakerLane continues to scale. Jessica began her career in Philadelphia with Ernst & Young’s Transaction Real Estate advisory practice. She went on to work for institutional investors including KTR Capital Partners, Verde Realty, Resource Real Estate, and Hines. Jessica received her BS in Economics from Texas A&M University, and her MBA from Rice University. She is an active member of the Urban Land Institute locally and nationally.
Brendan DeSimone
Brendan started at QuakerLane as a summer analyst in 2019, assisting with the firm’s first acquisition in Malden, MA. Prior to QuakerLane, Brendan spent two summers working in Governor Baker’s Office. He majored in Global Business at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. On campus, he wrote for a science publication and participated in Model UN.