United Bank recently promoted Barrett Deacon to market president of its Charlotte Market. As market president, Deacon will lead strategic efforts to drive commercial and retail production, while ensuring the profitability and sustained growth of the market. He will also play a pivotal leadership role in managing public relations efforts in Charlotte, while representing United Bank in the community through active participation in civic affairs and professional organizations.

“I was part of the team that surveyed the Carolinas when United was first planning its entry into the region years ago, and I was immensely impressed,” said Deacon. “We’ve made great strides in the market already in terms of brand recognition, and I am excited to further strengthen our customer relationships and deepen our partnership with the local community.”

Deacon will be based in United’s Charlotte-SouthPark location, the Bank’s newest office. Recently opened in March 2024, the SouthPark financial center serves as a central business hub for United’s operations in the Charlotte market and more closely ties it to the broader Southeast region. The Bank first entered the Carolinas in 2020 with the acquisition of Carolina Financial Corporation, parent company of CresCom Bank.

“Barrett is a prime example of the kind of talent we look for at United. He started his career with the Bank and quickly progressed from an entry-level role to a well-respected and successful business leader,” said Jerry Ocheltree, regional president of United’s North Carolina Region. “There’s a lot of room for opportunity in the Carolinas as we continue to establish our presence in the region, and I look forward to seeing how Barrett continues to grow with the Bank and serve our communities here as he takes on his new role in this new market.”

Deacon has 10 years of experience in the banking industry, all with United Bank. For the past five years, he served as vice president of Commercial Banking in the Greater D.C. Metro area. He began his career at United as an analyst with the Bank’s C&I Loans and Commercial Real Estate teams. After a year in that role, he was promoted to portfolio manager, and then senior portfolio manager. In 2017, he was promoted to commercial banking officer and then vice president of commercial banking less than two years later. Prior to joining United, Deacon worked for CoStar Group as a territory representative. It was there that he had his first introduction to commercial real estate, which would ultimately set him on his current career path.

Volunteerism is very important to Deacon. He currently serves as an associate member of the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., and as a regional board member of his alma mater, the Woodberry Forest School, in its Capital Chapter. In planning his move, he is keeping an eye out for volunteer opportunities with professional and community organizations in the Charlotte area.

While he’s spent the past decade in the D.C. region, Deacon is no stranger to North Carolina. He graduated from North Carolina State University in 2013 with a B.A. in history and a minor in business administration. He and his wife Kate look forward to putting down roots in the Charlotte area.

James has a decade of domestic and international commercial real estate development and asset management experience for large scale, institutional quality assets. His experience spans the breadth of product types with specific concentrations in the office and multifamily sectors. At Riverside Investment & Development Company, James focuses on new deal procurement, development feasibility, acquisitions, joint ventures and project financing.

Prior to Riverside, James previously worked at Lincoln Property Company and GE Capital. He earned his BBA in Real Estate and Urban Land Economics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Erik is a co-founder of White Point Partners with over 15 years of real estate experience. He focuses on asset management, underwriting, equity and debt structuring, and investor relations. Erik previously served as SVP of Finance for a publicly-traded student housing REIT where he was responsible for capital markets strategies, underwriting, asset management, and managing the joint venture and investor relations programs. Prior to his tenure at the REIT, he worked in J.P. Morgan’s Real Estate & Lodging Investment Banking Group where he advised clients on M&A transactions and raised over $6.5 billion of debt and equity capital. Erik began his career at Wells Fargo, where he provided large real estate firms with acquisition and development financing.

Erik received a Master of Business Administration from The University of Texas at Austin and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute and serves on the Advisory Board of the McCombs School of Business Real Estate Investment Fund at The University of Texas at Austin.

Ashley Peterson is a Partner with Proffitt Dixon Partners, specializing in complex multifamily and mixed-use development throughout the southeast. With more than a decade of commercial real estate experience, Ashley has been involved with the successful entitlement, financing, design, construction, lease-up, and disposition of thirteen multifamily and mixed-use communities, totaling more than 3,000 units and 50K sf of retail in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. She has led and contributed to projects totaling nearly $1.0 billion in capital investment throughout the southeastern U.S., while simultaneously maintaining an ongoing active pipeline.

Early in her career Ashley managed the deployment of over $2 billion in media advertising for a top ten Fortune 500 client at a tier-1 agency in New York City. After leaving New York and returning to her hometown of Charlotte, Ashley joined Proffitt Dixon Partners where she focused on ground-up multifamily development, serving in roles from Development Associate to Director of Development. She was then recruited to nationally acclaimed Crescent Communities as Director of Development where she was promoted to Managing Director and led numerous simultaneously executed complex mixed-use projects in the greater Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham region. In 2022 Ashley had an opportunity to rejoin Proffitt Dixon Partners as a Partner where she is currently responsible for sourcing and leading notable southeastern multifamily and mixed-use developments.

Active in the community and industry, Ashley sits on the Development Committee of the Board of Directors of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. Ashley is also a member of professional associations such as the Urban Land Institute and the Greater Charlotte Apartment Association and frequently serves as a speaker at notable industry conferences. She volunteers and contributes regularly as a member of Myers Park Presbyterian Church, as well as with other not-for-profit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Second Harvest Food Bank, and Junior Achievement.

Ashley graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is married to her husband, Matt, with whom she has a son, Henry, and daughter, Campbell.

Bobby is responsible for the origination and placement of debt and equity transactions at IPA Capital Markets. He specializes in structuring/negotiating complex finance investments across all asset classes with a special focus on structured finance.

Bobby has become a trusted national expert on Opportunity Zones and helps top-tier clients achieve their goals by sourcing low-cost capital through a wide variety of sources including Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Life Insurance Companies, Private Equity Firms, Debt Funds, Banks and many unique providers of subordinate capital.

Bobby is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration. His passion for the industry is passed along through his continued involvement as a distinguished guest lecturer at the university.

Peet Poillon serves as Senior Advisor for NFP’s Property & Casualty group where he is responsible for managing client relationships throughout the southeast. His clients are primarily in the Commercial Real Estate, Construction, and Manufacturing industries. NFP has a large focus in the Commercial Real Estate landscape with a national practice that services owners, developers, and property management companies globally. In addition to Property and Casualty, NFP’s services include benefits, retirement, and wealth management. Prior to his career in the insurance industry, Peet coached collegiate lacrosse and played professionally. He currently volunteers with multiple lacrosse organizations in Charlotte and recently joined the board of the Greater Enrichment Program, centered around after school activities for at-risk elementary school aged kids. Peet graduated from UMBC in 2010. He resides in Huntersville, NC with his wife and two children.

With over 18 years of commercial real estate experience, Michael has been responsible for leading over

$2.0 billion of multifamily and mixed-use investments throughout the southeastern U.S.

Since joining Crescent Communities in 2013, Michael has led the predevelopment and entitlement of 20+

multifamily and mixed-use communities totaling over 7,000 residential units and 200,000 SF of retail.

Michael and his team are currently responsible for sourcing and executing Crescent’s multifamily investment

portfolio throughout the Carolinas and Tennessee.

Prior to joining Crescent, Michael served as the Vice President of Development for Aimco, a national

apartment REIT, where he led the Company’s multifamily redevelopment platform throughout the

southeastern U.S.

Michael graduated from the University of Richmond with a degree in Business Administration and holds an

MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Active in the community and industry, Michael sits on the Board of Directors of the Greater Charlotte

Apartment Association and Classroom Central, a Charlotte based NPO supplying students and teachers

with over $6.5MM of free school supplies annually. Michael is also a member of the Urban Land Institute

and National Multi Housing Council and volunteers his time regularly with Habitat Charlotte.

Michael currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife Summer and their four-year old son,

Jackson.

Amy Blackman, MAI, is a regional managing director at Apprise, a Walker & Dunlop company, and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. In this role, Blackman leads valuation assignments across primary and secondary markets throughout the East Coast. Her work supports lending and reporting needs for Agency and institutional clients, including Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae programs, life companies, CMBS lenders, and balance sheet lenders. She also has extensive experience providing valuations for annual financial reporting. Blackman has more than 20 years of commercial real estate valuation experience. Since 2014, she has specialized primarily in multifamily assets, including garden and mid-rise apartments, urban high-rise and mixed-use properties, fractured condominiums, affordable housing, and student housing. She also serves as Apprise’s national student housing practice lead and has overseen nearly 200 student housing appraisals since the firm’s launch five years ago.

Prior to joining Apprise, Blackman served as a valuation services director at Colliers International and as a valuation specialist at CBRE.

Blackman earned a bachelor’s degree in real estate from the University of Georgia. In 2025, she was named one of GlobeSt.’s “CRE’s Best Bosses.

Amy Dyer has served as a Senior Sales Executive at Kohler Company since 2008, specializing in multifamily, residential construction, and wholesale plumbing distribution. She has consistently demonstrated leadership and expertise in driving sales growth, building strong client relationships and offering innovative solutions to meet the needs of the construction industry. As an active member of the industry, Amy currently sits on the Board of Directors for the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI Charlotte), where she was honored as Business Person of the Year in 2023. Her career is distinguished by numerous awards, including the prestigious John Michael Kohler Circle of Excellence award and several Consistent Sales Achievement accolades. A Certified Aging in Place Specialist, mentor and previous lead on Kohler's Sales Advisory Council, Amy is deeply committed to advancing industry knowledge and fostering talent. She volunteers as a Career Coach for She Built This City, a non-profit organization focused on workforce development for women in construction.

Scott D. Greenwald, Esquire, Senior Vice President, is a licensed attorney in Louisiana and Wisconsin who has been involved in the evaluation, negotiation, and consultation of insurance claims for over fifteen years. Scott graduated with distinction from the University of Wisconsin with degrees in History and Political Science, and obtained his Juris Doctorate from the Emory University School of Law. Upon graduation from law school, Scott served a one-year clerkship for Judge Nadine Ramsey, Civil District, Orleans Parish in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he assisted Judge Ramsey in making various rulings on the permissibility of asbestos, mold, and other toxin exclusions within Louisiana insurance forms.

Prior to joining GGG/AI, Scott practiced law in New Orleans in the insurance field with the firm of Galloway Johnson Tompkins Burr and Smith, whose client list included CNA, Chubb, Great American, and Scottsdale Insurance Companies. Mr. Greenwald is a frequent speaker/presenter to business owners, insurance brokers, real estate brokers, and property managers regarding the measuring of damages and the processing and handling of insurance claims, and recently gave a presentation on “Disaster Preparedness” at the Southeastern Affordable Management Housing Association’s (SAMHA) annual conference in Savannah, Georgia and on “Changes To Property Insurance In The Post Hurricane Sandy Era” at the Counsel For Affordable and Rural Housing’s annual conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Nick Aronson is a Senior Partner at The Baldwin Group. Nick is a founding member of our multifamily practice and has expertise concentrated in the apartment industry with multifamily owners, operators, and developers. Nick is an Accredited Advisor of Insurance and is a Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist. He graduated from the University of Mississippi with a BBA in Real Estate. His experience in this realm has helped him develop a niche with Commercial Real Estate owners.

Karen Key is a Division President and leads the Southeast region for Asset Living’s conventional portfolio. She has worked in the industry for over 20 years, gaining experience and expertise in new developments and lease-ups, value-add and repositions, and build-to-rent housing at companies like RangeWater, ZRS, and Greystar. At Asset Living, her goals include driving property operations and assisting clients in evaluating existing and potential investments while cultivating a culture that fosters engaged team members.

Karen is an Executive Certified Property Manager (CPM) through the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), past president of the IREM Georgia Chapter, 2022 recipient of the J. Wallace Paletou Award from the IREM Foundation, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Administration and Business Management from Georgia Southern University. When Karen is not in the office, she enjoys traveling, being on the lake, and trying new foods. A fun fact about Karen is that she is a Tennessee Volunteers fan.