Our Team
Our hands-on team of executives has decades of combined experience in real estate and development. The visionary minds at Weintraub Real Estate Group are the driving force behind WREG’s projects.
Richard E. Weintraub
President & CEO
Richard Weintraub, President and Founder of Weintraub Real Estate Group, has distinguished himself as a community-oriented developer of unparalleled vision and creativity, matched only by his sensitivity to the unique needs of each neighborhood in which he develops.
A fourth-generation Angeleno and a graduate of the University of Southern California (MBA), Mr. Weintraub’s love for the City of Los Angeles is rooted in reverence for its culture and history. Fascinated since childhood by the region’s rich heritage, he has created a real estate firm that encompasses the diversity of Southern California.
In many ways, Mr. Weintraub is a new kind of developer, carefully selecting buildings and overseeing developments that truly benefit the communities they serve. Under his guidance and strategic management, WREG has acquired, developed or entitled properties worth over $1 billion through its real estate ventures.
From restoring St. Vibiana, the original Archdiocese in Los Angeles, to revitalizing an old lumber yard in Malibu into a vibrant retail destination, Mr. Weintraub has been the driving force behind visionary projects throughout Los Angeles County and the Southern California region.
Mr. Weintraub has shown his commitment to Southern California and beyond through his philanthropic efforts. He currently sits on the board of LA River and Pilot Light Foundation, and has worked with the Valley Community Clinic in San Fernando Valley and The Boys and Girls Club of Malibu.
Thomas Dujovne
Chief Investment Officer
Mr. Thomas Dujovne is a real estate investor and developer with more than 25 years of experience. Mr. Dujovne has secured over $1.6 billion of debt and equity financing for the acquisition and development of prominent and award-winning real estate investments in Southern California. His sound investment underwriting along with his direct oversight of acquisitions, finance, entitlements, construction management, leasing and property management has resulted in the successful development of 1.9 million square feet of retail, 1.4 million square feet of office, hotels and over 1,900 multifamily residential units.
His redevelopment experience includes large mixed-use and transit-oriented developments which have required complex public-private partnerships with municipalities and other government agencies. Mr. Dujovne negotiated more than $180 million in subsidized financing for redevelopment and affordable housing.
2003 -2014: Mr. Dujovne worked for the JH Snyder Company (one of the largest privately held real estate investment and development companies in the western US) where he served as Chief Investment Officer.
1994- 2002: Mr. Dujovne began his career in South America where he worked in real estate and investment banking. South America proved to be a valuable training ground for Dujovne, having experience several boom / bust cycles. His early years include working for a large diversified South American real estate firm publicly traded on the NYSE and backed at that time by hedge fund guru George Soros. Mr. Dujovne has also held executive positions with international investment banks, including BNL–BNP Paribas, where he served as senior economist and investment advisor to a diversified investment portfolio of $3.0 billion in publicly traded equities, bonds, structured securities, currencies, futures and derivatives.
Mr. Dujovne is a member of the Urban Land Institute and has held positions on the Board of Directors of the North Hollywood BID and the Hollywood Media District BID.
Mr. Dujovne also serves as partner and consultant to various real estate ventures in the US through Dujovne Real Estate Advisors (DREA).
He holds a graduate degree in Economics from the University of Belgrano in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and an MBA from the University of CEMA (Buenos Aires) together with DePaul University (Chicago), where he received an international scholarship concentrating on real estate finance and investment.
Michael Pepper
Construction Manager for Commercial Real Estate
Mr. Pepper was the owner representative on the Ritz Carlton Waikiki Condominium Hotel (Phases 1 and 2) project in addition to representing various clients through dispute resolutions including recent work on the Steinway Building in Manhattan, soon to be among the world’s tallest residential buildings. Current and recent projects include Ritz Carlton, Honolulu; Fountainview West LA for the Jewish Home; Citrus Tower, Riverside; Trump Waikiki for Irongate Capital, Honolulu; Trump Ocean Resort for Irongate Capital, Mexico; Shores Apartments, Marina del Rey, CA.; Elysian Hotel Condominium Chicago; Fairbanks Condominium Tower, Chicago; View 14 Condominiums, Washington, DC; Lenox Hotel renovation, Chicago; Sky Las Vegas Condominiums, Las Vegas; Roosevelt Lofts, Los Angeles; First National Bank, Oklahoma City and projects currently in pre-development in Southern California.
1999-2004: Mr. Pepper assumed responsibility for managing all phases of development and construction of office, apartment, condominium and mixed-use projects for Fifield Companies, Chicago. These projects included the world headquarters for Quaker Oats at 555 W. Monroe; the U.S. headquarters for Zurich Insurance, a speculative office and parking complex in Schaumburg, Il.; headquarters building for Chicago Transit Authority; headquarters office tower for USG in Chicago, the Californian condominiums in Westwood, CA and Admiral’s Point Condominiums in Chicago, Il.
1994-1999: Mr. Pepper provided consulting and advisory services to clients across the country including General Electric Capital on the renovation of the Chicago Opera House; Embossed Graphics new manufacturing facility in Naperville, Il.; Milwaukee based Marcus Corp. on the Baymont Hotel mixed use project in Chicago; and The Hayman Company, Troy, Michigan on hotel and apartment renovation projects in Illinois, Arizona, California, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Michigan and Florida.
1993-1994: As Director of Architecture and Engineering at A. Epstein and Sons, International Mr. Pepper was involved with a broad range of design and construction projects including the McCormick Place Expansion, the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art and the National Bank of Poland office tower in Warsaw, Poland.
1987-1992: Mr. Pepper established the Chicago office of The Linpro Company where he led the development of the 1.3 million SF fifty story, Chicago Title and Trust Tower. In that capacity he arranged the donation of the Harris and Selwyn Theaters to the City of Chicago for the purpose of creating a new home for Goodman Theater.
1982-1987: Mr. Pepper was a national partner with Tishman Speyer Properties where he directed design and construction on such projects as the 1 million SF 525 Monroe office building, the 1 million SF 222 N. LaSalle building renovation and expansion and the design and construction of NBC Tower in Chicago. He was project executive of the multi-billion dollar Cityfront Center development throughout the zoning, design, infrastructure and construction process including the redevelopment of the landmark Pioneer Court and River Esplanade along the north bank of the Chicago River. Mr. Pepper worked with the City of Chicago to create its first women’s and minority work requirement programs associated with a large privately owned real estate development project.
Mr. Pepper provides real estate development consulting and advisory services to clients of Pepper Development Services (PDS) in various markets in a variety of product types.
Mr. Pepper has been on various not-for-profit boards and played a significant role in the creation of Chicago’s Goodman Theater development project.
Mr. Pepper graduated from Princeton University with an A.B. in architecture and has an MBA from the University of Chicago. He taught Real Estate Development at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and at the University of Chicago’s Booth Graduate School of Management for fifteen years. He has coached the Booth Graduate School of Business Real Estate team in its annual competition with Kellogg.
Jake Jesson
Sr. Project Manager
Born an Angeleno, Jake has always been passionate about the growing landscape of Los Angeles. After graduating from the University of California Santa Barbara, Jake began his professional career with WREG in 2013 and has worked his way up to now becoming an integral part of the company. During his time at WREG, Jake has overseen entitlements and construction in excess of $250 Million across all different asset classes.
Jake takes pride in WREG’s hands on approach to community specific development and as a Project Manager he oversees the entire process from acquisition to sale working hand in hand with all consultants, community members and political agencies along the way.