McWhinney Hires Michael Ray as Executive Vice President & General Counsel

November 11, 2020 Posted In

McWhinney, a Colorado-based real estate investor and developer with expertise in commercial, multifamily, hospitality, residential and mixed-use assets – is pleased to announce Michael Ray is now serving as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the company.

McWhinney has also promoted Beth Johnson to the role of Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel.

Ray is serving as chief legal advisor for McWhinney’s enterprise portfolio working closely with ownership and the internal legal team, and providing strategic legal direction on complex negotiations, joint venture opportunities, and corporate growth initiatives.

Prior to joining McWhinney, Ray served as a partner of Pircher, Nichols & Meeks LLP in Los Angeles, where he primarily focused on the representation of private equity funds and real estate operating companies in connection with the sponsorship and formation of real estate investment vehicles and the execution of real estate joint ventures.

“Mike’s passionate leadership and decades-long expertise navigating complex legal and business matters will make him an integral member of our senior team,” said McWhinney Chief Operating Officer and President, Ray Pittman. “Mike has extensive legal experience in advising clients – including McWhinney – across various sectors in connection with commercial transactions and business ventures, including mergers and acquisitions, private offerings of securities and compliance matters.”

Ray is a graduate of Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law in Dallas and received his undergraduate degree from Rhodes College in Memphis.

Since early 2019, Johnson has served as Vice President & Associate General Counsel and most recently filled the role of Interim General Counsel at McWhinney for the past six months. She has been instrumental in helping McWhinney execute complex deals and has served as an integral piece to McWhinney’s operational side during the current pandemic.

In her new role as Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Johnson will continue to lead McWhinney’s internal legal function in support of McWhinney’s real estate development and operational business lines, as well as advising the senior leadership and executive teams on real estate transactions and business operations matters.  Johnson will also continue to directly support McWhinney’s Commercial, Mixed-Use and Multifamily Development teams.

Johnson is a graduate of Northwestern University in Chicago and earned her law degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.