Allen R. Hartman, age 68, is our CEO and Chairman of our board of directors as well as President of the parent company of our Advisor, Hartman Advisors LLC, and our property manager, HIR Management. In 1984, Mr. Hartman formed Hartman Management and began sponsoring private real estate investment programs. Over the next 24 years, Mr. Hartman built Hartman Management into one of the leading commercial property management firms in the state of Texas and sponsored 20 privately offered programs and one publicly offered program that invested in commercial real estate in Houston, San Antonio and Dallas, Texas. In 1998, Mr. Hartman merged the Hartman real estate programs and formed Hartman Commercial Properties REIT (HCP REIT), now known as Whitestone REIT. He served as CEO and Chairman of the Board of HCP REIT until October, 2006. In April, 2008, Mr. Hartman merged 4 of the 5 Hartman programs to form Hartman Income REIT (HIREIT) and contributed the assets and ongoing business operations of Hartman Management into Hartman Income REIT Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of HIREIT. Mr. Hartman has acquired over 90 commercial real estate properties, raised over $300 million of investor equity and acquired more than $500 million in commercial real estate assets in various private and public real estate investment programs. Currently Mr. Hartman oversees a staff of approximately 150 full and part time employees who manage 53 commercial properties encompassing over 7.5 million square feet. In addition to his day-to-day management responsibilities, Mr. Hartman serves as the principal officer of each Hartman sponsored investment program. Mr. Hartman attended the University of Colorado and studied Business Administration.
Louis T. Fox, III, age 59, is our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Mr. Fox also serves as Chief Financial Officer for our Advisor and our property manager. He has responsibility for financial reporting, accounting, treasury and investor relations. Prior to joining Hartman Management (now, HIR Management) in March, 2007, Mr. Fox served as Chief Financial Officer of Legacy Brands, a restaurant group from April, 2006 until January, 2007. Prior to that, Mr. Fox served as Chief Financial Officer of Unidynamics, Inc., a specialized EPC manufacturer of unique handling system solutions for the marine and energy industries from January, 2004 until April, 2006. He also served as Treasurer and CFO of Goodman Manufacturing, a major manufacturer of residential and commercial HVAC products for 9 years prior to that. In addition to his years of experience in the manufacturing industry, he has served in senior financial positions in the construction and debt collection service concerns. Mr. Fox is a former practicing certified public accountant. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He started his career as a tax accountant with Arthur Andersen & Co.
Mark T. Torok, age 62, has served as our General Counsel and Secretary since April, 2016. Mr. Torok also serves as General Counsel for both our Advisor and our property manager. In this capacity, Mr. Torok manages our advisor’s in-house legal department and is responsible for all legal matters affecting our company and its affiliates, including our Advisor and our property manager. Prior to joining our property manager in June, 2015, Mr. Torok practiced law from 2006 to May 2015, as the founder of The Torok Law Firm P.C., where his practice focused on real estate, securities, and business law. In addition he served as a fee attorney and provided escrow agent services for Providence Title Insurance Company. Prior to founding The Torok Law Firm in 2006, from 1989 to 1991, Mr. Torok served as a Hearings Officer for the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. From 1991 to 2000 he served as Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of the various companies of the Erie Insurance Group, a property and casualty insurance company. From 2000 to 2002 he served as Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary for the United Services Automobile Association (USAA), a property and casualty insurance company. From 2002 to 2004 he served as Assistant General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for the companies of the Argonaut Group, a commercial property and casualty insurance company. He subsequently returned to USAA from 2004 to 2006 to serve as Director of Regulatory Compliance before founding his own law firm. Mr. Torok holds the insurance designations of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Associate in Reinsurance (ARe). Mr. Torok is a member of the Texas Bar Association. Mr. Torok earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Gettysburg College and a Juris Doctor degree from Willamette University College of Law. Mr. Torok holds series 7, 24 and 63 FINRA licenses.
Richard R. Ruskey, age 64, served as an independent director of Hartman Short Term Income Properties XX, Inc. since April 2011. Mr. Ruskey was appointed to the board of directors of the Company on May 14, 2020 following the resignation of Mr. James A. Cardwell. Mr. Ruskey began his professional career in 1978 as a Certified Public Accountant with the accounting firm of Peat, Marwick, Mitchell, & Co. in St. Louis, Missouri where he obtained extensive experience in both the audit and tax departments. In 1983 he joined the firm of Deloitte, Haskins, & Sells as a manager in the tax department. In 1986 Mr. Ruskey transitioned into the security brokerage industry as the chief financial officer of Westport Financial Group. Within a one-year period he became a full-time broker and due diligence officer for the firm. In 1990 he continued his career in financial services by joining the broker dealer firm of R. T. Jones Capital Equities, Inc. where he served as due diligence officer. In June 2010 Mr. Ruskey joined the broker dealer firm of Moloney Securities Co. Inc. where he currently serves as an investment broker and as a senior due diligence analyst. He is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants. He has been an active investor in numerous real estate and business ventures throughout his 30 year career in financial services. Mr. Ruskey received dual B.S. degrees in Accounting and Finance from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale.
John G. Ostroot, age 84, has served as one of our independent directors since February 2016. Since January, 2008 Mr. Ostroot has served as a director of Hartman Income REIT, Inc. and since July, 2009 Mr. Ostroot has served as an independent director of Hartman Short Term Income Properties XIX, Inc. He was president of EGC Corporation and 3P USA Inc., subsidiaries of Plastic Omnium, Inc., a French-owned global leader in the processing of fluoropolymers and other high-performance resins plastics, from September 1994 until he retired in January 2000. As president of these companies, he actively supervised the principal accounting officers and was responsible for overseeing and assessing the performance of companies and public accountants in the preparation, audit and evaluation of financial statements on behalf of the company. After his retirement at 3P USA, Mr. Ostroot assumed a leadership role with the Fluoropolymers Division of the Society of Plastics Industries, a trade organization, consisting of processors and suppliers of fluoropolymer resin, headquartered in Washington, D.C. Presently, Mr. Ostroot is serving on the Fluoropolymers Division Executive Committee as Past Chairman. In April 2005, Mr. Ostroot received the Whitney Bro Lifetime Achievement Award from the DuPont Company for his more than 45 years in the Fluoropolymer industry. Mr. Ostroot holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Kimberly Strickland, serves as the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of our Advisor and our property manager. Mrs. Strickland’s responsibilities include oversight of property management, marketing, office services and human resources. Mrs. Strickland joined our property manager in October 2011 as Director of Human Resources. Mrs. Strickland was named Chief Operating Officer effective January 2019. Prior to joining our property manager, Mrs. Strickland served as vice president of Millennium Professional Services, a recruiting and staffing firm specializing in real estate professionals and began her career in real estate in in 1988. Mrs. Strickland has experience in management of real estate, budget/cost control management and extensive leadership experience.
David Wheeler, serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for both HIR Management and Hartman Advisors. Mr. Wheeler joined Hartman Management (now HIR Management) in January 2003 as an acquisition manager, following a 16-year tenure with CBRE. Mr. Wheeler worked as an acquisition manager until August 2006, when he assumed his current position. He has almost thirty years of experience in the acquisition, disposition, financing and leasing commercial real estate investments. Mr. Wheeler’s responsibilities range from sourcing investment opportunities, including shopping centers, office buildings, and warehouses, to closing, ownership transition and asset management. At CB Richard Ellis, Mr. Wheeler was a Vice President in the Investment Services Division, where he successfully completed the sale of over $400 million in commercial real estate comprising over 9 million square feet throughout the South Central U.S. Prior to CB Richard Ellis, Wheeler was a Project Engineer and Cost Estimator with HB Zachary for two years on numerous civil and site development projects including the Legacy business Park in Plano Texas for EDS. Wheeler holds an MBA with a concentration in Real Estate from Southern Methodists University and a B.S. in Civil Engineering with an option in Construction Management from Texas A&M University.