Team

James Lighthizer

Principal, Managing Partner

Mr. Lighthizer started Chesapeake Real Estate Group, LLC ("CREG") in 2004 after spending 16 years at CBRE, where he achieved the titles of Senior Vice President and Partner and was a consistent "Top 5" producer. His past institutional landlord clients include RREEF, Ohio Teachers, First Industrial, Opus, Invesco, Cabot, and CalEast/LaSalle Advisors. He also served as a tenant representative leader with the National CB Global Logistics Practice Group.

Since starting CREG Lighthizer has led the company’s acquisition and development of many of the highest profile industrial business parks in the Maryland Region as part of the company's initiative to both own and develop commercial real estate. CREG has acquired, developed and/or has held ownership in over 20 industrial, office, and retail projects that total over $400 million in value. The company's partners have included Prudential Real Estate Investors, USAA, The Carlyle Group, EverWest Investors, TA Advisors, Atapco Properties, Osprey Property, Somerset Construction, and Holland Properties.

Immediately after starting CREG, Mr. Lighthizer negotiated a few of the region's largest industrial transactions, including representing General Motors in the sale of their Baltimore Van Assembly Plant, which consisted of 182 acres and two million square feet of industrial space to Duke Realty for $33 million. Mr. Lighthizer previously represented GM with their acquisition of 80 acres in White Marsh, Maryland for their 800,000 square-foot Allison Transmission Plant. Lighthizer also acquired and developed a 240-acre, 1.5 million square foot planned business park known as Baltimore Crossroads @95.

Past & Current

Professional Affiliations and Accreditations

• NAIOP (National Association of Industrial and Office Properties)
• SIOR (Society of Industrial and Office Realtors)
• CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member)
• Board Member, Anne Arundel County Partnership for Families and Children
• Board Member, US Lacrosse Mid-Atlantic Chapter
• Commissioner, Severna Park Green Hornets Boys Lacrosse
• Board Member, Anne Arundel County Park and Recreation Boys Lacrosse Coach's Association
• CLM (Council of Logistics Management)
• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Board Member
• AACIA (Anne Arundel Commercial & Industrial Association)
• Mount St. Mary's President's Council
• Fund-Raising Chairman, Mount St. Mary's (Class of 1988)

Education & Designations

• CB Richard Ellis/USC Formal Sales and Corporate Service Training
• Bachelor of Arts, Mount St. Mary's College, 1988
• Gilmour Academy High School, Cleveland, Ohio, 1984

Matthew Laraway

Partner, Head of Transactions/Leasing

Matt brings twenty-five years of commercial real estate experience to CREG and serves as Executive Vice President and Partner. In that, Matt is responsible for strategy and oversight of the company’s operations. He is also actively involved in the firm's leasing, capital markets, and joint venture relationships for the firm.

Prior to joining CREG, Matt spent seven (7) years as a Senior Director in the industrial practice group at Cushman & Wakefield where he was annually recognized as a top industrial broker in the Mid-Atlantic region. Matt has represented many of the nation’s top institutional owners including Prologis, USAA Real Estate, First Industrial, and PGIM Real Estate/Prudential.

Matt has been involved in several of largest industrial transactions in the region including the representation of Kohl’s Department Stores in the acquisition of their east coast e fulfillment center (1.0 million SF), representation of Liberty Property Trust in a 945,000 SF BTS with Clorox and the disposition of Restoration Hardware’s 1.2 million SF distribution center for Weeks Robinson Properties, and represented CREG in a 500,400 SF lease to Best Buy for their Mid Atlantic Distribution Center.

Matt is a graduate of Northeastern University in Boston where he received his BS in Economics. He is a licensed salesperson in the State of Maryland and an active member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) where he is the current chair of the E-Commerce II forum. Matt is also a past President of the MD/DC/NOVA Chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR).

Professional Affiliations / Accreditations

Education

Whit MacCuaig

Partner, Head of Development

Whit has managed the development of over 14,800,000 square feet of industrial real estate.  He has completed over 5,800,000 square feet of construction, deploying over $360,000,000 in capital. Whit’s passion for development continues to present growth opportunities for Chesapeake, deepening our expertise in underwriting, planning, entitlements, and construction.  Whit thrives when presented with a challenge, and the intricate, dynamic, and multi-faceted assignment of real estate development has allowed him to hone his craft at a blistering pace. 

Prior to joining CREG in 2014, Whit spent six years in public accounting at Ellin & Tucker. He is a licensed CPA, and his extensive audit, accounting, and tax experience offers our investors and lenders a unique advantage. Whit can bridge the gap between books and the field. Prior to mastering accounting, Whit spent 12 years pursuing every construction trade he could learn.  While he has hung up the hammer, his practical knowledge of how things are built helps him with quality control and cost management. 

Whit’s institutional education includes a Master of Business Administration from Loyola University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Baltimore.  He is a proud Towson General, for those Baltimoreans interested. 

Professional Affiliations / Accreditations

Education

Christopher Murray

Partner, Head of Asset/Property Management & Finance

Chris Murray joined CREG in 2016 and brings more than eighteen years of progressive real estate experience to the company. Chris oversees the 5 million SF CREG Management Portfolio for owners TA Realty, Prudential, EverWest and Bentall GreenOak, in addition to heading all office and retail leasing and construction. Additionally, Chris is responsible for new acquisition underwriting, due diligence and financing.

Chris formerly oversaw all office and retail leasing activities, acquisition, property manage- ment and redevelopment initiatives for Towson-based Mid-Atlantic Properties in his role as Vice President. He received the National Developing Leader Award from NAIOP in 2013 and is a board member for GB Charities and The Chesapeake Baysavers.

Murray earned a Bachelor Degree in Politics and Policy and a Master’s Degree in Real  Estate Development from the University of Maryland at College Park. He is also a member of NAIOP and the Greater Towson Committee and holds a real estate license in the State of Maryland.

Professional Affiliations / Accreditations

Education

Ed Brady

Partner

Ed is the Broker of Record for Chesapeake and also works with both the development and brokerage sides of the company. Ed utilizes his 11 years of experience in commercial real estate to help with the conceptual designs of the properties that Chesapeake has developed while also working with architects and engineers to meet the latest industrial trends. Ed is also a founding member of the Chesapeake team.

Before joining Chesapeake, Mr. Brady spent 10 years in the Information Technology arena performing such jobs as sales, team leader and project manager.

Professional Affiliations / Accreditations

• National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP)

Education

• Bachelor of Arts from Towson State University, 1990

Andrew Larkin

Senior Property Manager

Andrew serves CREG as Senior Property Manager. Since joining CREG at the beginning of 2022, Andrew has managed over 4,000,000 SF of industrial, office, and retail commercial real estate. Before joining CREG, Andrew spent 15 years on Wall Street working for Lehman Brothers, Barclays Capital, and T. Rowe Price, to name a few. While in New York City, Andrew covered Equity Hedge Funds, including SAC Capital, Citadel, GLG, and Select Equity.  

In 2019, Andrew joined Loughlin/KLNB Management, a successful third-party property management company based in Annapolis. He was elevated to the role of Senior Property Manager, where he oversaw a portfolio of 13 properties, across the retail, office, flex, and commercial condominium segments Andrew graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Andrew is a licensed real estate salesperson in the State of Maryland and previously held his FINRA Series 7 and Series 63 licenses. 

Professional Affiliations / Accreditations

Education