leadership
Meet Our Leadership Team
We Build Relationships
Experience is nice but to us, it is always about the relationship and ours are often measured in decades.
With an average of 20 years of experience each, Essex Financial Services’ leadership has partnered with some of the industry’s most successful lenders, mortgage banking firms, and commercial real estate investors to provide best in class commercial mortgage loan servicing, construction draw reviews, asset management, and collateral surveillance.
A few companies our team has served:
- American National
- Arrowmark Partners
- Bixby Bridge Capital
- Buchanan Street Partners
- Genworth
- Hillcrest Finance
- Leste
- Lincoln National
- Nationwide
- Mutual of Omaha
- Paramount Specialty Finance
- Pearlmark
- Securian
- Stronghill Capital
- Voya
Our Leadership Team
Patrick Dahnert
Managing Director / Owner
Patrick Dahnert
Managing Director / Owner
Patrick joined Essex in 2009 as Vice President and was promoted to Director in 2011. He became a partner in 2013. Patrick has the privilege of leading Essex. He is responsible for our strategic direction and developing our team culture, both of which assure all our clients are treated exceptionally.
Before Essex, Patrick worked at CapMark for four years, where he was Assistant Vice President leading ten Portfolio Managers responsible for $12.6 billion in commercial mortgages. It was here that Patrick learned to lead a diverse group of people and serve a variety of institutional clients. Patrick began his career in 2002 at First Arizona Savings in the construction loan servicing department. This experience was instrumental when he kicked off Essex’s successful construction loan servicing and draw review platform in 2015.
Patrick received his BS-Business Management & Finance from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY where he was also a student-athlete on the tennis team. While at Marist, he was elected co-chair of the Captain’s Council, where he represented his school nationally. Patrick is active in the Mortgage Bankers Association as a participant on multiple committees and as a speaker on several panels.
Patrick was born in Germany and grew up in Phoenix. He lives in Golden, CO, with his wife, Kenzie. They have three children: Preslee, Brisbane, and Maverick. Their family also includes Albert, their Bernie-doodle. Patrick likes watching futbol, learning Spanish, playing guitar, and traveling to beach destinations with his family. He recently underwent back surgery and is slowly but surely returning to his other love, being active in multiple sports.
Jeff Riggs
Founder
Jeff Riggs
Founder
Jeff is the founding partner of Essex Financial Services. Originally from Iowa, he arrived in Denver via Connecticut in 1978 in a Volkswagen with the idea of starting his own mortgage brokerage firm. Our legacy is as the servicing platform for that original firm. He has been successful in the commercial real estate business as a mortgage broker, lender, developer, operator, and equity owner.
In addition to being Patrick Dahnert’s business partner at Essex Financial Services, Jeff remains active as a founding partner of Essex Financial Group, Baron Properties, and many other commercial real estate-related ventures. Jeff began his career with Travelers Insurance Company. He has also been a leader at Western Mortgage Loan Corporation, American Institutional Advisors, CalFed Mortgage Company, and First Interstate Real Estate Services.
While Jeff is active in businesses throughout the western states, he is also a respected peer, friend, and mentor to generations of executives at many successful institutional commercial real estate and mortgage investment companies. He is a lifelong golfer, outdoorsman, and traveler. His favorite activities are any that include spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren.
David Gregg
Director of Operations
David Gregg
Director of Operations
David joined Essex Financial Services in 2010. He started as a Senior Portfolio Manager and was promoted to Assistant Director in 2012, overseeing a team of Portfolio Managers and Servicing Specialists. In 2018, he was promoted to Director. David manages the day-to-day servicing operation with a team of over 25 people. The platform for which he is responsible includes more than 1,000 loans and over $6 billion in outstanding principal balance.
David began his career with Midland Loan Services where he worked for 3 years overseeing a national sale/lease-back portfolio for a single client based in Arizona. After Midland, David joined CapMark in 2007 as a Client Relations Manager. His assigned portfolio consisted mainly of loans owned by life insurance company loans with a smattering of securitized loans. His experiences at Midland and CapMark provided David with a keen eye for streamlining servicing processes and greatly influenced his desire to nurture a boutique approach at Essex. His amazing ability to serve Essex’s diverse clientele and train our staff well is what enables Essex to deliver every day.
A native of Kansas City, David lives in Denver with his talented wife, Iris, their three young children, and their rescue dog, Tupelo. He graduated from Kansas University with a BFA in English. David loves spending time with his children, reading, and snowboarding.
Chris Baggett
Director of Business Development
Chris Baggett
Director of Business Development
Chris joined Essex in 2018. He is dedicated to helping clients figure out their needs and ensuring service after the sale. Since coming aboard, he has diversified Essex’s client roster to include a variety of private lenders, debt funds and other originators of third-party debt. As a member of our management team, he assists in determining best practices.
Before Essex, Chris was with Voya Investment Management for fifteen years where he oversaw servicing for their $13 billion mortgage portfolio. Prior to Voya, he was with CapMark for nine years where he handled relationship management with CMBS issuers and life companies. His assigned portfolio was $20 billion.
Chris began his career in asset management roles at companies that resolved troubled assets for failed financial institutions. He has also led two companies to obtain their servicer ratings and achieve SOX compliance. These experiences enhance Essex’s unique perspective on how to best serve a variety of clients.
Chris graduated from Georgia State University with a BBA in Finance. He is active with the Mortgage Bankers Association, Commercial Real Estate Finance Council, and American Association of Private Lenders.
A native of Thomson, GA, Chris lives in Atlanta with his wife, Christy and their two rescue dogs named Roscoe and Lucy. His daughter Virginia and son-in-law Evan live in the mountains of North Carolina. Chris and Christy are Atlanta Braves season ticket holders and diehard fans. He also enjoys strength training, hiking, cycling, music, and reading.
Kim Robinson
Assistant Director
Kim Robinson
Assistant Director
Kim joined Essex in 2018 as a Construction Loan Specialist and was quickly promoted to Assistant Director. Her first assignment was to take on a portfolio of orphaned business loans to insurance agencies that originated with a closed bank and were owned by a life insurance company. Because of her investigative skills, immense patience, and dedication to getting the job done, Essex succeeded in creating another very happy client relationship.
Kim’s primary responsibility is serving Essex’s largest private lender client. With multiple lines of business that vary by investor, borrower profile, collateral type, and loan size, Kim gets the job done for this client by leading her team of Portfolio Managers and getting her hands dirty. In addition to this key role, Kim manages “Essex U.” which is Essex’s comprehensive employee development program. Through Essex U., all our people receive valuable training beginning the day they arrive and beyond.
Kim’s experience before Essex includes over 20 years in the banking industry. While specializing in consumer and commercial real estate lending at CoBiz Financial, Bank of the West and First National Bank of Omaha, she also picked up valuable skills related to construction lending, which made her a perfect fit for Essex as it grew its construction servicing and draw review platform.
Originally from an island north of Seattle, Kim lives in Franktown, Colorado, with her husband, three dogs, three cats, seven horses, and two mini donkeys. One of her amazing horses, a Gypsy Vanner named Seamus, won Reserve National Champion among 2-year-old geldings in November 2022. Kim loves the rural lifestyle on her farm.
Cat Truong
Assistant Director
Cat Truong
Assistant Director
Cat joined Essex in 2017. She started as a Servicing Specialist managing a construction loan portfolio and handling property tax and insurance reviews. Cat’s drive and ownership mentality created opportunity, and within four years she was a Senior Portfolio Manager. She was promoted to Assistant Director in 2022. She and her team of Construction Portfolio Managers and Cash Management Administrators continue to successfully onboard and service our construction lender clients as well as assure a strong cashiering program for all our clients. One of her strengths is building strong relationships with clients and borrowers that require “high touch.”
Prior to Essex, Cat worked for four years at Harvest Strategy Group as a Portfolio Accountant. Harvest is a debt collection business where her exceptional soft skills were as valued as her ability to manage the needs of multiple clients and critical accounting functions. Cat began her career at the Sawaya Law Firm in 2011, where she was responsible for client relations and multiple key accounting functions. Sawaya specializes in creditor’s rights.
Cat has lived in Denver almost her whole life. She graduated from the University of Phoenix with a BA in Business Management. Her passion is building her MK5 GR Toyota Supra for car shows. She has won multiple shows in the Toyota division and has received several sponsorships. Cat also has the distinction of building the first wide-body MK5 Supra in Colorado. She is not done yet: Her goal is to collect and build even more Japanese-made cars to show and race.
Christine Hines
Assistant Director
Christine Hines
Assistant Director
Christine has the distinction of being at Essex longer than anyone on our team. She started in 2008 as a Servicing Specialist at our legacy company and was promoted to Assistant Director in 2021. With a team of Portfolio Managers, Christine primarily serves our life insurance company clients.
As one of our most experienced people, Christine also manages our most complex portfolios, implements new services we develop upon request for existing clients, and trains our personnel in collateral surveillance and borrower requests. Prior to Essex, Christine closed residential loans for seven years at North American Title.
Christine was born in Colorado Springs and lives in Lakewood, CO. In between, she lived in Issaquah, Washington. During her nine years in Washington, Christine graduated from Western Washington University with a BA in English Literature. Her favorite things to do are enjoying the vibrant restaurant scene in Denver and traveling. Her recent favorite travel spots are California and Mexico.
Angie Becker
Assistant Director
Angie Becker
Assistant Director
Angie joined Essex in 2013 as a Portfolio Manager and was promoted to Assistant Director in 2022. She is responsible for delivering Essex’s brand of excellent service to our life insurance company clients. These clients represent our largest segment of business, and it is where it all began for Essex. Her team of five Portfolio Managers exceeds expectations in the areas of loan administration, collateral surveillance, and asset management.
Angie is one of our most experienced Assistant Directors with over 25 years in the real estate finance and title services industries. Angie has worked for National Title Company, Land Title Guarantee, North American Title, and Specialized Loan Servicing. Her diverse experience has provided her with the skills necessary to deliver Essex’s high-quality services to our clients.
A lifelong native of Denver, Angie is a Broncos fan through thick and thin. She is the proud mother of two sons and loves spending time with her granddaughter. She can also be found from time-to-time vacationing on a sunny beach.
Get In Touch
2000 South Colorado Boulevard, Bldg. 2, Suite 300
Denver, CO 80222