Ugo Colombo
Founder & CEO

Ugo Colombo

Founder & CEO

Ugo Colombo has played a pioneering role in the development of Miami’s downtown skyline. He is widely regarded as one of South Florida’s most respected and successful residential and commercial developers.

Born in 1961 in Milan, Italy, Mr. Colombo came to the United States in 1983. His real estate career began while he was studying at the University of Miami. After acquiring and selling the inventory in two Brickell Avenue buildings – the Imperial Villa Regina Condominium, Mr. Colombo and his company, CMC Group, focused on the design and construction of high-rise luxury condominium buildings on Brickell Avenue, Miami Beach and Aventura.

Ugo Colombo has developed many landmarks on the Miami skyline –Bristol Tower and Santa Maria on Brickell Avenue – both of which helped redefine the condominium market in South Florida. He also played a significant role in the rejuvenation of Miami Beach’s South Beach community by redeveloping two of Ocean Drive’s most important Art Deco hotels: the Waldorf and Casa Grande. In Aventura in North Miami-Dade County, Ugo Colombo participated in a joint venture to create the ultimate in country club living, Porto Vita, a Mediterranean-style village located along the Intracoastal Waterway. Ugo Colombo’s most recent development successes include Epic Residences and Hotel, a 55-story luxury condominium and hotel at the mouth of the Miami River in downtown Miami, Grovenor House, a 166-unit luxury condominium project completed in 2006 in the heart of Miami’s Coconut Grove community, and Beach House 8, a luxury boutique condominium on Miami Beach. Mr. Colombo and CMC Group are currently developing Brickell Flatiron, a 549 unit luxury condominium high-rise in the center of Miami’s Brickell neighborhood.

In 1994, Ugo Colombo acquired The Collection, a seven-franchise luxury automotive dealership (Jaguar, Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati, Aston Martin, Audi and McLaren). The Collection is ranked as one of the top performing luxury car dealerships in the United States.

In 2002, CMC Group completed a 750,000-square-foot mixed-use office/retail development in Coral Gables to house The Collection and third-party office and retail tenants. In addition to The Collection, 4000 Ponce offers 150,000 square feet of Class A office space and 32,000 square feet of ground-level retail space.

Arthur Murphy
‍Chief Operating Officer

Arthur Murphy

Chief Operating Officer

Art is responsible for all financial, legal, risk management and corporate matters for this real estate development company.

Since joining CMC Group in 1993, Art has overseen CMC’s development activities, structured numerous joint ventures with both institutional and private investors and arranged in excess of $1.25 billion of construction and permanent debt financing for the company’s projects.

Prior to joining CMC Group, Art was a Vice President in the Real Estate Department of Sumitomo Trust & Banking Company and managed a real estate loan portfolio of approximately $2 billion for the New York Branch. At Sumitomo, he oversaw all underwriting, loan administration, internal and external loan funding, and borrower communication and marketed commercial real estate loan and equity products in the United States and Japan. He also supervised the workout of several problem and non-performing loans. Art graduated with a BA in Economics from Harvard College.

Esther Thurmon
Controller

Esther Thurmon

Controller

Esther is focused on financial reporting and cash management for the entire CMC organization. Her team works closely with lenders, investors, and partners to develop financial reports that meet the requirements of each transaction.

Esther has more than 28 years of experience in real estate development and construction accounting. She attended the University of Georgia as well as Georgia State University in Atlanta. After joining Metro Development Group in Atlanta in 1983, she was transferred to Florida to open a new office in Boca Raton. She was later hired by Trammell Crow Residential to head the accounting department of their For Sale Housing division.

Esther joined the CMC Team in 1991. Her staff has experience in every aspect of real estate accounting, including property management. Working with the most prestigious lenders, CMC Group has handled the accounting and repayment of over $1 billion of construction and development financing.

Tim Wensing
President, CMC Construction

Tim Wensing

President, CMC Construction

As the president of CMC Construction, Tim defines the strategies for managing each project that incorporate the needs and expectations of all stakeholders.

Tim has extensive experience in management of the overall design process from concept to completion, including assembly of the design team, management team and the performance and coordination of the architects, engineers, and consultants. In addition, Tim takes the lead developing comprehensive cost estimates and budget strategies, including constructability reviews and value engineering alternatives.

Tim has played lead roles in a series of projects that define the skyline of Miami. Early in his career Tim was trained and certified as an instructor of the Total Quality Management approach to building. This foundation has been a cornerstone of the philosophy deployed on numerous projects over a 30 year career. Born and raised in a construction family, Tim has literally been in the construction business all his life. After graduation from Bradley University in Illinois, Tim began his career estimating projects across the Western United States for Kitchell Contractors based in Phoenix, Arizona. He then moved on to 18 year stay with the global contractor Bovis Lend Lease, focusing on projects primarily in the Southeastern United States. While at Bovis, Tim worked in a variety of progressive roles culminating with his role Vice President of Operations for Florida. In 2003 Tim became the President of CMC Construction. Tim’s recent accomplishments include earning a Masters of Science in Construction Management from Louisiana State University.

Over the course of his career there has always been a focus on the continuous refinement of the process deliverables that support a synergistic approach to team building. This dedication to the process has enabled the successful completion of large and complex projects such as the Four Seasons Hotel & Residences in Miami, Universal Studios in Orlando, Epic Residences & Hotel in Miami, and a series of luxury high rise residential endeavors. “Begin with the end in mind” is a habit instilled in his core approach to building and in building teams that communicate and cooperate to make the vision of the owner and design team into a reality.

Massimo Valentini
Director, Purchasing & Quality Control

Massimo Valentini

Director, Purchasing & Quality Control

Massimo was born in Rome, Italy where he received all of his formal education (Bachelors degree in Sociology from The University of Rome, and a Masters in Anthropology from the University of Udine).

He moved to the United States in 1980, having always resided in the State of Florida.

Massimo has been part of CMC for over 20 years serving as a liaison between the designers and construction team to reach the highest quality of standard for our projects.

Steve Maranos
Director, Technology

Steve Maranos

Director, Technology

As Vice President of Technology for CMC Group, Inc., Steve is responsible for all aspects of technology for CMC and all of its affiliates. Joining CMC in 2006 he interfaces with each company to address all of their needs and challenges.

After studying architecture at New York Institute of Technology, Steve reentered the family business of electrical wholesaling in Southampton New York. Moving to England in 1991, Steve worked for Lutron Electronics, where he managed large scale projects throughout the UK, Ireland, Europe, Middle East and South Africa. Steve returned to the United States in 1995 and became a representative for more than 30 manufacturers in the South Florida market working with CMC Group to complete Bristol Tower, Santa Maria, Porto Vita, 4000 Ponce/The Collection, Grovenor House and Epic Residences & Hotel.

With more than 30 years’ experience in all facets of the electrical and lighting industry including manufacturing, distribution, sales and contracting, Steve works closely with CMC Group’s suppliers, consultants and sub-contractors for all CMC’s development projects. Steve has successfully worked on projects from concept, design, construction all the way through to completion and turn over.

Christine Martinez de Castro
Vice President, Broker of Record CMC Real Estate

Christine Martinez de Castro

Vice president, Sales & Marketing, Broker of record cmc real estate

Christine Martinez de Castro brings more than 20 years of sales, public relations, and marketing experience to CMC Group where she oversees the company’s sales and marketing efforts.

She began her career at Ketchum Public Relations, where she managed several key international accounts before joining Delta Air Lines’ Corporate Communications management team. Following the events of 9-11, she was chosen to lead the cross-organizational communications efforts establishing the internal and external communications strategy.

In 2010, with the real estate market’s return Christine ventured into development sales and joined Fortune as part of the sales team successfully selling out Artech, Wind, Icon Brickell and Midtown.

Christine combined her knowledge of real estate and marketing as Vice President of Public Relations, Marketing and Sales, at 3A Worldwide where she led teams throughout the US and Latin America and worked directly with developers to promote several luxury South Florida developments.