Mark Keener: CEO & Managing Partner, International Partners, LLC

Mark Keener has over 30 years of experience in commercial real estate investment. With his primary focus on identifying opportunities and investors Mark has successfully owned and/or operated over 1,000 multifamily units in California and Texas. Mark founded International Partners in 2000 and has earned outstanding financial returns for its investors.  He holds a BS degree in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA in Real Estate from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, CA.

Current Responsibilities & Background

Mark S. Keener is founder, CEO and Managing Partner of International Partners, LLC, and his primary focus is to identify opportunities and investors. Mark has 30+ years of experience in commercial real estate investment that includes buying and managing numerous multi-family apartment communities throughout the United States.

International Partners, LLC (IP) owns and operates a real estate investment company that invests primarily in garden style Class A and B apartment communities with latent hidden value. Since 2003 IP has owned and/or operated over 1,000 multi-family units in 7 communities in California and Texas.

With the company investing in every sponsored deal, it has consistently earned outstanding financial returns for its investors and provided exceptional housing value for their residents with a sharp team of business savvy real estate professionals.

IP attributes its success to Mark’s ability to attract and recruit an acquisition and operational team of professionals plus an Advisory & Executive Team of real estate investors and successful entrepreneurs who have built and continue to operate their own thriving businesses. The Advisory & Executive Team serves like a think-tank and Board of Directors for any world-class real estate investment firm. Collectively, it has over 200 years of commercial real estate investment experience.

International Partners was founded by Mark in 2000 to formally pursue large commercial real estate investments in the multi-family or apartment community space. Before starting International Partners Mark spent 15 years in corporate America where he rose to the top leadership positions of Controller and Chief Financial Officer.

Recent Accomplishments
  • Led a two-year turnaround for a major renovation of a 300+ unit Class A- apartment community that resulted in 20% rent growth and valuation.
  • Leading another one-year turnaround for major renovation of a Class B apartment community that’s yielding 30% rent growth and a 22% increase in valuation.
  • Creatively found ways to keep the portfolio-wide occupancy over 90% even during the 2008 -2010 “Great Recession”
  • Experienced at capital structuring deals with debt financing from conventional, agency, bridge, mezzanine, private & hard money sources. Equity raising for deal structuring has utilized real estate equity firms, common & preferred equity, 1031 exchanges, self-directed IRAs, high net-worth accredited investors and family offices.
Past Achievements & Responsibilities

The experiences that follow served to groom and prepare Mark for his current leadership and business building abilities.

  • Principal with a boutique size corporate real estate firm that performed out-sourced commercial real estate services.
  • Chief Financial Officer of a San Francisco based import/export company that traded with countries in Africa and Asia.
  • Controller of a college, where he oversaw the largest construction and capital expansion in the history of the college.
  • Director with the largest U.S. investor owned utility company with responsibility for $100+ million in annual income derived from financing of major capital projects. The experience was great for discovering ways to increase real estate value.
  • Manager of financial reporting for a company in shipping, oil & gas exploration that was bought-out in a hostile takeover.
  • Recruited from college by an international CPA firm and shortly thereafter headed up audit engagement teams in the areas of financial services and emerging small businesses.
Civic & Community Leadership

A native of Oakland, CA, Mark is committed to youth education from being past National Chair of the Accounting Career Awareness Program [ACAP] and continuing to donate locally to ACAP in San Francisco. ACAP provides high school students with a fully paid one week summer residency at a local university to learn about accounting, business and financial literacy.

Education and Credentials

Mark holds a BS degree in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his MBA in Real Estate from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. Mark has lectured at San Francisco State University’s School of Business and routinely conducts seminars on business formation and wealth creation. He is a licensed [inactive status] CPA and Real Estate Broker in California.