LOS ANGELES—PeerStreet has expanded its leadership team with the hiring of two major industry players. Brendan Kao joins the crowdfunding platform from Amazon and will serve as head of product management, and Marc Heenan joins the firm from OneWest Bank and will serve as head of commercial originations.

“As a friend of mine once said, 'If a spaceship lands in your backyard, what do you do? You get in.' To me the FinTech space is absolutely exciting because the future has yet to be scripted and its inherent difficultly to succeed,” Kao tells GlobeSt.com. “It takes people who have a mind for technology, business and regulation. “At PeerStreet, I can use my background in computer science, law, and product management, all in the same day towards disrupting and improving this industry.” Kao formerly served as a development manager at Amazon, but his storied resume includes tenures at FlashFunders, Pivotal Labs and ZestFinance. He has significant experience working for start-ups, and has a master's degree in computer science from MIT and a JD from New York University's School of Law.

In his new role at PeerStreet, Kao will lead the company's product strategy and oversee the product development team. “PeerStreet is already on an amazing growth trajectory, so my initial goal is to continue to fuel it,” he says. “We are using technology to bring transparency and efficiency to the private real estate lending space. In both the short as well as the longer term, the opportunities are incredibly large and very real.”

Heenan served as a first VP at OneWest Bank's commercial real estate group. There, he oversaw a team that originated bridge loans in the bank's $14 million to $50 million bridge lending program. “PeerStreet was exactly what I was looking for—an entrepreneurial environment with a strong tech overlay where I can apply my background in commercial real estate finance to help disrupt and bring positive change to what traditionally has been an inefficient marketplace,” he tells GlobeSt.com.   

In this new position, Heenan will be responsible for overseeing the team that on-boards loan originations. He has an MBA from UCLA. “My goals are to ensure that our investors are given every opportunity to invest in high quality loans nationwide—offering them better risk adjusted returns on a terrific asset class,” Heenan says. “Additionally, I want to provide high quality lenders with a cheaper cost of capital to help them grow their business and flourish. Together, we can transform this market for the better.”

PeerStreet launched in 2013, and is one of a few L.A. based crowdfunding platforms that are attracting top talent. Last month, GlobeSt.com reported that Varun Pathria joined AssetAvenue aschief investment officer. Pathria formerly served as an SVP at Colony Capital.