375 Park Avenue, Suite 3000 | New York, NY 10152
Telephone: 646-963-6366

Leadership

Leadership

A Walker & Co CEO Austin Walker head shot

Austin Walker

CEO, Managing Principal

Before founding A. Walker & Co., Austin Walker was a Vice President of Originations at Arbor Realty Trust. He was involved in the structuring and closing of over $1B of loans across Arbor’s multifamily and single-family rental (SFR) product lines. These included Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, CMBS, Bridge, Preferred Equity and Mezzanine loans. Austin has advised a wide range of multifamily and SFR operators and intermediaries, including developers, traded and non-traded multifamily REITs, private owners, family-offices, and mortgage brokers. Prior to his role at Arbor, Austin gained extensive capital markets experience as a member of a top private wealth advisory team at Wells Fargo advising High Net Worth and Ultra High Net Worth Families.

Austin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Johns Hopkins University, where he also competed for 4 years with the men’s varsity lacrosse team and was a member of the 2007 Division I national championship team.

A Walker & Co SVP Victoria Gousse head shot

Victoria Gousse

SVP, Investments

Victoria is Senior Vice President of Investments of A. Walker & Co. where she spearheads the firm’s investment practice group. Victoria has expertise in overall real estate portfolio life cycle including acquisitions, development financing, asset management, budgeting, contracts and bids negotiations, construction, and property management. She has been involved with over $1B in real estate transactions. Prior to A. Walker & Co., Victoria worked at Fairstead, Jonathan Rose Companies and The Related Companies where she developed her career for a decade. Her specialty lies in delivering high-quality affordable housing solutions, often through innovative public-private partnerships. Her experience includes acquisition rehab, ground-up development, recapitalizations, dispositions, as well as expertise in project-based Section 8 and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs).

Victoria is a proud alumna of Fordham University where she received a bachelor’s degree in business, followed by a Master’s degree in Real Estate Development from CUNY Baruch College. Beyond her professional accomplishments, she is an active volunteer in several organizations, including Baruch College’s Alumni network and the Historic Paulus Hook Association.

A Walker & Co VP Niels Theodule head shot

Niels Theodule

Vice President

Niels Theodule joined A. Walker & Co. as a Vice President where he is responsible for originating, financial underwriting, and supporting all transaction related processes for the firm’s equity and debt strategies. Prior to A. Walker & Co, Niels was a Senior Associate at Greystar Real Estate Partners where he focused on ground-up development of institutional multifamily assets. He oversaw over 800 units of ground up development throughout the Mid-Atlantic which resulted in a total project capitalization of $300MM. Before joining Greystar, Niels was an Associate at Gotham Organization where he focused on financial analysis and due diligence of new and existing developments and acquisitions. Niels began his career at Basis Investment Group, a real estate private equity debt fund, underwriting and evaluating high-yield debt opportunities across multiple asset classes.

Niels received a B.A. in Economics from SUNY Binghamton. Outside of work, he is passionate about increasing diverse representation within the commercial real estate industry through his affiliation with Real Estate Executive Council and Project Destined – organizations that set out to educate, expose, and create opportunity for underrepresented individuals within the industry. Niels is also a former mentor for Sponsors for Educational Opportunities (SEO).

A Walker & Co VP Emily Tavis head shot

Emily Tavis

SVP, Fund Operations and Compliance

Emily Tavis is Senior Vice President of Fund Operations and Compliance. She also leads investor relations and fund reporting. Prior to A. Walker & Co., Emily was at Fairstead where she managed the wealth of UHNWIs. Emily’s extensive knowledge of managing private wealth and related investments includes, but is not limited to, investment management, compliance, capital structuring, tax reporting, treasury, accounting, and operations. Emily’s expertise lies in corporate strategy. Through strong internal controls, financial management policies, and strategic systems and processes, she establishes solid foundations that support exponential growth. Prior to Fairstead, Emily was the Director of Investor Relations at Jonathan Rose Companies. At Rose she was instrumental in closing a $223m real estate fund and responsible for fund reporting.

Emily has experience starting several other companies. One being her own skin care line. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Hope International University when she was just 19 years old.

A Walker & Co SVP Nishant Tyagi head shot

Nishant Tyagi

SVP, Capital Markets and Asset Management

Nishant Tyagi is Senior Vice President of Capital Markets and Asset Management at A. Walker & Co., where he is responsible for leading the development and execution of capital market strategies. His role includes overseeing deal-level transaction management across both equity and debt platforms, supporting origination activities related to fund investments, equity origination, and correspondent lending activities.

Before joining AWC, Nishant was Vice President of Underwriting at Arbor Realty Trust, where he closed over $4 billion in loans and structured billions more. His expertise includes financial modeling, underwriting, and risk management for large-scale real estate transactions. Prior to Arbor Realty, Nishant worked as an Associate at Deloitte, where he gained experience in investor relations and private equity, contributing to the success of early-stage ventures by providing underwriting expertise and structuring multi-million-dollar acquisitions.

Nishant holds a Master’s degree in Real Estate from Baruch College and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from McGill University. He also earned a Certificate in Artificial Intelligence from The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science of Columbia University. Committed to supporting the growth of future leaders, Nishant is actively involved in mentoring and professional networks within the real estate industry.

A Walker & Co CEO Austin Walker head shot

Austin Walker

CEO, Managing Principal

Before founding A. Walker & Co., Austin Walker was a Vice President of Originations at Arbor Realty Trust. He was involved in the structuring and closing of over $1B of loans across Arbor’s multifamily and single-family rental (SFR) product lines. These included Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, CMBS, Bridge, Preferred Equity and Mezzanine loans. Austin has advised a wide range of multifamily and SFR operators and intermediaries, including developers, traded and non-traded multifamily REITs, private owners, family-offices, and mortgage brokers. Prior to his role at Arbor, Austin gained extensive capital markets experience as a member of a top private wealth advisory team at Wells Fargo advising High Net Worth and Ultra High Net Worth Families.

Austin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Johns Hopkins University, where he also competed for 4 years with the men’s varsity lacrosse team and was a member of the 2007 Division I national championship team.

A Walker & Co SVP Victoria Gousse head shot

Victoria Gousse

SVP, Investments

Victoria is Senior Vice President of Investments of A. Walker & Co. where she spearheads the firm’s investment practice group. Victoria has expertise in overall real estate portfolio life cycle including acquisitions, development financing, asset management, budgeting, contracts and bids negotiations, construction, and property management. She has been involved with over $1B in real estate transactions. Prior to A. Walker & Co., Victoria worked at Fairstead, Jonathan Rose Companies and The Related Companies where she developed her career for a decade. Her specialty lies in delivering high-quality affordable housing solutions, often through innovative public-private partnerships. Her experience includes acquisition rehab, ground-up development, recapitalizations, dispositions, as well as expertise in project-based Section 8 and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs).

Victoria is a proud alumna of Fordham University where she received a bachelor’s degree in business, followed by a Master’s degree in Real Estate Development from CUNY Baruch College. Beyond her professional accomplishments, she is an active volunteer in several organizations, including Baruch College’s Alumni network and the Historic Paulus Hook Association.

A Walker & Co VP Niels Theodule head shot

Niels Theodule

Vice President

Niels Theodule joined A. Walker & Co. as a Vice President where he is responsible for originating, financial underwriting, and supporting all transaction related processes for the firm’s equity and debt strategies. Prior to A. Walker & Co, Niels was a Senior Associate at Greystar Real Estate Partners where he focused on ground-up development of institutional multifamily assets. He oversaw over 800 units of ground up development throughout the Mid-Atlantic which resulted in a total project capitalization of $300MM. Before joining Greystar, Niels was an Associate at Gotham Organization where he focused on financial analysis and due diligence of new and existing developments and acquisitions. Niels began his career at Basis Investment Group, a real estate private equity debt fund, underwriting and evaluating high-yield debt opportunities across multiple asset classes.

Niels received a B.A. in Economics from SUNY Binghamton. Outside of work, he is passionate about increasing diverse representation within the commercial real estate industry through his affiliation with Real Estate Executive Council and Project Destined – organizations that set out to educate, expose, and create opportunity for underrepresented individuals within the industry. Niels is also a former mentor for Sponsors for Educational Opportunities (SEO).

A Walker & Co VP Emily Tavis head shot

Emily Tavis

SVP, Fund Operations and Compliance

Emily Tavis is Senior Vice President of Fund Operations and Compliance. She also leads investor relations and fund reporting. Prior to A. Walker & Co., Emily was at Fairstead where she managed the wealth of UHNWIs. Emily’s extensive knowledge of managing private wealth and related investments includes, but is not limited to, investment management, compliance, capital structuring, tax reporting, treasury, accounting, and operations. Emily’s expertise lies in corporate strategy. Through strong internal controls, financial management policies, and strategic systems and processes, she establishes solid foundations that support exponential growth. Prior to Fairstead, Emily was the Director of Investor Relations at Jonathan Rose Companies. At Rose she was instrumental in closing a $223m real estate fund and responsible for fund reporting.

Emily has experience starting several other companies. One being her own skin care line. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Hope International University when she was just 19 years old.

A Walker & Co SVP Nishant Tyagi head shot

Nishant Tyagi

SVP, Capital Markets and Asset Management

Nishant Tyagi is Senior Vice President of Capital Markets and Asset Management at A. Walker & Co., where he is responsible for leading the development and execution of capital market strategies. His role includes overseeing deal-level transaction management across both equity and debt platforms, supporting origination activities related to fund investments, equity origination, and correspondent lending activities.

Before joining AWC, Nishant was Vice President of Underwriting at Arbor Realty Trust, where he closed over $4 billion in loans and structured billions more. His expertise includes financial modeling, underwriting, and risk management for large-scale real estate transactions. Prior to Arbor Realty, Nishant worked as an Associate at Deloitte, where he gained experience in investor relations and private equity, contributing to the success of early-stage ventures by providing underwriting expertise and structuring multi-million-dollar acquisitions.

Nishant holds a Master’s degree in Real Estate from Baruch College and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from McGill University. He also earned a Certificate in Artificial Intelligence from The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science of Columbia University. Committed to supporting the growth of future leaders, Nishant is actively involved in mentoring and professional networks within the real estate industry.