Jeremy Hillenbrand

Founder and Managing Partner

Jeremy Hillenbrand is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ballast Real Estate Partners, LLC. He founded the firm in 2017 under the belief that the housing markets outside of major urban areas are underserved. He believes in providing well maintained, updated apartment homes at affordable prices.

Prior to founding Ballast, Jeremy was a member of the leadership team at Wangard Partners, a Milwaukee based commercial real estate investment and development firm. As Vice President of Capital Markets, he raised capital for commercial real estate developments and acquisitions. His group successfully raised equity that funded over $100MM in new development and acquisitions.

Jeremy has a decade of real estate experience and has worked for Goldman Sachs’ Fixed Income, Currency & Commodities Group, John Hancock’s Real Estate Investment Group, and JP Morgan’s Private Bank. He also spent four years underwriting commercial real estate at Hillenbrand Partners, a commercial real estate debt fund focused on acquiring both domestic and international commercial real estate debt. In addition, he personally owns multifamily communities across Wisconsin.

Jeremy received a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the College of the Holy Cross and a M.A. in International Relations from American University. He is the Treasurer of the St. Robert’s School Athletic Association and is involved with Milwaukee-based ACTS Housing.

Chad Venne CPM®

Managing Partner

Chad Venne joined Ballast Real Estate Partners, LLC as a Managing Partner in 2020. Throughout his career, Chad has created best-in-class property management and asset management teams. Chad and his teams create positive resident experiences, loyal vendor relationships and optimal operational and financial performance, all of which ultimately lead to higher real estate values. He believes that well-managed properties benefit all stakeholders involved including owners, investors, tenants, and municipalities.

Prior to joining Ballast, Chad was a member of the leadership team at Wangard Partners, a Milwaukee based commercial real estate investment and development firm. As Executive Vice President of Property Management, he led a team of 35 professionals responsible for managing a diverse portfolio of nearly 3,000,000sf of commercial real estate and nearly 1,500 apartments valued at more than $300 MM.

Chad has over 15 years of Property and Asset Management experience and has worked for J.Jeffers & Co. as Director of Asset Management, Sterling Bay Companies/Blue Star Properties, and M&J Wilkow. He also led the property management division as Vice President of Colliers International’s Wisconsin office. Under Chad’s leadership, the company grew the size of the portfolio to 7,000,000 SF of commercial properties.

Chad received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Chad is an IREM Certified Property Manager® and is the 2020 President of IREM Chapter 13. He is a Lecturer in the Real Estate department at the Lubar School of Business at UWM. Chad is a licensed real estate broker in the state of Wisconsin.