Leadership

MEET THE CHASE MERRITT TEAM.

Chase Merritt brings together investment, development, and asset management leadership with deep roots in the Telluride region and decades of hands-on execution across hospitality, mixed-use, and operating real estate.

Founder & CEO

Chad Horning

Founder of Chase Merritt and a long-time Telluride-based investor and developer, Chad Horning leads the firm’s capital strategy, project vision, and operating approach across hospitality and resort-oriented investments. His background spans acquisitions, repositioning, fund deployment, and complex ground-up development.

He has led major hospitality and mountain-market projects from sourcing through capitalization, execution, and long-term ownership strategy, including spearheading the acquisition of Telluride Ski & Golf Resort while serving as President of Newport Federal.

25+

Years Experience

$1B+

Hospitality & Resort Projects

$300M+

Self-Managed Funds Deployed

COO & Managing Director

Derek Hrzek

Derek Hrzek serves as COO & Managing Director at Chase Merritt, where he helps lead operations, acquisitions, development execution, asset management, and organizational strategy across the firm’s real estate investment and development platform.

Derek brings more than two decades of experience across real estate development, capital markets, and operations, including over a decade with Hines in Asia Pacific. During his tenure, he helped lead the firm’s expansion into Southern China, opened Hines’ Shenzhen office as its first employee, and worked across acquisitions, development, logistics, hospitality, and mixed-use opportunities throughout China while reporting directly to Hines’ China CEO.

A significant portion of Derek’s time at Hines was spent helping lead the development and execution of One Museum Place in Shanghai, a landmark 1.4 million-square-foot, 60-story mixed-use high-rise development delivered in partnership with ADIA atop an active subway station in Shanghai’s CBD. Over approximately seven years, his responsibilities spanned virtually the full lifecycle of the project, including design and construction management, financial and legal matters, budgeting, investor relations and reporting, leasing and marketing, sustainability initiatives, operations, and ongoing asset management.

Earlier in his career, Derek worked in institutional real estate brokerage and capital markets with Eastdil Secured and Colliers International, including work on the Blackstone acquisition of Equity Office Properties and subsequent portfolio disposition efforts.

20+

Years Experience

$1.5B+

Acquisitions & Developments

CFO

Tracy Thomson

Tracy Thomson’s career in commercial real estate syndication of public and private offerings spans over forty years. Positions held have included Controller and Managing Director of an international real estate syndicator overseeing 1.4 million square feet of industrial buildings, Chief Financial Officer of a Real Estate Investment Trust responsible for investor and SEC reporting, audits, and financial forecasting, Chief Financial Officer and Operations Manager for a syndicator encompassing thirteen public and eleven private offerings of 24,000 investors, and Chief Financial and Chief Operations Officer of a tenant-in-common syndicator with eighty offerings of 3,000 investors comprised of various asset classes in excess of $1.5 billion.

Ms. Thomson has extensive experience in financial management and forecasting, all levels of reporting, audits, asset and property management, repositioning properties for peak performance, and investor relations.

40+

Years Experience

$1.5B+

Syndicated Asset Classes

Development Manager

Chase Horning

Chase brings nearly a decade of hands-on experience in real estate development, investment, and project management across hospitality, retail, office, medical, multifamily, single-family, affordable housing, and resort assets. At Chase Merritt, he leads complex ground-up and redevelopment initiatives across the Mountain West.

Prior to joining the firm, he worked for the largest affordable housing developer in California and has delivered projects in California, Utah, and Colorado while navigating some of the most demanding regulatory environments in the country.

Years Experience

$500M+

Managed & Developed

Director, IT & AI

Charles James

Charles James supports the firm’s technology, AI, and digital strategy, including development and management of the Chase Merritt website. His background includes IT operations, AI-enabled workflow development, and technical systems that support research, reporting, and day-to-day operations.

Analyst

Kelvin Tang

Kelvin supports the firm’s investment and underwriting activities, contributing across deal screening, financial modeling, diligence, and transaction execution. His background spans public finance, project finance, and private equity, with prior experience at Morgan Stanley and ING Capital. He holds a B.S. in Business from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business.

Director of Marketing & Brand Strategy

Beri Hayenga

Beri brings deep experience in brand strategy, marketing, and business development — built through founding two companies, leading teams of 50+, and advising two others through brand, culture, and growth.

Prior to joining Chase Merritt, she developed a reputation for building brands with staying power — establishing lasting value for businesses across multiple industries. She holds a real estate license and a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality and Tourism from San Diego State University.

At Chase Merritt, Beri leads marketing, brand strategy, community engagement, and culture — bringing the same operational discipline and creative vision that defines the firm’s approach to every asset it touches.