Relationships Matter.
We take pride in hiring the best talent to provide exceptional service. Meet the professionals you will be collaborating with at ATCO.
Damon Hemmerdinger,
Co-President
Damon Hemmerdinger is a real estate principal and board director with more than twenty years of experience in capital markets, complex deal structuring, and the governance of multi-generational family enterprises. He serves as ATCO's Co-President, where he oversees fiduciary governance, long-term capital strategy, and ownership succession.
From 2016 to 2026, Hemmerdinger led the creation of Camp North End, a 76-acre adaptive reuse campus in Charlotte, North Carolina — transforming a derelict industrial site into one of the South’s most distinctive mixed-use destinations, with over 1.2 million annual visitors. He now serves as Executive Chairman of the Jamestown-ATCO JV that owns the project.
He also serves on the board of directors of Graycor, Inc., a national general contractor with operations across energy, industrial, and commercial construction and the board of advisors of Blueprint Local, a real estate private equity firm that invests in the transformation of communities through the opportunity zone program. Hemmerdinger is an adjunct professor at New York University’s Schack Real Estate Institute.
Hemmerdinger holds a JD from Yale Law School and a BA magna cum laude from Williams College. He is admitted to the bar in New York and Connecticut and holds a real estate broker’s license in New York and North Carolina. He is a member of YPO’s Big Apple Gold chapter and its Real Estate Industry Network, a member of the Real Estate Board of New York Board of Governors, a member of the Transportation Alternatives Advisory Council, and past Board Chair of AmericaSpeaks.
He lives in Forest Hills Gardens, New York, with his wife and two daughters.
Damon@atco.us
Kate Hemmerdinger Goodman,
Co-President
Kate oversees the Human Resources Department, the Residential Management Division, Essential Design + Build and both the Commercial and Residential Brokerage divisions. She is also responsible for spearheading many of the company’s large projects. As the asset manager for ATCO’s legacy portfolio, Kate handles the negotiation of leases, consults and oversees design implementation in the start up and renovation stages of managed properties, and related functions. Kate also plays an integral role in assessing and developing new lines of business to better serve ATCO’s clients. Previously, Kate worked for a major public relations firm and in the documentary department of CBS News, Inc. Kate maintains a leadership role in a number of important community and charitable organizations. Kate currently sits on the boards of KiDS of NYU Langone Medical Center and Summer on The Hill. Some of her other activities have included serving as a Board Member for Children for Children, as a committee member of the Stephen D. Hassenfeld Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders and as a co-chair of Brown University’s Manhattan Alumnae Interview Process. Kate is a Licensed Real Estate Broker and a graduate of Brown University.
KHG@atco.us
Paola Shaddow,
General Counsel and Director of Leasing
As General Counsel, Paola represents ATCO and all of its entities in various matters, including leases, landlord/tenant matters, insurance, certiorari protests, human resources, and numerous other compliance matters. Paola is also Director of Leasing, and in that capacity she manages ATCO Brokerage Services commercial brokers. Prior to joining ATCO in 2005, she served as Director of Leasing for Trinity Real Estate in lower Manhattan and as a Lease Director with Footlocker, Inc. Paola earned her B.A. and J.D. from Fordham University.
Paola@atco.us
Ryan Huber,
Managing Director, Investments
Ryan began his career in the real estate transaction advisory practice of Ernst & Young. Prior to joining ATCO, Ryan was the Senior Analyst at Wells Hill Partners, a boutique investment banking and advisory group, where he advised clients on restructuring assignments and developed transactional strategies designed to preserve tax efficiency and maximize residual value. Ryan joined ATCO in 2013 and was instrumental in each of the investments made by ATCO’s City Center Sponsor Equity Fund. Ryan is responsible for sourcing, underwriting, and closing new acquisitions, as well as for strategic capital markets decisions in the New York City portfolio. Ryan is a graduate of Fordham University, where he studied Finance and Mathematics, and New York University, where he earned a Masters Degree in Real Estate Finance
RHuber@atco.us
Merav Shalhon,
President, Essential New York
With more than 20 years of experience in both residential and commercial real estate, Merav has proven accomplishments in customer service, program planning, market research, strategic alliances and partnerships. She specializes in the leasing and sales of luxury Manhattan cooperatives, condominiums and townhouses. She handles all aspects of leasing, sales and marketing efforts for Essential’s 206,000 square-foot real estate portfolio, which includes marquee midtown Manhattan addresses such as 40 Central Park South and 41 West 58th Street. Prior to joining Essential New York, Merav served as the in-house leasing agent for Herald Towers at 50 West 34th Street, where she handled all aspects of leasing, negotiating and marketing for the luxury rental community. There, she initiated a broker outreach program, which resulted in a 50% increase in applications. She has also served as a leasing agent for Citi Habitats and Douglas Elliman. A member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), Merav is a graduate of Queens College and the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Mshalon@essentialnewyork.com
Christian Boyd,
Director of Operations
Christian directs operations across ATCO’s portfolio and is responsible for developing and executing strategies focused on portfolio performance, capital planning, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency. Working directly with ownership, he establishes operating priorities, evaluates capital and infrastructure needs, directs property teams, engineers, contractors, and consultants in the execution of building operations and improvement initiatives. He is responsible for advancing operational standards, managing risk, and ensuring that ATCO’s properties operate efficiently and are maintained to the company’s highest standards.
Prior to joining ATCO, Christian held senior operations and property management positions with Related Management Company, Black Spruce Management and Simone Development Companies. At Related, he served as a Regional Manager responsible for day-to-day building operations for Residential and mixed-use properties within the Sandy Fund portfolio. At Simone Development Companies, Christian managed operations across a 34 Commercial property portfolio throughout New York City and Westchester County, inclusive of industrial warehouses, medical offices, and lifestyle retail shopping centers. His expertise spans portfolio operations, capital projects, construction coordination, regulatory compliance, preventative maintenance, and vendor management.
Christian holds a Bachelor of Technology in Construction Engineering from the New York City College of Technology. He is an American Concrete Institute Certified Concrete Field-Testing Technician - Grade I and a Certified Survey Technician through the National Society of Professional Land Surveyors.
cboyd@atco.us