Ford S. Elliott

Ford is Chief Executive Officer of Contender Development and is a veteran real estate developer and entrepreneur with over 17 years’ experience in development, construction, investment, business acquisitions and running multiple successful operating businesses. Ford has led the team to over $1.25 Billion in active developments and founded Blackstream which sells over $700 Million worth of real estate annually and has over 350 team members. He prides himself on the partnerships that the company has formed with some of the best companies in the world, including, but not limited to, Marriott, Hilton, DR Horton, Lennar, NVR, Meritage Homes, Culver’s, Christie’s International Real Estate and SVN. He is an Advisory Board Member of Synovus Bank. Some of Ford’s greatest business accomplishments include winning the Christie’s Affiliate of the Year Award, finishing as a Top 10 SVN office for three consecutive years, and winning the RealTrends Emerging Leaders Award for which he was nominated by Christie’s International Real Estate. Most recently, he was honored as a recipient of the 50 Most Influential Award by Greenville Business Magazine. Ford attended Clemson University where he studied construction management and is a licensed general contractor and real estate broker. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife, their five children and their golden retriever.

Joshua Howard

Josh Howard is a veteran attorney with 20 years of experience counseling southeast regional businesses and developers, including Blackstream. In 2018, Josh joined the leadership team of the Blackstream companies. Josh serves as the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of the Blackstream companies, which are SVN I Blackstream commercial real estate; Blackstream Christies residential real estate and Blackstream Development. As Blackstream Development, Ford Elliott, as founder, and Josh have assembled a team of experienced leaders in management, legal, finance and real estate that now makes up Blackstream Development. Josh is a 1998 graduate of Clemson University and a magna cum laude 2001 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law. Prior to Blackstream, Josh was a Partner of Womble Bond Dickinson, LLP from 2015-2018, a partner with Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, PA from 2002-2015 and law clerk to the Honorable Henry M. Herlong Jr. of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina from 2001-2002. In addition to his professional experience, Josh has served in various roles of community leadership through the years and remains very active in the southeast legal and South Carolina business community.

Peter E. Reinert

Peter is a CPA, attorney and innovative business partner with 40+ years of experience in creating long-term strategies to efficiently and creatively mitigate and manage financial and legal risk and support business objectives. Peter joined Contender as its Chief Financial Officer in 2023. He has extensive experience in strategic partnerships, financing transactions, M&A, securities, and insurance. Peter has a hands-on approach and enjoys working in a highly collaborative fashion. His experience includes serving as the Senior Vice President and General Counsel for a TPG Real Estate portfolio company with over 300 investments in 28 states based in Denver; a Partner and the Practice Group Leader for the Corporate and Securities Practice Group for an Am Law 100 law firm; the Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel for a national supplier to Big Box stores based in Miami; and listed in Chambers USA for Corporate, Private Equity, Mergers, Acquisitions and Buyouts. Peter graduated from the University of Miami School of Law with a J.D., and LL.M. in Taxation where he was ranked second in his class. Peter authored the over 640 page legal resource entitled, Florida Secured Transactions Under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code: Forms and Practice Manual, which was published by Data Trace Publishing Company.

Adam Plous

Adam Plous serves as Chief Operating Officer for Contender Development, based in Greenville, SC. He oversees the development and operational efforts of the organization along with the project management and asset management of our Hotel Division. Adam brings to Contender Development nearly 20 years of experience in hospitality and leadership, starting as an intern at the Overland Park Marriott. Since that time, Adam served as General Manager for Marriott International, White Lodging & Aimbridge Hospitality in multiple Marriott and Hilton branded hotels in major markets across the United States. During this time, he hired and developed hundreds of team members while excelling in revenue analysis, budgeting, human resources and client relations. Adam is a 2005 graduate of Kansas State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Hotel & Restaurant Management. He is active in his local community having served on numerous Area Hotel Associations and Marriott Business Councils.

Michael S. Pitts

Mike has been practicing law for over 25 years. He began his career in private practice where he focused on employment law and commercial litigation. While still in private practice, he served as the Anderson County Attorney for several years before his 2014 appointment as the Greenville City Attorney, an in-house position. During his time in public service, Mike’s practice focused on all facets of municipal law, including land use and economic development. Mike returned to private practice with a large regional law firm in 2022 where he primarily counseled developers on land use and entitlement matters. A graduate of Leadership Greenville Class 33, Mike is deeply committed to the Greenville community, having served in a number of leadership roles at his church and was a long-time youth basketball coach. He is a former board member of the Friends of the Greenville Zoo and a former co-president of the Greenville Senior High School Booster Club. Mike earned his law degree from the University of South Carolina, where he served on the South Carolina Law Review, and his Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Michael Leich

Michael Leich serves as the Chief Business Officer for Contender Development, based in Greenville, SC. He assists and supports all finance related business development models for the company to further nurture relationships with builders and investing partners. Michael has over 20 years of experience in the finance and accounting industry, holding VP roles at companies spanning various industries including public accounting, automotive, consumer manufacturing, and corporate accounting. Prior to joining Contender, Michael worked with BorgWarner, US Farathane, Jadex and most recently Current Lighting.

He has extensive experience working with capital partners and private equity backed carve-out companies and their related acquisition financing transactions. In addition, he has led the implementation of several financial consolidation and reporting systems. Michael and his family relocated from Michigan to the Greenville area in 2019. He is a CPA, CMA, and a Graduate of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife, their four children, traveling, and coaching little league baseball.

Maxine Turner

Maxine has over 25 years of experience as a Finance and Accounting Professional. As an Independent Consultant for the last 8 years, she has assisted clients, including Contender Development, with business modeling, financial forecasting and reporting, accounting, due diligence, business sale transactions, cash flow management, and a variety of other projects. Maxine has acted as a Managing Director/Sr. Consultant at Clear Thinking Group, LLC. There, she worked with a variety of companies in North America as a Business Turn-Around, Restructuring, and Bankruptcy Consultant focused primarily in the retail and wholesale apparel markets. Prior to entering the consulting arena, Maxine worked in industry serving as a Director of Financial Planning & Analysis for an apparel retailer, as well as other finance and accounting positions. Maxine graduated from Bob Jones University and is a licensed CPA in South Carolina.

Valentina Alvarez

Valentina joined Contender in 2023 as a corporate attorney with prior experience in civil and business litigation matters. She graduated from The George Washington University Law School with a concentration in Business and Finance Law. During law school, she interned at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, she attended the University of Florida where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology degree. Valentina is fluent in Spanish.

Cameron Aldridge

Cameron relocated to the Greenville area in 2022 after residing in Charleston, SC for 18 years. A graduate of the College of Charleston, he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Communications in Media Studies and double-minored in Hospitality & Tourism Management and Film Studies. He possesses an extensive background in the hospitality industry where he opened and managed both Marriott and Hilton hotels. An internship with his hospitality minor gave Cameron his start as a bellman where he climbed his way up to become a Director of Human Resources. With 10 years of Human Resource experience, he brings with him a wealth of knowledge regarding recruitment, training and development, HR systems and employee relations. When Cameron is not working, he enjoys cycling, traveling, spending time outdoors with his Rottweiler Greta, and baking bread. He is also a self-taught musician on the guitar and sings, playing a few gigs here and there.

Christina Tran

Christina is a Greenville native currently serving as Contender Development’s Director of Finance and Project Management. Before coming to Contender, Christina spent 7 years in wealth management and finance where she provided holistic relationship management using portfolio analysis, financial forecasting and a goals-based approach to ensure clients’ financial success. Christina attended Arizona State University, where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in International Business and Finance. Outside of the office, you can catch her hiking with her dog, reading a good history book or at a cycle class.

Susan L. Roberts

Susan relocated from the Philadelphia area to Greenville in 2019 and procured her license as a Residential Real Estate Advisor. She has a diverse background in education, industry and non-profit organizations, bringing a broad array of skills and experience to her position at Contender. Her previous 15 year career in the legal field focused in the Corporate Bankruptcy and Civil Litigation areas of law where she honed her skills for case management, contract review and negotiation. Susan joined Contender Development in 2021 as Operations and Office Manager.

Deb Conant

Deb Conant is a senior corporate paralegal with over 20 years of experience in real estate portfolio and development management, corporate governance growth and maintenance, mergers and acquisitions, and contract preparation. Her management and interpersonal experience help her excel in client relations, transaction management and finance preparations. Deb has worked with Contender Development in the company’s legal department assisting with real estate transactions, property closings and land/business financing. She also manages the company’s corporate governance and property insurance portfolios.

Brett Massey

Brett Massey joined Contender Development in 2021 as a Land Development Director. Previous to his current role Brett was a partner at the law firm of KabirMassey where he practiced a wide range of legal disciplines. Brett has also worked in the finance field and has experience working in real estate development in Florida. Throughout his career, Brett has consistently achieved success in bringing client’s undertakings to their successful conclusion, through shared vision and partnership. Brett’s close relationships with his clients allows him to truly understand their needs and bring their expectations to fruition. As Land Director, Brett works closely with vendors, builders and partners to ensure the best possible product is created and delivered.

Heather Bounds

Heather is a South Carolina native with extensive knowledge of the area. She has seen and appreciated the growth that has occurred in the Upstate over the last few decades. She has a background in sales and marketing for Fortune 500 businesses. Throughout her career in real estate and mortgage financing, Heather has helped hundreds of families realize their dream of owning a home, rental or vacation property. She has won numerous awards including Loan Advisor of the Year and President’s Club. The timeliness and need for being detail oriented, along with her passion for growth and development, led her to Contender Development to be a part of an incredible team helping to further expand our communities.

Susan Laserna

Susan is a native of South Carolina and joined Contender Development in 2021 as a Land Director. She brings with her 30 years of experience conducting medical research trials where she worked with and managed people in a variety of industries. Through the course of in her professional career, Susan has earned a reputation for her ability to build rapport with clients and enhance productivity to ensure organizational goals are met and exceeded. As a Land Director, Susan oversees land development projects by working closely with developers, engineers, and governmental bodies to ensure complete oversight of each project from design to completion.

Kristina Lane

Kristina has been a part of the Blackstream companies since its inception in 2014 and has played a key role in the company’s growth internally as part of management, and as a tenured commercial broker. After BlackStream’s affiliation with the national SVN brand, she kickstarted her brokerage focus in retail and restaurant leasing. Her experience has continually grown with great sales success in multiple sectors including land, multi-family, office and retail. Kristina brings her vast knowledge and experience to Contender to assist clients with their residential and commercial land development projects. A Greenville native, Kristina has found an authentic passion for the growth of the Upstate and appreciates the heart of Greenville’s community.

Shari Horeth

Shari grew up in Greenville, SC. After graduating from college, which included a year at the University of Hawaii, she lived in the Dominican Republic and Italy. She loves being home in the upstate and now serves as Contender’s Office Services Coordinator. Shari’s background includes extensive experience in the travel industry and nine years as an Executive Assistant. When not at work, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, playing games (Did someone say Backgammon?), and birdwatching.

Jennifer Uphold

Jennifer has over a decade of professional culinary experience as a Chef, Pastry Chef, and Manager for local restaurant groups in fine dining and upscale Southern fusion. She opened the Nose Dive and Dive ‘N Boar gastropubs before becoming a Mom. Afterward, she excelled in food service management at Michelin, and graduated to Account Manager for Bon Appetit at Milliken and Savannah College of Art and Design. Jennifer has coordinated annual events with chefs from all over the country including Euphoria, Fall for Greenville, BMW Pro-Am, and countless charitable organizations. Jennifer also owns a private event catering company with her Chef husband, specializing in dietary restrictions. Previous to completing a Culinary Arts Degree from Florida Culinary Institute, she worked in hospitality at locally prominent fine dining and golf communities in Greenville, SC and Jupiter, FL. Jennifer is currently partnering with Contender Development to manage restaurant growth. Her focus will be using their progress to find ways to give back to the community. Jennifer enjoys being a Mom and youth coach, loves sports and spending time outdoors.

David W. Hub

David has over 35 years of experience in restaurants, hospitality, finance and real estate. David originally started in Chicago working for the Levy Organization and has worked with some of the top restaurant groups in Chicago. He also brings hotel experience as an opener with the Food and Beverage team for the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, a 1,200+ room flagship hotel for Starwood Hotels and Resorts, now the Sheraton Grand. Building on those experiences, David has partnered and owned restaurant concepts in both Chicago and Florida. In addition to his extensive restaurant and hotel experience, David has worked in real estate investments and finance for over 25 years. He brings a multi-faceted perspective to the Contender/Blackstream team and is always looking at opportunities for C/B to continue being innovators and leaders of real estate and business investment in the Southeastern United States.