Ira Chaplik is chief operating officer of Equity International. Mr. Chaplik has been associated with the Company since its inception in 1999 and is primarily responsible for the operations and legal management of the Company and its investment portfolio. He is a director of various portfolio companies.

From 1989 to 1999, Mr. Chaplik was with Equity Group Investments, LLC (EGI), the privately held investment company founded and led by Sam Zell. At EGI, he played a key role in many real estate transactions involving Equity Office Properties Trust (EOP), Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR), and Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS), as well as the four Zell/Merrill Lynch funds, which led to the creation of EOP. He was also involved in numerous corporate transactions including the Zell/Chilmark Fund, as well as acquisitions, dispositions and financing of both public and private companies. Previously, Mr. Chaplik was an associate at the law firm of Altheimer & Gray.

Mr. Chaplik earned a BS in accounting and JD from the University of Illinois. Mr. Chaplik is also a certified public accountant.