Ashford Securities Names National Sales Manager and Sales Desk Manager
Ashford Securities LLC, a distributor for alternative investments, has appointed a senior vice president, national sales manager and a vice president, sales desk manager.
Ashford Securities LLC, a distributor for alternative investments, has promoted Ben Hilgers to senior vice president, national sales manager, and Seif Refaat to vice president, sales desk manager. Previously, Hilgers served as senior vice president of sales and Refaat served as vice president of internal sales.
Hilgers, who has more than 19 years of experience raising capital in the alternative investment space, oversees Ashford’s sales and marketing efforts throughout the United States. In this role, he works with broker-dealers and financial advisors to provide product education, market knowledge, and support on Ashford’s offerings.
“I have known Ben for almost 20 years and am excited to have him lead our sales efforts,” said C. Jay Steigerwald III, president and head of distribution. “Ben has a tremendous amount of experience with multiple types of products and, more importantly, has a great reputation in the industry. Ben’s affable nature is complemented by his creativity and strategic thinking. We look forward to his leadership driving our continued growth in the years to come.”
According to the company, Hilgers has raised more than $700 million across numerous investment offerings. In 2015, he helped launch Triloma, a private equity firm based in Winter Park, Florida. While there, he focused on establishing the firm’s presence in the Southeast and raised capital for more than 50 private placement offerings. Prior to Triloma, he spent 12 years at CNL Securities, serving in various positions, including internal sales manager and vice president of sales overseeing Florida and Puerto Rico.
Hilgers, a certified financial planner, holds a bachelor’s degree from Minnesota State University with a double major in international business and Spanish, as well as FINRA Series 7 and 24 securities licenses.
Seif Refaat, sales desk manager, has more than 10 years of financial services experience across a range of investment products at various financial firms. Prior to joining Ashford, he served as head of asset management internal sales at Cantor Fitzgerald, where, through partnering with the firm’s regional sales directors, he promoted product sales to banks, wirehouses and independent broker-dealers.
“Seif has been an integral part of our early success at Ashford Securities,” said Hilgers. “As we continue to build out and expand our team in Dallas, Seif is the perfect individual to oversee, coach, and develop our internal sales associates.”
Refaat holds a master’s degree in business administration from William Paterson University, as well as FINRA Series 7, 24, and 66 securities licenses.
Ashford Securities is broker-dealer that serves as the distributor for investment products within the Ashford group of companies. Ashford is an alternative asset management company that provides global asset management, investment management and related services to the real estate and hospitality sectors.
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