Blake brings over 40 years of experience in tax consulting and compliance, serving multinational corporations, publicly traded companies, and closely held businesses. He has built deep expertise in federal, state, and local tax incentive programs and leads the firm’s consulting efforts for Qualified Opportunity Zones (OZ). Under his leadership, the HCVT OZ Team has formed over 200 Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs) and more than 250 Qualified Opportunity Zone Businesses (QOZBs), advising hundreds of investors and professionals on formation, operation, testing, and restructuring. A recognized thought leader, Blake has been featured in national publications such as U.S. News & World Report, authored multiple articles and tax alerts, and developed unique OZ strategies for real estate developers, investors, and business start-ups. Beyond OZ, his practice includes partnership and individual tax planning, with industry experience spanning manufacturing, distribution, services, restaurants, shipping, energy, and healthcare. Blake opened HCVT’s Long Beach office over 25 years ago and launched the firm’s Park City, Utah office in 2014. He has served in numerous community leadership roles, including Vice-Chair of the Long Beach Community Foundation, president of the Long Beach Rotary, and chairperson of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. His work has earned recognition as one of the Top 10 California Accounting Professionals, the Long Beach Chamber’s Community Spirit Award, and multiple national honors as a Top 25 Opportunity Zone Influencer and Tax Specialist. A frequent industry contributor, Blake has written for AICPA and the Long Beach Business Journal, been named a Top 50 U.S. Tax Blogger, and lectured at USC, Cal State Long Beach, BYU, and the University of Utah. He began his career at KPMG, where he was admitted to the partnership, and holds a master’s in taxation from USC and a Bachelor’s in accounting with a minor in finance from Cal State Long Beach.Michael Derk is an Executive Managing Director at MMCC. Michael is responsible for securing commercial debt and equity financing for an array of property types including multifamily, office and industrial, retail, seniors housing and hospitality. He is well connected with national, regional and local funding sources including, but not limited to agency lenders (e.g. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac), commercial banks, CMBS lenders, life insurance companies, private and public funds and bridge lenders. Michael has more than 22 years of commercial real estate finance experience and has closed more than $4 billion in transactions. He specializes in structuring multifamily, retail and industrial products as well as other special purpose properties. During his career with MMCC, he has been honored with the firm’s National Achievement Award every year since 2005. He was also featured in Southern California Real Estate Magazine’s "40 Under 40" in 2004 and 2010. Mr. Derk achieved the highest revenue of all MMCC loan originators in California in 2004 through 2006, 2008 and 2009. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and finance. He also earned a master’s degree in real estate from the University of California, Los Angeles and studied abroad at Oxford University in England. He holds a sales license from the California Department of Real Estate and is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).Links to people and organizations mentioned in the video:Michael Derk Bio: https://www.marcusmillichap.com/advisors/michael-g-derkConnect with Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-derk-307628148/Contact Michael directly at michael.derk@marcusmillichap.com