Bernie Navarro

Bernie Navarro is president of Benworth Capital Partners, a privately-held real estate investment company headquartered in South Miami focused on asset-based lending. He
founded the firm in 2008 with a business model designed to mitigate the very risks that caused the mortgage crisis of the past decade. He and his team have built one of the most
successful alternative and traditional private lending entities in Florida, including a crowdfund
platform.

Prior to forming Benworth, Mr. Navarro established HomeMortgage, which became the South Florida leader in new construction residential mortgages. He ultimately sold that
company to the nation's number-one home lender, at the time. Earlier in his career,Mr. Navarro worked in the finance and mortgage areas for Fortune 500 companies such as Citibank, GMAC and JP Morgan Chase. Mr. Navarro has nearly 20 years of mortgage lending, real estate development and construction experience,
including operations, sales and regulatory compliance. He has extensive knowledge and expertise in secondary
markets and financial retail operations.

Mr. Navarro is passionate about educating tomorrow’s future. In 2014, Florida's Governor appointed Mr. Navarro
to the Board of Trustees of Miami Dade College, the largest and most diverse college in the nation. In addition, he
provides leadership oversight for the College’s Idea Center as a member of the entrepreneurial institute’s board of
director’s. He also serves as Chairman of the LBA Construction and Business Management Academy, the first business charter high school founded by a business association in the United States. The nonprofit Academy has received recognition by Fortune 500 companies, national educators and U.S. government officials specializing in
educational issues. A source of media attention since its establishment in 2012, the Academy has emerged as a
national model for educational partnerships. The Academy's curriculum includes core high school academics plus
electives in business and construction management.
In addition to his work with the Academy, Mr. Navarro has been active for well over a decade in the Latin Builders
Association (LBA) and is the organization’s Past President. The LBA is the largest Hispanic construction and real
estate professional association in the United States. He was a panelist to select candidates to participate in the
President’s Commission of White House Fellows, one of the nation’s premier programs to provide young leaders
with first-hand experience in Federal government.

Mr. Navarro is active in the development of the local economy. He has led a number of trade missions on behalf
of the South Florida business community, working with the U.S. Department of Commerce, the City of Miami
Mayor’s Office and the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. He served as Chairman of the Miami-Dade Community Council Area 10/Westchester and served on the City of Miami Beach Zoning Board.

In 2012, Mr. Navarro’s company, Benworth Capital Partners, was honored by the Beacon Council of Miami-Dade
(Greater Miami’s official economic development agency) as Financial Services Company of the Year for
superlative achievement in the industry, for leading job growth and economic development and for serving as a
role model for other businesses.

Mr. Navarro is considered one of South Florida’s top business and thought leaders, and is frequently sought out
for opinion and to serve as a guest speaker and panelist on top-of-mind community and political issues facing
South Florida as well as business topics of finance, capital investment, real estate and construction.

Mr. Navarro has received numerous honors and awards throughout his career. In 2012, he was honored by the
South Florida Business Journal as one of “40 Under 40,” recognizing the region’s best and brightest business
leaders under 40 years-old for their business success, professional achievements and community involvement.
Mr. Navarro has also been recognized as Mortgage Lender of the Year and has received other top honors from
organizations such as the Builders Association of Florida, the Latin Builders Association and Platinum Florida’s
BEST Awards.

Mr. Navarro earned an A.L.M. degree in Government from Harvard University and a Bachelor’s degree in
Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of Miami. A lifelong South Florida
resident, he lives in South Miami with his wife and their three children.