Our people

Meet Our Leadership

Don International LLC is guided by a team of world-class executives whose collective experience spans the most consequential institutions in global finance, real estate, and technology.

"Leadership is not a title. It is a standard of excellence we hold ourselves to every day."

Our principals have advised sovereign wealth funds, structured landmark real estate transactions, and pioneered investment strategies that have generated exceptional returns across market cycles. Together, they bring a depth of expertise that few firms in the world can match.

Executive Office

Donovan Johnson

President & Chief Executive Officer

25+ years experience

Donovan Johnson founded Don International LLC on the conviction that disciplined capital, strategic intelligence, and sovereign-level relationships are the true engines of extraordinary, cycle-resistant returns. Over a 25-year career that has taken him from the trading floors of Wall Street to the boardrooms of Abu Dhabi, Singapore, and London, Donovan has structured transactions exceeding $4 billion in aggregate value across private equity, hedge fund strategy, luxury real estate, and emerging technology. Before establishing Don International, he served as a senior principal at two of the most respected multi-strategy investment firms in the United States, where he led cross-border deal origination and managed relationships with sovereign wealth funds, endowments, and ultra-high-net-worth family offices across four continents. His singular ability to identify asymmetric opportunity — in markets others dismiss as inaccessible or opaque — has defined Don International's reputation as a firm that consistently operates at the frontier of global capital. Under his stewardship, Don International has grown from a boutique advisory practice into a fully integrated, multi-sector investment and management platform with active operations across New York, London, Dubai, and Singapore. Donovan's leadership philosophy is uncompromising: every engagement must deliver measurable, lasting value — not merely for the firm, but for every partner, investor, and institution that places its trust in Don International.

Global Capital MarketsInstitutional Investment StrategyCross-Border Deal OriginationPrivate Equity & VentureSovereign Wealth AdvisoryStrategic PartnershipsMulti-Sector Portfolio Oversight

Advanced Executive Program, Global Finance & Leadership — Wharton School; B.S., Finance & Economics

Investment Management

Vivienne Ashford-Sterling

Managing Director, Chief Investment Officer

20+ years experience

Vivienne Ashford-Sterling is among the most formidable investment minds of her generation — a strategist whose career has been defined by the disciplined pursuit of alpha in the world's most complex and consequential capital markets. Over two decades, she has held senior investment roles at institutions managing in excess of $60 billion in assets under management, advising sovereign wealth funds, pension systems, and multi-generational family offices on portfolio construction, risk architecture, and alternative asset allocation across emerging and developed markets. Her command of global macro dynamics, derivatives structuring, and private credit markets is matched only by her reputation for intellectual rigor and decisive judgment under pressure. At Don International LLC, Vivienne serves as the firm's Chief Investment Officer — the architect of every investment thesis the firm advances. She oversees the full lifecycle of capital deployment: from opportunity identification and due diligence to portfolio monitoring, risk-adjusted performance attribution, and exit strategy. Her proprietary framework for evaluating asymmetric risk in illiquid and alternative asset classes has become a cornerstone of Don International LLC's investment edge, enabling the firm to generate consistent, superior returns across market cycles that have humbled lesser institutions. Vivienne is widely recognized as a thought leader in alternative asset management, having contributed to international investment forums in Davos, Hong Kong, and Dubai, and she brings to Don International LLC a global network of institutional relationships that few individuals in the industry can rival.

Alternative Asset ManagementPortfolio Construction & OptimizationGlobal Macro StrategySovereign Wealth AdvisoryPrivate Credit & Structured FinanceRisk Architecture & DerivativesEmerging & Frontier Markets

M.B.A., International Finance — London Business School; B.Sc. (Hons.), Economics — University of Oxford

Real Estate Division

Maximilian Crane-Whitfield

Managing Director, Head of Real Estate

18+ years experience

Maximilian Crane-Whitfield occupies a rare position in global real estate: a principal whose expertise spans the full spectrum of ultra-luxury residential acquisition, bespoke development, and institutional-grade commercial investment — with a track record executed at the highest levels of discretion, precision, and financial sophistication. Over 18 years, Maximilian has personally structured and closed real estate transactions exceeding $3.2 billion in combined value, operating across the world's most coveted and competitive property markets — Manhattan's Upper East Side and Billionaires' Row, Mayfair and Belgravia in London, Palm Jumeirah and DIFC in Dubai, and Sentosa Cove and Orchard Road in Singapore. His luxury residential practice is without peer. Maximilian advises ultra-high-net-worth individuals, royal family offices, and private equity sponsors on the acquisition, repositioning, and disposition of trophy residential assets — from pre-war penthouses commanding eight-figure valuations to bespoke new-development residences that define the architectural identity of their cities. He approaches every residential mandate with the same rigor applied to institutional transactions: exhaustive market intelligence, off-market sourcing through relationships cultivated over nearly two decades, and a forensic understanding of how luxury residential assets perform as long-term stores of wealth. On the institutional side, Maximilian leads Don International LLC's commercial real estate strategy — underwriting premium office towers, mixed-use urban developments, and hospitality assets that deliver both yield and capital appreciation for the firm's sovereign and institutional partners. His relationships with the world's most prominent developers, sovereign land authorities, and private family offices give Don International LLC consistent access to off-market opportunities that never reach the open market. At Don International LLC, Maximilian does not simply transact — he architects real estate strategies that preserve generational wealth, create landmark assets, and position investors at the intersection of scarcity, prestige, and enduring value.

Ultra-Luxury Residential Acquisition & AdvisoryTrophy Asset Sourcing & Off-Market TransactionsBespoke Residential DevelopmentInstitutional Commercial Real EstateMixed-Use Urban DevelopmentGlobal Tier-One Property MarketsReal Estate Private Equity & StructuringFamily Office & UHNW Real Estate Strategy

M.S., Real Estate Finance & Investment — NYU Stern School of Business; B.A. (Hons.), Architecture & Urban Planning — University College London

The Principles That Guide Us

Integrity

Every decision we make is grounded in transparency, accountability, and the highest ethical standards.

Excellence

We hold ourselves to a standard of performance that consistently exceeds the expectations of our partners and clients.

Vision

We see opportunity where others see complexity — and we have the expertise to act on it decisively.

Global Perspective

Our reach spans six continents, giving us the intelligence and relationships to operate at the highest levels of global commerce.

Work With Our Team

We welcome conversations with institutional investors, family offices, and visionary entrepreneurs who share our commitment to excellence.

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