Mentorship Happy Hour with Tom Hotovec, The Meritex Company

Tom leads the development and oversight of Meritex’s strategy. Tom joined the company as Chief Financial Officer in 2004 and became President of Meritex in 2021. As Chief Financial Officer, he developed a capital strategy focused on long-term fortress financial strength and created opportunities to expand the portfolio. Before working at Meritex, he was the Vice President of Accounting and Finance for General Growth Properties. Tom has over 25 years of experience leading teams and creating value. He holds a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Northern Iowa and is a member of NAIOP.

Tom joined GGP in an accounting role, helping the company complete its IPO. After the company went public, it entered growth mode, enabling Tom to move into a role leading a group of analysts supporting the investments and finance activities. The investment activity was focused on underwriting, due diligence, and closing transactions, while the finance activity sourced capital, often consisting of bridge loans, permanent financing, and equity transactions. GGP grew from $1B to $8B during six or seven busy years. This experience positioned Tom well as he became the CFO at Meritex. In his early years at Meritex, the team repositioned the real estate portfolio, reestablished its capital structure, and developed an institutional operating platform. Meritex then developed a growth strategy leveraging their infrastructure with three successive programmatic JV relationships and, most recently, transitioning to discretionary investment funds. The company now manages ~120 properties in 9 markets totaling 12.8 million SF. Tom is the CEO of Meritex, a 108 year old family owned business that owns and manages infill multi-tenant industrial real estate.

Fine Print:

• Open to DL mentees only. Limited to 10 attendees.
• If this fireside chat sells out, we will start a waiting list.
• If you register but can no longer attend, email NAIOP and we will offer your spot to another mentee.
• Deadline to register: September 23