The Baker Program in Real Estate’s Distinguished Speaker Series is proud to welcome Jacob Vallo (Baker ’99) to campus on October 16th. After over 15 years in the real estate industry, Vallo, a Cornell Program in Real Estate graduate and advisory board member, has launched a new firm called Amsterdam Capital in Atlanta, Georgia. Vallo has chosen to focus on real estate opportunities that not only provide strong returns to their investors, but also enhance the social and economic development of the surrounding area. Investment decisions are heavily research-oriented, drawing from the arts, sciences, engineering, technology, and various disciplines to develop creative projects that meet or exceed investment objectives.
A former partner at The Roseview Group, Vallo has specialized in a wide variety of investment activities such as development, acquisitions, fund and asset management, and capital raising and investor relations. Prior to Roseview, Vallo was a Managing Director and Partner at Reynolds Capital Group, LLC in Atlanta, where he was the primary executive responsible for fund management of the $132 million Southeast Land Acquisition Fund, which invested in commercial and residential zoned land and distressed residential communities. Vallo also served as Vice President of Acquisitions for Atlanta-based Jamestown Properties’ $650 million Co-Invest IV Opportunity Fund. Prior to Jamestown, he spent eight years at Hines Interests’ Southeast regional office where he was involved with acquisition and development transactions.
Vallo has completed the acquisition of 23,500 acres of land, 500 single-family residential lots and 3 million square feet of office space. Mr. Vallo has also been a critical team member on the development of 1.5 million square feet of office space, the Chief Investment Officer for a $175 million private equity fund and participated in the financial restructuring efforts of two large resort residential communities. He has been involved in transactions valued in excess of $1.5 billion.
Vallo has been a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) since 1996, and is the founder and former Chairman of ULI’s Young Leaders Group in Atlanta, as well as helping to launch Young Leaders Groups in other U.S. cities. Vallo graduated with a B.S. in Construction Science from Texas A&M University and a Masters in Real Estate with a concentration in Finance from Cornell University. While at Cornell, Vallo also founded the Cornell Real Estate Alumni Scholarship and served as its Chairman for six years.
