The 38th annual Cornell Real Estate Conference, presented by the Cornell Real Estate Council, concluded on November 11th with the virtual presentation of the 2020 Cornell Industry Leader Award. This annual award, presented since 2007 by the editors of the Cornell Real Estate Review, recognizes a titan in the field who has made significant contributions to the global real estate industry, while also serving the community. The recipient of this year’s award is Tammy Jones (A&S ’87), CEO of Basis Investment Group. Ms. Jones was honored for her significant contributions to the industry, and her tireless work as an advocate for diversity in the field.
Ms. Jones graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor’s in Economics and subsequently received her MBA from Georgia State University. In 2009, she founded Basis Investment Group, where she is currently Chief Executive Officer. Basis is a multi-strategy commercial real estate investment advisory platform that acquires and originates a variety of senior and subordinated loans, preferred equity, and joint venture equity positions on behalf of its investors. Under her leadership, Basis has succeeded in closing nearly $4 billion in commercial real estate debt and structured equity-related investments across the United States. Ms. Jones is currently a Trustee for Georgia State University, Chair (elect) of Real Estate Executive Council, and a member of the President’s Council of Cornell Women, Executive Leadership Council, and New America Alliance. She also sits on the advisory board for NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate. Additionally, Ms. Jones serves as Vice-Chair of the Basis Impact Group’s Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a pipeline of minorities and women in real estate.
This year’s award was presented to Ms. Jones by Sam Berry (Baker ’21) and Jacob Tannenbaum (Baker ’21), Co-Editors-in-Chief of the Cornell Real Estate Review. Following the award presentation, Kirk Sykes (B. Arch ‘81), President of Primary Group Investments and husband to Ms. Jones, joined her for a virtual fireside chat to discuss her achievements, insights, and stories.
Ms. Jones discussed her early history, growing up in affordable housing in inner-city Queens. Her parents never owned a home, and, looking back, this was part of her foundational understanding of real estate as an important source of wealth creation. Ms. Jones was the first woman in her family to attend college, a transformational experience that challenged her to fit into an unfamiliar environment. This influenced a life philosophy that she imparts on mentees- “get comfortable being uncomfortable; your discomfort lies at the edge of your opportunity”. During a rotational training program in her first job post-grad, she fell into real estate with the scant knowledge of IRR’s and cap rates which she had obtained during an undergrad real estate finance course. This launched a lifelong passion for commercial real estate, a love she shares with her husband. The two are deeply committed to affecting change in the real estate industry.
Throughout her extensive early career working in institutional investment, Ms. Jones always had an entrepreneurial spirit and often felt that there were ways to do things differently. Despite her innovative ideas, she never saw herself ascending to the c-suite or becoming the CEO of a company. As she says, “You can’t be it if you can’t see it“. This eventually fueled her desire to branch out on her own, and she vowed that, if she had the opportunity, she would build a diverse platform that would refute the idea that qualified women and minorities are tough to find in real estate. She found this opportunity during the Great Financial Crisis of 2008. Ms. Jones has always believed that, in times of challenge and adversity, there is also opportunity. A line from “The Alchemist”, an adult fairy tale Ms. Jones was reading shortly before she decided to launch her business, resonated with her- “the only thing that prevents you from achieving your dream is the fear of failure”. Although she cautions the need to be prepared for rejection as an entrepreneur, she eventually secured her first fund and has not looked back since. Basis currently boasts a 78% diverse team, a history of investing/loaning over $800 million with other minority and women-owned real estate companies, and vendors whose companies are over 50% diverse.
Basis is one of the only minority or women-led investment platforms launched in the past 15 years, a fact which brings Ms. Jones little pleasure. She states- “it’s lonely and sad to be one of the only ones” and has dedicated her career to building a pipeline for others to join her in comparable roles. Since founding her company, she has realized that much of her success has arisen from the ability to outwork everyone, staying one step ahead, thinking about where the opportunities are for innovation, and then, critically, getting to those opportunities quicker than anyone else. Ms. Jones has always leaned in when others were afraid to do so. Starting your own business takes confidence, acumen, and knowing how to test the market. For instance, the importance of strengthening your balance sheet and making sure to use leverage wisely is a lesson imparted on her by the GFC and is equally relevant during the pandemic. Since the onset of the pandemic, Basis has achieved significant success by focusing on the middle market, taking a risk position on drug and grocery-anchored community centers, and remaining bullish on workforce and multifamily housing.
Amidst the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement and the pandemic, Ms. Jones is working to make this moment a movement by creating a lasting legacy of social impact initiatives. Throughout 2020, she has received extensive outreach from real estate CEOs and practitioners recognizing the lack of diversity in the industry and requesting guidance on solutions. As she notes, change starts at the top; stakeholders, board members, and investors must demand change, a trend that is already underway, putting pressure on companies to develop their ESG programs. Study after study has found that diverse teams produce better outcomes and outperform non-diverse teams. Her advice to company leadership is multi-fold. First, examine the diversity ecosystem, from the pipeline to middle management, to the c-suite and the board. Next, develop and maintain a diversity business plan. As she says, “what business or initiative would you ever start without a plan, performance metrics, and accountability?” Thirdly, examine access to capital and credit, the key to developing entrepreneurial real estate wealth, and know who you do business with. Finally, partnership is key. Real estate is an industry of partnerships- “let’s JV this!”. This partnership requires intentionality- hiring search firms that share your values and partnering with affinity groups to build your team. ESG is all about creating maximum benefit for stakeholders; it is not just profitability but doing well and doing good. Ms. Jones quoted fellow Cornell alumna Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “real and enduring change happens one step at a time”. Ms. Jones is optimistic that the push for diversity and inclusion in the real estate industry will yield long-term value for all players, and she intends to continue pushing for progress for many years to come.
