Belay Investment Group is pleased to announce the addition of Michael Zito to its Investment Team as a Senior Vice President. Mr. Zito brings 20 years of institutional real estate investment management and direct investment experience to his role at Belay, which will involve executing acquisitions, asset management, and working with operating partners.
“We are thrilled to have Michael joining Belay” said Managing Principal, Eliza Bailey. “Michael and I had the chance to work closely together investing across a wide array of markets and property types while building both equity and debt investment platforms. Since that time, I have been hopeful that an opportunity might present itself to work together again, and now, with Belay entering into the next stage of its growth trajectory, it is an ideal time to bring Michael’s talents and experience into the firm.” “Michael is a great addition to the Belay senior management team” added Barry Chase, Belay’s Managing Principal and CEO. “His extensive and multifaceted background in commercial real estate brings great versatility to his role at Belay, while his entrepreneurial spirit and innate gift for leadership, which was further cultivated by his years spearheading the growth of a multifamily investment platform he founded, position Michael as uniquely suited for the role of assisting Belay’s emerging manager partnerships.”
Mr. Zito comes to Belay from Aulder Capital where he served as Chief Executive Officer and led the growth of the vertically integrated New-York-based real estate investment management and property management firm from $18 million AUM with 300 multifamily units and a small local staff, to $500 million AUM with 3,200 multifamily units and over 100 employees. He previously served as Senior Vice President and Head of Americas Direct Real Estate at Partners Group, where he sourced, underwrote, and closed over $500 million of investments across various property types. Prior to joining Partners Group, Michael served as Vice President in the Global Real Estate Group at Lehman Brothers, during which time he originated and underwrote real estate investments across senior and subordinate debt structures and equity investments, totaling over $6.5 billion in transactions.
Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University.