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Expertise

Founded in 2004, Vertical Ventures is an established, highly-focused investor, developer and operator of institutional quality commercial real estate assets. The firm concentrates on identifying, acquiring and revitalizing well-located, quality assets that are temporarily undervalued.

The professionals of the firm average nearly 20 years experience transacting and operating real estate and generating attractive investment returns from both institutional and entrepreneurial platforms.

Our unwavering goal is to extract unrecognized value from the real estate and maximize the returns to investors, while providing a high level of service and communication to our financial partners.

business meeting handshake

Our Team

Hamid Rezapour

President & Founder

President & Founder

Hamid Rezapour

Hamid Rezapour is the Managing Partner of Vertical Ventures. Since the company’s inception in 2004, Hamid has led all aspects of real estate acquisition, financing, leasing, construction, property management and disposition. With more than 25 years of experience as a real estate developer and investor, he has shaped Vertical Ventures into the dynamic and growing company it is today.

He brings years of experience in the health care, life sciences, retail, advertising, and high-tech industries. Prior to forming Vertical Ventures, Hamid launched and successfully sold several companies in the high-tech and healthcare industries. He has also served on the Boards of several industry-related companies.

After attending UC Berkeley for his undergraduate work, he received his dental degree from University of the Pacific in San Francisco, as well as dual MBA degrees from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and Columbia University in New York.

Boyd Messmann

SVP – Acquisitions

SVP – Acquisitions

Boyd Messmann

Boyd Messmann leads Vertical Ventures’ national acquisition platform focusing on net lease assets and select value add assets. Boyd is responsible for all aspects of the platform from acquisition to disposition and has over 30 years of experience in commercial real estate, acquisitions, investment banking and lending. Boyd is highly respected in the commercial real estate world with a proven track record, transacting over $16B in volume over his career, and has held senior leadership and C-Suite positions for private and public firms, such as First Industrial, VEREIT and Spirit Realty Capital.

Boyd has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance/Accounting from Indiana University and an MBA in Finance from the University of Kentucky.

Ian Martz

SVP - Finance

SVP - Finance

Ian Martz
Ian Martz leads the firm’s finance, accounting and reporting functions. He began his career in Deloitte & Touche LLP’s San Francisco assurance practice, serving such clients as The Sharper Image, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, and Kaiser Permanente. In 2006, he became Assistant Portfolio Controller at DivcoWest, a privately-owned real estate investment firm in San Francisco, responsible for managing over $2 billion of private equity. At DivcoWest, he oversaw the financial accounting and investor reporting for multiple commercial real estate portfolios. Most recently, he was Vice President & Controller at Pacific Ventures Management LLC (formerly DMB Pacific Ventures LLC), where he was responsible for the accounting and financial reporting of the company and its managed projects, most notably a 700-acre master-planned residential community development in Riverside County, California. He holds an undergraduate degree in accounting and finance from Indiana University – Bloomington and is a Certified Public Accountant actively licensed in the State of California.
Andrew Dietz

SVP - Capital Markets

SVP - Capital Markets

Andrew Dietz
Andrew Dietz leads capital formation and investor relations at Vertical Ventures. Andrew has 25 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry and has been directly responsible for raising over $17 billion of equity across various investment strategies, private asset classes and geographies.  Prior to joining Vertical Ventures, he held various capital raising roles CBRE, ACORE Capital and Morgan Stanley.  Prior to that, Andrew spent 12 years in real estate investment banking where he co-led Eastdil Secured’s real estate private equity raising practice and was a founding member of the Real Estate Private Fund Group at DLJ. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Arts from Brandeis University and a Master of Business Administration from Yale University.
Walter Chui

VP – Asset Management

VP – Asset Management

Walter Chui
Walter Chui oversees Asset Management at Vertical Ventures LLC, where he is responsible for the development and execution of business plans across the firm’s portfolio.

Prior to joining Vertical Ventures, Walter was Vice President of Commercial Asset Management at Prado Group, managing high-street and grocery-anchored retail assets. Previously, he served as Director of Asset Management at UBS Realty Investors, overseeing core to value-add office, retail, and industrial assets, and earlier worked on the debt side at HFF (now JLL). He holds an MBA and Master of Science in Real Estate from the University of San Diego and a Bachelor of Science in Management Science from the University of California, San Diego.
Jeff Gorelick

Strategic Advisor

Strategic Advisor

Jeff Gorelick

Jeff Gorelick is an attorney who has practiced nationally and internationally for fifty years and completed hundreds of transactions both as lawyer and as a principal. He was the in-house attorney and strategic advisor to Vertical Ventures from the time of its formation until he formed Gorelick Real Estate Advisors (GREA) in 2009 to acquire distressed properties in several markets. He continues as managing member of GREA and has acted as a consultant and strategic advisor to Vertical Ventures since that time.

Francois Garcin

Strategic Advisor

Strategic Advisor

Francois Garcin
Alexandra Thomann

Property Accountant

Property Accountant

Alexandra Thomann
Alexandra Thomann is a Property Accountant at Vertical Ventures. She brings over 7 years of accounting experience, including managing financials for 25+ commercial properties, and overseeing grant compliance and reporting for government contracts. With a background in commercial real estate and nonprofit finance, she supports the company’s portfolio though financial reporting, reconciliations, and month-end closing processes. Alexandra holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from California State Polytechnic University Humboldt.
Nick Archer

Senior Investment Analyst

Senior Investment Analyst

Nick Archer
Nick Archer is a Senior Investment Analyst at Vertical Ventures, where he is responsible for analyzing new acquisitions and business plans for the firm's owned assets.   Prior to joining Vertical Ventures, Nick worked as an investment analyst at a family office in Nashville, TN. During his tenure, he was responsible for originating, underwriting, and financing real estate investment opportunities throughout the southeast. He holds a bachelor's degree in Economics with a minor in Accounting from UC Davis.

Our Philosophy

Vertical Ventures is a company on a mission to facilitate the growth and success of its investors, tenants and the community at large. Hence, it adheres to the following principles when making decisions:

Trust is the key to prosperous business relationships

Vertical Ventures has diligently cultivated decades-long relationships with various municipalities, government agencies, property owners, investment brokers, leasing brokers, mortgage brokers, bankers, attorneys, title and escrow officers and other key professionals in the industry. These relationships are mutually beneficial and allow the company to source and secure the most coveted investment opportunities.

Harnessing the power of data leads to improve decision-making

The underwriting team constructs highly analytical financial projections for potential acquisitions. Incorporating internal and third-party data, Vertical Ventures create detailed and precise financial reports that reduce risk and justify valuations.

Thorough preparation makes all the difference

Analytical rigor and extensive DD are the cornerstones of our investment philosophy. This objective process helps to reduce surprises while maximizing overall investment yield.

A disciplined approach creates value

Focused on acquiring under-valued/under-performing assets at prices below replacement cost and intrinsic value. Identifying assets to take advantage of opportunities presented by artificial and correctable temporary inefficiencies such as undercapitalized owners, inattentive property management, curable environmental conditions have allowed the organization to invest intelligently and maximize returns.

Experience is the foundation of success

Vertical Ventures’ senior professionals have led the acquisition and value-creation of more than 10 million square feet representing more than $4 billion in total transactions. Drawing on years of expertise in the entire life cycle of real estate has provided us with a competitive advantage in executing our strategies.

Partnerships based on mutual accountability and trust

We seek to create a lasting alignment of interest with all our partners by ensuring that all stakeholders are accountable for their actions. A flat organizational structure allows for open communication and promotes honesty and integrity in all of our business practices.

Our background in sophisticated institutional investment management empowers us with the ability to combine the agility of entrepreneurial thinking with unshakeable institutional processes.