Anthony DeLaurentis is on the acquisitions team at Chicago based real estate investment and development company, Industrial Outdoor Ventures, and is involved in all aspects of the acquisition process including sourcing and execution on valueadd, redevelopment, and stabilized opportunities. Since 2019, Anthony and the IOV team have executed on over $750M in new acquisitions and leases.
Tell us about your background. Where did you grow up? Where did you go to school?
DeLaurentis: I grew up in Barrington, Illinois, about 40 miles from Chicago. I graduated from Barrington High School in 2015 and Indiana University in 2018.
How did you get your start in the industry?
DeLaurentis: I have known the Industrial Outdoor Ventures CEO, Tom Barbera for most of my life as we’ve been very close family friends. Over my college years, I would periodically check in with Tom and seek career advice as I was extremely eager to get out into the working world.
During my junior year of college Tom had mentioned he had recently founded a real estate startup called IOV and offered me a summer internship. At this time, I was brand new to real estate but within the first two weeks of interning, the lightbulb quickly went off on how the company was at the forefront of rapidly scaling and institutionalizing a completely overlooked subcategory of industrial real estate.
After a successful internship, IOV was gearing up to grow the acquisitions team at the start of 2019. The timing could not have been better, given I was graduating in December 2018, a semester early. Shortly after the internship, the stars had aligned when IOV extended me a full-time job offer to start in February 2019 as an acquisitions associate. Accepting the offer was about the easiest decision I’ve ever had to make!
Did you have a mentor who helped you get on your feet, or is there someone you turn to now for support?
DeLaurentis: One of my biggest mentors in both business and life is Tom Barbera. It’s not easy to break into the real estate industry, especially going straight to the investor side and bypassing the brokerage route. It’s a very tight knit group, almost like a fraternity, and Tom went out of his way to bring me in. He has taught me everything I know and is the reason I’ve been able to accomplish what I have at IOV. I’m extremely grateful for that, and what’s even better is that we are just getting started!
What does an average day in the life of Anthony/IOV look like?
DeLaurentis: The acquisitions team at IOV is relatively small, so our days are constantly action-packed sourcing, qualifying, touring and executing on a high volume of deals across the country. On average, we’re on the road about two weeks of each month, on the ground in the top markets, meeting with brokers or tenants and touring new prospective acquisitions. One key difference between acquiring traditional industrial warehouses, and Industrial Service Facilities (ISF) is the individual deal size. In most cases, it can take five to ten ISF deals to deploy the same amount of capital as one Class A warehouse deal. Because of this, we must be extra diligent and precise to ensure we can execute on every single business plan.
What do you like most about your job?
DeLaurentis: What I like the most about this business is that every day is different. At any moment, the next “home run” acquisition opportunity or leasing inquiry can come through that we need to act on immediately to get it done. This, along with traveling to meet the top broker teams and real estate directors all over the U.S., makes the day-to-day work load exciting and keeps us on our toes.
Looking to the future, what do you hope to achieve that you have not already?
DeLaurentis: We’ve rapidly grown and have accomplished a lot at IOV over the last four years. When I first started, we were just closing on the 13th asset, and as of February 2023, we’ve closed on a total of 79 assets. We have a lot of leasing left to do to execute on our 2022 value add acquisitions, and at the same time are looking to continue rapidly growing our portfolio. We hold ourselves to a high standard of doing what we say we’re going to do, as reputation is everything in this business. I strive to do everything I can for IOV to continue being the best in the industry and stay disciplined to replicate our success as we expand our footprint into new markets over the next few years.
What kind of changes do you hope to see in the industry in the near future?
DeLaurentis: I really hope to see the lenders get more comfortable providing debt in this space in the near future. Right now, there’s a relatively small number of financial institutions that can actually wrap their head around how critical these facilities are and get comfortable with vacant value add financing. We’ve been able to successfully seek out and work with the right banks across the country, but there’s still a long way to go until the entire industry recognizes the true value of this asset class.
How do you spend your time away from the office?
DeLaurentis: Outside of my time at IOV, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends that I am blessed to be so close with. In addition, I serve as chairman on the executive board of Solly’s Way Foundation, a charitable organization founded in 2013 in honor of my father, Solly DeLaurentis, who passed away. Over the last 10 years, we’ve been able to provide 39 college scholarships for students who have also lost a parent or guardian.
What are you looking forward to most this year?
DeLaurentis: First things first, I’m extremely excited to be getting married this spring to my high school sweetheart, Sydney, and can’t wait for all that’s to come in our future together! Regarding IOV, I look forward to continue working alongside the talented team and truly believe that we’re just scratching the surface. IOV is currently hovering around $1 billion in AUM, with a target of hitting the $2 billion mark over the next 24 months.
