Nathaniel Tauber, 28

Nathaniel Tauber has gotten to know the Sun Belt pretty well even though it’s at least several hundred miles from his home. He credits his team for getting him prepared to be in the field.

“They’re some of the smartest people in the industry, and I’ve been pretty fortunate to learn and work with them every day,” Tauber said. “I had a pretty advantageous situation where I joined and I was able to work directly on transactions and learn from senior management people.”

The Englewood, N.J., native followed the real estate market when he was growing up and even got to visit several hedge funds while he was in high school. After studying business at the University of Michigan, he started working in investment banking at Jeffries before switching over to GTIS in 2021, where found himself working in real estate finance.

“We’re a private equity player but we do a lot in the housing space, which is unique,” he said. “We’re looking for well-located sites to build quality housing and take a longer-term growth perspective.”

When doing underwriting and originations on loans, Tauber often visits the assets in question, which takes him to places such as Phoenix, the Carolinas and South Florida. In Miami, he worked on a $275 million transaction for a 600-unit project in a federal opportunity zone, a designation designed to attract more capital investment in a community. He’s also assisted on deals in New York, including a $150 million, 200-unit development at 380 Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn.

“As projects start ramping up again, we’ll look to start investing more in New York,” he said.

When he’s back home, Tauber roots for the Yankees and the Knicks, devours business memoirs (he recommends books by Ken Langone and Sam Zell) and scuba dives, although he prefers exploring reefs in tropical locations. “I’m definitely not going to scuba in the East River,” he said. “I don’t think there’s much to see.”