Anthony D’Amelio, 28
Associate at Iron Hound Management
In his spare time, Anthony D’Amelio said he enjoys playing his guitar. In his role at Iron Hound Management, he’s part of a team that often helps transactions get back on tempo.
Iron Hound, a leading adviser in commercial real estate loan restructurings, is busier than ever during this period of market volatility — as is D’Amelio, who supports the day-to-day operations of both its restructuring and debt placement businesses.
For certain asset classes — especially the one that rhymes with “proffice” — melodies have been sounding off-key for almost four years now.
“I joined Iron Hound in October 2019, and the world shut down shortly thereafter,” he said. “To me, there have been two distinct waves [of dislocation]. The first wave brought a ton of uncertainty but the overall sentiment was ‘Let’s hang tight for a while and let the world regain its balance.’ Then, in 2022, rising interest rates coupled with changing attitudes and appetite for office threw a complete wrench in the system.”
Prior to working at Iron Hound, D’Amelio spent four years at Cushman & Wakefield. He describes his move to Iron Hound as “happenstance” but also “a gut feeling steering me away from what I knew to something completely new.”
Since then, he’s worked on some impressive deals, including the $850 million restructuring of 20 Hudson Yards in 2021, and a $1.3 billion CMBS restructuring for Workspace Property Trust earlier this year. In the Workspace deal, Iron Hound secured a two-year extension for loans backed by the REIT’s 10 million-square-foot portfolio — and speedily.
“We were engaged in mid-May, and it took us less than two months to fully package a proposal and get it to the finish line,” D’Amelio said.
D’Amelio said he particularly enjoys the negotiation aspect of his role: “There are always plenty of twists and turns to get to the finish line, and it keeps you on your toes.”
If you’re reading this and also thinking of whistling a different tune, specifically one that involves a career in often-hairy loan restructurings, D’Amelio has some sage advice.
“You have to be multifaceted and speak a lot of languages. You need to understand borrower needs, lender motivations, and be able to underwrite up and down the capital stack,” he said. Perhaps most importantly, “You need to have intellectual curiosity, and an iron stomach — so to speak — because it’s not for the faint of heart.”
