Good Dirt: Conversations with Leaders in Real Estate & Beyond Mike and Tom Greeley

Peter Merrigan is the Chief Executive Officer of Taurus Investment Holdings LLC, a global real estate private equity firm established in 1997 and headquartered in Boston, MA. Taurus focuses on strategic investments into value-add, core-plus, opportunistic and development opportunities. As CEO and a a member of the firms Investment Committee, Peter defines and guides Taurus in developing and executing investment strategies in multifamily, industrial, office , mixed-use and renewable energy sectors across the US and internationally. Peter has overseen the acquisition and development of more than 70 million square feet of commercial space to date with a value in excess of nearly $11 billion.
Peter is an alum of the College of Holy Cross and received a Masters in Real Estate Development (MSRED) from MIT.

Our conversation with Peter starts in the his early days with an internship in the research department of Coldwell Banker, working out of a Wellesley office that was the launching pad for many of the Boston market’s notable figures. Peter then describes the path that gave him his crash course in commercial real estate, starting with renting apartments for the Corcoran family, working for Berkeley Investments, and eventually his connection with the Reibling brothers, leading to a fruitful partnership that spanned several decades.

Peter shares with Taurus’ powerful model of global equity syndication, a ‘machine’ that regularly yields $500m per annum in equity sourced from high net worth family offices from around the world. We also hear about Taurus’ leadership and long history of environmental stewardship, with a thorough explanation of how fusing clean energy, energy efficient technologies, and decarbonization efforts can not only benefit the planet but also create financial returns for Taurus and its investors.

As the leader and owner of a renowned Boston-based firm that has evolved into a leading, forward-thinking global investor, we are thrilled to share Peter’s story and some of the behind-the-scenes anecdotes that brought Taurus to where it stands today.

Please share with clients, colleagues and friends and thanks for tuning in!

For more info on Taurus, please visit: https://www.tiholdings.com/

Tom Greeley
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasgreeley/
tom.greeley@nmrk.com
Mike Greeley
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgreeley1
Michael.greeley@nmrk.com

John Fish is Chairman & CEO of Suffolk, a national real estate enterprise that builds, innovates and invests. Under John’s vision and leadership, Suffolk has grown into one of the most successful privately held builders in the United States, with $6 billion in revenue, 2,600 employees, and a value proposition, commitment to innovation and corporate culture that is redefining the built world. Suffolk truly is “America’s contractor” and manages some of the most complex, sophisticated projects in the country, serving clients in every major industry sector, including healthcare, life sciences, education, gaming, transportation/aviation, government, mission critical and commercial. With main offices in Boston (headquarters), New York City, Miami, West Palm Beach, Tampa, Estero, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Virginia and Maine, Suffolk is omnipresent in active real estate markets around the country.
John is a fixture on numerous Boards focused on economic stability and real estate industry growth. He is the Chair of the Real Estate Roundtable, a non-partisan organization that represents the largest and most successful real estate developers in the country and is the most influential voice in Washington, D.C. for more equitable policies for economic growth.
John also serves as Chair of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, sits on the Executive Committee of Mass General Brigham, and is the Chair of the Board at Boston College, his second time serving and the first non-alum to ever fulfill that role. In recent years, John has chaired both the Boston Chamber of Commerce and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and he is a founding member and director of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership (MACP).
Our conversation with John begins with an overview of the ever-innovating Suffolk, including a discussion around Suffolk’s platform verticals which support the core mission of the company. We then take a step back, and hear from John about his academic experiences at Tabor Academy and Bowdoin College, tackling and embracing his dyslexia, and his entry into the construction industry, in which the Fish family had deep roots. We then move onto the formation of Suffolk, the early years and the evolution of the company in its early years as a non-union business. John shares with us candid insights into the challenges and struggles of growing the company in a politically-charged construction environment, and the relationship building that served as a catalyst for long-term growth of the company.
We cover a lot of ground outside of Suffolk, and John was generous in sharing his unique perspective on policy, politics, and economic issues at hand today in the US. Finally and maybe most importantly, we discuss John and Cyndy Fish’s extraordinary commitment to caring for their community, and their incredible leadership in countless philanthropic endeavors.
This was one of our most-requested and highly-anticipated guests, and we sincerely appreciate John sharing his time and insights with us and our Good Dirt audience. We look forward to having him back again!
For more information on Suffolk, visit www.suffolk.com

Tom Greeley
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasgreeley/
tom.greeley@nmrk.com
Mike Greeley
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgreeley1
a href="mailto:Michael.greeley@nmrk.com"...

Rachel Diller serves as Senior Managing Director, Acquisitions and Co-Chief Investment Officer for Bridge Investment Group, a $50bn+ AUM multi product real estate investor, where she oversees the Bridge Workforce & Affordable Housing strategy. Rachel has over 20 years of experience in real estate and finance and has capitalized 120+ real estate projects worth $3.6 billion in 23 states. Rachel joined Bridge from UrbanView Capital, a specialist real estate fund manager dedicated to sustainable and impact investing. Prior to that, she was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs in the firm’s Urban Investment Group (UIG), a principal investing platform that deploys capital to underserved domestic urban markets. Previously, she was a Managing Director in the Commercial Real Estate Group of Centerline Capital Group. 
Rachel began her career as a New York City Urban Fellow, developing transitional housing projects for New York City’s Department of Homeless Services, where she was the Director of Facility, Planning and Development. Rachel serves on the board of Corporation for Supportive Housing and is an Adjunct Professor in Columbia Business School’s Real Estate MBA Program. She earned a BA in Urban Studies from University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Our conversation with Rachel starts at Penn and moves into her ‘bleeding heart’ days in the public sector working for the City of New York. We hear about her pivot into the private sector and how her roots in housing affordability have stayed with her throughout her career and into her current role with Bridge. Rachel and Bridge’s novel approach to taking care of the community, not just the bricks and mortar, is not only commendable but is ultimately accretive to Bridges’ investments.
We greatly enjoyed this conversation and working with Rachel and her team on their acquisition of The Suburban Boston Value-Add Portfolio in 2023. 
Tom Greeley
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasgreeley/
tom.greeley@nmrk.com
Mike Greeley
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgreeley1
Michael.greeley@nmrk.com

Bill Cummings is the founder and past president and chairman of Cummings Properties, one of the New England region’s most prominent private real estate investment firms. Since its founding in 1970, Cummings Properties has amassed a staggering portfolio of over 11 million square feet across 11 cities and towns north of Boston, and has built a reputation as a value-oriented, long-term holder of well-located real estate. While Bill is widely associated with this impressive collection of commercial properties (all owned debt-free), he now focuses most of his time and energy on The Cummings Foundation, the charitable juggernaut he oversees with his wife Joyce. Bill and Joyce made headlines as the first Massachusetts family to sign The Giving Pledge, a campaign started by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates to encourage billionaires to give away at least half of their fortune to charity. Until then, the Cummings family had been largely flown under the radar, and this news led to many headlines with a “billionaire next door” theme.
Our conversation with Bill starts with his upbringing in Medford and he shares with us anecdotes of the early entrepreneurial bug which never left him. We hear about his career start in sales, his successful journey in the fruit juice business, and his first forays into the real estate investment arena.
He got his start in commercial real estate with just one small building, which he built next door to Old Medford Foods, and then led Cummings Properties' expansion into an 11 million-square-foot portfolio, now managed by more than 350 team members.

In 1986, Bill and his wife, Joyce, established Cummings Foundation, which has grown to be one of the three largest private foundations in New England. The Cummings family today is known widely for their remarkable philanthropy and dedication to improving the communities around them.

Among Bill's many honors are Real Estate Entrepreneur of the Year for New England from Ernst & Young, Edward H. Linde Public Service Award from the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), and Real Estate Visionary of the Year from Boston Business Journal. He and Joyce were also inducted into the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce's Academy of Distinguished Bostonians.

In 2020, Bill released the latest edition of his self-written memoir, Starting Small and Making It Big: An Entrepreneur's Journey to Billion-Dollar Philanthropist, which includes thoughtful reflections on the lessons he has learned about business, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy.

Bill’s incredible generosity is legendary in the Boston area, and we feel privileged to have him join us for an episode of Good Dirt.

Tom Greeley
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasgreeley/
tom.greeley@nmrk.com

Mike Greeley
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgreeley1/
michael.greeley@nmrk.com

Peter Palandjian is Chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation, an SEC-registered real estate investment manager with a portfolio of over 36 million square feet across 155 properties, over 15,000 multifamily units and current NAV of $10 billion+ and GAV $14 billion+. Peter oversees the affiliated Intercontinental operating companies, with primary responsibility for strategic planning and direction of all company activities. Intercontinental’s sole strategy it its flagship vehicle, United States Real Estate Investment Fund (“U.S. REIF”), currently the 7th-largest member of the NCREIF ODCE fund index (Open-Ended Diversified Core Equity).
 
Prior to joining Intercontinental in 1993, Mr. Palandjian worked as the assistant to the CEO of Staples, Inc. and as an Associate Consultant with Bain & Company. Mr. Palandjian holds memberships with the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA); the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP); and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers (NAREIM). Mr. Palandjian has also been active on a number of corporate and not-for-profit boards, presently serving as a board member of several institutions including: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, O’Neill & Associates, Leader Bank, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (“LAANE”), Mikva Challenge, Harvard’s Varsity Club, the Taubman Center at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and the Purple Heart Service Foundation. Mr. Palandjian is also Trustee Emeritus at The Fessenden School and works on behalf of Harvard University as a volunteer undergraduate admissions interviewer.
 
Peter earned his B.A. from Harvard University and M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, and was a two-time Harvard tennis Captain and world ranked player on the ATP tour.
 
Our conversation with Peter begins with a discussion about his family, including his Armenian-Irish heritage and upbringing in Belmont, Mass. The family business, then known as Continental Construction, was started by his father who emigrated from Armenia with an accordion and $500 in his pocket. We pressed Peter on his illustrious tennis career, which he humbly described as a “journeyman” career but from which he took the tenets of resilience and rigorous effort into the real estate industry.
 
Peter shares with us his time at Bain & Company, Staples Inc. and Harvard Business School, as well his entry into the real estate business alongside his father, who had been diagnosed with stomach cancer. A leadership transition occurred ahead of schedule, as Petros A. Palandjian’s health deteriorated and his cancer became terminal, and Peter was thrust into a tumultuous chapter involving numerous partnerships to unwind in a difficult market.
 
We then dive into the tremendous growth of Intercontinental, with a focus on the evolution of its core business from fully integrated services and investment partnerships to private equity real estate, structured in fund-based investment management services. In 1999, Intercontinental became an SEC-registered Investment Advisor, clearing the path for a prolific but disciplined rise as a manager of institutional capital. Peter shares with us lessons learned along the way, including the early days of raising institutional money and the firm’s leadership in both private and public pension fund capital management. While Intercontinental is a household name in New England real estate circles, its national prominence is perhaps lesser known to Boston market participants.
 
Peter was refreshingly candid, speaking openly about a few “bloopers”, life and deal lessons along the way, the importance of culture and teamwork at Intercontinental, and much more. He defers credit to his teammates and more than once references the “family” at Intercontinental. Of course, we also take Peter’s...

Jessica Hughes joined Tishman Speyer in 2018 and is currently responsible for the company’s operations in the Boston region including acquisitions, dispositions, asset management, and development. She joined Tishman Speyer from JLL, where she was a Managing Director in the Boston Capital Markets group and a member of JLL’s International Capital Group. Previously, she was a Senior Vice President at Beacon Capital Partners, responsible for acquisitions and dispositions in major U.S. markets, as well as establishing Beacon’s offshore offices in London and Paris. Jessica has a BA in History from Dartmouth College, where she captained the women’s golf team. Having served as President of NAIOP Massachusetts in 2022, she currently serves as Board Chair for the organization. Jess also serves as a board member at the Boston Center for the Arts and is an active participant in many regional charitable endeavors.
Our conversation with Jess begins in her hometown of Lowell, Mass where she had early exposure to the economic development activities and related real estate development which were pushing the city forward. Excelling as a student and as a golfer, Jess shares with us the circumstances around a serendipitous corporate recruiting visit which introduced her to an executive involved in the historic Grand Central Terminal redevelopment project. Jess secured a job with LaSalle Partners in New York working on the final ‘punch list’ of Grand Central- an iconic project at the time that inspires her (and us) to this day.
From there Jess shifted into an analyst role on the capital markets/ investment sales side of the business, a crash course which gave her the toolkit for a career as a ‘deal person’. Moving back to Boston, we discuss Jess’ time with Colliers and Trammell Crow before being recruited to join Beacon Capital Partners, kicking off a transformative chapter in her career which brought Jess to London and other international markets, and finally back home and back to the brokerage side for a productive stint at JLL. The bulk of our discussion is appropriately centered Jess’ move to Tishman Speyer, where she has done a tremendous job in building the firm’s Boston regional platform with a number of the market’s most exciting projects.
We had a blast catching up with Jess and learned a lot about her path. While every path in this business is unique, Jessica’s journey in CRE has been fascinating and we are excited to see what the next decade holds for Jess and Tishman Speyer.

Tom Greeley
tom.greeley@nmrk.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasgreeley/

Mike Greeley
michael.greeley@nmrk.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgreeley1/