Anthony Ruben is a Founding Partner and the CEO of Equitas Company. Mr. Ruben has distinguished himself as deeply insightful and creative investor who continually creates value within the industry. Mr. Ruben possesses a wealth of knowledge and extensive experience garnered over the course of his 15-year career in complex finance and commercial real estate investing. Mr. Ruben was instrumental in scaling DLP’s investment platform, taking them from a $200M fund to a $2B+ REIT over a 4-year investment horizon. During his tenure with DLP he transacted in over $6B worth of acquisitions, dispositions, equity and debt investments. From investing in core-plus assets to investing in contrarian opportunities such as buying student housing in the summer of 2020, Mr. Ruben continually adapts his investment thesis to identify value in our dynamic investment space.
Prior to that Mr. Ruben held senior roles with Lloyd Jones Capital and Greenstreet Real Estate Partners, a Private Equity firm controlled by Michael Milken and Ambassador Steven Green, where he invested in over $1B worth of commercial real estate assets. Additionally, he was responsible for the creation and implementation of asset management strategies across the portfolio. Anthony obtained his B.S. degree in Finance with a concentration in Real Estate Studies from the University of St. Thomas.
Sterling Garcia is a Foundering Partner of Equitas Company. His extensive knowledge and proficiency has distinguished his ingenuity to solve complex problems. Mr. Garcia has acquired over $2B in commercial real estate. Investments spanned many asset classes, including transactions as small as $1M office buildings to $500M multifamily portfolio acquisitions. Working at his own deliberate pace, along with the Equitas team, they developed a fluid investment thesis to adapt and capitalize on opportunities presented by shifting markets.
A serious, analytical thinker about matters of technical interest, Mr. Garcia has successfully adapted his skill sets in imaginative ways to find solutions to complex or abstract problems. For example, buying distressed commercial real estate assets on auction platforms and achieving superior returns when prior owners failed to execute their business plans. Additionally, Mr. Garcia has taken those skill sets to other complex problems such as utilizing historic tax credits for heavy value-add investments and adaptive reuse investments. This systemic and patient approach to investing led to acquisitions of student housing at significant discounts during the covid pandemic that saw substantial returns after stabilization. This introspective focus on producing well-thought-out solutions to complex technical problems is what informs Equitas’ investment thesis when other investors continue as usual although markets are rapidly shifting.
Mr. Garcia received his Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship from Babson College, which has ranked as the Number One school for entrepreneurship for 26 consecutive years. Mr. Garcia studied data analytics, accounting, and entrepreneurship at Babson College. Mr. Garcia graduated amongst the top of his class, receiving honors as a Cum Laude graduate. Additionally, Mr. Garcia is a certified yoga instructor and he actively taught yoga while studying at Babson College.
Ken Gross is a founding partner of Equitas Capital. Ken's long and diverse career in the real estate industry began with acquiring his real estate license in 1990. In the 1990s and early 2000s acting as a principal, Mr. Gross worked on land development and entitlement projects. He acquired land, worked the parcels through the entitlement process to increase value, and developed the land for select projects. After distinguishing himself, he was appointed to a municipal township planning commission where he served for 12 years. Eventually, he went on to be an elected official as a township supervisor for six years. During this period Mr. Gross built his own apartment portfolio that he was managing as an owner-operator. In 2007 Mr. Gross sold most of that portfolio and went on to manage a region of assets for a mid-sized multifamily investment company. Mr. Gross then took the skills he had developed as an owner and as a corporate manager to DLP Capital where he oversaw the company's property management division, exponentially growing the management company from 70 units under management to well over 2,000. He then became the Director of Underwriting and Due Diligence, transacting on over $2 Billion in real estate. Mr. Gross was responsible for pre-acquisition due diligence and the execution of construction and rehabilitation projects. Mr. Gross has a wealth of real estate knowledge and his traction experience across the entire life of an investment cycle plays a critical role at Equitas. Mr. Gross is also a former volunteer firefighter and volunteer ambulance assistant.