Building the Future of City Investment

Rajen Shastri has spent over 15 years working in senior management roles across the spectrum of the commercial real estate value chain, from being an investment professional at a global real estate institutional investor to acting as a Principal at an operator/developer. His vision for Akara partners is to offer investors the ability to participate with a vertically integrated real investment firm, allowing them to capture value from the elimination of the inherent information asymmetry between investors, operators and developers.

Prior to founding Akara Partners in 2013, Rajen was a Principal, CIO and Co-COO of Campus Acquisitions (“CA”) a developer and operator of student housing assets. While at CA, Rajen led the capitalization and monetization of over $1.5 billion in student housing assets across the U.S. Akara currently has under construction or in advanced pipeline over $1.0 billion of transactions, primarily in the multifamily space. Rajen has a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He serves on the Kellogg Alumni Real Estate Board, is a member of YPO Chicago Chapter and is on the Board of Advisors for the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin School of Business.

He has spent his career operating, investing, and managing institutional real estate in executive roles on behalf of private equity funds, publicly traded REIT’s and operating companies. He is passionate about the intersection of how people live, how they thrive and how real estate can be a facilitator for human interaction and growth.

His career has spanned over ~$5.4 billion of real estate within development, acquisitions, and dispositions. His experience ranges from boards of directors, investment committee member, institutional portfolio management, sourcing/structuring/closing real estate transactions, corporate finance and direct oversight of management operations. Prior to Akara Partners, he served as President of Ollie, Vice President at LaSalle Global Partner Solutions and Vice President at Fortress Investment Group.

Gregg is a member of the CFA Society of Colorado and is a CFA charter holder. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Linfield University. He is an Eagle Scout and has served on not-for-profit boards.