Joseph Elias is the co-founder and Managing Director of Grand City Capital, a pioneering firm specializing in commercial real estate development and investment. With a robust 17-year track record in executive operations at Fortune 50 companies and 18 years of real estate development expertise in the Midwest, Joseph has earned a reputation for spearheading corporate transformations and enhancing operational efficiencies through strategic technology integration.
Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, Joseph founded the Felix Platform, a cutting-edge solution that facilitates alternative investment onboarding, loan origination, and asset management. This platform currently supports over 11,000 investors, managing more than $500 million in assets, with a deal pipeline exceeding $8 billion annually. Felix provides comprehensive end-to-end capabilities for Grand City Capital’s real estate investment operations.
Prior to Grand City Capital, Joseph co-founded Red Oak Capital, where he served as COO and developed scalable solutions for real estate investing. During his tenure, he successfully raised over $300 million in capital from broker-dealers, registered investment advisors, and family offices. His corporate tenure includes a role as Senior Director at Comcast, where he managed a $1 billion portfolio, achieving approximately $300 million in cost savings through innovative technology implementation. He also contributed to large-scale efficiencies as a Project Manager at General Motors.
Beyond his corporate achievements, Joseph has successfully managed multiple family businesses, overseeing significant real estate assets across major Midwestern markets. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from Wayne State University and an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
Anderson is responsible for creating Red Oak’s successful global fund models and pro forma commercial real estate models. He serves on the Investment Committee for all funds and spearheaded restructuring the loan programs resulting in lower risk profiles. He played a key role in the creation, structuring, and execution of a diversified capital raise path from $3.5 million to $225+ million. Anderson is also responsible for preparing, reviewing, and distributing the quarterly financial reporting and market outlook to 4,000+ bondholders/investors.
Prior to working at Red Oak, Anderson launched his own consulting company where he successfully implemented an institutional level of financial infrastructure and operational practices. By bringing multiple companies to an external capital ready state, Anderson led due diligence, valuation, and closing of more than $100 million in the two years of operations.
Under his tenure as a Shareholder, Director and Executive Committee Member at Strait Capital from 2009 to 2017, assets under administration increased from $40 Million to over $4 Billion. His expertise lies in architecting and delivering a full-fledge institutional operating platform for hedge funds, private equity groups, and family offices. He began his career as a hedge fund analyst specializing in distressed securities, mergers and acquisitions, and capital arbitrage strategies.
On his personal investment portfolio, Jason began investing in single family and small multifamily properties in 2014. During this time, Jason has personally held investments in New Mexico, Texas, Minnesota, and Michigan. In 2021, seven units were sold with and rolled into two larger properties. Jason plans to continue to increase his current portfolio of 33 units to greater than 100 units over the next five years.
Anderson earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Bachelor of Science in Economics from Southern Methodist University. He has also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2014.