Meet John Daniels, the Director of Investments at The Menkiti Group. John has been with The Menkiti Group for over two years after almost a decade of personal and professional growth that led him to a career in real estate. To learn more about John and all his accomplishments thus far, keep reading!

Growing Early in His Career

John is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Government. While in school, he was fortunate enough to meet his lifelong partner and now wife, Allie. He began his career working in Boston for Treacy & Company, a management consulting firm that specializes in advising Fortune 500 clients on growth strategies. John later moved to Austin, Texas where he worked for Vista Consulting Group, the operating arm of Vista Equity Partners, a software-focused private equity firm. During his time at Vista, he became particularly interested in property technology (aka prop tech).

Real estate had always been a latent interest of John’s (fun fact: he applied to the Freedom Trail Realty School, a residential agent bootcamp, back in 2016!), and things quickly started to click. As time went on, John decided to apply for MBA programs with the goal of more deeply exploring his real estate interests. He eventually decided to attend Michigan Ross (Allie was also accepted, which sealed the deal!), and spent the next two years immersing himself in everything that the MBA program had to offer.

Making the Connection with The Menkiti Group

John knew he wanted to live in New England after graduation, so he focused his real estate job search on the Boston area. He began looking for companies and roles that could be a good fit, and along the way, turned to a former boss and mentor from his days at Vista for advice. As it turned out, John’s mentor, André Martinelli, was friends with a man named Bo Menkiti who owned a real estate firm in Washington, DC that also had a growing presence in Massachusetts.

After meeting Bo and several team members, John jumped at the opportunity to join The Menkiti Group team and started by working as an intern for three months. During his internship, he fell in love with the company and when a role presented itself after his internship, he signed on full time!

Loving Every Minute

John’s favorite part of working at The Menkiti Group is the variety of projects that he is able to work on as part of his role. He works closely with all business units within the company, which keeps his day-to-day life exciting and fresh! Another aspect of The Menkiti Group that John admires is the double bottom line focus that is a part of each project.

One of John’s most memorable projects has been the RFP submission for St. Elizabeths Parcels 7, 8, and 9 and the subsequent work after The Menkiti Group won the RFP. This project involves a combination of new development and historic preservation, and several different asset classes (office, retail, for-rent multifamily, for-sale multifamily). The first project that he worked on during his internship was helping to create The Menkiti Group’s response to the District’s St. Es RFP.

A Boston Sports Fan Fanatic

Outside of work John is a huge sports and fitness fan. He pulls for all the Boston teams (plus Michigan – Go Blue!) and enjoys working out at his CrossFit gym. When he isn’t catching up on sports, he and his wife Allie enjoy taking their dog Hildy to the beach or on hikes.