UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Smeal College of Business recently named three new members to the Borrelli Institute for Real Estate Studies’ Advisory Board ahead of the board’s spring meeting, which will take place Tuesday, May 17, in Philadelphia.
The board includes business, government and education professionals who have an interest in promoting and financially supporting real estate education and scholarship at Penn State. Board members also make a financial commitment to the college.
Jim Calder and Steve Stein will join the executive committee. Andrew Richie was named to the advisory board.
Jim Calder
Calder, a licensed CPA in Pennsylvania, earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Penn State in 1984. He currently serves as chief financial officer of Alpine X Inc., whose mission is to develop family-centric active lifestyle communities and experience-based sports entertainment venues throughout the United States. He also is a member of the Investment Committee of Stone Circle Holdings LLC.
Previously, he was chief financial officer of Great Wolf Resorts, chief financial officer of Interstate Hotels and Resorts, and senior vice president and corporate controller at ICF Kaiser Inc.
Calder said that he was looking forward to his role with the real estate advisory board.
“Joining the board allows me to engage directly with other professionals and hear and share perspectives on how to help Penn State develop its real estate program,” he said. “It’s an honor to help Smeal continue to expand an area that has meant so such to me and to help grow future leaders in real estate.”
Steve Stein
Stein earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architectural engineering from Penn State in 2008. He began his career as a structural engineer at the architectural engineering firm Cubellis but said that he always felt a pull toward real estate. In 2014, he earned an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business with a concentration in real estate and finance.
An internship with EQT | Exeter, the world’s third largest real estate investment management firm, between the first and second year of the MBA program, led to a full-time offer following graduation.
Today, Stein is principal and investment/leasing manager at EQT | Exeter. He is responsible for overseeing all acquisitions, development and asset management practices throughout the company’s central region, which includes Chicago, Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville, Indianapolis, Nashville, St. Louis and Kansas City.
Prior to enrolling at NYU, he was co-founder and director of business development for Main Street Building and Development.
Stein said joining the board came down to a desire to give back to Penn State and its students.
“As both an undergraduate and graduate student, I was fortunate enough to have alumni help me along the way. It feels great to be in a position to return the favor,” he said.
Andrew Richie
Richie, a 2015 Smeal graduate with a degree in finance, began his career as a senior consultant for Altus Group’s Commercial Real Estate Research, Valuation and Consulting Group before joining Annaly Capital Management’s Commercial Real Estate Group in 2018. He joined KKR & Co. Inc. in 2021 and is currently an asset manager for the Real Estate Credit Team.
Even though he is in the early stages of his own career, Richie said he felt it was the right time to get more involved with his alma mater.
“When researching how to do that, I felt that the two organizations that best fit my goals and skill set were the Smeal Mentorship Program and Real Estate Advisory Board. I’m excited to share my experience in commercial real estate and to further Smeal’s reputation in the industry,” he said.