Name: Stephen Muller
Title: Managing Principal
Company Name: Vanadium Group LLC
Who was/is your mentor and how did s/he influence/help you in your career?
I’ve had a few mentors throughout my career, including Chris Reilly and Marc Childress during my banking years at Morgan Stanley, however my relationship with Simon Milde stands apart from others. As the founder of Jones Lang Wooten in the U.S. in the 1970s (now JLL), Simon mentored many of the biggest names in the industry today and was responsible for some of the biggest and most consequential real estate deals perennially. Over the course of my ten years at The Greenwich Group International Simon shared with me those relationships and imparted the wisdom of decades of the most consequential deal making. Simon personally opened doors, allowing me to take lead on some of the most interesting real estate deals.
How do you contribute to your community or your profession?
Despite the challenges balancing work and family life, I do my best to remain active in both the community and profession. As a family, we recently made food bags for those in need through Temple Israel, and I continue to be an active board member for the East Midtown BID, the largest BID in the city and am proud of the boards continued focus on quality-of-life issues within the district. I am also on the board for The Center for Real Estate and urban analysis at The George Washington University, my alma mater, where I actively engage / mentor students and young alumni, as well as through the ULI Mentorship program.
What recent project, transaction or accomplishment are you most proud of?
I’ve been very blessed to have had the opportunity to be involved in some of the most significant and interesting deals in N.Y. and in the U.S. As chief investment officer at Arris Properties Group, I was responsible for the two million s/f development platform which included what will be a $1 billion ground-up mixed-use project at 60th St. and Lexington Ave. As a partner at The Greenwich Group International, I successfully raised billions in debt and equity for real estate, including exclusively advising the development of The Wharf a 3.2 million s/f redevelopment of the southwest waterfront in Washington, D.C., the acquisition and development of 25 acres in downtown Miami for Miami Worldcenter, the acquisition and development of five city blocks in downtown Las Vegas for LivWork Las Vegas, and other notable transformative projects.