RealFoundations | Executive Managing Director
by Kristin Todd
His mission is simple: Helping companies run better. Easier said than done. However, since David Stanford established RealFoundations in 2000, he has literally been all over the world providing operations solutions to his clients. “Global real estate capital flows now account for over 40 percent of global real estate investment, or approximately $300 billion,” he said. This global business expansion is of top interest to Stanford.
RealFoundations is a full-service management consultancy focused exclusively on companies in the real estate industry and the real estate function of large corporations. As the firm’s clients expanded offices globally, Stanford followed suit. Now with offices in Hong Kong, Chennai, Melbourne, London and the U.S., RealFoundations is able to serve its clients worldwide.
“As I travel all over the world in this business, it is interesting to see the commonalities across geographic and cultural boundaries in the places where people live, work, shop and play,” he said. “There is a common theme tying the use of place with everyday life that takes many forms, and there is a lot of creative energy in this business.”
Stanford maintains a busy schedule; however, he said his parents equipped him with a solid work ethic to handle it all. “I am grateful to my parents for creating the drive and work ethic that I utilize to keep RealFoundations running as a company,” he said. “The ability to take all I have learned and experienced over the past 20 years and apply this on a global scale is something I never dreamed of back when I was attending classes at Hankamer.”
Working in the real estate industry seems to be a perfect fit for Stanford, as he continues to be inspired. “While in New York recently, I walked by the plaque at Rockefeller Center with the inscribed beliefs of John D. Rockefeller,” he said. “This was especially moving, and I would suggest young people entering the business world become familiar with those beliefs and what it actually means to live them out.”