Donald Sheets

Senior Principal

Mr. Sheets is a Senior Principal at Square Mile Capital Management, a $1.5 billion AUM real estate private equity fund, in its New York office. He identifies, structures, and negotiates non-traditional commercial real estate investment opportunities including distressed debt, discounted performing commercial mortgages, preferred equity, mezzanine financing, and real estate enterprise liquidations. During his tenure with Square Mile, Mr. Sheets has sourced, underwritten, and closed the acquisition of commercial mortgage claims across several bespoke transactions. Among other recent investments, Mr. Sheets sourced and led the execution of two separate complex transactions with the FDIC in each of 2010 and 2011 to acquire over 100 controlling interests in $1.3 billion in performing and non-performing commercial mortgage debt that was formerly held on the balance sheet of a single failed banking institution. Donald co-leads each of the two ventures and serves as the primary interface to the FDIC and over 120 community and regional participant banks.Mr. Sheets also recently led the acquisition and formation of a joint venture capitalized to acquire over $630 million in performing and non-performing commercial mortgage debt that was held on the balance sheet of a major money center bank. Donald co-leads the strategic direction, asset management, and financing of the venture. Mr. Sheets also is leading Square Mile’s efforts to pioneer an innovative securitized financing structure collateralized by portfolios of sub-performing commercial mortgage debt. Mr. Sheets has over a dozen years of property acquisition, turnaround, asset management, and restructuring experience across a variety of capital structures, asset types, and geographies.Prior to SMCM, Mr. Sheets initiated a special-situation commercial real estate investment platform at Davidson Kempner Capital Management, a $14 billion AUM multi-strategy hedge fund, in its New York office. While at DKCM, Donald sourced, underwrote, and managed over $1.1 billion in risk-based capital exposure across 40+ transactions, a vast majority of which were unleveraged. Prior to DKCM, Mr. Sheets worked for The Carlyle Group, EastBanc, and Starwood Urban Investments.Mr. Sheets is appointed as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at both Columbia University and New York University, where he developed and currently teaches the first graduate-level distressed real estate investing coursework within each university's curriculum.Donald received a BBA in Accounting and Real Estate Finance from The George Washington University magna cum laude and received an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mr. Sheets serves as the Co-President of the Harvard Business School Real Estate Alumni Association and presently serves as an appointed Council Member of the Urban Land Institute Public-Private Partnership Council.