MSIRE program provided ammunition for success.
Jeb Bush, Jr. is no stranger to the ups-and-downs of the real estate industry. He entered the marketplace during the height of the real estate bubble and worked through its subsequent recovery.
A 2009 graduate, Bush credits the Hollo School of Real Estate’s Master of Science in International Real Estate (MSIRE) program with giving him the ammunition to succeed in an increasingly competitive field.
“The classes were great for learning how to survive in real estate,” said Bush, chief operating officer at Jeb Bush & Associates, a consulting and private equity firm. “I was able to instantly apply what I learned in the course to the full service commercial real estate business I was doing.”
The Miami-based firm, started in 2010 in partnership with his father, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Sr., specializes in business development and strategic advisory, particularly investments in business and real estate. Additionally, Bush Jr. is a partner in Bush Realty. He began his career in 2006 at boutique real estate firm Fairchild Partners.
“I was a political science major at UT Austin and I was doing a lot of business work–financial, real estate, entrepreneurship,” said Bush, who has a bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of Texas at Austin. “If I was going after this business, I needed to beef it up. That’s when I started the MSIRE program.”
Almost from the start of his career, Bush has focused on commercial real estate. “I like working with businesses in the industrial real estate sector,” said Bush. “A lot of it is business development, helping companies grow within the real estate business. I also help entrepreneurs find spaces to rent and structure transactions.”
In addition to the dynamics of the MSIRE curriculum, the program exposed Bush to the importance of teamwork. It also helped expand his networking opportunities and introduced him to a broad range of industry experts.
He describes it as the foundation for success.
“The professors and the course gave me the tools needed as I talked to CEOs, family and friends about how real estate investment derivatives worked or weren’t working,” said Bush. “I learned about managing and growing a commercial real estate portfolio, as well as modeling and forecasting commercial real estate investments.”
According to Bush, the residential real estate market in Miami is ripe for a correction in prices, driven by slowing residential sales. In contrast, the development of office and industrial properties has been more thoughtful, delivering greater stability and opportunities for growth.
Moving forward through lessons learned.
Ten years ago, FIU’s College of Business established the MSIRE program with a clear mission: to provide graduates with the vision and skills to become leaders in an increasingly global real estate market. The program has grown into national prominence and is shaping the next generation of real estate leaders.
FIU’s MSIRE program counts 91 current students and 322 alumni. The Hollo School is ranked #1 in the U.S. and #2 globally for real estate research by the Journal of Real Estate Literature.
As MSIRE celebrates its 10th anniversary, Bush looks back at the course to foresee his future in a now-thriving marketplace.
“As a young person, there’s no other city like Miami to live in or conduct business in,” said Bush. “It’s exciting, growing and sometimes turbulent, but therein lies opportunity.”
