Michaud lends valuable expertise, financial support to FSU Real Estate program
College of Business real estate alumnus Gregory R. Michaud attended the FSU Real Estate Center’s first TRENDS Conference 23 years ago. Since that time, he has taken every opportunity to champion the center, the conference, the college’s top-ranked real estate program and its students.
In fact, the 1991 graduate has demonstrated his support in countless ways, most recently with a gift to establish the Michaud Family Director’s Office for the center in the college’s new home, Legacy Hall, and to augment a previous gift he made to create the Michaud Endowment for Excellence in Real Estate. The impact of Michaud’s gift doubled to $200,000 when Voya Investment Management, the company for which he is managing director and head of Real Estate Finance, matched the donation.
The endowment helps fund student travel to professional conferences as well as scholarships and fellowships for real estate students. He believes his contributions continue to be well spent. FSU’s real estate graduates are impressive, said Michaud, who has hired 20 of them over the years.
“The Real Estate program sends us talented students, and we’ve really appreciated that, because finding good real estate analysts is not a given. But every graduate we’ve hired from the FSU Real Estate program is better prepared and stands head and shoulders above other analysts, becoming a key element of the company’s success,” said Michaud, who attributes his own early and enduring professional success to what he learned as a student in the program.
Michaud, who went on to earn his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Kennesaw State University in Georgia and an Executive MBA from the University of Georgia, has worked in various capacities in the real estate department at Voya Investment Management. In his current role, he is responsible for the oversight and management of sourcing, underwriting and managing all commercial real estate loans. Before joining ING Group (the predecessor to Voya) in 1995, he was a real estate appraiser focused on commercial properties and eminent domain cases in the Southeastern United States, getting his start with Ketcham Appraisal Group in Tallahassee.
Michaud’s significant contributions toward advancing the FSU Real Estate program, which U.S. News & World Report ranks as No. 6 among public institutions nationwide, and the center earned him the 2013-2014 Florida State University Real Estate Network Award. His contributions also include his major support of the annual TRENDS Conference, during which real estate experts from around the country gather to discuss emerging issues in the industry. The conference also provides a forum to engage industry leaders, real estate faculty members and students and forge valuable professional relationships.
“I like that fact that when I go to New York City for business, people are aware of the TRENDS Conference and know that the FSU Real Estate program produces really good real estate graduates,” Michaud said.
As a member of the center’s executive board who until last month served as its chair, Michaud also has lent his expertise by offering feedback on the program’s curriculum and, along with other board members, has influenced the center’s “Behind the Bricks” branding campaign to promote FSU’s program across the country. He is often sought out as a classroom speaker and mentor.
Beyond his FSU activities, Michaud also is heavily involved in several real estate industry groups including the Urban Land Institute, the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council’s Board of Governors and Chairman Emeritus, Mortgage Bankers Association’s Finance Board of Governors and National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers.
“Greg has been one of most energetic and effective advocates for our program and the conference, and his expertise has been extremely valuable on many fronts,” said Dean Gatzlaff, the Mark C. Bane Professor of Real Estate and the center’s executive director. “We are fortunate to be able to tap into his expertise.”
By Barbara Ash
