James H Polk IIIJames H Polk IIIMr. Polk has over 37 years of experience in all aspects of the real estate investment and development business, including the creation and operation of both private and publicly-held REITs. He was a founder and board member of Archstone Smith Trust, a $22 billion multi-family REIT, that was taken private by Lehman Brothers & Tishman Speyer in October, 2007. Prior to his association with Commerce Street Capital, LLC, he was a Managing Director with SAMCO Capital Markets, Inc. During the 1990s Mr. Polk was a Managing Director with Security Capital Group in Santa Fe, NM, a private investment firm specializing in the acquisition of commercial real estate portfolios utilizing separate REIT structures.
He was a member of the Board of Governors of The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT) and its past-President ('89/'90) from 1980-1990. Mr. Polk received his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Vanderbilt University in 1964 (BSME) and his graduate business degree from the University of Virginia in 1967 (MBA) and holds multiple securities licenses.