#363 - Jason Illian - GP & Co-Founder @ Highmount Capital - Growth Equity, Investing in Dude Perfect, Launching Koch Disruptive Technologies

Fernando is the Founder and CEO of Leon Capital Group, a diversified holding company that operates assets in the real estate, financial services, healthcare, and technology industries. Leon takes the lead in conceiving, developing, owning, and operating businesses through a family-holding structure that oversees $10 billion of its own private assets. We discuss: Social Systems Entrepreneurship The Supply Chain of Money Building Leon Capital Group The State of the Market We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners.  https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links Leon Capital Group Fernando on LinkedIn Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:51) - Fernando’s career and background (00:13:28) - The impact of Harvard (00:19:48) - Lessons from Goldman Sachs - The Supply Chain of Money (00:28:07) - Building credibility in a new city (00:31:23) - Experiences in the GFC (00:35:47) - Single Tenant Retail (0:39:49) - Building out a team (00:41:41) - Developing a formal growth strategy (00:43:57) - Partnering with Ross Perot (00:46:56) - The Healthcare thesis (00:56:17) - How do you decide what industries to buy into? (00:58:49) - Buying Crexi (01:02:34) - What’s your plan for the next decade? (01:04:33) - Investment Management (01:07:36) - The state of the market Support our Sponsors Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd   Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO  The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Pete is the founder and chairman of Capital III, an impact investment company with investments in the US and Central America. Enterprise Stewardship is an initiative of Capital III that equips marketplace leaders with resources to transform their personal LIFE and business enterprises. During his four decades in business, he has invested in and operated companies in the energy, manufacturing, banking, and education sectors, often focusing on places devoid of human flourishing such as prisons and poverty-stricken countries. Pete’s passion is to educate, equip, and empower business leaders worldwide to live for something greater than themselves.  We discuss: Moving his business into a Maximum Security Prison Becoming a Steward of a business rather than an Owner Pursuing Economic, Social and Spiritual Capital We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners.  https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links Enterprise Stewardship Capital III More on Pete Ochs Pete on LinkedIn Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:46) - Pete’s background and career (00:07:55) - Moving a business into a maximum security prison (00:22:14) - How did interacting with these prisoners change your belief set? (00:25:04) - Social & Spiritual Capital (00:27:49) - The importance of generosity (00:29:27) - How can you implement this mental model to an existing company? (00:34:37) - What does your work with other companies look like? (00:37:26) - How can a company discover its purpose? (00:39:50) - Being a steward of a business instead of an owner (00:51:30) - Purpose Trusts (00:59:13) - What are some tangible steps folks can take to implement these ideas? (01:02:13) - How long will it take for these changes to materialize? (01:03:37) - The Tattoo Redemption story Support our Sponsors Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd   Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO  The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Jack Fraker is President and Global Head of Industrial & Logistics Capital Markets for Newmark. He is responsible for driving Newmark’s industrial & logistics business, primarily capital markets but also leasing. Jack has personally completed over 1,800 industrial & logistics capital markets transactions totaling 1.5 billion square feet | $85 billion in more than 60 U.S. cities, Mexico, Europe, Japan, and South America. He has also advised on approximately 12,000 acres of development sites and over 300 office/industrial leasing assignments. As a partner with other firms prior to Newmark, Jack was cumulatively involved in over 3.3 billion square feet | $220 billion in various projects. We discuss: The global state of Industrial real estate Development, leasing, and sales trends The Future of Industrial in Texas and Mexico We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners.  https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links Newmark Jack Fraker on LinkedIn Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:21) - Nokia ’94-’00 (00:11:20) - “Inventing” investment sales in the industrial world  (00:17:20) - How is industrial positioned globally? (00:20:56) - How is America viewed globally regarding industrial? (00:23:37) - Is it harder to close deals with foreign investors vs. domestic ones? (00:25:39) - What have you experienced in the market in the last 2 years? (00:32:52) - What does a good spec developer look like and what does a bad one look like? (00:38:28) - The pressure of AI on rents (00:39:54) - Mexico (00:41:57) - What does the future of Industrial look like for Texas? (00:44:38 - Development, leasing, sales, and TI (00:50:36) - What data do you pay attention to most when thinking about the industry? (00:53:19) - Retail-to-industrial (00:54:25) - Technology trends (00:57:51) - How do multi-billion dollar deals get done? Support our Sponsors Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd   Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO  The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Paul Renner is a former Commander in the U.S. Navy, and was deployed in Operation Desert Storm as well as Afghanistan.   We discuss: Reclaiming American Institutions The state of the U.S. Military China, Iran, Russia, Ukraine, and the Military Industrial Complex Immigration The Future of America We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners.  https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:02) - How losing an election led to becoming speaker of the house of Florida (00:04:30) - Reclaiming American Institutions (00:10:57) - The uni party (00:13:23) - The state of the Military (00:16:42) - Ukraine and North Carolina (00:20:05) - The military-industrial complex (00:22:13) - China (00:27:39) - Iran (00:29:56) - Russia (00:31:13) - Immigration (00:33:29) - Is it possible to be a true public servant? (00:36:08) - How much impact can you have with term limits? (00:42:11) - Working with Ron DeSantis (00:45:32) - Disney (00:52:43) - Voter ID (00:56:32) - Property Insurance & Florida RE (00:59:57) - The Future of America (01:06:40) - What can the average person do? Support our Sponsors Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd   Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO  The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Craig Hall is an entrepreneur, bestselling author, vintner, and philanthropist who founded HALL Group in 1968 at age 18 with $4,000 saved from small ventures that began at age ten. HALL Group comprises diverse entities in real estate, lending, winemaking, and startup investments.  We discuss: Surviving the 80’s financial crisis Building Frisco, TX Building a wine business The state of the RE market We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners.  https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links HALL Group Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:04) - Building a portfolio of 72,000 apartments and pivoting away from multifamily (00:06:32) - Surviving the 80’s financial crisis  (00:11:15) - What was your plan after divesting from multifamily? (00:14:07) - Becoming your own partner (00:15:36) - Building Frisco, TX (00:24:10) - Mindset changes post-covid (00:29:39) - Planning meeting structures (00:31:55) - Building a wine business (00:39:04) - Leveling the playing field for the American Dream (00:41:03) - The state of the market (00:44:46) - What types of deals are you looking for in this environment? (00:47:12) - Craig’s passion for art Support our Sponsors Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd   Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO  The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Roe Patterson is a 29-year Energy Industry veteran. He has worked in, owned, and operated multiple businesses across the energy spectrum. He owns and invests in numerous companies inside and outside the energy space, playing varying roles in each venture’s governance including CEO, Chairman of the Board, Board Member, and Board Adviser. His latest venture, ClearWell Dynamics, LLC, is now the 4th largest U.S.-based well-servicing company in the United States oil and gas industry. We discuss: - Mitigating risk in Oilfield Services - The loss of knowledge in the industry - How to successfully acquire and integrate companies We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners.  https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links Roe on LinkedIn Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:03) - Roe’s career (00:09:20) - Being the son of the boss (00:11:10) - M&A in the Oil and Gas industry (00;17:37) - Mitigating risk in Oilfield services (0:24:26) - Backfilling with technology (00:29:00) - Roe on starting companies and joining Basic (00:34:33) - Acquiring and Integrating companies (00:43:35) - Becoming CEO & Oilfield Booms and busts (01:00:57) - Building ClearWell Dynamics Support our Sponsors Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd   Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO  The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Robert Allen is the President and CEO of the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership (FWEDP). A husband, father, and former Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Greg Abbott, Allen most recently served as President and CEO of the Texas Economic Development Corporation (TxEDC). His organization’s efforts have helped catapult Texas to a record-breaking number of Governor’s Cups as awarded by Site Selection Magazine. With Texas now home to the most Fortune 500 headquarters in America, Robert launched efforts at TxEDC to showcase all that Texas continues to offer to businesses. We discuss: Building the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership How corporate relocations are negotiated and executed Growing the future of Fort Worth We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners.  https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links The Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership Robert on LinkedIn Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership Board Members: Mike Berry - President of Hillwood John Goff - CEO of Goff Capital Robert Isom - CEO of American Airlines Greg Ulmer - Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin Dan Berce - President and CEO of GM Financial Lista Atherton - President & CEO of Bell David Endicott - CEO of Alcon Laboratories Katie Farmer - President & CEO of BNSF Railway Elaine Agather - Managing Director & CEO of J.P. Morgan Private Bank in the Central U.S. Marianne Auld - Managing Partner of Kelly Hart & Hallman, LLP Rusty Reid - Chairman and CEO of Higginbotham Mayor Mattie Parker Steve Montgomery - President and CEO of the Fort Worth Chamber Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:22) - Robert’s career in public service (00:06:58) - What does an AG do? (00:08:24) - Robert’s roles as deputy chief of staff for the Governor? (00:09:40) - How does Texas prepare for disasters? (00:13:36) - Becoming President/CEO of the Texas Economic Development (00:15:59) - Marketing Texas (00:19:06) - How does a corporate relocation happen? (00:22:39) - Robert’s work today growing FWTX (00:27:24) - The FW Economic Development Program (00:30:42) - What were your key priorities on day one? (00:37:44) - Who is Fort Worth? (00:47:36) - Strengthening the workforce (00:59:17) - The Election (01:00:54) - How long do projects typically take? (01:04:12) - The Great Bones in Fort Worth (01:07:30) - What do 10k jobs coming in do for a city? (01:09:53) - Fort Worth’s pipeline (01:02:22) - 10-year predictions Support our Sponsors Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd   Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO  The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Walt Reynolds is a senior leader in the electrical supply industry with over 30 years of executive experience. In 1998, he became President of The Reynolds Company and drove its explosive growth over the next two and half decades. Under his leadership, the company became one of the largest independent electrical distribution companies in the United States with 34 locations across Texas and Southwest US. We discuss: - Walt’s career and building The Reynolds Company - Acquisitions theses and buying bankrupt companies - ESOPs - Leadership principles - Working with friends We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners.  https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Support our Sponsors Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Vesto - https://www.vesto.com/fort Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:30) - To know you is to know your father (00:08:50) - The history of the Reynolds Company and the electrical supply industry (00:20:39) - Walt’s career (00:43:43) - Scaling Reynolds (00:48:29) - Working with your friends (00:52:16) - Pivoting into acquisitions (01:01:47) - Selling the business (01:08:14) - ESOPs (01:11:55) - Walt’s role post-close (01:16:05) - Leadership Principals Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd   Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO  The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Mark is currently the Chief Executive Officer of JLL Capital Markets, Americas. He also sits on JLL’s Global Capital Markets Board where he shares responsibility for the strategic direction, growth, and client activities of JLL’s global capital markets business. We discuss: The state of Capital Markets The FED and rate cuts The performance of Office, Retail, Industrial, and Data Center asset classes We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners.  https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links JLL Capital Markets Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:32) - State of the Capital markets (00:11:24) - How the FED is thinking about rates (00:16:21) - Outcomes of a rate cut (00:21:09) - The Detroit effect (00:23:02) - Migration data (00:25:34) - What types of deals are working in this environment? (00:30:32) - Housing (00:35:29) - The importance of Mexico (00:36:45) - The state of Office (00:46:19) - Foreign vs. Domestic Capital (00:47:31) - The election (00:48:33) - Equity markets (00:54:01) - M&A Activity (00:57:08) - Unique strategies (01:00:12) - Data centers (01:03:00) - Secondary markets (01:05:26) - The Detroit effect in real estate (01:06:57) - AI (01:07:33) - Tenant migration (01:09:07) - 2025 forecasts & trends Corrections: RE the election topic, one statistic was transposed: It was stated 2.3% more in the first quarter in terms of transactions, and in actuality, the number is 3.2%. Support our Sponsors Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd   Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO  The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Chico West is a LPC therapist, coach, and consultant.  He works with on-site programs and for Construction companies and has a private practice with over 34 years of continuous sobriety. We discuss: - Common themes around addiction - Marriage - Therapy and Counseling in the C-Suite We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners.  https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links Chico West Counseling Chico on LinkedIn Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:06) - Be a Buffalo, not a cow (00:03:19) - Life before sobriety (00:13:03) - Believing in Jesus (00:16:58) - Common themes around addiction (00:22:23) - Following a higher power vs. following Christ  (00:24:33) - What does your work look like today? (00:27:34) - What do you tell people who want to quit booze? (00:31:20) - How do you deal with the weight of when people fail at this work? (00:37:28) - Men & Women (00:42:20) - Is addiction nature or nurture? (00:45:37) - Gordon Highlander (00:55:16) - Is mental health overplayed? (00:59:59) - Closing advice Support our Sponsors Relay Human Cloud: https://bit.ly/3sjQcaY Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd   Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO  The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts