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Dana Rowan
Managing Partner, The Exeter Companies | CRE| MBA | MPP

Dana Rowan is the founding partner of The Exeter Companies (TEC), a private equity and advisory firm, based in Boston. Established in 1998, Exeter has engaged in three strategic partnerships with two hedge funds based in New York City and Greenwich, CT as well as a regional private equity and advisory firm based in Boston under a collaborative JV named Paradigm-Exeter Advisors. TEC also has actively invested in an array of projects across the US as well as in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe and India (based out of TEC’s former affiliated office in London). Mr. Rowan has over 45 years of experience investing, developing and raising capital for complex real estate projects while concurrently advising clients. He has expertise in repositioning value-add properties, master planning and developing large urban and ex-urban land assemblages; and redeveloping attractive waterfront projects in formerly aging obsolete maritime industrial districts. Following the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), TEC’s advisory group performed workout, restructuring and financial advisory services for both Bank of America nationally and other impaired financial institutions and developers in the Northeast. TEC also selectively invested in distressed assets regionally.

Prior to running TEC, Mr. Rowan held industry leadership roles as follows: SVP and head of dispositions, portfolio strategy and asset management for New Boston Fund ($2.0 B AUM); head of Real Estate Workouts and Restructuring for both The Recovery Group (“TRG”; now operating as “CRG/Deloitte”); and lead partner of TRG’s successor entity, Resolution Capital Corporation, which in aggregate worked out, restructured and disposed $3.5 billion of distressed assets. His career started as an investment manager for Prudential’s Acquisition & Sales Group where he was responsible for $500 million of equity transactions annually in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States. Mr. Rowan is the past national chairman of NAIOP (1993) and currently its director emeritus; he is also a nationally recognized Counselor of Real Estate and an active member of both ULI and the Real Estate Investment and Advisory Council . Mr. Rowan Holds a BA in Geography and Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College; an MPP in Finance and Economic Development from the Harvard Kennedy School; and an MBA from the Boston University Questrom School of Management.

Mr. Rowan served as chair of the BAC’s Trustees from 2015-2017 during his 5 year leadership role on the Board, and served prior to that as a BAC Overseer for 15 years. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Real Estate in the BAC’s Design Studies Real Estate Development Program which he helped establish while a member of the Board.