Steers Center Welcomes Lawrence Palumbo (B’00) as Kalsi Teaching Professor

The Steers Center for Global Real Assets at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business has added Lawrence Palumbo (B’00) to its full-time real assets faculty as Kalsi Teaching Professor of Real Assets, a new position supported by Sonny Kalsi (B’90), president and CEO at SLC Management and member of the Steers Center advisory board executive committee. This appointment comes on the heels of the Steers Center’s appointment of Kelly Nagel as the new head of real estate, continuing the center’s evolution and expansion.

Palumbo has spent the last three and a half years as an adjunct professor at McDonough, teaching courses on real estate development and private equity real estate. 

Deepening Practice-Driven Learning: What Palumbo Brings to Georgetown Real Assets Students

Palumbo is the principal and owner of LP3 Interests, a holding company investing in real estate assets across the United States. Previously, he was chief operating officer of Falcon Partners, a New Jersey-based developer of apartment projects. Prior to co-founding Falcon Partners, Palumbo served as managing director, head of the U.S. equity real estate separate accounts, and as a member of the platform’s executive committee at BlackRock Inc. Earlier at BlackRock, Palumbo was the real estate acquisition officer for the New York metro region. He began his career upon graduating from Georgetown as a consultant in the global real estate advisory group at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

As a full-time member of the Steers Center faculty, Palumbo will teach graduate courses in real estate development, real estate private equity, and other real estate underwriting clinics. 

“Palumbo is an exceptionally engaging and impactful teacher,” says Matthew Cypher, director of the Steers Center. “The combination of his deep industry experience and longstanding commitment to Georgetown makes him an extraordinary addition to our faculty.”

Palumbo’s Journey: From Student to Board Member to Professor

Palumbo’s journey at Georgetown McDonough started over 25 years ago when he studied finance as an undergraduate student. He credits the university with instilling in him a love of finance and investing, along with a deeper conviction of serving as people for others; ensuring whatever talents one has should bring opportunity, care, and growth to others.

For Palumbo, returning to teach at Georgetown carries personal meaning as well. “I have had many great teachers and mentors throughout my life, especially at Georgetown, and my mother was a teacher. Those relationships shaped my belief that a good teacher is someone who wills the good of others by helping students learn a skill and ways to deploy that skill productively, ethically, and with good intentions,” says Palumbo. “To be able to teach at the place that inspired a love of learning is an incredible honor.”

Palumbo has engaged in real estate for many years, both personally and professionally. He describes it as an asset class that responds to the way society evolves — the ways people want to work, live, and enjoy — and one that can be evaluated with the eye as much as with spreadsheets and calculators. Understanding the cycles and demand drivers of real estate, he notes, is key to investing success.

“I’ve purchased and managed core, value-add, and development assets for myself and a variety of investors. I’ve made some mistakes and I’ve enjoyed some successes. Hopefully, sharing these experiences with students gives them a head start as they begin or further their careers in real estate,” says Palumbo.

Learn more about how the Steers Center is growing to lead the nation in real assets education.