Going long on the human economy

From the April issue: What keeps that permanent smile on the face of Ryan Shear? Some might say it’s his low-key upbringing in Miami’s Coconut Grove. But it could also be the collection of humble beginnings and a focused awareness of current trends that has helped him become a leading real estate developer in South Florida at the age of 33.

Shear’s early career path paralleled the fundamentals of developing a property from scratch. After graduating from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School in Atlanta, the Florida native started from the ground up as an analyst for the real estate services firm Robert Charles Lesser Company. There he provided consulting to individuals, corporations and government agencies using a company-trusted formula. However, Shear soon found that in a market where trends shift rapidly, compiling data over a 10-year period was an antiquated approach to deciphering whether properties would be successful or not, he said. [more]