Season 4 of the No Cap Podcast continues with Brian Pieracci, Managing Director at Heitman, a $50B global real-estate investment manager. Pieracci joins hosts Jack Stone and Alex Gornik to share how he rose from intern to head of Heitman’s North American private-equity business and why he’s spent his entire career at one firm—something rare in today’s industry.
He walks through Heitman’s early pivot from traditional core assets toward alternatives such as self-storage, medical offices, senior housing, and student housing, and how those sectors evolved from niche to institutional.
Conversation Highlights
Early Days
Alex: For listeners who don’t know your story, how did you get started in real estate?
Brian Pieracci: “I grew up outside Chicago. My dad was a contractor, so I got exposed early to the built environment. I studied real estate at Indiana University—one of the few programs back then—and interned at Heitman after my sophomore year. I loved it and came back full-time.”
Jack: You’ve been there ever since?
Brian Pieracci: “Yes, I’m a lifer. It’s rare, but I was there as the company transitioned in ownership and leadership—what I call Heitman 2.0—so I got in at the ground floor.”
Alex: Where does the name Heitman come from?
Brian Pieracci: “Funny enough, there’s no Mr. Heitman. The founders just liked the name and bought a small brokerage business with it. It stuck.”
Jack: What was the focus of Heitman 2.0?
Brian Pieracci: “Initially we were buying core assets—apartments, offices, warehouses, shopping centers—for institutional investors. But early on we started leaning into alternatives like self-storage and medical office. Back then those weren’t considered ‘institutional,’ so we had to convince clients why they belonged in a portfolio.”
The Rise Of Alternatives
Alex: So you were early to alternatives. How did that play out?
Brian Pieracci: “We underweighted office—too capital-intensive, too tenant-driven—and overweighted self-storage. Our first Odyssey-style core fund in 2007 launched with about 20% in storage. Some investors shut the door on us; others were open-minded and saw the REIT market diversifying much faster. Today, alternatives are a major share of institutional portfolios, and we’ve been investing in them the longest.”
Jack: How much of Heitman’s business is in these sectors now?
Brian Pieracci: “Depending on the fund, 50–60% is in alternatives—self-storage, medical office, senior and student housing, build-to-rent, single-family rental. We’ve done it globally: 26 years in self-storage across the US, Europe, and Asia.”
Alex: Self-storage feels uniquely American. How’s it translating overseas?
Brian Pieracci: “It started in the US—we love our stuff—but Europe and Asia are catching up. Smaller homes, multigenerational living, and rising consumerism drive demand. Europe is maybe five to ten years behind; Asia’s similar. Australia’s most like the US”
Jack: Beyond storage, what other sectors are institutionalizing abroad?
Brian Pieracci: “Healthcare and student housing. In the U.K. and parts of Europe, private capital is replacing government control. Asia’s following slowly. These sectors are moving from commodity housing to branded, amenitized living.”
Alex: What’s Heitman’s footprint today?
Brian Pieracci: “We manage about $50B AUM—$34Bin US private equity, $5B in Europe, $3B in Asia, plus $4B in private debt and a small securities business. I oversee the North American platform—acquisitions, asset and portfolio management, and capital-raising.”
Jack: What does your day-to-day look like?
Brian Pieracci: “A lot of meetings with team leaders—investments, asset management, portfolio management. I still stay close to deals, but much more time now goes to people, strategy, and investors.”
Alex: Having spent your whole career at one firm, what’s changed most in real-estate investing?
Brian Pieracci: “The proliferation of fund structures. When I started, it was all separate accounts—non-discretionary and slow. Discretionary closed-end funds sped up decision-making and aligned GPs with LPs. Then open-end core funds added liquidity. That efficiency let managers explore new property types and made alternatives mainstream. Today you even see single-sector vehicles—multifamily, data centers, you name it.”
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