Innovative Financing Solutions!
The real estate finance industry is a crucial component of the global economy, providing essential services that facilitate business growth, investment opportunities, and community development. Real estate finance companies play a critical role in this ecosystem by offering financial solutions that enable businesses to utilize their property assets effectively. These companies help businesses optimize their real estate investments, manage risks, and enhance their operational efficiency, thereby contributing significantly to economic stability and growth.
Mary Fedewa, the President, Chief Executive Officer, Director, and Co-Founder of STORE Capital LLC, has made remarkable contributions to this field. Mary co-founded STORE Capital in 2011, has served as a member of its Board of Directors since 2016, and was named Chief Operating Officer in 2017. She was appointed President in September 2020 and ascended to Chief Executive Officer in April 2021. Mary has played a key role in the company’s portfolio growth while leading all areas of operations.
STORE Capital LLC has established itself as a leader in the real estate finance industry under Mary’s leadership. The company is dedicated to crafting custom financial solutions that empower businesses to thrive by effectively leveraging their real estate assets. By focusing on customer-centric approaches and leveraging advanced data analytics and business strategies, STORE Capital has optimized its operations and investment strategies, ensuring sustainable success and growth for its clients. This commitment to innovation and excellence has solidified STORE Capital’s reputation as a trusted partner in the real estate finance sector.
Let’s explore Mary’s visionary leadership journey in real estate finance:
A Career in Finance and Real Estate
Mary has always been surrounded by hard-working women like her mother and grandmother, who instilled in her the importance of a strong work ethic from an early age. While pursuing her undergraduate degree in Finance at North Carolina State, one of her professors recommended that she explore GE Capital’s Financial Management program, which ultimately launched her career. Her 12-year tenure at GE Capital provided her with a wide range of experiences across various disciplines, including Finance, Risk Management, and Six Sigma Process Improvement.
In 2001, she had the opportunity to lead the integration of GE Capital’s acquisition of FFCA in Arizona, a single-tenant real estate finance company. She spent a significant amount of time with the FFCA founders and was inspired by the business model. This experience led her to join the FFCA founders in building two REITs, including co-founding STORE Capital.
Seeking Value-Adding Opportunities
Mary’s goal has always been to seek new opportunities that add value to the world. During the GE Capital integration of FFCA, she worked closely with the FFCA founders and was inspired by their entrepreneurial passion and energy.
She saw tremendous potential in the single-tenant commercial real estate business model and an opportunity to help businesses grow and thrive by efficiently leveraging their real estate. This inspiration led her to become one of the five founders of STORE Capital in 2011.
Substantial and Diverse Portfolio
At STORE Capital, the aim is to add value and give back by creating a positive and sustainable future for its customers, employees, and community. This has been achieved in numerous ways. Real Estate is a necessity; the businesses that STORE Capital serves play a crucial role in people’s lives. Its customers include restaurants, which provide not only meals for families but also social gathering places for communities. Early childhood education centers offer a safe place for children while parents are at work, veterinarian services for beloved family pets, and manufacturers of many products used in daily lives. These services, along with many others, contribute significantly to the well-being and stability of communities.
At its core, STORE Capital has always been dedicated to empowering its customers to perform at their best. Its commitment lies in crafting custom financial solutions for their real estate that pave the way to their success.
Building Success with Customized Solutions
Customers choose STORE Capital because of its effective, experienced team, superior access to capital, and the long-term commitment it makes to support their future business endeavors. Customers are not just transactions for STORE Capital; the company believes in them and provides the support they need to succeed.
STORE Capital is committed to understanding each customer’s unique needs and offering customized real estate solutions. STORE Capital’s personalized approach ensures that its customers receive solutions that are precisely tailored to their business requirements. This approach demonstrates how deeply STORE Capital cares about helping them succeed.
Optimizing Investment Strategies
Establishing the Data Analytics and Business Strategy focus has been a significant development at STORE Capital, aimed at enhancing its operational efficiency and fostering innovation. This department has developed advanced analytics models that help manage the enterprise Business Intelligence platform, which boosts the company’s technological capabilities and supports its growth strategies.
Through deeper market insights, STORE Capital has optimized its investment strategies and improved risk management, leading to new growth opportunities and more precise portfolio management.
STORE Capital’s commitment to advanced reporting, performance measurement using key indicators, and technological process efficiencies has enabled it to optimize returns at every point in the customer lifecycle. These improvements have not only enhanced the day-to-day job satisfaction of its employees but have also strengthened its ability to serve its customers promptly and efficiently. Mary is immensely proud of the team and looks forward to seeing this key function grow alongside the company.
Valuing Diverse Viewpoints for Innovative Solutions
Mary believes that the most effective way to lead is by setting a strong example characterized by energy and integrity. Her leadership style is collaborative, inclusive, and enthusiastic. She endeavors to cultivate a supportive and empowering atmosphere, aiming to equip her team to make sound decisions and thrive in their roles.
She prioritizes fostering open communication and teamwork, and she values diverse viewpoints as they lead to innovative solutions. The focus of the company is on nurturing creators in a solution-oriented, transparent environment where honest feedback from all team members is encouraged and valued.
She strives to provide team members with the necessary tools, support, and autonomy to excel. Trusting her team to take ownership of their tasks and make impactful decisions is paramount. Prioritizing team growth and development not only benefits the team but also the organization.
Implementing Mindfulness Initiatives for a Balanced Work-Life
Intentionality is key when it comes to finding balance. Mary has discovered that establishing healthy routines and habits has had a positive impact on both her mental and physical well-being. When work levels intensify, maintaining a consistent routine can be challenging, but dedicating time to exercise, yoga, meditation, self-reflection, and nourishing her body with nutritious food has significantly enhanced her overall well-being.
Recognizing the important connection between a healthy body and mind for peak performance is often underestimated. The company has implemented initiatives like a ‘Quiet Week’ after the holidays and recently provided all employees with access to the Headspace App, a valuable resource for mental health and mindfulness.
These efforts, along with other benefits provided by STORE Capital, have contributed to the team’s ability to achieve and maintain a healthy work-life balance, and she takes pride in being a part of these positive changes.
Learning from Life and Spiritual Coaches
Throughout her life, Mary has been fortunate to receive guidance from many mentors and coaches, which has greatly contributed to her growth and perspective. Talking to someone who is not in the middle of it all provides a valuable perspective.
Her mentors have ranged from her grandmother to Morton Fleischer, the former Chairman of STORE Capital and founder of FFCA, and Tawn Kelley, the former Chairman of the Board of STORE Capital and current President of Taylor Morrison Financial Services.
She is forever grateful for the example these mentors have set for her. They are all hardworking, kind, and have the highest degree of integrity. They put themselves last when it comes to the success of others.
They have been honest with her regarding both her strengths and weaknesses, allowing her to embrace their feedback and obtain immeasurable leadership growth. She hopes everyone embraces the people in their lives who truly believe in them and support them through their growth. Additionally, she studies life and spiritual coaches like Dr. Joe Dispenza and Eckhart Tolle, who teach about balance and spiritual development.
Maintaining Stakeholder Trust
Mary believes that strong governance is critical to maintaining the trust of the company’s stakeholders, including its owners, customers, employees, and the community. Without this trust, you have nothing.
Achieving a Competitive Advantage
The professional accomplishment that Mary is most proud of is co-founding STORE Capital. With over 25 years of industry experience, her goal has always been to share her passion and create an even larger imprint on the world through the impact of the business. In 2023, she reached a career milestone by leading STORE Capital through its privatization alongside its new owners, GIC and Blue Owl. With their support, the company now has superior access to capital, giving it a competitive advantage in any business environment.
On a personal level, she’s very proud to have helped fund the Headspace App at her alma mater, North Carolina State University. This app supports individual mental health through evidence-based meditation, mental health coaching, and other mindfulness tools. She’s a huge advocate for mental health, so this has been an amazing opportunity to offer support in an area she’s very passionate about. The app is available to all students at NC State, and STORE Capital is also providing access to all its employees.
Reflecting on the individuals she has mentored over the years, she takes great pride in watching their growth and amazing achievements. It is immensely fulfilling for her to offer guidance, create opportunities for learning and growth, and share in their successes.
Aligning Career Goals with Personal Value
Making a difference and giving back have always been important to Mary. She often reminds her team, “If someone asks, ‘What value are you adding to the world?’ What would your response be?” They may not be curing cancer or performing brain surgery, but they are financing real estate for businesses that contribute significantly to the broader community.”
STORE Capital is financing businesses that employ 1.8 million workers and provide valuable services to the communities in which their customers operate. It’s crucial to them that they maintain a customer-centric approach and contribute positively to the world. Knowing that her efforts have had a tangible impact motivates Mary to strive for excellence in every aspect of her profession.
She believes it’s important to love one’s career, but it’s equally important to find a career that aligns with one’s values. This is why she finds the work at STORE Capital so energizing and inspiring.
“The work aligns with what she has always wanted to do…make a real difference in the lives of others.”
Long-Term Partnerships
STORE Capital has always been about helping its customers succeed. The company works with them to create personalized solutions for financing their properties. Mary is looking forward to exploring how the company can continue to do that. Innovation has always been something highly valued at STORE Capital; finding new ways to best serve its customers and community has always been a priority.
Mary plans to continue to guide STORE Capital in accordance with this mission. She is very proud of what the company has accomplished so far, and she sees significant opportunities for growth in the future.
