Alex Demestihas

Alex Demestihas is co-founder of SEAM, the world's first social impact certification, accreditation, and membership program for commercial real estate. Alongside fellow co-founder Rainey Shane, Alex launched SEAM as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to provide a roadmap for developers, property owners, and occupiers to maximize positive social impact through the built environment — positioning the standard as a complement to green building programs like LEED, with a framework that aligns to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Alex brings more than 15 years of commercial real estate experience spanning multi-family and large corporate headquarters to SEAM's mission. He recently completed a decade-long tenure as Managing Director for JLL's Project and Development Services group in Atlanta, where he led teams responsible for constructing multiple Fortune 500 headquarters that have reshaped the Atlanta skyline — including projects for Norfolk Southern, Invesco, Inspire Brands, NCR, and Warner Media. He has since moved on to North Avenue Partners, continuing his focus on strategy and execution for complex real estate projects.

Earlier in his career, Alex served as a Construction Manager at Jamestown, LP, providing construction oversight on capital improvement and tenant improvement projects, and previously held a project management role at CBRE supporting CBRE Global Investors' Atlanta portfolio.

A longtime civic leader in Atlanta's real estate community, Alex is a graduate and former Co-Chair of the Urban Land Institute's Center for Leadership and a member of ULI. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Building Construction from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from Georgia State University's J. Mack Robinson College of Business, and is a LEED Green Associate. He was named to Real Estate Forum's "50 Under 40" in 2018.

Alex is passionate about causes involving human rights and focuses his volunteer efforts on immigration rights.