Donald D. Sheets

Lecturer in Real Estate, Harvard University

Donald D. Sheets is an investor, educator, and board director whose work spans capital markets, organizational leadership, and real estate. He has built and led investment platforms backed by institutional capital, held governance roles across public and private sectors, and served as a faculty member at leading universities.

His experience includes restructurings, turnarounds, private credit, loan servicing, startup scaling, institutional fundraising, and leading investment teams within both entrepreneurial ventures and global asset managers. A consistent theme in his work has been recruiting and cultivating talent while building high-performing teams.

He founded AlumCreek Holdings, a private equity platform focused on distressed real estate debt. He led the firm’s growth with institutional backing from Harvard Management Company and Bain Capital Real Estate while positioning the solely-owned vehicle’s acquisition by Clarion Partners, where he remained as Partner, Managing Director, and Portfolio Manager. He subsequently led the platform’s spinout to Broadshore Capital Partners – a subsidiary of Guardian Life Insurance – where he served on the Management Committee and led mandates for Harvard, Bain, and the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System.

Donald established Square Mile Capital Management’s position as a market leader in distressed real estate credit, co-headed national transactions, and designed scalable investment vehicles during the post-GFC recovery. He previously founded and led the global real estate platform at Davidson Kempner Capital Management, where he 
executed investment strategies across distressed debt, long/short equities, and enterprise liquidations.

Donald began his career with formative roles at The Carlyle Group, EastBanc, and Starwood Urban Investments. His cumulative principal investment activity totals $3+ billion of capital exposure spanning 130+ transactions. 

Donald currently teaches at Harvard University and is developing interdisciplinary courses on distressed investing, capital markets, and leadership. His research includes a fieldwork initiative titled Learning from Failure, which explores how organizations analyze and respond to unanticipated events. The content is designed for application both in the classroom and through field experimentation within companies, government agencies, military units, healthcare systems, engineering contexts, and athletic teams. His appointment at Harvard began in parallel with his role as Executive Director of The Ohio State University Center for Real Estate, where he led the Center’s repositioning, expanded research and programming, and deepened industry-university collaboration. 

He previously served faculty appointments at Columbia University, New York University, and Auburn University while concurrently building multiple investment management enterprises. He has lectured at Georgetown University, The George Washington University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Over a 16+ year teaching tenure, he takes pride in mentoring students navigating the arc of careers. 

Donald is the author of Sheets Sheets, a capital markets commentary in publication for nearly two decades and followed by 12,000+ professionals. He recently founded The Symposium, an invitation-only leadership development and professional skill-building forum for high-potential commercial real estate professionals. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and leadership summits. He advises C-suite leaders of family offices, institutional investment firms, and privately-held real estate entities on matters of growth, governance, and transitions. His board and advisory work reflect a convergence of capital markets expertise, enterprise judgment, and insight into organizational evolution.

Donald serves on the Board of Directors and as Audit Committee Chair of Educational Housing Services - New York’s largest student housing operator – where he is co-executing a complex restructuring and has co-facilitated the design of a for-profit subsidiary capitalized by two global sovereign wealth funds. He is a board member of 
NAIOP Central Ohio and serves on the Advisory Board of the Ohio Housing Innovation Partnership. He currently serves on the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board and previously held the role of Chair. Additional prior board service includes the Association for Real Property and Infrastructure. His governance roles with the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council included the Board of Governors, Co-Chair of the Education Committee, Co-Chair of the High Yield and Distressed Realty Assets Forum, and member of the Editorial Board.

Donald earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA magna cum laude from The George Washington University.