Jerry Baker Named to GlobeSt.'s 2026 CRE Aspiring Leaders List

GlobeSt. has named Gerald F. “Jerry” Baker III, founder and managing principal of Baker 1031 Investments, to CRE's Aspiring Leaders of 2026, its annual recognition of commercial real estate professionals under age 40.

About the recognition

The program recognizes young professionals whose work has changed their companies or the broader commercial real estate industry. A panel of industry experts selected the 2026 honorees.

GlobeSt. says the panel considered professional accomplishments, the impact of each honoree's work, service to the industry, and a commitment to ethical standards and excellence.

Why this matters to Baker 1031

Jerry founded Baker 1031 on a simple premise: investors should be able to see how a DST or other private real estate offering is underwritten, where the risks sit and how the advisor is paid. The firm works across sponsors rather than manufacturing or exclusively representing its own investment product.

Baker 1031 publishes its track-record methodology and maintains a market and sponsor Data Center. Its research focuses on the parts of an offering that matter to an investor: the real estate, debt, fees, sponsor, business plan and tax structure.

About Jerry Baker

Before founding Baker 1031, Jerry spent more than a decade in institutional real estate and worked on more than $10 billion of transactions across acquisitions, underwriting, financing and redevelopment. He is a registered representative of Aurora Securities, Inc. and holds the FINRA Series 22 and Series 63 registrations and the Securities Industry Essentials qualification.

Read Jerry's full profile or view GlobeSt.'s 2026 recognition coverage.