The FORT Podcast – Fernando De Leon – Founder & CEO @ Leon Capital Group
Fernando is the Founder and CEO of Leon Capital Group, a diversified holding company that operates assets in the real estate, financial services, healthcare, and technology industries. Leon takes the lead in conceiving, developing, owning, and operating businesses through a family-holding structure that oversees $10 billion of its own private assets.
We discuss:
- Social Systems Entrepreneurship
- The Supply Chain of Money
- Building Leon Capital Group
- The State of the Market
Listen on:
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
YouTube
Topics
(00:00:00) – Intro
(00:03:51) – Fernando’s career and background
(00:13:28) – The impact of Harvard
(00:19:48) – Lessons from Goldman Sachs – The Supply Chain of Money
(00:28:07) – Building credibility in a new city
(00:31:23) – Experiences in the GFC
(00:35:47) – Single Tenant Retail
(0:39:49) – Building out a team
(00:41:41) – Developing a formal growth strategy
(00:43:57) – Partnering with Ross Perot
(00:46:56) – The Healthcare thesis
(00:56:17) – How do you decide what industries to buy into?
(00:58:49) – Buying Crexi
(01:02:34) – What’s your plan for the next decade?
(01:04:33) – Investment Management
(01:07:36) – The state of the market
Episode Summary
Fernando’s early life in Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Mexico, exposed him to the realities of navigating two distinct cultural and economic environments. Growing up in a volatile area marked by organized crime, Fernando’s formative experiences included commuting across the border daily for school and learning English as a second language. These challenges spurred his determination to succeed. One pivotal moment was winning a regional spelling bee, which provided financial support for his family after his father’s passing and instilled in him a disciplined work ethic. By his teens, Fernando had translated his language skills into business opportunities, working with developers entering Mexico during the NAFTA era. At just 14 years old, he secured equity stakes in real estate deals, a strategy that laid the foundation for his future success.
After attending Harvard University, where he studied philosophy and evolutionary biology, Fernando began his professional career at Goldman Sachs. There, he gained exposure to the complexities of capital markets, which he described as the “supply chain of money.” Although he left the firm after two years, this experience informed his understanding of financial flows and provided a framework for evaluating investment opportunities. Seeking to forge his own path, Fernando moved to Dallas, where he began acquiring land and rezoning it for higher-value uses. This capital-light approach allowed him to build credibility with homebuilders and developers despite his limited resources. By focusing on creating value through entitlements and rezoning, he positioned himself as a key player in the Dallas-Fort Worth real estate market.
The 2008 financial crisis marked a turning point in Fernando’s career. Recognizing the opportunity in distressed assets, he aggressively acquired non-performing loans and undervalued properties. Often purchasing loans directly from banks, he utilized seller financing and other creative structures to maximize his returns. Fernando’s willingness to “roll up his sleeves” and address complex issues, such as repositioning troubled assets, enabled him to complete hundreds of transactions during this period. These efforts not only generated substantial financial returns but also solidified his reputation as a resourceful and strategic investor.
Fernando’s expansion into operating businesses began serendipitously when he leased space in one of his properties to a pediatric dental clinic. Intrigued by the clinic’s business model and profitability, he partnered with the founders to open additional locations. This partnership evolved into a full-scale strategy of owning both the property (PropCo) and the operating company (OpCo), a model he replicated across healthcare sectors, including veterinary services and medical aesthetics. By combining real estate expertise with operational management, Fernando scaled these ventures into multi-million-dollar enterprises. He emphasized the importance of understanding demographics and four-wall economics to identify high-potential locations and drive growth.
Fernando’s investment philosophy extends beyond real estate and healthcare. He co-founded Crexi, a commercial real estate technology platform that streamlines property listings, auctions, and data analytics. This venture reflects his commitment to leveraging technology to improve industry efficiency and create new opportunities. Fernando’s approach to business-building often involves identifying unmet needs within his existing portfolio and developing complementary services to address them. For example, he launched Patient Capital to provide consumer financing for dental and medical procedures, filling a gap in the lending market. Similarly, he entered the insurance sector by brokering policies internally, reducing costs for his businesses while establishing a foundation for future growth.
Throughout the conversation, Fernando highlighted his belief in the compounding power of capital and the importance of reinvestment. He attributed his long-term success to maintaining a disciplined focus on value creation and aligning incentives across stakeholders. His ability to adapt to market conditions, such as shifting from net lease retail to multifamily development when margins compressed, underscores his strategic flexibility. Fernando’s ventures are characterized by a commitment to innovation, operational excellence, and leveraging synergies between his various businesses.
Fernando’s insights into the U.S. economy and real estate market offer valuable perspectives for investors. He emphasized the country’s unique advantages, including a robust flow of talent, capital, and ideas, which drive economic growth and innovation. He expressed optimism about Sunbelt markets, citing favorable demographics and strong demand for multifamily and industrial properties. While acknowledging current challenges, such as rising interest rates and construction costs, Fernando views these conditions as opportunities for strategic acquisitions and long-term investments.
The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts