BAYER VENTURES

PAST EXPERIENCE

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In 1983, Jeffrey founded Bayer Properties with the mission to "create real estate environments that improve the quality of life in the communities we serve." Since its inception, Jeffrey fostered the organization's growth from a local property management firm to a national commercial real estate leader with a mixed-use asset portfolio of approximately 14 million square feet.

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Jeffrey led efforts to conceive, construct, manage, and lease properties that provided a "gathering place" to live, work, and play, generating millions in tax dollars for local, city, and state governments. For example, one of the first outdoor lifestyle centers, The Summit in Birmingham, Alabama, was built in 1997. Today, The Summit is a 1 million-square-foot regional shopping destination with first-to-market retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Apple, Restoration Hardware, Anthropologie, Tory Burch, and Trader Joe's.

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Under his leadership as the president and CEO, the company's other development projects include the 601,000- square-foot The Summit in Reno, Nevada; the 765,000-square-foot Front Range Village in Fort Collins, Colorado; the 365,000-square-foot The Summit Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky; the 170,289-square-foot Cahaba Village anchored by the first Whole Foods in Alabama; 139,000-square-foot Crescent office building in Birmingham, Alabama. The Summit at Fritz Farm is a $156 million experiential mixed-use development located on 54-acres in Lexington, Kentucky, and The Pizitz, a mixed-use historic property in downtown Birmingham, which features Alabama's first food hall.

 

PAYING IT FORWARD

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Jeffrey currently serves on the board of directors for Leadership Birmingham and its executive committee. Additionally, he sits on The University of Alabama's President's Cabinet, The University of Alabama's Board of Visitors and The University of Alabama at Birmingham's President's Campaign Executive Committee. He became a board member for The University of Alabama's Health Services Foundation in 2015 and serves on The University of Alabama Health Services Foundation Executive Committee.

 

Previously, Jeffrey held board positions with the McWane Center, Virginia Samford Theatre, Birmingham International Center and Temple Emanu-El, where he also served as president in Birmingham, Alabama.

 

Jeffrey is also a Senior Advisor of Capitol Peak Ventures, working closely with its founding members to develop their growing business in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

 

RECOGNITION

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In 2016, Jeffrey was recognized as Birmingham Business Journal's 'Top CEO for Large Companies,' Executive of the Year,' in 2014 and currently tops the publication's list of 'Most Influential Executives.' The American Cancer Society and Red Mountain Theatre Company have honored him, and in 2014 he was the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center (BHEC) L'Chaim honoree. In 2018, Jeffrey was selected as an inductee into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame.