Ryan Smidt provides strategic guidance and leadership for all aspects of the Clay Residential’s activities. He is an experienced real estate investment executive with a 27-year track record that includes more than $5 billion in closed real estate transactions across multiple property types, markets, investment strategies and deal structures. Prior to co-founding Clay Residential, Ryan was a Managing Director at BlackRock, a global investment manager with over $11 trillion in assets under management. 

Ryan joined BlackRock in 2006. During his tenure he was responsible for sourcing real estate investment opportunities across all product types in the Central, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. Additionally, Ryan served as co-head of BlackRock’s Real Estate Capital Markets group from 2008-10 where he led restructuring and financing efforts during the Global Financial Crisis.

Prior to joining BlackRock, Ryan began his career in 1998 at Principal Real Estate Investors where he was responsible for acquisitions, dispositions and asset management in the Central US markets.