Transforming Peers Into Partners: The Magic Of The AMDP
In July 2025, we continued to hear the same stories from different members of the Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate (AMDP) Class 25 about the investments they had made together during the program.
This all crystallized when Federico Bugallo and Fergal Woods (their bios are below) presented their independent projects together, describing an AMDP co-investment network they had created. So, when Federico returned to campus in November to complete his AMDP elective requirement, we asked Federico and Fergal to sit down and let us know how their venture was progressing.
What prompted you to consider establishing a real estate investing collective with your fellow AMDPers?
Federico: The trust and friendship created at the Harvard AMDP experience made it all possible. Friendship created a bridge of trust, and trust opened conversations that helped us find synergies. As a result, we could start exploring global opportunities together.
The AMDP has some magic in terms of the profile of the people it attracts that other programs do not.
This is compared to other Executive Programs offered at Harvard. What I found in the AMDP, with leaders from private equity firms, global architectural and design firms, banks, construction professionals, and individuals from other artistic backgrounds, is that this mixture of experiences generates an environment where people are not always talking about work but rather discussing their interests and motivations in life from a more holistic perspective. That combination works to create deeper trust. One example of that was all the weekend programs we shared, in many cases bringing our entire families together.
Federico Jose Bugallo Stephenson is one of the co-founders of Evolution Partners, a leading strategy and organizational CEO advisory firm in Latin America. The firm has worked for 15 years with CEOs and top teams from the most prestigious private equity funds, banks, real estate investors/developers, shopping malls, and retail/home improvement companies in more than 6 countries across the region. He is also an active co-investor and real estate co-developer in Latin America.
Fergal Woods founded FinanceBoston in 2004 and serves as the Managing Partner. FinanceBoston, a commercial real estate capital advisory firm, provides expertise in commercial real estate debt and equity financing.
In his position as Managing Partner at FinanceBoston, he has successfully assembled and led a team of seasoned real estate professionals in delivering real estate capital and advisory services to investors and developers.
Federico: Harvard’s AMDP attracts very senior professional profiles into a robust topic-focused program. That combination is a unique advantage that is not found anywhere in the world. It was an honor for me to get to know such a prestigious group of colleagues from all over the world.
So, whether AMDPers are investors with us or not, our vision is that each member of the AMDP network can bring unique knowledge and perspectives to the table, which enables us to strengthen how each of our projects is selected, designed, and executed.
How does the investment collective work?
Federico: Anchored on the friendship we developed during our time at AMDP, we started creating an organic network. After some months, we started asking ourselves: could we leverage our network to identify and select interesting real estate projects from different parts of the world, where we could then become co-investors?
Within the program we met people from many geographies, like Europe, Asia, Middle East and North / Latin America. Co-investing together would not only open doors for good investment opportunities globally but could also give us the opportunity to stay in touch and create value for the different communities where we can implement distinctive projects.
Being based in Boston, Fergal identified a few potential investment opportunities, and the conversation quickly grew — other AMDP friends and colleagues became interested, and we realized the network was already starting to create synergies for all.
Fergal: We became friends in the program due to our shared interests – we all enjoy investing and real estate. I have access to a pool of developers based in Boston through my company. I can already provide debt for them, so they are open to direct investments in the asset itself, giving the investment collective the opportunity to become co-investors.
What are your long-term plans for the collective?
Fergal: Our philosophy is to grow this collective organically. By doing so, you can grow stronger because you can learn from each project and each member.
Federico: We are in the process of selecting future projects with this fantastic group of colleagues, which involves about 10 of our AMDP classmates. The idea is to explore projects in various parts of the world. The group felt that Boston was a good place to start due to Fergal’s knowledge of such market, but our network is evaluating different projects in different parts of the world such as Ireland, Costa Rica, Argentina, and other places in North America. Wherever we decide to invest, one of the key factors is having a local highly trusted resource to drive the project.
What did you learn from the AMDP instructors about how to sustain this partnership for the long term?
Fergal: Jeff Adler was probably the most inspirational professor for me. His analysis of the US housing market, especially the rent/buy split of recent years, has inspired us to go in a direction we may not have otherwise, but our focus on workforce housing is there in part due to that.
I also learned a lot from Glenn Mueller about real estate cycles, especially how he examined different cities and the distinct real estate cycles for various asset classes within each.
Federico: Nori Lietz on Real Estate Private Equity was especially inspiring for me. We went through different scenarios faced by sophisticated private equity firms and learnt from the best. Also, Gordon Gill’s global perspective on modern integration of architecture, construction and business was truly insightful, showing real case examples from large-scale successful projects across the world.
What do you tell people back home about this program?
Federico: It’s much more than just a senior executive program at Harvard. This program is probably on the same level as well-known programs such as the HBS General Management Program or OPM, but it is less well-known because it is topic focused. However, at the same time, I think that is also one of its major strategic advantages, in case you are interested in real estate investments and developments.
There isn’t another focused one-year program in real estate at this level anywhere in the world, targeted at senior leaders.
When you considered doing the AMDP, what conversations did you have with the members of your family?
Federico: I remember having a conversation with my wife, and with my brother as well, asking them if this program makes sense for me. Should I spend a whole year with this in my agenda?
They both said (1) It’s Harvard, it will be a high-quality program with high caliber global leaders, (2) You still have 20-25 years to be professionally active as a strategic advisor, business developer and co-investor. This program is a unique way to stay updated with global trends, and (3) it will also continue expanding your global professional network with investment professionals and real estate actors; why not then?
Fergal: After I first learned about the program, I asked my wife, “Do I need more education? Do I need to do this? She said, ‘It will open up new opportunities for you, and it’s Harvard, why not?’
And she was totally right – that’s what it did.
When I joined the program, I met new people and encountered new ideas, and it was definitely worth it.
Another quick story that proves the worth of the program: I heard about a big company (not based in the US) looking to invest in real estate in the northeast through a chance conversation. I then asked a classmate who was from that country about them. He knew them and got me in touch, and we’ve been discussing opportunities. They may invest with us – opportunities like this would not be possible without the AMDP.
