Tara Hovey is president of Optima, Inc. Ms. Hovey is involved in setting and implementing the strategic vision of the company, pre-development planning and deal evaluation as well as the capitalization of the firm and its new developments.
Ms. Hovey has led the capitalization and financing of over $1.5 billion in real estate, including construction financing for new developments, recapitalizations and building dispositions. She led the recapitalization of Optima Sonoran Village in Arizona, managed the sale of Optima Chicago Center in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, and oversaw the business plan, capitalization and development of the following marquee developments: Optima Signature, a 57-story luxury highrise apartment community in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood; Optima Kierland Center, a multi-building development in Phoenix with four ultra-luxury apartment and condominium towers and; Optima Sonoran Village Phase III, a 176-unit luxury apartment community in Scottsdale, Ariz., that complements the development’s first two phases.
From 2016-2020 Ms. Hovey served as President and COO for the firm, responsible for all company entities and business units including corporate finance, sales and marketing, land acquisition, development, investor relations, asset management and risk management. Prior to that she served as senior vice president for the firm, responsible for all capital markets efforts, corporate finance, development and hiring. Before her time at Optima, she worked in capital markets at Cushman & Wakefield in New York City, where she underwrote debt and equity transactions totaling more than $980 million.
Ms. Hovey earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and holds a Bachelor of Art in communications with honors from Boston College. She is a managing broker in Illinois. Ms. Hovey is a member of YPO Chicago, The Chicago Network, The Chicago Media Project, serves on the Guild Board for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago; and is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Henry Crown Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
