By Jo Ann Mitchell Brasington ’89
Four years ago, the team of Dunean Capital Management was working in a vacant office building from card tables and metal chairs — one of which held the printer.
Now Gaston Albergotti ’13, CEO, and the six others who comprise Dunean enjoy a new luxury office space in the landmark Daniel Building overlooking downtown Greenville, S.C.
It’s appropriate since the Daniel Building and ROTC at Wofford played such an important part of Albergotti’s journey.
“I transferred from Clemson my sophomore year,” says Albergotti. “A National Guard Scholarship was my option for funding my education, and it allowed me to stay in South Carolina to complete my Army service.”
When commissioned as a second lieutenant, he became a gold bar recruiter for the Southern Guards Battalion, stationed on campus, again, in the Daniel Building. When the year-long position was reduced to six months after a government shutdown, Albergotti had to pivot. His mother was a realtor. His father was a real estate attorney. They encouraged him to connect with Bill Weede ’72 with NAI Earle Furman. Albergotti worked there for nine years.
“I started at the very bottom, living in a neighborhood of rental houses, working to get owners to sell,” says Albergotti. “I was able to build trust, which was helpful. When my boss gave me the opportunity to buy into a house, that changed everything.”
It kindled Albergotti’s excitement and taught him lessons in risk. He learned about the cost of different assets, the process of finding deals and raising capital, and which questions to ask. Because of ROTC and the discipline to save most of his stipend, he had a nest egg to invest.
“I realized I liked being an investor more than a broker,” says Albergotti. When he and his partners started Dunean and transitioned from residential to commercial, their first deal was a metal warehouse in Gaffney, S.C. They just closed on Anderson Farm, 1,250 acres at the intersection of I-85 and Highway 81 in Anderson County.
“We were one of 14 bids from across the world,” says Albergotti. “We put a lot of time, effort and real money into engineers and site developers. Our plan was also respectful of the land, neighbors and history. We’re now putting together the pieces. This one is going to be fun to watch.”
The company’s culture centers on the thrill of the deal and a commitment to Dunean’s values. They contract with an industrial psychologist to ensure that the team is in sync and hires well. They are adamant about creating detailed, timely and digestible quarterly investment reports, and they assess risk based on the team’s time and personnel resources.
“We see a lot of great opportunities, but we’re in the office every day, working hard. I want our team to go home to their families at the end of the day,” says Albergotti. One of those people is Andrew Hansen ’13, asset manager, who was one of Albergotti’s closest friends from Wofford ROTC. “Every deal means another report, another tax return. If we make a deal, Andrew has to manage it, and we want to make sure he has the capacity. There is no shortage of good opportunities, but the juice has to be worth the squeeze.”
Albergotti enjoys telling people what Dunean does and about the team. Keeping investors happy and returning for new opportunities is certainly a high priority, but the team should be happy as well and committed to the company’s vision.
“We’ve seen the fruits of doing things the right way, and it’s never going to be worth risking that,” says Albergotti. “And we will never risk our reputation!”
Albergotti says his sisters — Martha Albergotti Moore ’08 and Claudia Albergotti Ruffin ’11 — have inspired him to get involved with the Wofford Alumni Club of Greenville and with Between the Tolls alumni career connections events on campus.
He and his wife, Allen, have three children, sons ages 5 and 3, and a daughter who turned 1 in May.