I. Steven Edelson has over 30 years of experience in managing and financing the development of large- scale real estate projects across many geographies and industries.  As a co-founder and Principal of the development consulting and facility management company International Facilities Group (IFG) for 20 years and currently a founder and the President of International Facilities Group Development Group (IFG Development Group), Mr. Edelson has been responsible for all aspects of real estate project development and management in multiple municipalities, starting with project planning and feasibility and site analysis all the way through project financing, construction, and ongoing operations management.  Currently Mr. Edelson is involved in all aspects of IFGDG’s project development activities, including: master planning; financing; architect, contractor, and consultant coordination; facility operations and management; and lease negotiations. He also oversees development, financing and contractual negotiations for IFGDG projects. He also oversees development, financing and contractual negotiations for IFGDG projects. Mr. Edelson (IFG and IFGDG) has completed transactions valued in excess of $8.5 billion. 

Mr. Edelson was a founding Principal and the Managing Director of the Lake Erie Crushers, a professional minor league baseball team in Cleveland.  In 2009 the Lake Erie Crushers won the Frontier League Championship.  From 2004 through 2009 a Mercantile fund overseen by Mr. Edelson, owned the Cedar Rapids Roughriders, a United States Hockey League organization based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 2004 the Roughriders under Mr. Edelson’s ownership won the Clark Cup, the league championship.

Prior to forming IFG and IFGDG, Mr. Edelson was Executive Vice President of Tishman Midwest Management Corporation, an international real estate development and management company.  At Tishman, Mr. Edelson worked to enact one of Chicago’s first privatizations of a management contract for a public facility.

 

As a Principal of The Mercantile Companies, Mr. Edelson is active in private equity, mezzanine investments, buyouts, project finance and bridge financings.  He has also been involved in public offerings and managing public companies. An experienced negotiator, Mr. Edelson’s career has long involved collaborating with local, regional and international government entities and conducting negotiations on their behalf. In 1994 Mr. Edelson, through Mercantile Equity Partners, was part of an elite group that acquired Chinese telephone exchange 163, completing one of the first privatizations in China.  This company became the backbone of one of Chinas premier internet companies when it was acquired by TOM Online, the popular Chinese-language internet portal www.tom.com. In 2005, Edelson was a Co-Founder and the Vice 

 

Chairman of Service Acquisition Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed company, which acquired Jamba Juice in 2006.

Mr. Edelson focuses on investment and development in the areas of energy, infrastructure, water and agriculture. He recently acted as the development advisor on behalf of a REIT on a 1,500-acre master planned development in upstate New York where he facilitated the development of the $800 million-dollar Empire Resorts Casino and Hotel.  This project includes the development of an additional $120 million indoor/outdoor water park as well as other recreational and retail components.  He was also involved in developing a 3,000-acre rail energy and logistics park in New Mexico that could include up to 13 rail loops. 

Mr. Edelson currently serves as Special Advisor to the CEO of Fevo, a social payments platform revolutionizing how groups pay. Fevo currently works with over 300 professional sports organizations and companies in the live event space.  

Mr. Edelson also serves as an Advisor to the Founder/ CEO of MintHouse, a technology backed real estate company focused on a new standard in business travel by combining everything guests love about high-end travel with the personalized comforts of home. 

Mr. Edelson serves or has serves as a board member and committee member for the following companies: 

·      Board Member of Lawson Products, Inc since 2009. 

·      Advisory Board Member of Seneca Global since 2018. 

·      Board Member of Bionanosim since 2019. 

He is a dedicated community and civic leader.  Mr. Edelson is a 2005 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations. He is on the Board of Governors of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and serves as the Midwest President for the American Friends of the Hebrew University.  He is also a Trustee of the Harry S. Truman Institute for Peace.