Erik Murray is taking efforts to diversify the commercial real estate industry into his own hands.
Murray is CEO and managing partner of Oakland-based Oak Investment Funds, an investment firm growing its record of giving minority developers and opportunities a look when major players don’t.
As a Black man in a business where the vast majority of decision-makers are White, Murray, 38, has focused on giving Black entrepreneurs a chance in an effort to inspire future leaders of color in the big-money business.
Courtesy of Erik Murray
Oak Investment Funds co-founder and Managing Partner Erik Murray
“You have to take a chance, go outside your comfort zone, and give an opportunity to a person who may not be formally trained in real estate, who may not have grown up wanting to be a real estate developer,” Murray said. “Because that’s not even an opportunity that’s presented to young Black kids.”