Open to commercial real estate internships

Alex Leiar.

Business student at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management, building a career in commercial real estate and entrepreneurship.

Watch my story View resume

FocusCommercial real estate & entrepreneurship

ExperienceInternships in South Africa, Ireland & the U.S.

LanguagesEnglish, Afrikaans, Estonian

Off the clockD1 club water polo, rugby, swimming

About me

A cosmopolitan approach to business

I was born in Portugal, grew up in South Africa, and came to Arizona for university. Moving between countries taught me how to walk into an unfamiliar room, listen first, and find common ground quickly. The word I use for that is cosmopolitan: less about the places I have been, and more about being comfortable with people whose backgrounds are different from mine.

My work experience has followed the same pattern. I supported inventory and logistics for a fine-wine business in Franschhoek, helped with month-end reporting at an accounting firm in Limerick, Ireland, and spent last summer in St. Louis reaching out to executives as a sales development intern. Each role showed me a different side of how a business runs: operations, the numbers, and the conversations that bring in new work.

Commercial real estate is where those interests meet. Through the university’s Commercial Real Estate Club I learn about investment, development and valuation from people working in the industry, and I want an internship where I can keep learning from them directly. Longer term, I want to start and run a business of my own.

Outside class I play on the university’s club water polo team, after years of rugby and competitive swimming in South Africa. I also coordinate weekly meal plans for my fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau, and lead its Health and Wellness Committee.

Persona video

Where I come from, and where I’m headed

A short film built around one idea: cosmopolitan. Talking-to-camera segments, travel footage, sport and work experience show how my background shapes the way I work.

What the video covers

Portugal & South Africa Rugby, swimming, water polo Internships in 3 countries University life in Arizona Commercial real estate Starting a business

Prefer to read? The rest of this page covers the same story in more detail.

Resume

Experience and education

The full resume, readable on any screen. The PDF is the same document, ready to print.

Download PDF

Education

University of Arizona, Eller College of ManagementTucson, AZ

B.S. in Business AdministrationExpected Spring 2028

Major: Business Management
GPA: 3.955 · Dean’s List

Experience

Abstrakt Marketing GroupSt. Louis, Missouri

Sales Development Representative InternJun – Aug 2026

Conducted high-volume B2B outreach across Software Advice and Talent Solutions to engage executive-level decision-makers and evaluate operational needs.
Generated 10 qualified appointments representing $250,000 in potential pipeline revenue by applying structured qualification criteria to outbound prospects.
Managed prospect activity and maintained accurate pipeline tracking within CRM software in a metrics-driven sales environment.

DM FinancialLimerick, Ireland

Management Accounts InternMay – Jul 2025

Reviewed financial statements to ensure accuracy and internal compliance.
Assisted with payroll processing and maintenance of internal financial records.
Supported month-end reporting and general accounting functions.

Fine and Rare WinesFranschhoek, South Africa

Supply Chain and Logistics InternMay – Aug 2024

Supported order fulfilment and inventory tracking for high-value wine collections.
Assisted with stock organization and logistics coordination across operations.
Gained exposure to luxury retail operations and client service standards.

Leadership

Zeta Beta Tau FraternitySep 2024 – Present

Selected Member

Organize and manage weekly meal plans for 200+ members.
Lead the Health and Wellness Committee, promoting fitness and well-being initiatives.
Serve on the Academic Committee, supporting members’ academic performance and accountability.

Commercial Real Estate ClubJan 2025 – Present

Selected Member

Engage in real estate investment and development discussions.
Attend networking events with industry professionals.
Develop understanding of commercial real estate strategy and valuation.

University of Arizona Water PoloJan 2025 – Present

Student-Athlete

Commit 15+ hours weekly to training, travel and D1 club-level competition while maintaining a 3.955 GPA.
Previously High School Team Captain and MVP in swimming and water polo.

Skills & interests

SkillsExcel; financial analysis; PADI Certified Scuba Diver; Lifeguard and First Aid Certified

LanguagesEnglish, Afrikaans, Estonian; Spanish (basic)

VolunteeringKnysna Animal Welfare (30+ hours); coastal beach cleanups (10+ hours)

InterestsReal estate, finance, rugby, swimming, water polo, fitness, fine wine education, travel

Professional evolution

What the feedback says about me

This semester I compared how I see myself with how others see me. Each section below makes one claim, shows the evidence behind it, and explains my reasoning.

How I see myself

The Radian Self-Perception Inventory: a questionnaire I completed about my communication style, motivators and values.

How my network sees me

The Professional Reputation Survey: people who know me professionally described my communication style and chose words that fit me.

How my teammates rate me

Three rounds of anonymous peer evaluations from four teammates on BCOM 314 group projects in Fall 2026.

Key terms

Proactivity is how likely someone is to speak up with their own ideas, opinions or needs at work. Reactivity is how likely someone is to show emotion and interact socially. Together they place a person in one of four styles: Analytical, Amiable, Driver or Expressive.

These describe tendencies, not grades. A higher or lower number is not better or worse.

Core values

Ambition, backed by follow-through

ClaimI’m motivated by achievement, relationships and business opportunity, and I’m learning to back that ambition with steady, careful follow-through.

Evidence

My highest self-rated motivators (each out of 100): business, profit and investment opportunities 100; fun, excitement and variety 100; competition and achievement 85; networking and belonging 85; helping others and service 70.
Stability and predictability was my lowest motivator at 10 out of 100.
Teammates rated my contribution to a positive team environment 98.0, 98.5 and 99.0 out of 100 across three rounds.
My network described me as social, involved, empathetic and hard-working.

Reasoning

The motivator ratings show what drives me. The teammate and network results show how that plays out with other people: the relationships I value come through in how I work on a team. They are different measures, so I treat them as supporting each other rather than as the same score.

The low stability rating fits my interest in entrepreneurship, but it is a preference, not a skill. It means I have to build structure on purpose, with clear deadlines and time set aside to review my work, so that enthusiasm and speed don’t come at the cost of accuracy.

Communication

Expressive in conversation, building structure on stage

ClaimMy expressive style helps me connect with people. My next step is making my formal presentations as clear and well-paced as my conversations.

Evidence

My self-assessment and my network both place me in the Expressive style.
The balance differs. I rated myself proactivity 4.0 and reactivity 2.0; my network averaged proactivity 1.80 and reactivity 3.40.
A charisma diagnostic (September 2026, scale of −10 to 10) scored my warmth at 4.55 and confidence at 3.18.
One reviewer wrote: Very nice and well spoken. Teammates praised my energy, humor and getting the audience involved by asking classmates and the instructor to raise their hands.
Teammates also asked me to vary my tone (Round 1), watch my pacing (Rounds 2 and 3), and think about the order in which you say them (Round 3).

Reasoning

People agree on my overall style, but they notice more warmth and social energy than I report, and less of me pushing my own opinions. That is useful to know: approachability may be my strongest first impression.

Being confident in conversation is not the same as delivering a structured presentation. The feedback is specific, so I can act on it: rehearse out loud, plan the order of my key points before I speak, and vary my pace and tone.

Additional insight: teamwork

A supportive teammate working on consistency

ClaimI’m a respectful, supportive teammate. My growth area is being consistent in preparation and engagement from one project to the next.

Evidence

Listening and responding, and respect for differing ideas, were rated 4.00 out of 4 in all three rounds.
Preparation and holding teammates accountable rose to 4.00 in Round 2, then returned to 3.75 in Round 3. Engagement and on-time deliverables dipped from 4.00 to 3.75 in Round 3.
In every round, all four teammates said I contributed comparably to the rest of the team.
One teammate asked me to stay off my phone and stay attentive in meetings. One network reviewer suggested I trust the process a little more instead of getting things done as quick as possible.

Reasoning

The record shows strong collaboration, but not a straight line of improvement. Listening and respect never moved; preparation and engagement went up and then came back down. That tells me my teamwork habits are solid and my consistency is what needs work.

My next steps

Phone away in team meetings Review my part a day before each deadline Organize a practice session before presentations

Radian results

My assessments, side by side

The results from my Radian Self-Perception Inventory and Professional Reputation Survey, redrawn from the original reports with the same numbers.

Communication style map

Where I placed myself, compared with how my network placed me.

Me (Self-Perception Inventory) Network average Individual network responses

Measure	Me	Network
Proactivity	4.00	1.80
Reactivity	2.00	3.40
Style	Expressive	Expressive

How to read it. Right means more likely to speak up with ideas and needs; up means more likely to show emotion and interact socially. Points closer to the center find it easier to adapt to other styles.

Two network responses landed on the same point (5, 7), so five responses appear as four dots. This is a comparison of viewpoints, not a change over time.

Personal motivators and values

How strongly each statement motivates me, as I rated it (out of 100).

Status interestStrong interest area

Fame, visibility and publicity; being known and recognized68

Competition, achievement and being seen as influential85

Fun, company and good times; pleasure, excitement and variety100

Social interest

Actively helping others and improving society; good customer service70

Frequent and varied social interaction; networking and belonging85

Sharing the organization’s tradition, history and old-fashioned virtues50

Financial interest

Stability, certainty, predictability and risk-free environments10

Business activities, money and financial gain; profits and investments100

Decision-making interestStrong interest area

Creativity and artistic self-expression; quality, look and feel70

Ideas, technology and rational problem solving70

How I describe myself vs. how others describe me

Adjectives from the Self-Perception Inventory and the Professional Reputation Survey. Larger words were chosen more often.

Both of us chose

Self-ConfidentWell-RoundedOutgoingAdventurousSpontaneous

Only my network chose

InvolvedSocialEntertainingEven-TemperedEasygoingEmpatheticDrivenTrustingHard-WorkingRespects AuthorityIndependentRisk-TakerCuriousLeaderlikeCalmIdea-GeneratorProblem-Solver

Only I chose

Growth-OrientedCompetitive

Charisma diagnostic

Completed September 1, 2026, on a scale of −10 to 10.

Warmth4.55

−10010

Confidence3.18

−10010

Charismatic ZoneWarmth scored 1.37 points higher than confidence.

Informal team role

Innovation: recognizing when conditions change and the team needs to adapt, spotting trends and patterns, solving problems and generating creative solutions. This is a role I selected for myself.

Evidence over time

Three rounds of teammate feedback

Average ratings from four teammates after each BCOM 314 group project, in order. Every chart uses the full 0 to 4 scale so small changes are not exaggerated.

4.00 / 4

Listening and respect, in every round

99.0 / 100

Positive team environment, Round 3 (up from 98.0)

4 of 4

Teammates said I contributed comparably, each round

Expressive

My communication style, according to me and my network

Prepared and on time for meetings

Engaged with the team

Listens and responds to input

Accurate work, on or before deadline

Respects ideas that differ from mine

Holds teammates accountable

Scale: 0 to 4, where 4 means the teammate “always” showed the behavior. Hover a point for its exact value.

Did I meet expectations?

Teammates also rated how well I met their expectations, on a separate scale of 0 to 100.

Measure	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3
Quality of work	97.50	98.75	98.25
Amount of effort	97.00	98.50	96.75
Contribution to a positive team environment	98.00	98.50	99.00

Relative contribution

Each round, teammates chose whether I contributed less than, about the same as, or more than the rest of the team.

Round 14 of 4 teammates

Round 24 of 4 teammates

Round 34 of 4 teammates

All four teammates chose “contributed comparably to other members of the team” in every round.

Portfolio

Selected work

Samples from my coursework in analytics, business communication and writing.

BCOM 214Acquisition recommendation brief

Business communicationSolely authored

RGP Acquisition Evaluation

A brief for senior leadership recommending whether a consulting firm should acquire Resources Global Professionals. It weighs RGP’s global client base, debt-free balance sheet and experienced workforce, and ends with a clear recommendation.

Read the brief (PDF)

English 102Critical reflection & writing portfolio

Writing & researchSolely authored

Critical Reflection & Writing Portfolio

A reflection on how my writing grew over a semester, with an annotated bibliography and a rhetorical analysis of JLL Research’s article on artificial intelligence in real estate. It shows how I research, consider an audience and revise from feedback.

Read the portfolio (PDF)

Tableau dashboard comparing average rating and price by wine type, with a scatterplot of price against rating

BNAN 277 · Tableau dashboard

Wine Types, Ratings, and Prices

An interactive dashboard exploring how wine type, rating and price relate. Filters for country and year control both charts, and the scatterplot shows prices climbing steeply above a 4-star rating.

Reference · 2017

“He is a leader amongst his peers and he will be an asset wherever he goes.”

Reference letter

An early reference

A letter from R.J.C. Stoker, Principal of Knysna Primary School in South Africa, written when I left the school in 2017.

Read the letter (PDF)

Contact

Let’s connect

I’m always glad to hear from people working in commercial real estate or building their own businesses, whether about an internship or just a conversation.

Emailahleiar@arizona.edu LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/alexleiar1