Josh Parker is Ancora’s Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He leads the Board of Directors and sits on the firm’s Investment Committee. As Chairman and CEO, he is responsible for overseeing all firm strategy, policies and procedures as well as day-to-day operations.
A national leader in the anchor institution and innovation sectors, he has unique investment experience spanning adaptive re-use, urban redevelopment, life sciences, venture, innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives, university-leased real estate and mixed-use development.
After a stint in NY theatre, Josh began his real estate career in Durham, NC. In the two decades since as a serial entrepreneur, he experienced industry success that includes developing a combined 5 million square feet totaling over $4.5 billion in value.
Josh has played a pivotal role in leading high-profile innovation initiatives that have transformed communities and driven economic growth. As a key leader in the development of the Cortex Innovation Community in St. Louis, he helped revitalize over 200 acres of underutilized industrial land, attracting 6,200 jobs and creating more than 2 million square feet of innovation space—including 250,000 square feet specifically designed to support startups. In Downtown Durham, he was instrumental in its revitalization and expansion, contributing to major projects such as The Chesterfield, an adaptive reuse of a 350,000 square foot historic building featuring office, lab, and retail spaces and the West Village, a 600,000 square foot mixed-use development near Duke University.
He has served on non-profit, and government appointed boards including The Duke School (Finance Committee Chair), Real Estate Round Table (Chair of Tax Policy Advisory Committee), Urban Land Institute (past Vice-Chair University Development & Innovation Council), National Academies Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (Council Member), and member of the Economic Club of Washington, DC.
