Our Leadership

Mario Garcia, Jr. was born and raised in Tampa, FL, and he continues to maintain his residence and operate his businesses in Hillsborough County. In 2004, Mr. Garcia, as CEO and Managing Partner, formed Validus Group Partners Ltd. (“Validus Group”), an investment firm based in Tampa, Florida that develops, owns and manages real estate and real estate related businesses. Validus Group and its affiliates employ over 1,000 people and currently operate or manage companies with assets under management in excess of $1.7 billion. In 2014, Mr. Garcia founded Validus Group Properties, an affiliate of Validus Group, which owns and manages over 620,000 square feet of mixed-use commercial real estate throughout the Southeast. Mr. Garcia is also Chairman and Founder of EMSI, a national medical device company, which he helped establish in 1995 as a start-up business. Presently, EMSI services over 70,000 patients and employs approximately 400 people.

Mr. Garcia was a Founder of Carter Validus Mission Critical REIT, Inc. (“CVMCR”) and Carter Validus Mission Critical REIT II, Inc. (“CVMCR II"), serving on the Board of Directors for CVMCR. Additionally, he served as a member of the Investment Management Committees of Carter Validus Advisors, LLC and Carter Validus Advisors II, LLC. While on the Board of Directors, Mr. Garcia assisted with the sale of CVMCR’s entire data center portfolio, resulting in approximately $1.3 billion in net proceeds. He then helped successfully negotiate the merger of CVMCR with CVMCR II in October 2019, creating an entity valued at approximately $3.2 billion. In September 2020, Mr. Garcia helped successfully negotiate the sale, from Carter Validus Advisors II, LLC, and its various affiliates to CVMCR II, of all the assets necessary to operate and internalize all of CVMCR II’s external management functions (the “Internalization Transaction”).

Mr. Garcia was a Founder and serves on the Board of Managers of Validus/Strategic Capital, LLC, a broker / dealer specializing in alternative investment solutions and advisory services. Additionally, Mr. Garcia was a Founder of Strategic Capital Fund Management, LLC, the Sponsor of Strategic Data Center Fund, LLC (“Strategic Data Center”), and Strategic Wireless Infrastructure Fund, LLC (“Strategic Wireless”). Strategic Data Center focuses on acquiring, developing, and managing data center real estate assets, while Strategic Wireless focuses on acquiring, building, and managing wireless telecom infrastructure assets. Mr. Garcia currently serves on the Investment Management Committee of Strategic Wireless Infrastructure Funds Management, LLC, the fund manager to Strategic Wireless.

In 2013, Mr. Garcia was a Founder of Validus Senior Living, which specializes in independent, assisted living and memory care services throughout the Southeast United States. Validus Senior Living is an owner, operator, and third-party manager of 21 Senior Living communities comprised of over 2,000 units and 2,300 beds.

Mr. Garcia served as the founding Chairman of GulfShore Bank, a Tampa Bay area community bank focused on serving small to medium sized companies that he helped start in 2007. He served as a board member at both the Bank and the Bank's holding company from 2007 until April 2017, when he helped successfully negotiate the company's sale to publicly traded Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ: SBCF).

Mr. Garcia is active in the Tampa Bay community. He serves on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Foundation Board. Mr. Garcia and his businesses support the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay, Metropolitan Ministries, and a variety of other charitable foundations.

Yorlan Alfonso was born in Cuba, but has been in Tampa, Florida for over 30 years. Yorlan received his Bachelors of Science in Finance from the University of South Florida and his Masters of Business Administration from St. Leo University. Yorlan has been with Validus Group since it's inception in 2004 and has an extensive financial background prior to his time with Validus.

Yorlan is responsible for the development, maintenance, and implementation of the company's operations and procedures. Yorlan provides superior leadership and management in the company's day-to-day operations including hiring professional and technical staff, implementing budget reductions, developing and executing company business plans, and installing effective management information systems.