NEP Group

NEP Group is the private investment firm of Debra Cafaro, while the Cafaro Company is the commercial real estate development and management business founded by her father-in-law William Cafaro in the 1940s. The two entities share Pittsburgh headquarters and likely benefit from shared back-office functions, but NEP operates independently with a broader mandate across real estate equity, credit, and infrastructure. Debra Cafaro is not involved in day-to-day operations of the Cafaro Company.

Cafaro spent 23 years as Chairman and CEO of Ventas, growing it from a small healthcare REIT with a few hundred million in market cap to a $30 billion S&P 500 company. That tenure shaped NEP's preference for real assets with demographic demand drivers — senior housing, medical office, and healthcare delivery infrastructure — and a disciplined, cycle-tested approach to capital allocation. Her public-company governance experience also informs how NEP structures its partnerships and evaluates operators.

NEP invests across real estate equity, real estate credit, and infrastructure, with an emphasis on tangible, long-duration assets. The firm targets direct deals, joint ventures with experienced operating partners, and selective fund commitments. While the firm does not publicly disclose a detailed portfolio, Cafaro's professional track record and board affiliations point toward healthcare real estate, senior living, and other demographic-supported sectors as core areas of focus.

NEP Group manages Debra Cafaro's personal and family capital. The firm does not publicly solicit or report third-party institutional mandates, though it may co-invest alongside institutional partners on a deal-by-deal basis. Cafaro has described the structure as a platform for deploying her own capital into real assets with a long-term, flexible mandate.

Pittsburgh is the Cafaro family's multi-generational home base. The Cafaro Company has been headquartered there since its founding in the 1940s, and Debra Cafaro maintained Ventas's Chicago headquarters during her tenure. Locating NEP in Pittsburgh reflects the firm's private, non-institutional posture and takes advantage of established infrastructure, relationships, and lower operating costs relative to New York or Chicago.