Chris Porto is the President & CEO of Smart Growth, Inc. which is a real estate investment and development firm based in Oakland, CA. The company's mission is to catalyze sustainable development of residential and commercial properties that enable people to thrive.

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Chris is an entrepreneur and real estate developer with a background in finance and sustainability. Before founding Smart Growth, Chris held positions at Deloitte and SunPower; where he helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars in capital for solar energy developments. An expert in capital raising, financial modeling and deal structuring; Chris values ethical, sustainable business practices above all. A tremendous sense of responsibility and passion for developing sustainable real estate permeates everything he does. To Chris, Smart Growth is a means to contribute towards a more sustainable culture, and it’s just the start. After graduating from Virginia Tech University with a degree in Finance, Chris moved to Japan where he studied martial arts and subsequently earned a black-belt in Aikido.