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President
Hageman Capital
Xiao Ou Yuan (pronounced Shall Oh You-ahn) enjoys finance—although he doesn’t think he’s great at math—and likes the day-to-day tasks of his work, despite rarely having the time to do them. “In short,” he said, “I’m still trying to figure out why I do what I do. Mostly, because I’m having fun.” Xiao built Hageman Capital from a “back-of-the-napkin” concept to a market leader in financing tax-increment-financing incentives for real estate developers that has developed more than $1 billion worth of real estate. His role is leading the firm’s strategy, investment decisions and operations with a focus on acquiring developer-backed TIF bonds for commercial real estate developers, providing liquidity solutions that help finance large-scale development projects. “It’s a little surreal how much we’ve accomplished in four years,” he said.
Getting here: Xiao interned with the city of Indianapolis during the Ballard administration and worked for Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Michael Huber and Director of Enterprise Development David Rosenberg when they were with the city, which “shaped my view of how impactful local government can be.” After earning his master’s in public affairs, he was a principal at Fifth Third Securities, primarily focused on high-yield municipal bond transactions in the Midwest. He was there for five years before joining Hageman Group.
First job: Cold Stone Creamery while in high school
Givebacks: Board member, Reach for Youth (immediate past chair), Center for Performing Arts, Carmel Clay Public Library and University High School. “Serving on nonprofit organizations yields personal growth not found in your career, exposure to differing perspectives, and requires you to engage with people outside of your bubble. You develop a tremendous number of soft skills through service. I’m a much better professional because of my nonprofit work.”
Lesson learned: “I’m uncompromising when it comes to my personal values.”•
Check out more Forty Under 40 honorees.
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