About

Western Metal Investments is a private family investment office formed as the result of a successful business partnership between George Scopetta and James Chao, MD. Their partnership began in July 2015 through a chance meeting of two like-minded entrepreneurs at a baseball game at Petco Park in downtown San Diego. George and James were cheering on their respective home teams that day (Miami and San Diego) from the seats at the Western Metal Works Building, an abandoned metal works factory deemed a historical landmark and the façade of which was incorporated into the outfield of Petco Park as repurposed skyboxes. After a long conversation during the game about business and the real estate market, George and James founded a real estate company, Medicus Property Group, with two value-add medical office buildings as the starting investment. Medicus grew quickly thereafter, acquiring 350,000 square feet of medical office space in Southern California.  

Recognizing the strong growth potential in the medical office Real Estate market sector, George and James entered into a joint venture partnership with Martis Captial, a healthcare-focused private equity firm. As part of the recapitalization of the company, Medicus was rebranded as ShareMD Holdings, one of the largest medical office real estate investment firms in the U.S. George serves as Founder/Board Member/Chief Investment Officer/Investor at ShareMD and James serves as a Founder/Board Member/Investor.  

Realizing the value of their original partnership and their love for entrepreneurship, George and James founded Western Metal in 2019 to continue working together on creating and building great companies that they hope will change the world in a positive way. According to George, “James and I knew we loved working together on new projects and that we really clicked well from a business perspective. James is the idea guy because he is incredibly smart from a scientific, medical, and business perspective, and I think I bring the business and execution elements necessary to transform a good, thought-out idea into a reality and a thriving business. We realize that alone we can be successful but that by working together we have made magic through the organizations that we created and invested in over the years.  It is that magic and those elements that we bring to Western Metal and why we have been successful in replicating our success in various businesses and investments.”   

Today, Western Metal boasts a portfolio of companies in which it not only invests but takes an integral role in operations. Western Metal’s mission is to continue to forge a path at the forefront of innovation in the medical, real estate, technology, and investment spaces. It looks to involve itself in companies that offer significant market solutions while having a substantial runway for growth.  Unlike many investment businesses today, Western Metal is founded on a strong foundation of shared values and George and James share the same vision for their portfolio and bring their own nuanced expertise to the table in every pairing.

Western Metal was truly born out of a serendipitous, “American Dream” story, yet it remains rooted in progressive, forward-thinking that will offer its companies and those investing alongside it endless opportunities.