J. Michael Fried Deal Makers Conference
Speakers
Mr. Altman is an entrepreneur and real estate investor with experience in identifying, buying and selling real estate. As a founder and Managing Member of KABR, he is instrumental in fund-raising, structuring JV partnerships, sourcing and acquiring real property and debt. To date, Adam has participated in transactions totaling approximately over five million square feet of commercial properties, as well as thousands of residential units, hotels and new development land with over 3000 unites of entitlements. Prior to joining KABR, he focused on acquisition, development, management and disposition of real estate for a multi-billion dollar healthcare company. He has also worked with the private wealth team at Deutsche Bank, portfolio manager/analyst at Chestnut Ridge Capital and founded and sold Freshpair.com, and ecommerce company. Adam sits on the Board of Directors for NYPEN Real Estate and has guest lectured at the graduate schools of NYU and Columbia.
Ana is a Regional Director of Real Estate at Sonder, a tech-driven hospitality company which she joined as the Head of Real Estate of New York. Prior to joining Sonder, Ana was a Director of Development & Acquisitions at MCR. Prior to that, she was a Director at Hines in Washington DC, where she worked on the development of CityCenter. She began her career at Morgan Stanley. Ana holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a Master in Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
Arik Lifshitz is the CEO of DSA Property Group, which is a real estate holdings firm and parent company of DSA Development and DSA Management Co. Inc. Arik is responsible for the coordination and management of all corporate matters. Arik has been an integral part in growing the private, family-owned operation from a small management company – founded in 1986 by Arik’s father Howard – to a multi-national organization with over 100 employees.
Arik assumed full control over day-to-day operations of DSA Management Co. Inc. in 2005. He now heads the expansion efforts of the company’s extensive portfolio, with over 1000 residential units and 50 commercial units throughout New York City, as well as developments in Upstate New York, Miami, FL, and Jerusalem, Israel. The company recently opened a new 2,200 sq. ft. corporate office in the Flatiron District, located at 60 Madison Avenue between 26th and 27th Streets.
Arik founded DSA Realty Services, a 50 agent brokerage firm in 2007, which merged with City Connections Realty in 2017. Arik is a silent, minority owner of City Connections Realty.
Prior to joining DSA, Arik worked as a mortgage underwriter for Fannie Mae DUS loans around the country, which exposed him to a variety of different real estate markets.
Lifshitz grew up in the real estate business, often spending his summers as a teenager working on construction sites and seeing first hand the process of renovation, beautification and its effect on the surrounding neighborhood.
Lifshitz graduated from Yeshiva University in 2003 where he was a competitive athlete on their NCAA basketball team. He happily resides in Englewood, New Jersey with his wife Tamar and three children, Ozzie, Lola and Felix.
Brian is responsible for overseeing the company’s day-to-day acquisition, development and operating activities including sourcing deals, capital raising, financing, and joint venture structuring, as well as asset and project management. Throughout his twenty plus year career, Brian has acquired, developed, and managed properties with a value exceeding $3B.
Prior to founding ABR Partners in 2006, Brian spent more than a decade working with a variety of New York City real estate companies including RFR Holding, Tishman Speyer, and Inlet Capital.
At RFR Holding, Brian was actively involved in the acquisition, development, and asset management of a wide range of projects including 40 Bond Street, 25 Fifth Avenue, 122 Greenwich Avenue, Gramercy Park Hotel & Condos, Lever House, Seagram’s Building, Empire Condominium, 125 Fifth Avenue, Charter Oak Partners Portfolio, Miracle Mile Shops Las Vegas, 95 & 99 Wall Street, 980 Madison Avenue, W South Beach, Bank of America Plaza SC, White Birch Paper, 67 Vestry Street, and Emerald Dunes Country Club, West Palm Beach, FL. At Inlet Capital, an affiliate of RFR, Brian represented the interests of developers in matters involving senior and junior mortgage debt, corporate mezzanine and subordinated capital, corporate financing, private equity and asset management. His efforts also included asset management, underwriting and financial analysis for the NYLIM-GCR mezzanine fund.
At Tishman Speyer, Brian oversaw property and asset management for various Class A Manhattan office properties including One Rockefeller Center, Rockefeller Center’s British & French Buildings, 600 Fifth Avenue, 375 Hudson Street, 300 Park Avenue and 237 Park Avenue. He also actively participated in the pre-development of the Hearst Tower, 222 East 41st Street and 101 West End Avenue; the acquisitions of Rockefeller Center, Chrysler Center, 300 Park Avenue and 666 Fifth Avenue; and the repositioning and redevelopments of the Rockefeller Center retail complex as well as the disposition of Gateway Center in NJ.
Brian is an alumnus of George Washington University and holds a Master of Science degree in Real Estate Finance and Development from New York University where he was a recipient of NYU’s 2002 Lambda Alpha International Service Award for his contributions to the community, university, and program. He currently serves on the Advisory Boards for both the George Washington University Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis and the New York University Schack Real Estate Institute, where he was an Adjunct Professor of finance and development. Brian is actively involved in professional and charitable endeavors including REBNY, ICSC, ULI, UJA, and State of Israel Bonds. He lives in Manhattan with his wife Allison, their daughter Sammie and son Max.
Brian Steinwurtzel is co-CEO and Principal of GFP alongside his cousin Eric Gural.
Brian oversees all aspects of the company’s operations with a focus on new investments, financing, leasing, asset management, development and project management. His team has averaged more than 1 million square feet of leasing per year, including Manhattan’s largest lease in 2009, which relocated The Gap, Inc. to 40 Worth Street in Tribeca.
Noteworthy recent projects include the acquisitions of 7 Hanover Square, 40 Exchange Place in the Financial District, 10-27 46th Avenue, 11-05 44th Drive, and 43-01 22nd Street in Long Island City, as well as 7 Bushwick Place and 285 North Sixth Street in Brooklyn. Brian recently led the redevelopment of 100 Crosby/560 Broadway and 1560 Broadway into a Class A retail and office buildings in SOHO and Times Square respectively as well as the repositioning of The Film Center building in Hell’s Kitchen. He is currently leading the repositioning of downtowns 7 Hanover Square and 40 Exchange Place.
Before joining GFP Brian was an equity research analyst for Triene Inc., a Goldman Sachs Ventures firm. Previously, he worked as a management consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
An active member of the community, Brian serves on the boards of Cooper Union, Columbia Business School’s Real Estate Advisory Board and Real Estate Circle, The Downtown Alliance, SoHo Broadway Initiative, the Center for Family Representation, and Selfhelp Community Services Inc.
Brian received his Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia Business School and his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Washington University.
Bruce S. Brickman is CEO and founder of Brickman, the General Partner in the six Brickman Real Estate Funds, focusing on office in the six large markets. Brickman has acquired over $5B of real estate since it began in 1992. Mr. Brickman has over 31 years of experience in a broad array of real estate investments, including the development, acquisition, and management of office towers, hotels and residential properties. In addition to his stewardship of Brickman, he has focused on the office sector – from evaluation of investment opportunities, to relationships with brokers, to the oversight of leasing. Additionally, Mr. Brickman supervises the Firm’s relationships with its investment partners.
Mr. Brickman earned a B.A. from Middlebury College and a J.D. from Fordham Law School.
Christopher V. Albanese is President of the Albanese Organization, a full-service real estate development and management firm with over 65 years of experience in residential, commercial office, educational and institutional real estate. The company has built and/or renovated over five million square feet of real estate in the New York metropolitan area and has approximately 45 employees. Notable projects include 512 West 22nd Street, a 180,000 square foot, Class A commercial office building currently under development in West Chelsea on the High Line; and the recently completed 140,000 square foot, 293-room Hilton Homewood Suites Hotel on West 37th Street off 8th Avenue. The company is also currently serving as development manager for 50 West Street, a $300+ million, 500,000 square foot, luxury residential condominium tower in lower Manhattan. Mr. Albanese received a B.A. in Economics from Cornell University and a J.D. from St. John's University School of Law, where he was a member of and published in the St. John's Law Review. Mr. Albanese is a Board Member of both the Center for Hearing and Communication and New Ground, Inc. He has been an invited speaker at numerous professional real estate forums to discuss real estate development and financing.
Fimida focuses on identifying real estate investment opportunities, along with managing a diversified portfolio across an array of sectors and locations nationally. Fimida is armed with a remarkable network of contacts and relationships developed by its principle Daniel Figotin, seasoned real estate veteran.
Fimida currently has multiple projects in development in the greater New York City area.
Mink Holdings founded by Daniel Minkowitz is a real estate development, acquisition and investment firm based in New York City & Miami, Fl specializing in setting a new paradigm of luxury residential, hospitality, and mixed-use projects. Our passion and expertise lies in generating exceptional returns through a fundamental view of the real estate market and an informed perspective on neighborhood trends, lifestyle and design. Every aspect of our trade is focused on creating beautiful environments and building value for our investors, clients and local communities.
Currently, Mink Holdings has over $1 Billion dollars of various projects in progress and more to be announced over the coming months.
Our team of industry leading professionals has a wide range of experience and unique expertise in the fields of design and construction, hands on project management, results driven sales and marketing, and real estate related financing stemming from experience in development and construction across New York and Miami.
Ed is currently Founder and CEO of Red Swan PC, Inc. a Commercial Real Estate, Blockchain, Tokenization platform and marketplace for digitized real estate asset-backed securities. He recently transitioned full time to lead RedSwan. io to future prosperity from being the former Executive Director of Capital Markets for Cushman and Wakefield of Texas. Mr. Nwokedi is truly a serial entrepreneur who has successfully started and excelled in two businesses in the automotive sector. His first venture at the age of 23 started when he purchased the first of 7 automotive service centers in San Francisco Bay Area and grew sales of 10x before exiting to start his next automotive venture Carstation.com which was a blend of Automotive logistics and e-commerce technology. Carstation.com went on to raise over $95M from leading venture companies like Lightspeed and NEA. Mr. Nwokedi and his co-founder grew the company to over 210 employees before exiting to Fortune 500 company ADP in a strategic acquisition in 2001.
During his tenure in the Capital Markets, Multifamily Advisory sector, Mr. Nwokedi leveraged his 23 years experience of entrepreneurial leadership, negotiation, and technological skills to enhance the Commercial Real Estate industry where for 16 years he focused on maximizing value for clients. Mr. Nwokedi assisted 100’s of clients with the acquisition and disposition of Class A, B and C multi-family properties, as well as sourcing sites for new development. Mr. Nwokedi began his real estate career with Colliers International as Co-Partner of the Multi Family Practice Group and continued to lead the Multi Family Division for Cushman & Wakefield. During his term, he has proven to be a Texas market leader by consummating more than $2.7 billion in multi-family sales. Mr. Nwokedi was awarded the 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2017 Houston Business Journal Heavy Hitter Award. In 2012, Mr. Nwokedi reached the Top 5 production level for Cushman & Wakefield, Houston office and has remained Top 10 producer throughout his tenure.
Mr. Nwokedi received his M.B.A. from St. Mary’s College of California in Moraga, California, and his B.S. in Accounting and Organizational Behavior from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Mr. Nwokedi also holds the prestigious CCIM accreditation in Commercial Real Estate and a Masters in Business Negotiation training. CNEA.
Since founding HELLO Living in 2005, Eli has built a cohesive and effective team of professionals, established a network of proprietary relationships with real estate professionals, vendors, institutional lenders, and investors, as well as created a brand that is associated with innovation and class. As CEO and Fund Manager, Eli oversees all aspects of HELLO Living's business operations and creative process. With an instinct for identifying investment opportunities and an innovative approach to pioneering emerging markets, Eli has developed thirteen buildings under the HELLO Living brand, which have achieved some of the highest sales and rental prices in their respective class. Currently, there are another five projects in the pipeline. A self-made successful businessman and investor from a young age, Eli's ventures have included creating a publishing company and investing in FCC licenses for cell towers when he was 21, which he later sold to jumpstart his general contracting company, which he later expanded into HELLO Living. Eli has been honored to speak at various professional conferences, including the 2019 Brooklyn Real Estate Summit and BisNow's 2014 Brooklyn New Development Frontier, amongst other industry leaders. During hiss reception of the Young Jewish Professionals Development and Achievement award, Eli was called, "a quintessential example of entrepreneurial boldness."
Elisha Blechner serves as Executive Vice President, Head of Portfolio Management. He is responsible for asset management efforts across our real estate finance, net lease, operating properties and land & development portfolios, development risk management, reporting and servicing. Mr. Blechner assumed his role in 2016 after holding several positions within the Investments team since joining iStar in 2004. While on the Investments team, he was responsible for originating, structuring, underwriting and closing investments throughout the capital structure. Prior to joining iStar, Mr. Blechner served as an Investment Banking analyst for Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. where he assisted hospitality, gaming and transportation companies with a range of capital markets activities. He holds a B.S. degree, magna cum laude, in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Eran Polack is an established entrepreneur with a long history of successful real estate ventures in Eastern Europe, Israel, and the USA. His strengths are the early identification of emerging regions and the development of projects tailored for those markets. For example, Polack was an early leader in the revival of Neve Tzedek, a highly coveted neighborhood in the heart of Tel Aviv. His diverse portfolio includes small luxury residential buildings as well as large apartment complexes linked to extensive commercial space.
Gavriel Kahane is the Managing Partner of ODG (Opportunity Development Group) and the CEO & Co-Founder of Arkhouse Partners. ODG is a real estate investment firm launched by JDS Development Group and Arkhouse Partners that utilizes the ‘Opportunity Zones’ tax incentive program to target opportunistic development and redevelopment projects. Prior to founding ODG, Mr. Kahane worked as the Director of Operations and Finance for the Sapir Organization. During his tenure at Sapir, Mr. Kahane managed over $3.6 billion in financing, acquisitions and dispositions on behalf of the company. He also oversaw leasing of more than 2.5 million square feet of commercial office space and led negotiations with tenants including Credit Suisse, Sony, William Morris Endeavor, Coca-Cola, Fidelity and Yelp. Mr. Kahane closed the sale of 11 Madison Avenue, the highest grossing single-asset sale ever recorded, to SL Green Realty. Mr. Kahane joined Sapir after serving as a Vice President at Meridian Capital Group, where he structured and placed large CMBS and balance sheet loans. Mr. Kahane began his career in New York real estate at Africa Israel USA, where he learned the fundamentals of real estate investment, construction and development. During those very pivotal and turbulent years for U.S. real estate, Mr. Kahane developed a prudent investment outlook that continually informs his market-sensitive investment approach.
Mr. Kahane serves on the executive Young Leadership board of AMIT, as well as Mensa Investment Special Interest Group. Earlier this year, he was recognized as a 40 under 40 CEO & Executive of New York by the Young Jewish Professionals.
Mr. Kahane received his BA from Yeshiva University, where he graduated with honors in Economics and Philosophy.
Mr. Tenzer is the Director or Real Estate and a founding member of Contrarian, an institutional money management firm with over $4 billion in funds under management including dedicated real estate funds. Since Contrarian’s formation in 1995 he has been responsible for sourcing, managing and coordinating the disposition of the firm’s real estate investments. From 1993 to 1995 he was a senior analyst and co-head of the high-yield real estate group at Oppenheimer & Co. The prior six years he was responsible for the analysis, financing, acquisition, disposition, restructuring and asset management of a nationwide portfolio for investor Arthur G. Cohen in the real estate, lodging, restaurant, aviation and manufacturing industries. Mr. Tenzer received a BSBA from Georgetown University in 1984 and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1987.
Gregory Kalikow is the fourth generation in his family’s real estate business. Mr. Kalikow graduated Washington University in St. Louis in 2007 with a degree in Marketing and Political Science. He Graduated Hofstra Law School in 2010 and was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2011.
Mr. Kalikow has been working with The Kalikow Group since 2003 on the overseeing and management of his families’ real estate holdings. Additionally, Mr. Kalikow has helped provide his company with legal expertise in order to develop rental, single family, and condominium units as well as shopping centers in various projects both in and outside of New York.
Guy is a real estate software tech entrepreneur with experience in multi-family and Condo/HOA markets, and an M&A advisor to private equity acquirers of property management software vendors. He founded MyBuilding in 2004 and Co-Founded ActiveBuilding in 2008 - both residential portal SaaS applications, which grew from zero to US market leaders - signing up over 1,000 subscribed buildings managed and owned by the largest REITS and management companies in the US and overseas, with over 250,000 apartments.
In 2013, Guy sold both companies to RealPage (NASDAQ: RP), and was then a VP at RealPage from 2013 to 2016 where he ran the world's largest resident portal business.
Guy founded Carson in 2017, the property management application and service for unattended multi-family buildings.
Ian Bruce Eichner, a seasoned developer of urban mixed-use properties, has a proven track record in real estate spanning more than three decades. His vast portfolio of projects in New York, Miami and Las Vegas include City Spire, One Broadway Place, The Manhattan Club, The Royale and Montague Street built in Brooklyn Heights. Outside of New York he has developed the Continuum, a 2-tower gated condominium community in South Beach, and the Cosmopolitan, a 3,000 room resort and casino on the Las Vegas strip.
Mr. Eichner's acute business sense has produced a series of visionary real estate developments that have been characterized by a creative mix of distinctive purpose-built properties. Each of these properties illustrates is extensive real estate expertise and ability to take situations which others may find un-achievable and off-putting, and design and execute solutions which realize value for the developer. Mr. Eichner's notable development achievements that were the first in their class include:
1. First high-rise built in Brooklyn Heights since landmarks height legislation was passed in 1965 (Montague Street, 1998)
2. First urban timeshare in New York, with a new concept of being able to book stays one day at a time (The Manhattan Club, 1996)
2. First and only beachfront gated community in South Beach (The Continuum, 2003-2008)
4. First Development on the Las Vegas strip to employ an urban development model, maximizing a small (8.5 acre) site to its full square footage potential (6 ½ million square feet).
Mr. Eichner's career in real estate follows almost a decade in the criminal justice system, including terms as an assistant District Attorney and program development chief of a gubernatorial agency during Nelson Rockefeller's tenure.
Jane Gol serves as President and co-founder of Continental Ventures, a real estate development and management company that specializes in residential/commercial and retail properties in New York, Toronto, and Florida. She is also co-President of Continental Pinewood, a residential development firm in Long Island. As President, Ms. Gol plays an instrumental role in the negotiation and structuring of each acquisition, and is also responsible for the oversight of new development projects. With her strong knowledge of the New York real
estate market and sharp eye for detail, she also governs design and marketing for Continental Ventures and Continental Pinewood projects. Notable current developments include a 2.5 million square foot mixed use site on the waterfront in downtown Toronto, 52 Wooster, NYC and Barn & Vine luxury homes in Bridgehampton, NY.
Ms Gol is also co-President of Bayport Funding, a private equity non-traditional lending platform focusing on supporting the renovation/improvement of residential properties in the New York Metropolitan area.
Ms. Gol is proud to have served as a Commissioner on the New York City Planning Commission under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
She is also a former member of the IDBNY Bank Board of Directors. Ms Gol is a member of WX, an invitation only women in real estate executive group, and she serves on the Board of American Friends of Sheba and Shalva. Ms. Gol is a graduate of Cornell University.
Jason Betesh joined Palatine in February 2010. He is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing investments in Palatine’s parking, senior housing and special situations strategies. Mr. Betesh is also involved in all portfolio management and finance functions. Prior to joining Palatine, Mr. Betesh focused on acquisitions and investment management at Vantage Properties, a vertically-integrated New York-based real estate investment and management company. During his time at Vantage, he was directly involved in investments with an aggregate value of $700 million. Previously, Mr. Betesh was an analyst in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group at Banc of America Securities. Mr. Betesh graduated from the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University with a B.B.A. in Finance and Real Estate in 2005.
Mr. Krasnoff is Chief Executive Officer of Rialto Capital Management, LLC, which he formed in 2007 to capitalize on investment opportunities in the commercial real estate sector.
Today Rialto is a vertically integrated investment and asset management platform investing and managing throughout the capital structure in real estate properties, loans, and securities. In addition to investing its own capital, Rialto manages a number of private equity vehicles and has overseen investments with other partners, including pension funds, endowments, insurance companies, family offices, financial institutions, sovereigns and the US Department of Treasury.
With over 40 years of experience in commercial and residential real estate investment, finance and management, Mr. Krasnoff has been involved in the evaluation or oversight of hundreds of billions of dollars of real estate assets around the world.
Mr. Krasnoff is also the co-founder of LNR Property Corporation and was its President since its spinoff from Lennar as a separate public company in 1997, as well as its Chief Executive Officer from 2002 to 2007. He was also instrumental in taking the company private in a $4 billion transaction in early 2005.
Mr. Krasnoff joined Lennar in 1986 and from 1990 until LNR spun off from Lennar, he was responsible for the growth of Lennar's commercial real estate and joint venture businesses, as well as the formation of LNR Partners and its loan workout and special servicing operations. LNR became the world's largest CMBS special servicer under his leadership. Prior to LNR and Lennar, Mr. Krasnoff spent ten years with KPMG, LLC (formerly Peat Marwick) in New York and Miami specializing in real estate and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Krasnoff is a graduate of Duke University.
Jeffrey Berman is a Vice President at Berman Enterprises LP - one of the largest private real estate in the Washington, DC area - and a General Partner and Director of Camber Creek, a venture fund investing in enterprise technology companies serving the real estate industry. Jeffrey is based in NYC and manages a number of Berman Enterprises projects as well as Camber Creek's New York office where he sources deal flow and coordinates customer acquisition, retention and marketing strategies for Camber Creek's portfolio companies. Jeffrey brings close to two decades of executive experience in the real estate industry and has served on the Board of Directors and Advisory Boards of numerous companies, in addition to coordinating investments in same. Jeffrey graduated with a BA (with distinction) from New York University's Stern School of Business.
Jeffrey oversees all operations, creates the strategic vision, and manages all investment decisions at Arch Companies. Given his active investment style, Jeffrey has lead every part of the real estate lifecycle including acquisition, development, financing, marketing, lease-up, operations and dispositions. Jeffrey was previously the Chief Executive Offer at Greystone Development and previously held various positions at Equity Office Properties and Jones Lang LaSalle. He holds a Master of Science in Real Estate Development and an Advanced Degree in Finance, both from New York University's Schack Institute, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from the University of Delaware.
Joe (Yossi) Berko is the founder and president of Berko & Associates, a multidisciplinary brokerage firm that specializes in investment sales, structured finance, and syndication advisory.
Joe began his real estate career in 1995 in commercial real estate investment banking and financing. He quickly emerged as a top producer in his field, arranging competitive debt yields for his clients. In 2005, Joe formed Berko & Associates. His distinctive approach and his creative methodologies in securing complex transactions, have earned him a reputation as an industry leader.
Over the course of nearly twenty years, Joe has structured, raised, syndicated, sold, and financed several billions dollars in commercial real estate deals. Such transactions range from office buildings, mixed-use properties, hotels, shopping centers, and industrial parks. He has arranged for joint ventures, equity participation and mezzanine debt, as well as dispositions of distressed and performing notes for national and regional portfolio lenders.
In 2009, New York State Governor David Paterson nominated Joe as an advisor to the State’s Real Estate Board, an honor bestowed upon a select group of only five real estate professionals. In 2011, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo appointed Joe to serve as the secretary of the Board.
Born and raised in Israel, Joe had an ongoing fascination with the City of New York since his first visit in the early 1980’s. In 1994, after completing his service in the IDF, he moved to New York, graduating from Baruch College with a degree in The Science of Real Estate and Metropolitan Development. A strong believer in giving back to one’s community, Joe donates his time and support to several philanthropic organizations. Joe currently resides in Lower Manhattan with his wife and two boys.
Joel Bergstein is President of Lincoln Equities Group (LEG) and has been with the organization for over 28 years. After joining the firm as VP of leasing, Bergstein rose through the ranks of LEG to become Executive VP in 1998, spearheading the company's acquisition and development initiatives. He led the company into its current operating partner platform, partnering with domestic and international opportunity, private equity and pension funds. In 2007 he assumed the role of President of LEG. Bergstein heads up LEG’s large scale development platform, orchestrating major residential and industrial land development projects in and around NYC, and is a founding partner and active participant in LEG’s $500M European property investment platform. Joel serves on numerous real estate advisory boards and is a speaker and frequent commentator in real estate trade and business media.
John Usdan, Chief Executive Officer Midwood Investment & Development: John has dedicated the last 35 years to growing Midwood, a company founded by his grandfather in 1925. Over that time, Midwood has expanded its portfolio to 135 properties in 11 states. Further, he built a management, investment and development platform to acquire, operate, reposition and develop new and existing assets. John’s philanthropic interests are primarily focused in education and the arts. He is a Trustee Emeritus of Wesleyan University and past chair of Wesleyan’s Capital Campaign, a Trustee of The Brooklyn Academy of the Arts, Board President of the Usdan Center, Board President at Bronx House and a member of The Hastings Center Board of Directors. Previously, John served as Chair of the Brandeis International Business School. John also serves the corporate board of Merchants National Properties.
Mr. Mayblum’s expertise includes managing a team of senior real estate professionals applying a hands-on approach to analyzing and resolving clients’ issues. Working with companies burdened by underperforming assets and portfolios, Mr. Mayblum collaborates with management to maximize asset performance and value. He applies his business and legal background to provide strategic advice to all stakeholders, including debtors and creditors, in complex and distressed situations. He has substantial expertise in management, operations, negotiations and structuring complex real estate projects.
Prior to forming Arcturus, Mr. Mayblum spent 18 years with the Ruben Companies (formerly Lawrence Ruben Co.) the last 10 years of which he served as President. As President, Mr. Mayblum oversaw more than 7 million square feet of prime commercial and residential properties in New York, Washington, D.C. and Boston. Mr. Mayblum was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the business which included managing a team of over 50 professionals including leasing, construction, operations and financial professionals. He structured numerous joint ventures and investments with leading institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Cerberus Capital Management, Soros Fund Management, Vornado Realty Trust and Related Companies.
While at Ruben Companies, Mr. Mayblum held several additional leadership roles including acting as senior advisor to Oaktree Capital’s Real Estate opportunity funds. The real estate funds had approximately $1 billion of equity invested in 80+ transactions in the United States, Europe and Asia. Under Mr. Mayblum’s leadership a strategic portfolio plan was executed and a portion of the assets valued at approximately $1 billion were successfully sold.
Additionally, Mr. Mayblum served as Chairman of Granite Partners, LLC, a leading real estate investment sales company based in New York City. In 2005-2006, under Mr. Mayblum’s guidance, the company executed over $5 billion in sales and $2.5 billion in financing transactions. Mr. Mayblum served in this capacity from its inception through August 2007, when he orchestrated the sale of Granite to London based Savills plc.
Mr. Mayblum, an innovative leader, co-founded Workspeed Holdings, LLC, the leading provider of web-based workflow solutions for commercial real estate. The company’s applications are in use in over 200 million square feet of commercial real estate throughout the United States; customers include CB Richard Ellis, SL Green, Maguire Properties and Macklowe Properties.
Mr. Mayblum graduated summa cum laude, from Goizueta Business School – Emory University and Cornell Law School.
Jonathan Schultz has the distinction of having initiated and closed billions of dollars in leasing and commercial real estate sales and acquisitions. Along with CoFounder John Saraceno, he built Onyx Equities into one of the largest, most diversified and active real estate investment, management, and property service organizations. Under Jonathan's leadership, Onyx has grown to provide services that include asset management, construction management, property management, and leasing. Jonathan also led the effort to build Onyx's Receivership/REO Services platform, which now manages millions of square feet across hundreds of properties and is one of the largest platforms of its kind in the tri-state area. Today, his responsibilities include leading investor capital-raising initiatives, strategic planning, portfolio management, business development, and overall investment strategy as an officer of the firm's Investment Committee.
Jonathan is passionately committed to helping the real estate industry grow through the use of technology. Under his leadership, Onyx has embraced innovations that few other real estate companies have adopted. Due to his advanced knowledge and expertise, Jonathan is seen as a thought leader in tech within the real estate sector. He serves on the advisory board of Real Estate Tech News, and is a noted author and public speaker.
Jonathan is a member of the Metro NY chapter of YPO, the premier network of chief executives and business leaders. He is a founding board member of the "Aware of Courage" foundation. In this role, he raised significant funds for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and is a past recipient of the Humanitarian Award.
Prior to founding Onyx, Jonathan was Founder and President of The Schultz Organization, a leading commercial real estate brokerage and advisory firm serving institutions, lenders, private owners, and tenants within the tri-state area.
Joseph A. Farkas is Founder and CEO of Metropolitan Realty Associates “MRA” a privately held real estate investment and development firm established 18 years ago specializing in value investment real estate strategies throughout Manhattan, the outer boroughs and select suburban markets in the NY Metropolitan area. Primary focus is placed on commercial, retail, and industrial property types. With over 31 years of hands on real estate investment, finance and development expertise, Farkas has successfully guided MRA’s investment in over $1 Billion of assets on behalf of its institutional investors. On realized transactions to date from inception, MRA has delivered a weighted average 26.7% levered IRR and 1.7 equity multiple.
Joseph is a guest on The Stoler Report, he is an active panelist on a wide range of real estate events, and is frequently quoted in all New York Metropolitan real estate trade publications. He resides in Garden City with his wife Michelle and two daughters and is an avid golfer, skier and swimmer. He started his career in 1987 at Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.
Justin Amirian is the Vice President of Delshah’s special situations and distressed acquisitions. He is primarily responsible for the development and implementation of investment and legal strategy, and serves as an in-house legal resource in facilitating the underwriting, closing, and asset management of investments. In this capacity, Mr. Amirian directs strategy development and execution of foreclosure and bankruptcy-related litigation and negotiation. Since joining Delshah, he has been involved in acquisition and financing transactions totaling approximately $400 million, and in the asset management of several of Delshah’s special situation, development, and value-add projects.
Prior to joining Delshah, Mr. Amirian practiced financial restructuring and bankruptcy law as an associate at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy. There, he specialized in creditors’ rights in complex chapter 11 reorganizations. Mr. Amirian was a Mary Day Scholar and a published author when he received his law degree from Fordham Law School. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in cognitive science at Dartmouth College.
Kent M. Swig is an owner of several real estate operating companies as well as commercial and residential real estate properties throughout the United States. His holdings and titles include the following:
SwigEquities, LLC
Mr. Swig is President of Swig Equities, LLC, an investment and development firm focusing on the acquisition and development of real estate in New York City and California. Since 2001, Swig Equities has purchased and developed in excess of $3 billion of properties including holdings in Downtown Manhattan’s FiDi (Financial District) neighborhood comprising of 110 William Street, a 910,000 square foot office building; 80 Broad Street, a 440,000 square foot office building; 90 Broad Street, a 400,000 square foot office building; 44 Wall Street, a 350,000 square foot office building; 48 Wall Street, a 324,000 square foot office building; 5 Hanover Square, a 335,000 square foot office building; 770 Lexington Avenue, a 175,000 square foot commercial office building located in Midtown Manhattan, among others. Swig Equities residential investments include The Sheffield, 322 West 57th Street, a 58‐story mixed‐use building comprising 582 residential units, 109,000 square feet of commercial office, 8,840 square feet of retail, and a 372‐car parking garage; 58 apartments within the 198 unit residential building located at 401 East 89th Street; among others.
Terra Holdings, LLC
Mr. Swig is an Owner and Co‐Chairman of Terra Holdings, LLC, the largest privately owned real estate service company in the United States that owns and operates several residential real estate service firms including Brown Harris Stevens, one of the oldest and largest residential real estate service providers operating in New York City, the Hamptons, North Fork, Palm Beach, and Miami; Halstead Property Company, a residential brokerage and management company comprised of more than 1,000 brokers in 32 offices throughout the New York Metropolitan Area; and Vanderbilt Holdings, a service firm with disciplines in appraisal and consulting and insurance. The combination of Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property Company annually sell more than $9 billion of apartments and townhouses, and the company’s management divisions manage over 450 buildings comprising more than 30,000 residential units.
Helmsley Spear, LLC
Mr. Swig is the Owner and serves as President of Helmsley Spear, LLC, which was founded in 1866 and is America’s oldest, continuously operating real estate company. The firm provides commercial real estate services focusing on third party office and retail leasing, asset and property management, investment sales, hotel services, and capital advisory services.
Falcon Pacific Construction, LLC
Mr. Swig is also an Owner and President of Falcon Pacific Construction, LLC and Falcon Pacific Builders, LLC which are a New York City based construction company infused with an ownership understanding and approach to its construction projects. The two divisions are focused interior renovations and ground up and building wide construction throughout the Tri‐State area surrounding New York City. The company’s successful track record is built on its ability to build positive working relations with architects, engineers, local officials and vendors to achieve client’s goals.
Fulcrum Equities, LLC
Mr. Swig serves as President of Fulcrum Equities, LLC a single family Office (“SFO”) that coordinates Mr. Swig’s family business and interests, and is an investor in real estate, operating companies, and may other types of investments. Working both with Mr. Swig’s capital and those of other investors, Fulcrum Equities brings an “owner’s eye and perspective” to its investment practices. In addition, Fulcrum Equities provides such services as asset management and investment monitoring for all if its investment portfolio.
The Swig Company
Finally, Mr. Swig is an Owner and Principal of The Swig Company, a family‐owned real estate and hotel company based in San Francisco and New York that was founded in 1936. The Swig Company's portfolio includes over 10 million square feet of prime commercial office space throughout the United States as well as having founded, owned and managed the Fairmont Hotels, which the company started in 1946. After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in Chinese History from Brown University, Providence, R.I., Mr. Swig attended Hastings College of Law, San Francisco, where he was selected for the Law Review.
Loren Berger is Head of Origination at Argentic, a fully-integrated, multi-strategy commercial real estate lending platform focused on delivering fixed rate and floating rate financing solutions, including senior and subordinated loans, secured by real estate assets in the United States. Mr. Berger has 17 years of capital markets experience including more than 14 years of structured real estate lending experience.
In his career, Mr. Berger has worked on the origination, structuring, closing and securitization of commercial real estate loans across all asset classes. Prior to Argentic, Mr. Berger served as a director of commercial real estate at The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, and earlier in his career, with the Financial Institutions Group at RBS, focusing on credit transactions for clients in the real estate opportunity fund, specialty finance, asset management, bank and insurance sectors.
Mr. Berger has a bachelor of business administration from the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business.
Lowell Mandelblatt is founder, president, and CEO of Atlantic Realty Data Corp., Established in 1988, a provider of title insurance, escrow services, real estate information and transaction services throughout the United States. Lowell Mandelblatt is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Penn State Law School, teaching Title Insurance and Real Estate Transactions.
Mark J. Gordon has almost 30 years of experience in the real estate industry and is widely regarded as an expert in the hospitality industry. During his career, he has been involved in all aspects of the business including development, acquisitions, renovation, design, asset management, financing, sales and advisory.
Mark recently co-founded Intrinsic Hotel Capital, a hotel investment company that focuses on the acquisition of well-positioned but underperforming, value add hotels located in strategic markets throughout the US. At IHC, Mark and his team will leverage their collective hotel industry expertise to achieve above market returns by utilizing creative acquisition and repositioning strategies.
Prior to IHC, Mark was Managing Partner of Tribeca Associates where he developed several notable hotels in Manhattan; the first of which was the Baccarat Hotel & Residences, where he oversaw the planning, development, and ultimate sellout of the hotel for the highest price per key ever achieved in the U.S. and the very successful sellout of the 59 luxury residences. In addition, he developed the 243-key Marriott Residence Inn World Trade Center, which was an adaptive reuse of an office tower, and recently completed the development of the Moxy Downtown, a landmark 30-story mixed use hotel and retail tower.
From 1994-2010, Mark was one of the leading advisors to the hotel industry. He was Managing Partner and Head of Hospitality Group at Sonnenblick-Goldman, a national real estate investment banking firm between 1994 and 2007. As partner, Mr. Gordon was responsible for overseeing management, sales growth and the ultimate sale of the firm to Cushman & Wakefield in 2007. Upon the sale of the company, Mr. Gordon was appointed to head Cushman & Wakefield's National Hospitality Practice, a position he held until 2010 when he decided to take his own advice and become a hotel developer and investor.
During his advisory career, Mr. Gordon has oversaw many of the hotel industries' most complex projects including the adaptive reuse and conversion of the Hotel Delmonico to the Trump Park Avenue, creating a joint venture between Loews Hotels and Universal Studios to develop five hotels at Universal Studios Resort in Orlando, recapitalizing Ian Schrager Company, restructuring Denihan Hospitality Group, and the complex sales and financings of hundreds of landmark hotels and resorts located throughout the U.S.
Mark has won numerous awards for his accomplishments in the real estate industry including Crain's "40 under 40", Americas Lodging Investment Summits "Deal of the Year" and Commercial Property News "Stars to Watch" and is a frequent speaker at hotel and real estate industry events. Mr. Gordon holds a Master's Degree in Real Estate Finance from New York University and a B.S. in Finance from Ithaca College.
Mark M. Mindick is a longstanding partner and has been a substantial part of the growth of the firm for the past 16 years, consulting on a wide range of value-added tax, consulting, and assurance matters, with a specialized focus in the real estate sector. His clients include the greater real estate and financial services community, both domestic and international.
Matthew (Matt) Galligan is President of Real Estate Finance for CIT Group. His team provides stabilized, value-add and construction loans between $25 million and $50 million to highly experienced and well-capitalized developers in the office, retail, industrial and multi-family rental sectors with a $7.4 billion portfolio concentrated in the New York metropolitan area and southern California.
Every year since 2013, Galligan has been named by the Commercial Observer to its “Power 50” list of the most important figures in real estate finance. He previously served as Managing Director and Head of U.S. Property Finance for Bank of Ireland where, under his leadership, his team oversaw more than $5.1 billion in transactions.
Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President for Real Estate Capital Markets at DebtX. He has also worked for Fleet Boston Financial, Bank of Boston and Chase Manhattan in executive level positions in credit, real estate lending, debt distribution and capital markets. Galligan is a member of the Board of Directors for the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The Catalog for Giving honored Galligan in 2017. He was also honored by Get Out Stay Out that same year. He currently sits on the Advisory Board of these two entities and, additionally the Habitat for Humanity’s Leadership Council.
Galligan received a BA in Economics/Accounting from the College of the Holy Cross and an MBA in Finance from the New York University Graduate School of Business Administration.
Matt Livian is a Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of The Sydell Group, an owner, developer and manager of unique hotels deeply rooted in their location and architecture. Matt leads Sydell’s acquisitions efforts and has overseen the acquisition of over $1 billion worth of hotel real estate in major markets including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Chicago, Miami and London over the last seven years. Prior to joining The Sydell Group, Matt served as the Vice President of Acquisitions & Development at the Ian Schrager Company. The Ian Schrager Company is an owner, developer and manager of hotel & residential projects in gateway cities. During his tenure, Matt was responsible for all transaction execution, origination, coordinating market & property due diligence, financial underwriting and various development initiatives. Prior to joining The Ian Schrager Company, Matt worked in the investment banking division at Bear Stearns focusing on mergers, acquisitions and financings for real estate, gaming and lodging companies. Matt graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Ashner has served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Winthrop Realty Trust, a NYSE-listed real estate investment trust, since 2004. Winthrop Realty Trust currently owns/controls/manages a portfolio of approximately $2.4 billion of real estate and real estate related assets. In addition, Mr. Ashner has served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Winthrop Realty Partners, L.P., a vertically integrated property management firm, since 1996. Mr. Ashner has acquired over $12 billion of real estate, including 85,000 apartment units, 50 million square feet of office, retail, and industrial assets and 1,000 hotel rooms. Winthrop Realty Partners has managed more than 500 limited partnerships, of which in excess of 50 were publicly reporting with over 100,000 investors, as well as five publicly traded REITS.
Mr. Ashner served as Director and Chief Executive Officer of Shelbourne Properties a group of three publically traded real estate investment trusts, from 2002 until their liquidation in 2004. In addition, he was the Chairman and CEO of Newkirk Realty Trust, a NYSE-listed real estate investment trust, from its formation through its merger with Lexington Realty Trust in January 2007. Thereafter, he served as Executive Chairman of Lexington Realty Trust following its merger with Newkirk Realty Trust from 2007 through 2008. Prior to 1996, Mr. Ashner was President and Chief Executive Officer of National Property Investors.
Mr. Ashner currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, and the Advisory Board of the Cornell University Program in Real Estate. He is also a Trustee of the Jaffa Institute a charitable institution that develops day and boarding schools in the State of Israel. In addition, he is a Trustee of the National World War II Museum located in New Orleans.
Mr. Ashner holds an AB from Cornell University and a JD from the University of Miami. He resides in Cove Neck, New York.
Michael Davis is the founding partner of The Plymouth Group, a Real Estate and Alternative investment company with over 3 million square-feet under management that has deployed, together with various Joint Venture partners, more than a quarter of a billion dollars of acquisitions in New York City, Philadelphia, Northern California and selected US markets. The company has grown to include development, management, brokerage and advisory divisions. Mr. Davis oversees acquisitions and day-to-day operations of the company, and takes pride in using his years of expertise to add value to the company’s projects on behalf of its private investors. In particular, Mr. Davis leads the design and construction process, where his eye for detail and tenacious attitude assure that Plymouth’s strategic vision is realized.
Prior to founding Plymouth Group in 2003, Michael was an Investment Banker in the Real Estate & Lodging Banking (REIT) group at Salomon Smith Barney/Citigroup, an analyst at a mid-cap hedge fund in the statistical arbitrage area, and a Managing Director at a private investment firm specializing in real estate acquisition, disposition, development as well as corporate restructurings, venture capital, and other related activities.
Myles J. Horn has been active in New York residential real estate, primarily in the field of Cooperative and Condominium conversions, since 1976. Mr. Horn specializes in the acquisition, management, construction, marketing and sale of large blocks of unsold units. Mr. Horn's primary areas of expertise are adding value to cooperative and condominium developments by repositioning those assets through renovation and redesign, adding amenities and services, extensive marketing, and innovative selling. He is an acknowledged expert in dealing with regulated tenants to obtain vacancies and sales, and interfacing with Boards of Directors. He has been called upon by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Real Deal, among others, to share his expertise.
Mr. Horn has participated in the conversion of many dozens of buildings, both condominiums and cooperatives, as well as handled the purchase of thousands of unsold units in New York and beyond. All in all, he has purchased, converted, developed, managed, and/or sold more than 4500 apartment units across the tri-state area with total gross sales exceeding $1 Billion. He is also one of only a handful of developers to have successfully de-converted a large residential building from cooperative to rental.
Mr. Horn's acquisitions include the Helmsley unsold unit portfolio consisting of 627 units and the Birchwood unsold unit portfolio, consisting of 506 units. His recent projects include The Printing House (421 Hudson Street), which sold-out at approximately $200 million as a standalone asset, and The Continental Park (87-10 51st Ave in Queens), which sold-out within 3 months of opening. In 2016, Mr. Horn and partners acquired 128 unsold condominium units at 100 West 93rd Street, and in 2017, 176 cooperative units at Skyview-On-The-Hudson in Riverdale and 146 unsold condominium units at 175 West 95th Street. Mr. Horn is a graduate of S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo, Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude (B.A., 1972) and the University of Pennsylvania Law School (J.D., 1975).
Mr. Orban joined Rialto in 2015 and serves as a Managing Director on the Investment Management team, which includes structured credit and equity investing.
Prior to joining Rialto, Mr. Orban spent nine years, most recently as a principal, at Glenmont Capital Management, a real estate private equity firm focused on opportunistic, middle market investments throughout the United States.
At Glenmont, Mr. Orban was responsible for sourcing and executing opportunistic investments across all real estate asset types on behalf of the firm’s discretionary investment vehicles and completed in excess of $1 billion in total transactions. Prior to joining Glenmont, Mr. Orban was an assistant vice president at The Weitzman Group, a boutique real estate advisory firm that worked with private sector developers, pension and private equity funds, institutions and government agencies. At The Weitzman Group, Mr. Orban focused on investment analysis and advisory on behalf of a large pension fund seeking to make direct investments in commercial real estate. Mr. Orban received his B.S. from Cornell University with a concentration in Finance and Real Estate.
Ran founded Northwind in 2008 an oversees all company activities. Throughout his career Ran has been involved in the acquisition, management, development and disposition of real estate properties in US totaling over $1 Billion, his main passion is income-producing value added properties in Manhattan, in which Northwind owns a portfolio that is comprised of multi-family, office, retail and hospitality properties.
Ran previously co-founded and managed EXRE Inc., the real estate investment platform of one of Israel’s largest family offices, which has invested in a portfolio of 30 grocery anchored shopping centers in FL & TX, totaling over 4.5 million Sq. Ft. as well managing complex residential development projects in Israel.
Raphael Mandelbaum, Vice-President of Lantree Developments and President of Lantower Realty graduated with a Master’s in Accounting Degree. He began his career in real estate management and in 2010 founded Lantower Realty and Lantower Property Management. Under his tutelage, Lantower has grown to amass a portfolio worth over 90 million dollars with assets in New York and New Jersey.
Initially, Raphael focused on revenue-producing multi-family assets in the core New York markets. Over a 5-year-period, he accumulated a portfolio of distressed residential and retail assets that he successfully repositioned, revitalizing neighborhoods and adding much-needed affordable housing units back into the market. Using his personal knowledge of local markets and his real estate background, Raphael has expanded the company’s scope of services to include the acquisition and management of development projects as well.
In 2017, Lantower Realty underwent a rebranding process and is now known as LanTree Developments. Today, LanTree continues to manage its core portfolio of revenue-producing assets, as well as various developments projects with over 1,000,000 SF under development in the greater New York and New Jersey markets.
Recognized as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the nation, R. Donahue Peebles is Founder, Chairman and CEO of The Peebles Corporation, one of the country’s few national privately held real estate investment and development companies with a multi-billion dollar portfolio of projects in New York, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, Miami and Miami Beach.
In addition to his role as CEO of The Peebles Corporation, Mr. Peebles is a top-selling author (The Peebles Principles and The Peebles Path to Real Estate Wealth), a regular guest on CNN, CNBC and FOX, and a highly sought-after speaker who has addressed educational, business and professional audiences across the United States.
Mr. Peebles is an avid supporter of mentoring to expose youth to the value of entrepreneurship, as well as an active political supporter and fundraiser for local, state and federal campaigns of both major parties. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of the Congressional Black Caucus, serves on the Board of Directors of YMCA of Greater New York and Miami-Dade County Mayor Gimenez’s Business Roundtable, served on the National Finance Committee of President Barack Obama, and is former Chairman of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Mr. Raisner is the Founder and CEO of The Raisner Group (formerly Proteus Capital Management), a private real estate investment firm headquartered in New York City.
Under his leadership, The Raisner Group has raised capital domestically and internationally since 2009. It has been active in non-performing notes and fee simple transactions, and focuses primarily on value-add, residential and mixed-use real estate investments in New York City. Most of the firm’s acquisitions have taken place in the outer boroughs, with an emphasis in the emerging Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bushwick, Bed Stuy and Prospect Lefferts Gardens.
After working as an equity trader in New York, Mr. Raisner worked for a real estate investment firm in Argentina, where he focused on Latin American acquisitions. Mr. Raisner holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He is a CFA Charterholder and a Foreign Trade Advisor to the Government of France. He is a Founding Member of the Transatlantic Forum of the French-American Foundation and an Advisor to Concordia, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering Public-Private Partnerships for social impact.
He has been a Contributor on real estate, business and foreign affairs topics for publications such as The Huffington Post, Forbes, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Observer and Le Monde. Prior to his career in business, he played professional basketball.
Robert is the Managing Principal at Morgenstern Capital, a multifamily owner operator. With a focus on core Manhattan and prime submarkets in Brooklyn, Morgenstern oversees all investment and management decisions and is the firm’s strategic visionary. Robert has built a diverse multifamily portfolio at Morgenstern Capital since its May 2015 inception, targeting value-add and core + return profiles in the best submarkets in New York City. Morgenstern operates direct co-investments with limited partners ranging from closed-end institutional equity to individual high net worth investors. The portfolio includes 14 properties and approximately 400 units. Additionally, Morgenstern heads Canvas Property Group, the in-house property management firm that handles the day-to-day operations of its own portfolio and does third party property management for select clientele.
Prior to forming Morgenstern Capital, Robert co-founded Stone Street Properties, where he led that firm from its inception in 2010 through 2015. During his tenure, Morgenstern acquired and sold 32 multifamily assets in Manhattan and Brooklyn with cumulative value of $400,000,000. Robert initially functioned as asset & property manager while sourcing the firm’s acquisitions. This ground-up approach allowed Morgenstern to understand the nuances of operating NYC multifamily real estate. This diverse knowledge base provided the experience to effectively manage the heads of each of these divisions as the firm grew to 14 employees and over 750 units in 2014.
Previously, Robert served as Executive Vice President of Kleier Residential Inc., a leading real estate brokerage from 2003-2010. Morgenstern began his career on Wall Street at a boutique wealth management firm. Robert graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a BS in Finance in 1996 and NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate with a MS in Real Estate Asset Management in 2011. He holds a LeedAP accreditation.
Scott Shnay is a Principal at SK Development, which he co-founded with his father, Abe, in 2006.
Scott oversees the development and construction of projects and shares responsibility for all acquisitions as well as investment decisions. Scott primarily focuses on ground-up development of residential, hotel and commercial projects in New York City. Scott manages all aspects of development, from the acquisition, design and construction to the marketing, leasing and sales. Over the past decade, Scott’s has been responsible for $1 billion and 800,000 square feet of development.
Scott grew up in the New York area and attended the Horace Mann School. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Policy with a concentration in Urban Planning from Trinity College.
Stephen H. Bittel is the Chairman and Founder (1980) of Terranova Corporation, leading the firm's ownership and operation of a significant commercial real estate portfolio. As the South Florida real estate has grown, Bittel has stayed connected to South Florida, serving his community for years. A Miami native, he has held Board Director positions for the Chapman Partnership, the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority, and Jackson Memorial Hospital Foundation. Bittel served as Trustee member for the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Miami-Dade and Temple Beth Am. He has led the Greater Miami Jewish Federation's Washington Mission in 2009 and 2010 and is an active supporter and currently serves on the Board of Teach for America Miami (TFA). Bittel graduated magna cum laude from Bowdoin College in 1978 and obtained his law degree from the University of Miami School of Law in 1982.
Stephen Kliegerman was appointed President Terra Development Marketing in 2011. As President, Stephen leads all aspects of development sales and marketing including oversight of both Brown Harris Stevens Development Marketing (BHSDM) and Halstead Development Marketing (HDM).
Since 2000, Stephen has been a member of the senior executive team at Terra Holdings - one of America's largest privately-held real estate services companies -holding several key leadership positions with increasing responsibility. After founding HPDM in 2003, he was appointed President, HDM, in 2010. Following an established record of growth, Stephen was tapped in 2013 to additionally oversee Brown Harris Stevens Development Marketing as President.
Stephen has strengthened both BHSDM and HDM - focusing on unparalleled customer service, creative marketing and the establishment of a record-setting sales teams. He has overseen more than $15 billion in sales, representing over 10,000 units in the New York City area. He has also spearheaded some of the fastest-selling developments with the industry’s most prominent developers and been lauded for achieving record-setting prices.
With more than 30 years of experience in New York real estate, Stephen is recognized as a trailblazer in the brokerage community, known for cultivating genuine partnership, integrity and tenured market knowledge. He is widely quoted in globally recognized media as a market authority including; The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Post and Crain's New York Business, among others.
Under his leadership, prominent developers such as Toll Brothers City Living, SJP Properties, Savanna, Adam America, The Stahl Organization, L+M Development Partners and The Gotham Organization, have sought HDM and BHSDM for their adroit understanding of all stages of the development marketing process - from pre-development planning to turnaround strategies.
A graduate of The George Washington University, Stephen serves on the Board of Directors for the school’s Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis. He is the 2012 recipient of The Real Estate Board of New York’s Henry Forster Award for lifetime achievement and currently serves as Co-Chair of the New Development Committee. He has also completed five terms on the Residential Ethics Committee, twice as Co-Chairman and four terms as Chairman of the Downtown Committee.
A Licensed Real Estate Broker since 1989, Stephen previously owned and operated his own real estate brokerage, management and consulting firm, Herbert H. KliegermanAssociates, Inc. In 1998, the firm, which specialized in the management, sale and leasing of co-ops, condos, and lofts in Downtown Manhattan, merged with Halstead Property.
Stephen is a triathlete as well as an avid skier, tennis player and cyclist. He lives in New Rochelle, NY with his son and daughter who also attends college at CU Boulder.
Zach Ehrlich is the founder and CEO of Mdrn. Prior to founding the firm, Zach oversaw components of developer DDG's development portfolio, including the sales and marketing of $500 million worth of luxury real estate in New York and San Francisco.
Zach holds a B.A. from New York University in Real Estate and Economics.
Quote:
"The greatest wealth a man may acquire is the wisdom that he gains from living. And sometimes out of the small beginnings, come the forces that shape a whole life."
Moderators
Avi D. Feinberg is a real estate partner resident in Fried Frank's New York office. He joined the Firm in 2006 before which time he worked as an associate at a well-known, international law firm.
Mr. Feinberg concentrates his practice on acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures, and the representation of lenders and borrowers in financings.
Honors & Awards
Mr. Feinberg was selected by Law360 as a 2013 "Rising Star" in real estate. He is also recognized by Legal 500 and Super Lawyers in Real Estate.
Professional Associations
Member, CRE Finance Council
Bar Admissions/Licensed Jurisdictions
New York
Daniel is co founder and managing partner of Imperium Capital. He has 12 years of experience in the real estate business concentrating in the commercial and multifamily real estate sectors in New York City. He is responsible for overseeing all activities within Imperium Capital. Since starting Imperium, he has been instrumental in the sourcing of Imperium’s purchases and partnership structuring’s. Since starting Imperium Capital in January 2010, Daniel has purchased over $1,000,000,000 of high profile assets comprised of over 1,000,000 square feet.
Prior to Imperium Capital Daniel was a Director at Eastern Consolidated, one of the leading Manhattan investment sales firms. While at Eastern Consolidated, he successfully completed over $750 million of transactions including office buildings, apartment buildings, development sites, retail, and notes.
Prior to joining Eastern Consolidated, Daniel handled acquisitions for KMG Partners, a local real estate development and investment group. He was involved in the acquisition of two loft buildings for residential conversion and a parking lot for ground up construction.
Daniel graduated from Indiana University with a degree in business management.
The Meridian Investment Sales Middle Market Team is led by David Schechtman, one of the industry’s most visible and well-respected investment sales professionals.
Trained for years at one of the world’s largest law firms, Mr. Schechtman has personally sold more than 552 deals representing more than $5.4 billion in his eleven-year career to date.
Recognized as an industry “Titan,” “Power Broker,” and one of the “25 Most Visible New York City Real Estate Players” by the Commercial Observer and The Real Deal, respectively, Mr. Schechtman is regularly engaged by private families, institutions, lenders, estate lawyers and their counsel and advisors to value, market and see through to closing the sale of multifamily properties, development sites, buildings ripe for repurposing, retail condominiums and co-ops, unsold shares, and loft office and industrial buildings throughout New York City.
Mr. Schechtman has also represented more than 25 lenders in the disposition of performing and defaulted notes and assets in Chapter 11, Section 363 Sales.
Ilan Bruhim founded Everest Abstract along with Shimon Betesh, Esq. in 2007. Since that time, he has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the company, leading it and its affiliates to become highly recognized and respected title service providers, serving developers and the legal profession in the New York metropolitan area. Mr. Bruhim has guided the company to achieve the highest standards of integrity, transparency and efficiency resulting in Everest receiving accolades from its title underwriters in recognition of Outstanding Professional Standards, including the "Finest Agent Award" from Fidelity National Title Group, one of the nation's largest and highly rated title underwriters. Mr. Bruhim is widely well-regarded and trusted by the company's clients for his personal commitment to providing them with the highest level of service. He is also a licensed title producer in New Jersey.
Jonathan Fine is a Founding Principal of Vantage Holdings, a private real estate investment firm. Vantage prides itself on using rigorous demographic data analysis to identify opportunities in markets that are although often overlooked by institutional capital, have strong economic anchors that provide insulation from the volatility associated with broader economic cycles. The firm’s portfolio currently comprises one million square feet of office, industrial, and multi-family assets throughout the United States.
Mr. Fine has over $2 billion of acquisitions and development experience from his time at Cohen Equities, one of the nation’s largest REO investors, and MKF Group, the private investment arm of a leading South American real estate family.
Mr. Fine is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan and is actively involved in philanthropic causes including American Society of Yad Vashem and Big Brothers Big Sisters.is a Founding Principal of Vantage Holdings, a private real estate investment firm. Vantage prides itself on using rigorous demographic data analysis to identify opportunities in markets that are although often overlooked by institutional capital, have strong economic anchors that provide insulation from the volatility associated with broader economic cycles. The firm’s portfolio currently comprises one million square feet of office, industrial, and multi-family assets throughout the United States.
Mr. Fine has over $2 billion of acquisitions and development experience from his time at Cohen Equities, one of the nation’s largest REO investors, and MKF Group, the private investment arm of a leading South American real estate family.
Mr. Fine is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan and is actively involved in philanthropic causes including American Society of Yad Vashem and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Jordan Epstein is a partner at Citrin Cooperman who provides assurance and attestation, tax, and business consulting services to his clients. He serves clients in the real estate industry, working directly with owners, operators, developers, and fund managers.
He provides a range of services in the areas of compliance, financing, budgeting, cash flow projections, and accounting-related matters to some of the country’s most successful real estate owners, developers, and fund managers on their residential and commercial real estate projects. He has advised his real estate clients on deal structuring and sourcing, real estate investment trust (“REIT”) compliance, carried interest projections, loan refinancing, and tax planning initiatives such as 1031 (like-kind) exchanges, cost segregation studies, and opportunity zone funds.
Jordan is a licensed CPA in New York and received a B.S. in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University.
Michael Stoler is President of New York Real Estate TV, LLC a television production and financing and business consulting firm.
Mr. Stoler is the host of two television shows: "The Stoler Report: NY's Business Report" and "Building New York: NY Stories." Both shows air 8 times a week in New York City on CUNY TV, and also air on numerous universities, public, community television stations in the tri-state region.
Michael serves as Divisional Director, of Queens County Savings Bank, a division of New York Community Bank. He is also the real estate commentator for 1010 WINS and Newsradio WCBS 880, hosting his reports on the weekend.
He previously served as a Managing Director of Madison Realty Capital ad Senior Principal with Apollo Real Estate Advisors and the contributing editor to the New York Sun.
Mickey received her BS & MS in Accounting from Stern School of Business at NYU and her JD from Fordham Law. She participated in Jewish networking groups and attended Jewish charity events starting in college and continuing through law school and beyond. She learned the power of leveraging and helping the Jewish community simultaneously.
Mickey is an Executive Recruiter/headhunter focusing primarily on the real estate and real estate tech sectors. She works on the real estate team that is part of a larger firm so you get big firm resources with boutique firm service. Her team website can be found here: TBG-RealEstate.com She works all range of jobs including but not limited to management, real estate finance, legal, admin, sales, marketing… Her personal focus is on real estate finance positions such as analysts, VP’s, asset managers and the like as well as in house counsel positions. Her extra secret sauce in addition to her firm’s resources is that real estate is her family business so she has literally been working and networking in the industry since she was a kid. She has a vast personal network and consistently attends networking events across the tristate area and nationally including of course YJP. In the summer you will usually find her on the tennis court at a charity networking outing.
Mickey has worked with her family real estate business since she was a small child; her mom had a tiny hard hat made for her for sight tours and going on sight tours is still one of her favorite activities. Her paternal grandfather was the first to enter the business and her father Richard, started building his portfolio as a teenager. Her mother Jacki runs a not for profit, LIFE focused on social services in NYS. Mickey ran the elder care department there from 2013-2017 and continues to collaborate with LIFE on projects and as a volunteer. She works in the staffing industry specifically focusing on real estate placements while continuing to work for her real estate focused family office and family foundation, The Jacob & Anita Penzer Family Foundation. Her family invests in real estate, primarily in NYC, but what really brings them together is their passion for poverty alleviation, particularly in the NYC area. They aim to help low income, elderly or otherwise disadvantages residents of NYC gain proper participation in their housing, government services and receive better living conditions.
Her passion is to use her lifelong real estate experience, combined with her knowledge of social services, government, philanthropy and social entrepreneurship to create socially conscious real estate projects. She wants to holistically redesign what it looks like to live in a low income community. Let's Build a better world together!
Simon Ziff serves as president of Ackman-Ziff, a position he assumed in 1995. Since joining the firm as an analyst in 1989, Simon has overseen the firms arranging of over $50 billion of debt, mezzanine and equity financings for some of the nation’s foremost real estate developers and owners while solidifying the firm’s relationships with key capital sources. Simon has engineered the firm’s collaborative culture which functions as a magnet for financial talent. He has directed its evolution as an industry thought-leader with over 30 professionals on the team.
Simon received a B.S. in Finance from Pennsylvania State University, and an M.S. in Real Estate Finance from New York University. In May 2002, New York University awarded Simon its second ever distinguished Real Estate Alumni Recognition Award. He has also been recognized on multiple occasions by the Real Estate Board of New York, including as the first recipient of its Most Promising Commercial Salesperson of the Year Award” and six times as the recipient of its “Most Ingenious Deal of the Year award. Simon has also been active in leadership of many not-for-profit organizations.
In January 2012, Simon received the prestigious Louis Smadbeck Broker Recognition Award from the Real Estate Board of New York in recognition of his positive influence on the real estate brokerage industry over the past 17 years.
Co-Chairs
Jay M. Heydt serves as Managing Director of Sales and Leasing and is responsible for MRC’s multifamily portfolio and maximizing the investments of its 2,500 plus residential units throughout the five boroughs of NYC along with the disposition of available condo inventory. Mr. Heydt’s role encompasses marketing and media placement, design and development of value add and ground up projects, investor updates, pricing, customer service, and brokerage relations.
In addition Jay also assists with new business development initiatives from sourcing new equity deals, JV opportunities as well as seeks note acquisitions and lending opportunities to borrowers in NY, Florida , Boston, Chicago , Texas and California.
Madison Realty Capital (MRC) is a New York City-based real estate private equity firm focused on debt and equity investment strategies. Founded in 2004, MRC has closed on approximately $11 billion of transactions in the multifamily, retail, office, industrial and hotel sectors. The firm manages investments in the United States on behalf of a global investor base. MRC is a fully integrated firm with over 60 employees across all real estate investment, development, and property management disciplines. Among other industry recognitions, MRC has been named to the Commercial Observer’s prestigious “Power 100” list of New York City real estate players and is consistently cited as one of the industry’s top construction lenders.
Noah Kossoff joined Marcus & Millichap in 2016. His career in real estate first started as a paralegal working for a real estate law firm, where he was responsible for performing due diligence & creating DHCR analysis charts.
In his first year, Noah was named Marcus & Millichap’s Manhattan Office Rookie of the Year. Since joining, he has handled the sale of over $300M worth of real estate.
Prior to joining Marcus & Millichap’s Manhattan office, Noah graduated from Wheaton College (MA), majoring in both Business/Management and Economics. While at Wheaton, he was a co-founder of the Student Business Association and a captain of the Men’s Soccer Team.
Born and raised in New York City, Noah grew up with a passion for real estate. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer for the New York Athletic Club and traveling.
Sponsors
About
YJP's Real Estate Network is a vibrant and robust sector comprised of trade experts and active developers who continue to shape monumental skylines across the glove. From Shanghai to Downtown Brooklyn, our speakers and mentors are renowned in the industry for their abilities to raise funds, identify high-producing investment opportunities, and find up and coming opportunities in the market.
The VIP Leadership Conference will bring together the top real estate deal makers, moves, and shakers to cover everything from up-and-coming investment opportunities, marketing + branding, case studies, future market outlook, and identifying new avenues for collaboration. This event is exclusive for young leadership members and above. With a by-invitation-only guest-list of 180+ top real estate professionals in the Tri-State area, the conference is sure to add value to all who wish to grow their portfolios.
YJP is a non profit organization focused on providing business, educational, and mentoring opportunities for the next generation of Jewish business leaders—see what else we have going on, here!