In Person - Real Estate Investment & Strategy: Dinner with Tom Shapiro, Founder of GTIS Partners

Tom Shapiro is the President and Founder of GTIS. In addition, Mr. Shapiro is the Chief Investment Officer responsible for overseeing all investment activity and strategy of the firm. Mr. Shapiro is also Chairman of the General Partner’s Investment Committee and is a member of the Board of Directors of Brazil Hospitality Group, one of the largest owners and managers of hotels in Brazil.

Mr. Shapiro’s experience in the real estate industry began in 1988. Prior to starting GTIS, Mr. Shapiro was a Senior Managing Director at Tishman Speyer and a member of the firm’s Investment and Management Committees. Most recently, Mr. Shapiro was responsible for Tishman Speyer’s global equity capital markets and dispositions groups. Previously, Mr. Shapiro ran GTS Properties, an acquisitions joint venture between Tishman Speyer and Goldman Sachs.

Mr. Shapiro serves on the Board of Trustees of Horace Mann School. He also serves on the Undergraduate Executive Board for The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania from which Mr. Shapiro received a B.S. and graduated magna cum laude.

A respected dealmaker, Ted Hunter is a Manatt Real Estate partner in the New
York office, working with clients throughout the East Coast—particularly in New
York and New Jersey—and across the country. Ted’s experience in commercial
real estate is broad and deep, ranging from acquisitions and dispositions to
leases, and from financing, joint ventures and workouts to development
transactions. He regularly brings complex real estate deals to successful
conclusions on behalf of clients, including investors, developers, lenders,
owners and tenants.

In addition to providing legal advice, Ted serves as a strategic business advisor
for clients. He is experienced in negotiating every aspect of sophisticated
commercial real estate matters and is focused on both his clients’ and the other
transacting parties’ objectives. His collaborative, solution-driven approach to
client service allows him to help both parties find common ground in high-stakes
negotiations while achieving significant outcomes for his clients.

Additionally, Ted is known as an “exceptionally competent” and “incredibly
smart” lawyer who possesses significant experience in public-private partnership
(P3) transactions and complex, multijurisdictional portfolio deals.
Prior to joining Manatt, Ted was the leader of another leading firm’s national real estate practice and was instrumental in expanding its real estate capabilities from strategy to deal management.

Education
 Fordham Law School, J.D.; Fordham Law Review, Associate Editor, 1995
 Washington University, History and Political Science, B.A., 1991

Memberships and Activities
 Member, Bar of the United States Supreme Court
 Former Member of Board of Trustees, Executive Board Member, First Vice President, Master
Planning Chair, Development Chair, The Elisabeth Morrow School (2006–2016)
 Member, NAIOP-NJ
 Member, Real Estate Board of New York
 Member, Young Real Estate Professionals of New York

Experience
A selection of Ted’s most significant transactions includes representation of:
Acquisitions and Dispositions
 A private equity firm in its $450 million bid to buy a 44-building office portfolio in California, Delaware, Virginia and New Jersey
 A hedge fund-backed, quantitative-driven real estate investment firm with the $250 million acquisition and financing of a portfolio of 30 manufactured housing parks in Texas, Alabama and Georgia
 A national developer with its build-to-suit development, construction financing, net lease and ultimate sale of three warehouse/office/retail buildings for Crate and Barrel totaling approximately 950,000 square feet (development undertaken in three phases)
 The owner of more than 200 acres of commercial property near Princeton with the phased sale and redevelopment of the property for commercial and multifamily uses, including the build-to-suit construction and leaseback of an office building and R&D facility
 A real estate investor with a $42 million acquisition, as controlling investor, of a commercial design center in San Francisco’s Inner Potrero neighborhood of SoMa; the transaction included negotiation of a “Tenancy-in-Common” agreement, a 1031 exchange, $35 million in CMBS acquisition financing, and property and asset management agreements

Leasing
 The operator of the largest marine container terminal in the Port of NY/NJ with a 40-year extension to its lease with the Port Authority calling for upwards of $1.3 billion in investments to wharf replacement and over $400 million in other infrastructure investments over the first 10 years of the extended lease term
 A hotel operator in preparing a lease calling for one of its hotels in North Carolina to be converted into an emergency COVID-19 quarantine facility for U.S. Army soldiers infected with the virus, who were airlifted out of bases in Northern Italy at the outset of the pandemic
 A leading global, multiplatform media and entertainment company that is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content with its headquarters lease in Manhattan and its production facility in Los Angeles
 Filene’s Basement and Syms with the leasing of their retail space at 530 Fifth Avenue; the deal was recognized as one of NYC’s most creative and significant retail deals by REBNY and was awarded the 2010 “Retail Deal of the Year”
 A national developer with its ground lease of government-owned land, development and construction financing of a mixed-use office and retail complex on 125th Street in Manhattan (Harlem Center) that was made possible by Empire State Development Authority and NYC Economic Development Corporation incentives
Joint Ventures, Financings and Public-Private Partnerships
 A multinational social infrastructure privatization firm that is the nation’s leader in public/private community development with the privatization of both housing and lodging on over 30 U.S. military bases, including the privatization, leasing, acquisition, development and financing of multiple 50-year Ted Hunter Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP projects—one of which, the Privatization of Army Lodging (PAL), was recognized as the “North American Real Estate Deal of the Year” by Project Finance Magazine
 A family office in the purchase of an 85% equity interest in an Embassy Suites hotel and a DoubleTree hotel located near Wilmington, Delaware, including amendments to the respective hotel franchise agreements, the negotiation of new management agreements for the hotels, and new mortgage and mezzanine loans totaling $42 million for funding PIP improvements and the operation of the hotels
 The special servicer of a single asset securitization in the enforcement of its rights against a defaulting borrower of an $846 million mortgage loan portfolio secured by liens on 34 Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor stores across the U.S.
 A hedge fund with more than $7 billion in discretionary assets, as lead lender, with an up to $800 million syndicated secured credit facility made to a leading operator of casinos, as borrower, and funding the borrower’s acquisition of casinos, hotels and card rooms in Nevada, Colorado, Utah and Washington
 A national developer with its $220 million construction financing of its joint venture development with a major investment bank and The New York Times Company of a 52-story office tower in Manhattan that serves as the new international headquarters of The New York Times
 A national developer in the formation of a joint venture to acquire and develop a 40-story residential condominium on Manhattan’s Upper West Side
Honors and Awards
 “America’s Leading Lawyers for Business” in the area of Real Estate Law by Chambers USA (2009–2016)
 Recognized among “Top Lawyers in America” in Best Lawyers for Real Estate Law (2016–2021)

Margules founded Margules Properties, Inc. in 1992 to purchase and manage rent-stabilized apartment buildings in New York City. Since then, Margules has led the acquisition of 66 buildings in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Long Island, Jersey City and Miami Beach. He identifies and analyzes potential investment opportunities, negotiates all acquisitions and arranges the total capitalization of each acquisition through senior debt financing and equity for each LLC syndication. Margules maintains a network of over 200 investors, many of whom have invested in several Margules Properties syndications.

Margules continues his involvement in newly acquired properties by working to reposition the asset where appropriate in order to maximize revenue. His in-house management team is responsible for running the day-to-day operations of the existing properties and Margules oversees this process to ensure efficient and reliable maintenance and management to all buildings in the portfolio.

Margules is credited as an early pioneer in neighborhoods that were poised to grow and has done this over again with tremendous success. Neighborhoods such as Manhattan’s Midtown West, East Village, Chelsea and Lower East Side, once considered fringe areas, are now some of the most sought after areas of New York City.

Before founding Margules Properties, Eric Margules worked as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch and Kidder Peabody and as a real estate consultant. He holds an MBA in Real Estate and Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Computer Science from New York University.

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.

Laurent Morali is the President of Kushner Companies. Mr. Morali began his career in finance with Credit Lyonnais Bank in Seoul, Korea. In January 2000, he joined the structured real estate finance team of Credit Lyonnais in Paris. He joined Credit Lyonnais America’s real estate financing team in October 2001 with a rapid focus on complex transactions on the capital markets. Mr. Morali joined Kushner Companies in 2008 where he has held several positions, starting with Director of Finance, transitioning to Head of Acquisitions and Capital Markets, in June 2016 he became President of the company. Mr. Morali has closed in excess of $14 billion worth of real estate transactions, from construction and development deals to complex securitizations of real estate and other esoteric assets. Mr. Morali obtained his Business School degree from Ecole Superieure de Commerce of Toulouse, France in June, 1998.

Jan 23 2017

Moshe Shuster is Founder and President of Victor Group.

Under Moshe’s leadership, Victor Group has developed millions of square feet of residential and commercial property in New York and New Jersey over the last two decades.

As Founder and President, Moshe oversees every aspect of Victor Group’s operations, including property acquisitions, selection of design teams, project financing and marketing.

Prior to founding Victor Group, Moshe was the President and Director of Naveh Shuster Ltd, a real estate construction and holding company. During his time at Naveh Shuster, he oversaw the development of approximately 3,000 condominiums in various locations throughout Israel. In 1997, three years after he had established Victor Group in the United States, he left Naveh Shuster and turned his attention to property development in New Jersey and New York City.

Moshe holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Technion in Haifa, Israel.

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 arrangement of $80+ billion of debt, mezzanine, and equity financings for some of the nation’s foremost real estate developers and owners while simultaneously solidifying the firm’s relationships with key capital sources. He engineered the firm’s collaborative culture – a magnet for financial talent – and directed Ackman-Ziff’s evolution as an industry thought leader with over 60 professionals on the team.

Simon received a B.S. in Finance from The Pennsylvania State University and an M.S. in Real Estate Finance from New York University. He has been recognized on multiple occasions by Penn State, NYU, and the Real Estate Board of New York, including being awarded REBNY’s first “Most Promising Commercial Salesperson of the Year” Award”, receiving the “Most Ingenious Deal of the Year” award six times, and winning the prestigious Louis Smadbeck award.

Simon has also been active in leadership roles of many not-for-profit organizations.

Ziel Feldman is the Chairman and Founder of HFZ Capital Group, a Manhattan-based real estate investment and development company formed in 2005.

With an expertise in a broad range of real estate disciplines, including underwriting, analytics, structured finance, investment, development, construction and asset management, HFZ capitalizes on development and investment opportunities both in the U.S. and abroad and has acquired, owned, developed and operated properties across many asset classes, including residential, hotel, retail, sports and entertainment.

Under Mr. Feldman’s leadership, HFZ has become one of New York City’s most active and successful real estate development companies, with more than 5 million square feet of residential assets under development and management. His long range perspective and fundamental respect for the cyclical nature of the real estate industry continues to provide HFZ with the fiscal discipline to manage its assets and conduct its activities in ways that help the company derive the most value and opportunity out of each cycle.

Some of Mr. Feldman’s recent projects under HFZ include the acquisition, development and construction of mixed-use residential condominiums located at 505 West 19th Street, One Madison Avenue, Halcyon at 305 East 51st Street, The Marquand located at 11 East 68th Street, 11 Beach Street, 215 Chrystie Street, The Chatsworth located at 340-344 West 72nd Street, 20 West 40th Street, The Astor located at 235 West 75th Street, The Metro located at 301 West 53rd Street, and 88 and 90 Lexington Avenue, as well as the note securing The Setai at Wall Street (40 Broad Street), all located in New York City, as well as the Shore Club in Miami Beach.

Mr. Feldman began his career as a real estate attorney in 1984 and concurrently, began investing in multi-family properties in New York City. Based in part on his legal background, Mr. Feldman takes a creative approach to deal structuring and has a unique understanding and ability to manage risk. Prior to forming HFZ, Mr. Feldman co-founded Property Markets Group in 1991. With Ziel Feldman at the helm, PMG grew into a national real estate development company, with diverse holdings in hotel, resort, residential, commercial, and golf course community developments.

Over his more than 25 years of experience in the real estate industry, Mr. Feldman has
championed the development of mixed-use properties across a broad range of Manhattan neighborhoods with over 12,000 residential units bought, sold and developed, with an aggregate value in excess of $7.5 billion.

Mr. Feldman graduated from Queens College with a B.A. in Economics and Accounting, and holds a Law degree from Cardozo Law School. Mr. Feldman together with his wife, Helene, are involved in many charitable organizations and sit on several charitable boards. Mr. and Mrs. Feldman reside in Manhattan, and have 3 children, Jordan, Adam and Leila.