2019 | Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate

2019 Real Estate Symposium

The 12th annual Real Estate Symposium, an exclusive Columbia Business School alumni-only educational forum took place on Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at the Princeton Club of New York.

Please email [email protected] with questions.

2019 Real Estate Symposium

Agenda
Speaker Biographies
Steering Committee
Reports and Photos

2019 Schedule of Events

*please note that the short presentation "Sea Level Rise and its Impact on Cities" has been replaced by "Virtual Kitchens: Strategic Partnerships and the Impact on Commercial Real Estate"

Time	Event
11:45 a.m.	Check-in / Registration Opens Second floor foyer
12:00–1:00 p.m.	Buffet Lunch Alexander Hamilton Room, second floor
1:00–2:00 p.m.	Opening Discussion: Retail and Public REITs James Madison Room, second floor Kenneth Bernstein President & CEO Acadia Realty Trust Biography Kenneth F. Bernstein is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Acadia Realty Trust, which he co-founded in 1998. Acadia Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust specializing in the acquisition, redevelopment and management of open air retail properties. Acadia owns, or has ownership interest in over 100 properties totaling approximately $4 billion dollars in value. Acadia is also the manager of a series of discretionary institutional acquisition funds. Acadia recently launched Fund V which is capitalized to acquire $1.5 billion dollars of retail properties. Along with his responsibilities at Acadia, Mr. Bernstein sits on the Board of Trustees of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and served as the 2017/2018 Chairman. Mr. Bernstein served as Chief Operating Officer of RD Capital until its merger with Mark Centers Trust in 1998, creating Acadia Realty Trust. Prior to that, Mr. Bernstein was an associate with the New York law firm of Battle Fowler, LLP. Mr. Bernstein received his BA from the University of Vermont and his JD from Boston University School of Law. In addition to being a member of the World President’s Organization (YPO-WPO), where he was the founding chairman of the Real Estate Network, he currently sits on the Board of Advisors. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Golub Capital (NASDAQ:GBDC). Jim Sullivan ’89 President Green Street Advisors Biography Jim Sullivan is President of Green Street's Advisory Group, which provides strategic advice to commercial real estate owners and investors located in the U.S. and around the globe. He has managed the Group since 2014. Clients of Green Street Advisory include private real estate companies considering IPOs, publicly traded and non-traded REITs seeking strategic advice, C-corps considering REIT conversions/spin-offs, operating companies evaluating real estate monetization strategies, as well as investment vehicles including hedge funds, long-only funds, pension funds, private equity firms, and family offices. Jim joined Green Street in 1994. During the subsequent 20 years, he was Green Street's lead research analyst covering REITs in a variety of property sectors including office, industrial, malls, strip centers, self-storage, health care and manufactured housing. Jim managed Green Street's North American Research, comprised of 30+ analysts covering 80+ REITs, from 2010-2013. Throughout his 24-year career at Green Street he has been quoted widely in the financial media and has been recognized as an All-Star REIT analyst by The Wall Street Journal. He is a member of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Nareit), the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), and the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE). Prior to Green Street, Jim worked for ten years as a real estate investment banker and construction lender at Bank of America in Los Angeles and Manufacturers Hanover Trust in New York. He earned his MBA in Finance & Real Estate from Columbia University and his B.A. in Economics from Duke University. Jim is a member of the Board of Directors at Bixby Land, a private real estate company.
2:00–2:20 p.m.	Short Presentation Virtual Kitchens: Strategic Partnerships and the Impact on Commercial Real Estate James Madison Room, second floor Jim Collins Chief Executive Officer Kitchen United Biography Jim Collins is the founder, owner and operator of Town Kitchen and Grill in Montrose, CA, a 100 seat new American restaurant that recently won 10 best new American restaurants in Los Angeles. But that’s just his night job. During the days Jim has CEO’d a series of national, venture-backed distributed enterprises including Affinity Internet, a hosting company with more than 500,000 websites and Pictage, a B2B2C enterprise connecting professional photographers and their clients. Today Jim is CEO of Pasadena, CA based Kitchen United, a commercial kitchen outsourcer and operator serving the delivery, restaurant and entrepreneurial food community.
2:20-2:45 p.m.	Coffee Break Fourth floor foyer
2:45–3:45 p.m.	Breakout Panel: PropTech in the Era of Climate Change: How the Built Environment Must Innovate to Maintain Sustainability and Resiliency McCosh/Dickinson Room, fourth floor Moderator: Zach Aarons ’13, MetaProp Zach Aarons has been working at the intersection of real estate and venture capital for the past decade. Zach is the most active early-stage PropTech investor in the United States, having funded over 60 startups in the space as an individual as well as 40 startups (and counting) through MetaProp NYC's venture capital funds. In addition to early-stage investing, Zach has worked on large scale mixed-use development projects in cities like Boston and Los Angeles with Millennium Partners. He has experience with real estate development, commercial asset management, property marketing, and commercial leasing. Prior to joining Millennium and founding MetaProp NYC, Zach was a Senior Associate at ENIAC Ventures, a seed stage mobile technology fund and the founder of Travelgoat, an online and offline walking tour business. He began his career as an analyst at boutique investment bank Peter J. Solomon Company. Outside of work, Zach currently serves on the Board of Trustees of The Tenement Museum. Zach is an Assistant Adjunct Professor at the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. He is the author of the bestselling book, PropTech 101: Turning Chaos Into Cash Through Real Estate Innovation. He serves on the Technology Committee for the Real Estate Board of New York and the Technology and Real Estate Technology Council for the Urban Land Institute. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with an A.B. from Brown University in Ancient Studies and earned an MBA from Columbia Business School. Zach has been featured in dozens of international publications and media, including The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The Real Deal, Curbed, Commercial Observer, Propmodo, The Information, TechCrunch, Bisnow, Forbes, The Real Estate Weekly, Crain's, and Cheddar. He is a frequent speaker at global PropTech events including the Urban Land Institute, MIPIM, Realcomm, ICSC ReCon, Argus Connect, SuperReturn International, and the Columbia/Goodwin Real Estate Capital Markets Conference. Panelists: Robyn Beavers, Blueprint Power Robyn Beavers has been an innovator in clean energy, tech, and real estate for the past 15 years, wearing both entrepreneurial and investing hats. She began her career at Google, reporting directly to the co-founders working on strategic initiatives as they took the company public. Robyn went on to found Google's first business unit focused on incorporating clean energy generation across the company's global operations. Since then she has built new ventures and programs for Vestas Wind A/S in Copenhagen, Dean Kamen at DEKA R&D, the U.S. Department of Energy and NRG Energy, where she was Senior Vice President of Innovation. Most recently, she was an executive at Lennar, where she built the firm’s first corporate venture platform while incubating Blueprint Power Technologies. Today, Robyn Beavers is the CEO and co-founder of Blueprint Power, a new NYC-based real estate tech company that turns buildings into power plants. Robyn holds both a B.S. in Civil Engineering and an MBA from Stanford University. Anthony Fiore, NYC Division of Energy As Chief Energy Management Officer for the City of New York Anthony has overall responsibility for purchasing energy for municipal operations and demand management for all City agencies, cultural institutions, hospitals, and schools and universities. Anthony is responsible for managing a $700 million annual energy supply budget, and a $3 billion 10-year capital budget to develop and implement programs to achieve the City’s One City: Built to Last strategy of an 80 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Prior to this role Anthony served as the Director of Energy Regulatory Affairs for the City of New York and was responsible for acting as the primary energy policy advocate for the City before numerous State and federal agencies, and providing analysis over a wide range of regulatory and legislative matters related to energy. Prior to this, Anthony was Chief of Staff for Operations at the City of New York’s water and wastewater treatment agency. Operations under his purview included water supply, water and sewer distribution operations and wastewater treatment. Anthony has more than 20 years of service with the City of New York. He received a Bachelors in Science from Binghamton University and a Master’s in Public Health from the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University. Jonathan Flaherty ’07, Tishman Speyer Mr. Flaherty joined Tishman Speyer in 2007 and oversees global sustainability efforts for the company. In this role, he manages sustainability certifications, investor communications, worldwide performance tracking, procurement strategy and technological innovation implementation. Mr. Flaherty joined Tishman Speyer as part of the Leadership Development Program and has held various roles with the company, including in asset management and portfolio management for New York. Prior to joining the firm, he worked as a legislative aide for Senator Schumer in Washington, DC. Mr. Flaherty is on the board of directors for the Building Energy Exchange and is a team leader for the ACE Mentor Program. He holds a BA in political science from Kenyon College, and an MBA and MSUP from Columbia University. Katherine Zamsky ’14, Carbon Ventures Katherine Zamsky is a Managing Partner at Carbon Ventures, an impact venture fund investing in efficient infrastructure. The fund’s focus is on advanced technologies that reduce carbon emissions. In her prior role, Katherine was an investor at a single family office evaluating and structuring real estate deals for the portfolio and developing strategic partnerships. She had a long career in private equity/hedge fund management, multi-sector portfolio allocations, and structuring transactions and investment vehicles. At Bank of America, she launched and ran private equity and hedge feeder funds for the $65B wealth management platform and built platform’s operational infrastructure and technology. Katherine started her career at AIG hedge fund-of-fund team managing portfolio allocations. She holds a BA from Hunter College and an MBA from Columbia University.
2:45–3:45 p.m.	Breakout Panel: Co-Living and Beyond: Changing the Residential Paradigm Low/Butler/John Jay Room, fourth floor Moderator: Raphael Sidelsky ’99, W5 Group Raphael Sidelsky is the head of real estate investing for W5 Group which has offices in New York, Miami and Switzerland. Established in 2009, W5 Group is the single-family office of prominent European entrepreneur and real estate investor Ralph Winter. W5 Group seeks long term value creation and invests across asset classes and capital structures with a focus on innovative real estate opportunities including co-living, micro apartments, residential, student housing and lodging. Mr. Sidelsky has worked on over $6 billion of direct, entity level and joint venture real estate investments across a broad array of sectors and markets in the United States and Caribbean. Prior to W5, he worked as a Senior Managing Director/co-head of equity investments at CIII Capital Partners ($8BN in AUM) and before that as a Managing Director at Fremont Realty Capital, the Bechtel Family Office. He began his career as an architect and worked in Tel Aviv, Berlin, Los Angeles, Johannesburg and then in New York for Skidmore Owings and Merrill. Mr. Sidelsky received a Bachelor of Architecture in South Africa and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He is a board member of the Columbia Business School Real Estate Circle. Panelists: Jason Epstein, Sonder Jason Epstein joined Sonder as a Regional Director in December 2018. He is responsible for overseeing Sonder’s real estate growth for portions of the East Coast and Midwest, as well as lender outreach. Mr. Epstein has over nineteen years of real estate industry experience. Prior to joining Sonder, Mr. Epstein was a Managing Director at Seligson Properties, a regional real estate developer based in Norwalk, CT, for over four years, where he oversaw acquisitions, asset management and capital markets. Prior to joining Seligson Properties, Mr. Epstein ran has his own commercial real estate investment and consulting company for nearly five years and was a Partner at The Cordish Company in Baltimore, MD for nearly a decade. Mr. Epstein has acquired, financed and managed over $3 billion in complex real estate transactions throughout the United States, crossing all property types. Some of the projects in which Mr. Epstein played an integral role include The Power Plant and Power Plant Live! in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, Fourth Street Live! in Louisville, KY, The Power & Light District in Kansas City, MO, and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos in Hollywood and Tampa, FL. Prior to starting his real estate career, Mr. Epstein practiced law in New York City, where he concentrated in commercial litigation. He is admitted as an attorney in New York and Maryland. Mr. Epstein graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law. He resides in Larchmont, New York with his wife and two children. Britt Zaffir, KIN Britt Zaffir is the CEO of Kin, the first-of-its-kind housing brand designing and operating real estate to meet the changing needs of modern families. Britt started her career at Monitor Deloitte consulting for world-class hospitality companies before transitioning into formative roles at Airbnb, helping to develop localized strategies around marketing and operations analysis, and Amcor Holdings, a Canadian real estate investment and management firm. Prior to starting Kin, Britt spent three years as a senior real estate acquisitions lead at Common, working with real estate partners to expand Common's coliving footprint across the East Coast. In 2019, Britt spearheaded the creation of Kin, a joint venture between Common and Tishman Speyer, securing its first-ever family-focused residential buildings in Long Island City and other markets, to be announced later this year. Today, she oversees every aspect of Kin’s operations, from growth to product development. Britt graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School and an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business. She lives in New York City and loves to travel, trying delicious foods in new cities. Andy Levin, Ollie Andrew is Director of Real Estate Partnerships for Ollie, where he is responsible for sourcing and closing strategic partnerships. Prior to joining Ollie, he spent 7 years at Lehman Brothers & Barclays Capital, where he was a Vice President on the institutional equity sales desk, and most recently worked at The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group underwriting debt and equity transactions on behalf of developers. He has led fundraising efforts for the Camp Cedar Scholarship fund which provides underprivileged children scholarships to attend camp, and is a mentor with Year Up. Andrew graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
2:45–3:45 p.m.	Breakout Panel: Investment Strategies for 2020 and Beyond, Navigating the Longest Cycle Prospect/Triangle Room, fourth floor Moderator: Ronald Dickerman ’87, Madison International Realty Ronald is President and Founder of Madison International Realty, a global, fully integrated real estate private equity firm providing joint venture and preferred equity to commercial real estate owners and investors within all major asset classes who are looking to recapitalize investments, restructure balance sheets, provide existing partners with an exit strategy or redeploy capital for new investments. His primary responsibilities include investment strategy, capital formation and risk management. Since its founding in 2002, Madison has raised more than $5.4 billion in capital commitments for investment in commercial real estate under Ronald’s guidance. Mr. Dickerman has over 30 years of experience focused on the analysis, acquisition, financing, management and disposition of income-producing assets such as real estate, mortgage products, healthcare properties, leased equipment, media properties, oil & gas, as well as other specialty assets. Prior to founding Madison in 2002, Mr. Dickerman was President and Founder of First Equity Realty, LLC, a real estate investment firm specializing in the acquisition of under-performing real estate assets from financial institutions. He is an active member of numerous real estate industry trade organizations and a frequent speaker on the topic of secondary investments and liquidity at real estate conferences and universities throughout the country. During the period from 1987 to 1991, Mr. Dickerman was an investment banker in the Real Estate / Partnership Finance Group at Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co., Inc., where he was responsible for the origination, analysis, structuring, acquisition, asset management, disposition and marketing of real estate and other limited partnerships. Mr. Dickerman serves on the board of directors of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) and is an active member of INREV, the Zell Lurie Institute, and a frequent speaker on the topic of secondary investments and liquidity at real estate conferences throughout the world. Mr. Dickerman earned a MBA degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business and a BA degree from Tufts University. Panelists: Lisa Kaufman ’92, LaSalle Investment Responsibilities Ms. Kaufman is Chief Executive Officer of LaSalle Investment Management Securities with twenty-eight years of real estate experience. She is the portfolio manager for North American real estate securities programs. Ms. Kaufman’s responsibilities include portfolio management and overall group management. She is a member of the Global Securities Advisory Committee, the Portfolio Management Oversight Committee, and LaSalle Investment Management’s Global Management Committee. Experience Ms. Kaufman joined LaSalle in 1994 and the Securities group in 1998. Ms. Kaufman’s previous responsibilities at the firm include serving as a senior analyst covering US retail, US industrial and Canadian retail companies and acting as the Deputy Portfolio Manager for North America. Prior to joining the Securities group in 1998, Ms. Kaufman worked in LaSalle’s private equity group where she focused on entity level investments in real estate. These transactions included recapitalizing existing portfolios, private real estate companies and public REITs. Education and Affiliations Ms. Kaufman received an M.B.A in finance from Columbia University’s Business School and an A.B. in Urban Studies and Political Science from Brown University. Ms. Kaufman serves on the Real Estate Investment Advisory Council (REIAC) and the Dividends through Diversity Steering Committee at NAREIT. Tom Shapiro, GTIS 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 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. Peter Sotoloff, Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies Mr. Sotoloff co-founded MRECS in 2014 and serves as a Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, as well as member of the Investment Committee. Prior to joining MRECS, he was a Managing Director and Head of U.S. Originations of Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies (BREDS), was a founding member of the Blackstone affiliate that advises such funds, and contributed to the launch of Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE: BXMT). Over 7 years, Mr. Sotoloff helped BREDS become a well-respected platform with $10 billion of equity capital and was closely involved in more than 90 discrete investment transactions representing more than $30 billion in total transaction value. Mr. Sotoloff oversaw structured finance transactions including both loan originations and investments in legacy loan portfolios and CMBS. He also sourced several transactions for the Blackstone Real Estate Partners equity investment program. Mr. Sotoloff served on the Investment Committee for Blackstone Mortgage Trust, the Review Committee for the Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Fund, and the Board of Directors of Landmark Apartment Trust. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Sotoloff was a principal at Tribeca Associates, and before that worked for Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Mr. Sotoloff is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, the Urban Land Institute, the CRE Finance council and the International Council of Shopping Centers. He graduated with highest honors from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and completed the International Business Strategies Program at the London School of Economics.
3:45–4:00 p.m.	Coffee Break James Madison Room, second floor
4:00–5:00 p.m.	Keynote Fireside Chat James Madison Room, second floor Scott Rechler Chairman, CEO RXR Biography Scott Rechler is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of RXR Realty LLC (“RXR”), a multi-billion dollar private real estate company which was formed subsequent to the sale of Reckson Associates Realty Corp (“Reckson”) to SL Green in January 2007, one of the largest public Real Estate management buyouts in REIT history. Mr. Rechler served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board during Reckson’s dynamic growth throughout New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester and Connecticut. Mr. Rechler was the architect of Reckson’s $300 million IPO in 1995 and $6.0 billion sale in 2007 generating over 700% total return to Reckson shareholders. Since its formation in January 2007, Mr. Rechler has led RXR in becoming one of the largest owners, managers, and developers in New York City and the surrounding region. The RXR platform manages 74 commercial real estate properties and investments with an aggregate gross asset value of approximately $17.7 billion, comprising approximately 23.7 million square feet of commercial operating properties and approximately 6,000 multi-family and for sale units in various stages of development in the New York Metropolitan area as of September 30, 2017, adjusted for transactions through October 18, 2017. In June 2011, Mr. Rechler was appointed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to serve on the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and served on such Board until October 2016. During his Board tenure Mr. Rechler served as Vice Chairman of such Board, and as Chairman of the Port Authority’s Capital Planning Committee with responsibility for the Port’s $30 billion capital budget, including the World Trade Center redevelopment. In May 2013, Mr. Rechler was appointed to represent Governor Cuomo on the Board of The National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center Foundation, Inc. In June 2017, Mr. Rechler was appointed by Gov. Cuomo to serve on the Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and served as commissioner until March 2019. Mr. Rechler prides himself on enhancing the communities where RXR operates. As such, he serves as Chairman of the Regional Plan Association, is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, a Board member of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, and a member of the NYU Real Estate Institute Advisory Committee. In addition, Mr. Rechler serves on the Board of many of the region’s top cultural institutions such as the Tribeca Film Institute where he serves as its co-Chairman of the Board, 9/11 Memorial & Museum Board of Directors, serving as Co-Chair of the Finance & Investment Committee, the Long Island Children’s Museum, and the Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Drum Major Institute, Board of Directors for Convene and Chairman of the Center for Social Innovation. Mr. Rechler is a graduate of Clark University. He also earned a Masters of Science degree in Real Estate at the New York University Schack Institute. David Sherman ’82 Senior Advisor & Co-Founder, Metropolitan Real Estate Co-Director, Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate, Columbia Business School Biography David M. Sherman is a Co-founder and Managing Director of Metropolitan and Chairman of Metropolitan’s investment committee. Mr. Sherman has more than 30 years of real estate finance and analytical experience. In 2000, Mr. Sherman founded D. Sherman & Company, Inc., an advisory firm focused on strategic issues and transactions in the real estate securities industry. Previously, Mr. Sherman was Managing Director of Salomon Smith Barney’s REIT research team, which covered more than 60 stocks and supported the firm’s $15 billion of REIT offering activity. At Smith Barney, Mr. Sherman created a new approach to evaluate global real estate securities and initiated global coverage of the sector. The team received recognition from Institutional Investor Magazine in 1998 and 1999. Mr. Sherman also held other positions in real estate finance, investment banking, and strategic planning at Smith Barney, The Harlan Company, First Boston, and Paine Webber, including acting as the Chief Financial Officer of Paine Webber Properties. In addition, Mr. Sherman is the Co-Director of the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business Administration and the former Chairman of the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) Institute Committee. Previously, Mr. Sherman was an Adjunct Professor of Real Estate Finance at Columbia Business School for seven years. Over the years, Mr. Sherman has published numerous articles in periodicals including American Banker, PREA Quarterly, Shopping Center Business, and National Real Estate Investor. Mr. Sherman served as a panelist for Institutional Limited Partners Association for its first member educational webcast on private equity real estate. Mr. Sherman currently serves as an independent director on the board of Brookfield Residential Properties. Mr. Sherman received an A.B. in Mathematical Economics (magna cum laude) from Brown University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia Business School.
5:00–6:30 p.m.	Networking Reception Alexander Hamilton Room, second floor

Opening Discussion

Ken Bernstein

Kenneth Bernstein
President & CEO
Acadia Realty Trust

Biography

Kenneth F. Bernstein is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Acadia Realty Trust, which he co-founded in 1998. Acadia Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust specializing in the acquisition, redevelopment and management of open air retail properties. Acadia owns, or has ownership interest in over 100 properties totaling approximately $4 billion dollars in value.

Acadia is also the manager of a series of discretionary institutional acquisition funds. Acadia recently launched Fund V which is capitalized to acquire $1.5 billion dollars of retail properties.

Along with his responsibilities at Acadia, Mr. Bernstein sits on the Board of Trustees of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and served as the 2017/2018 Chairman.

Mr. Bernstein served as Chief Operating Officer of RD Capital until its merger with Mark Centers Trust in 1998, creating Acadia Realty Trust. Prior to that, Mr. Bernstein was an associate with the New York law firm of Battle Fowler, LLP.

Mr. Bernstein received his BA from the University of Vermont and his JD from Boston University School of Law. In addition to being a member of the World President’s Organization (YPO-WPO), where he was the founding chairman of the Real Estate Network, he currently sits on the Board of Advisors. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Golub Capital (NASDAQ:GBDC).

Jim Sullivan '89

Jim Sullivan ’89
President
Green Street Advisors

Biography

Jim Sullivan is President of Green Street's Advisory Group, which provides strategic advice to commercial real estate owners and investors located in the U.S. and around the globe. He has managed the Group since 2014. Clients of Green Street Advisory include private real estate companies considering IPOs, publicly traded and non-traded REITs seeking strategic advice, C-corps considering REIT conversions/spin-offs, operating companies evaluating real estate monetization strategies, as well as investment vehicles including hedge funds, long-only funds, pension funds, private equity firms, and family offices.

Jim joined Green Street in 1994. During the subsequent 20 years, he was Green Street's lead research analyst covering REITs in a variety of property sectors including office, industrial, malls, strip centers, self-storage, health care and manufactured housing. Jim managed Green Street's North American Research, comprised of 30+ analysts covering 80+ REITs, from 2010-2013. Throughout his 24-year career at Green Street he has been quoted widely in the financial media and has been recognized as an All-Star REIT analyst by The Wall Street Journal. He is a member of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Nareit), the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), and the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE).

Prior to Green Street, Jim worked for ten years as a real estate investment banker and construction lender at Bank of America in Los Angeles and Manufacturers Hanover Trust in New York. He earned his MBA in Finance & Real Estate from Columbia University and his B.A. in Economics from Duke University. Jim is a member of the Board of Directors at Bixby Land, a private real estate company.

Short Presentation

Jim Collins

Jim Collins
Chief Executive Officer
Kitchen United

Biography

Jim Collins is the founder, owner and operator of Town Kitchen and Grill in Montrose, CA, a 100 seat new American restaurant that recently won 10 best new American restaurants in Los Angeles. But that’s just his night job. During the days Jim has CEO’d a series of national, venture-backed distributed enterprises including Affinity Internet, a hosting company with more than 500,000 websites and Pictage, a B2B2C enterprise connecting professional photographers and their clients. Today Jim is CEO of Pasadena, CA based Kitchen United, a commercial kitchen outsourcer and operator serving the delivery, restaurant and entrepreneurial food community.

Keynote Fireside Chat

Scott Rechler

Scott Rechler
Chairman & CEO
RXR

Biography

Scott Rechler is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of RXR Realty LLC (“RXR”), a multi-billion dollar private real estate company which was formed subsequent to the sale of Reckson Associates Realty Corp (“Reckson”) to SL Green in January 2007, one of the largest public Real Estate management buyouts in REIT history.

Mr. Rechler served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board during Reckson’s dynamic growth throughout New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester and Connecticut. Mr. Rechler was the architect of Reckson’s $300 million IPO in 1995 and $6.0 billion sale in 2007 generating over 700% total return to Reckson shareholders.

Since its formation in January 2007, Mr. Rechler has led RXR in becoming one of the largest owners, managers, and developers in New York City and the surrounding region. The RXR platform manages 74 commercial real estate properties and investments with an aggregate gross asset value of approximately $17.7 billion, comprising approximately 23.7 million square feet of commercial operating properties and approximately 6,000 multi-family and for sale units in various stages of development in the New York Metropolitan area as of September 30, 2017, adjusted for transactions through October 18, 2017.

In June 2011, Mr. Rechler was appointed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to serve on the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and served on such Board until October 2016. During his Board tenure Mr. Rechler served as Vice Chairman of such Board, and as Chairman of the Port Authority’s Capital Planning Committee with responsibility for the Port’s $30 billion capital budget, including the World Trade Center redevelopment. In May 2013, Mr. Rechler was appointed to represent Governor Cuomo on the Board of The National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center Foundation, Inc. In June 2017, Mr. Rechler was appointed by Gov. Cuomo to serve on the Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and served as commissioner until March 2019.

Mr. Rechler prides himself on enhancing the communities where RXR operates. As such, he serves as Chairman of the Regional Plan Association, is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, a Board member of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, and a member of the NYU Real Estate Institute Advisory Committee. In addition, Mr. Rechler serves on the Board of many of the region’s top cultural institutions such as the Tribeca Film Institute where he serves as its co-Chairman of the Board, 9/11 Memorial & Museum Board of Directors, serving as Co-Chair of the Finance & Investment Committee, the Long Island Children’s Museum, and the Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Drum Major Institute, Board of Directors for Convene and Chairman of the Center for Social Innovation.

Mr. Rechler is a graduate of Clark University. He also earned a Masters of Science degree in Real Estate at the New York University Schack Institute.

David Sherman '89

David Sherman ’82
Senior Advisor & Co-Founder, Metropolitan Real Estate
Co-Director, Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate, Columbia Business School

Biography

David M. Sherman is a Co-founder and Managing Director of Metropolitan and Chairman of Metropolitan’s investment committee. Mr. Sherman has more than 30 years of real estate finance and analytical experience. In 2000, Mr. Sherman founded D. Sherman & Company, Inc., an advisory firm focused on strategic issues and transactions in the real estate securities industry.

Previously, Mr. Sherman was Managing Director of Salomon Smith Barney’s REIT research team, which covered more than 60 stocks and supported the firm’s $15 billion of REIT offering activity. At Smith Barney, Mr. Sherman created a new approach to evaluate global real estate securities and initiated global coverage of the sector. The team received recognition from Institutional Investor Magazine in 1998 and 1999. Mr. Sherman also held other positions in real estate finance, investment banking, and strategic planning at Smith Barney, The Harlan Company, First Boston, and Paine Webber, including acting as the Chief Financial Officer of Paine Webber Properties.

In addition, Mr. Sherman is the Co-Director of the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business Administration and the former Chairman of the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) Institute Committee. Previously, Mr. Sherman was an Adjunct Professor of Real Estate Finance at Columbia Business School for seven years. Over the years, Mr. Sherman has published numerous articles in periodicals including American Banker, PREA Quarterly, Shopping Center Business, and National Real Estate Investor. Mr. Sherman served as a panelist for Institutional Limited Partners Association for its first member educational webcast on private equity real estate. Mr. Sherman currently serves as an independent director on the board of Brookfield Residential Properties.

Mr. Sherman received an A.B. in Mathematical Economics (magna cum laude) from Brown University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia Business School.

Panelists and Moderators

Zachary Aarons '13

Zach Aarons ’13
Co-Founder & Partner
MetaProp

Biography

Zach Aarons has been working at the intersection of real estate and venture capital for the past decade. Zach is the most active early-stage PropTech investor in the United States, having funded over 60 startups in the space as an individual as well as 40 startups (and counting) through MetaProp NYC's venture capital funds. In addition to early-stage investing, Zach has worked on large scale mixed-use development projects in cities like Boston and Los Angeles with Millennium Partners. He has experience with real estate development, commercial asset management, property marketing, and commercial leasing.

Prior to joining Millennium and founding MetaProp NYC, Zach was a Senior Associate at ENIAC Ventures, a seed stage mobile technology fund and the founder of Travelgoat, an online and offline walking tour business. He began his career as an analyst at boutique investment bank Peter J. Solomon Company.

Outside of work, Zach currently serves on the Board of Trustees of The Tenement Museum. Zach is an Assistant Adjunct Professor at the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. He is the author of the bestselling book, PropTech 101: Turning Chaos Into Cash Through Real Estate Innovation. He serves on the Technology Committee for the Real Estate Board of New York and the Technology and Real Estate Technology Council for the Urban Land Institute.

He graduated Magna Cum Laude with an A.B. from Brown University in Ancient Studies and earned an MBA from Columbia Business School. Zach has been featured in dozens of international publications and media, including The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The Real Deal, Curbed, Commercial Observer, Propmodo, The Information, TechCrunch, Bisnow, Forbes, The Real Estate Weekly, Crain's, and Cheddar. He is a frequent speaker at global PropTech events including the Urban Land Institute, MIPIM, Realcomm, ICSC ReCon, Argus Connect, SuperReturn International, and the Columbia/Goodwin Real Estate Capital Markets Conference.

Robyn Beavers

Robyn Beavers
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Blueprint Power

Biography

Robyn Beavers has been an innovator in clean energy, tech, and real estate for the past 15 years, wearing both entrepreneurial and investing hats. She began her career at Google, reporting directly to the co-founders working on strategic initiatives as they took the company public. Robyn went on to found Google's first business unit focused on incorporating clean energy generation across the company's global operations. Since then she has built new ventures and programs for Vestas Wind A/S in Copenhagen, Dean Kamen at DEKA R&D, the U.S. Department of Energy and NRG Energy, where she was Senior Vice President of Innovation. Most recently, she was an executive at Lennar, where she built the firm’s first corporate venture platform while incubating Blueprint Power Technologies. Today, Robyn Beavers is the CEO and co-founder of Blueprint Power, a new NYC-based real estate tech company that turns buildings into power plants. Robyn holds both a B.S. in Civil Engineering and an MBA from Stanford University.

Ronald Dickerman '87

Ronald Dickerman ’87
President
Madison International Realty

Biography

Ronald is President and Founder of Madison International Realty, a global, fully integrated real estate private equity firm providing joint venture and preferred equity to commercial real estate owners and investors within all major asset classes who are looking to recapitalize investments, restructure balance sheets, provide existing partners with an exit strategy or redeploy capital for new investments. His primary responsibilities include investment strategy, capital formation and risk management. Since its founding in 2002, Madison has raised more than $5.4 billion in capital commitments for investment in commercial real estate under Ronald’s guidance.

Mr. Dickerman has over 30 years of experience focused on the analysis, acquisition, financing, management and disposition of income-producing assets such as real estate, mortgage products, healthcare properties, leased equipment, media properties, oil & gas, as well as other specialty assets. Prior to founding Madison in 2002, Mr. Dickerman was President and Founder of First Equity Realty, LLC, a real estate investment firm specializing in the acquisition of under-performing real estate assets from financial institutions. He is an active member of numerous real estate industry trade organizations and a frequent speaker on the topic of secondary investments and liquidity at real estate conferences and universities throughout the country.

During the period from 1987 to 1991, Mr. Dickerman was an investment banker in the Real Estate / Partnership Finance Group at Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co., Inc., where he was responsible for the origination, analysis, structuring, acquisition, asset management, disposition and marketing of real estate and other limited partnerships.

Mr. Dickerman serves on the board of directors of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) and is an active member of INREV, the Zell Lurie Institute, and a frequent speaker on the topic of secondary investments and liquidity at real estate conferences throughout the world. Mr. Dickerman earned a MBA degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business and a BA degree from Tufts University.

Jason Epstein

Jason Epstein
Regional Director
Sonder

Biography

Jason Epstein joined Sonder as a Regional Director in December 2018. He is responsible for overseeing Sonder’s real estate growth for portions of the East Coast and Midwest, as well as lender outreach. Mr. Epstein has over nineteen years of real estate industry experience. Prior to joining Sonder, Mr. Epstein was a Managing Director at Seligson Properties, a regional real estate developer based in Norwalk, CT, for over four years, where he oversaw acquisitions, asset management and capital markets. Prior to joining Seligson Properties, Mr. Epstein ran has his own commercial real estate investment and consulting company for nearly five years and was a Partner at The Cordish Company in Baltimore, MD for nearly a decade.

Mr. Epstein has acquired, financed and managed over $3 billion in complex real estate transactions throughout the United States, crossing all property types. Some of the projects in which Mr. Epstein played an integral role include The Power Plant and Power Plant Live! in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, Fourth Street Live! in Louisville, KY, The Power & Light District in Kansas City, MO, and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos in Hollywood and Tampa, FL.

Prior to starting his real estate career, Mr. Epstein practiced law in New York City, where he concentrated in commercial litigation. He is admitted as an attorney in New York and Maryland. Mr. Epstein graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law. He resides in Larchmont, New York with his wife and two children.

Anthony Fiore

Anthony Fiore
Chief Energy Management Officer
NYC Division of Energy

Biography

As Chief Energy Management Officer for the City of New York Anthony has overall responsibility for purchasing energy for municipal operations and demand management for all City agencies, cultural institutions, hospitals, and schools and universities. Anthony is responsible for managing a $700 million annual energy supply budget, and a $3 billion 10-year capital budget to develop and implement programs to achieve the City’s One City: Built to Last strategy of an 80 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Prior to this role Anthony served as the Director of Energy Regulatory Affairs for the City of New York and was responsible for acting as the primary energy policy advocate for the City before numerous State and federal agencies, and providing analysis over a wide range of regulatory and legislative matters related to energy.

Prior to this, Anthony was Chief of Staff for Operations at the City of New York’s water and wastewater treatment agency. Operations under his purview included water supply, water and sewer distribution operations and wastewater treatment.

Anthony has more than 20 years of service with the City of New York. He received a Bachelors in Science from Binghamton University and a Master’s in Public Health from the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University.

Jonathan Flaherty '07

Jonathan Flaherty ’07
Senior Director of Sustainability and Utilities
Tishman Speyer

Biography

Mr. Flaherty joined Tishman Speyer in 2007 and oversees global sustainability efforts for the company. In this role, he manages sustainability certifications, investor communications, worldwide performance tracking, procurement strategy and technological innovation implementation. Mr. Flaherty joined Tishman Speyer as part of the Leadership Development Program and has held various roles with the company, including in asset management and portfolio management for New York. Prior to joining the firm, he worked as a legislative aide for Senator Schumer in Washington, DC. Mr. Flaherty is on the board of directors for the Building Energy Exchange and is a team leader for the ACE Mentor Program. He holds a BA in political science from Kenyon College, and an MBA and MSUP from Columbia University.

Lisa Kaufman ’92
Global CEO, North America Portfolio Manager
LaSalle Investment Management Securities

Biography

Responsibilities
Ms. Kaufman is Chief Executive Officer of LaSalle Investment Management Securities with twenty-eight years of real estate experience. She is the portfolio manager for North American real estate securities programs. Ms. Kaufman’s responsibilities include portfolio management and overall group management. She is a member of the Global Securities Advisory Committee, the Portfolio Management Oversight Committee, and LaSalle Investment Management’s Global Management Committee.

Experience
Ms. Kaufman joined LaSalle in 1994 and the Securities group in 1998. Ms. Kaufman’s previous responsibilities at the firm include serving as a senior analyst covering US retail, US industrial and Canadian retail companies and acting as the Deputy Portfolio Manager for North America. Prior to joining the Securities group in 1998, Ms. Kaufman worked in LaSalle’s private equity group where she focused on entity level investments in real estate. These transactions included recapitalizing existing portfolios, private real estate companies and public REITs.

Education and Affiliations
Ms. Kaufman received an M.B.A in finance from Columbia University’s Business School and an A.B. in Urban Studies and Political Science from Brown University. Ms. Kaufman serves on the Real Estate Investment Advisory Council (REIAC) and the Dividends through Diversity Steering Committee at NAREIT.

Tom Shapiro
President and Chief Investment Officer
GTIS

Biography

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 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.

Andy Levin
Director of Real Estate Partnerships
Ollie

Biography

Andrew is Director of Real Estate Partnerships for Ollie, where he is responsible for sourcing and closing strategic partnerships. Prior to joining Ollie, he spent 7 years at Lehman Brothers & Barclays Capital, where he was a Vice President on the institutional equity sales desk, and most recently worked at The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group underwriting debt and equity transactions on behalf of developers. He has led fundraising efforts for the Camp Cedar Scholarship fund which provides underprivileged children scholarships to attend camp, and is a mentor with Year Up. Andrew graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Raphael Sidelsky ’99
Chief Investment Officer, Real Estate
W5 Group

Biography

Raphael Sidelsky is the head of real estate investing for W5 Group which has offices in New York, Miami and Switzerland. Established in 2009, W5 Group is the single-family office of prominent European entrepreneur and real estate investor Ralph Winter. W5 Group seeks long term value creation and invests across asset classes and capital structures with a focus on innovative real estate opportunities including co-living, micro apartments, residential, student housing and lodging.

Mr. Sidelsky has worked on over $6 billion of direct, entity level and joint venture real estate investments across a broad array of sectors and markets in the United States and Caribbean. Prior to W5, he worked as a Senior Managing Director/co-head of equity investments at CIII Capital Partners ($8BN in AUM) and before that as a Managing Director at Fremont Realty Capital, the Bechtel Family Office. He began his career as an architect and worked in Tel Aviv, Berlin, Los Angeles, Johannesburg and then in New York for Skidmore Owings and Merrill. Mr. Sidelsky received a Bachelor of Architecture in South Africa and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He is a board member of the Columbia Business School Real Estate Circle.

Peter Sotoloff
Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer
Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies

Biography

Mr. Sotoloff co-founded MRECS in 2014 and serves as a Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, as well as member of the Investment Committee. Prior to joining MRECS, he was a Managing Director and Head of U.S. Originations of Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies (BREDS), was a founding member of the Blackstone affiliate that advises such funds, and contributed to the launch of Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE: BXMT). Over 7 years, Mr. Sotoloff helped BREDS become a well-respected platform with $10 billion of equity capital and was closely involved in more than 90 discrete investment transactions representing more than $30 billion in total transaction value. Mr. Sotoloff oversaw structured finance transactions including both loan originations and investments in legacy loan portfolios and CMBS. He also sourced several transactions for the Blackstone Real Estate Partners equity investment program. Mr. Sotoloff served on the Investment Committee for Blackstone Mortgage Trust, the Review Committee for the Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Fund, and the Board of Directors of Landmark Apartment Trust. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Sotoloff was a principal at Tribeca Associates, and before that worked for Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Mr. Sotoloff is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, the Urban Land Institute, the CRE Finance council and the International Council of Shopping Centers. He graduated with highest honors from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and completed the International Business Strategies Program at the London School of Economics.

Katherine Zamsky ’14
Managing Partner
Carbon Ventures

Biography

Katherine Zamsky is a Managing Partner at Carbon Ventures, an impact venture fund investing in efficient infrastructure. The fund’s focus is on advanced technologies that reduce carbon emissions.

In her prior role, Katherine was an investor at a single family office evaluating and structuring real estate deals for the portfolio and developing strategic partnerships.

She had a long career in private equity/hedge fund management, multi-sector portfolio allocations, and structuring transactions and investment vehicles.

At Bank of America, she launched and ran private equity and hedge feeder funds for the $65B wealth management platform and built platform’s operational infrastructure and technology. Katherine started her career at AIG hedge fund-of-fund team managing portfolio allocations.

She holds a BA from Hunter College and an MBA from Columbia University.

Britt Zaffir
CEO
KIN

Biography

Britt Zaffir is the CEO of Kin, the first-of-its-kind housing brand designing and operating real estate to meet the changing needs of modern families. Britt started her career at Monitor Deloitte consulting for world-class hospitality companies before transitioning into formative roles at Airbnb, helping to develop localized strategies around marketing and operations analysis, and Amcor Holdings, a Canadian real estate investment and management firm. Prior to starting Kin, Britt spent three years as a senior real estate acquisitions lead at Common, working with real estate partners to expand Common's coliving footprint across the East Coast. In 2019, Britt spearheaded the creation of Kin, a joint venture between Common and Tishman Speyer, securing its first-ever family-focused residential buildings in Long Island City and other markets, to be announced later this year. Today, she oversees every aspect of Kin’s operations, from growth to product development. Britt graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School and an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business. She lives in New York City and loves to travel, trying delicious foods in new cities.

2019 Steering Committee

Zach Aarons '13

Zach Aarons ’13
Co-Founder & Partner
MetaProp

Biography

Zach Aarons has been working at the intersection of real estate and venture capital for the past decade. Zach is the most active early-stage PropTech investor in the United States, having funded over 60 startups in the space as an individual as well as 40 startups (and counting) through MetaProp NYC's venture capital funds. In addition to early-stage investing, Zach has worked on large scale mixed-use development projects in cities like Boston and Los Angeles with Millennium Partners. He has experience with real estate development, commercial asset management, property marketing, and commercial leasing.
Prior to joining Millennium and founding MetaProp NYC, Zach was a Senior Associate at ENIAC Ventures, a seed stage mobile technology fund and the founder of Travelgoat, an online and offline walking tour business. He began his career as an analyst at boutique investment bank Peter J. Solomon Company.

Outside of work, Zach currently serves on the Board of Trustees of The Tenement Museum. Zach is an Assistant Adjunct Professor at the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. He is the author of the bestselling book, PropTech 101: Turning Chaos Into Cash Through Real Estate Innovation. He serves on the Technology Committee for the Real Estate Board of New York and the Technology and Real Estate Technology Council for the Urban Land Institute.

He graduated Magna Cum Laude with an A.B. from Brown University in Ancient Studies and earned an MBA from Columbia Business School. Zach has been featured in dozens of international publications and media, including The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The Real Deal, Curbed, Commercial Observer, Propmodo, The Information, TechCrunch, Bisnow, Forbes, The Real Estate Weekly, Crain's, and Cheddar. He is a frequent speaker at global PropTech events including the Urban Land Institute, MIPIM, Realcomm, ICSC ReCon, Argus Connect, SuperReturn International, and the Columbia/Goodwin Real Estate Capital Markets Conference.

Louis D'Avanzo '91

Louis D’Avanzo ’91 (co-chair)
Vice Chairman, Managing Principal - Manhattan
Cushman & Wakefield

Biography

Professional Expertise
Louis D’Avanzo brings over 27 years of experience to Cushman & Wakefield. Based in the firm’s Midtown Manhattan office, Mr. D’Avanzo has been one of the firm’s leading brokerage professionals and is currently Managing Principal - Manhattan.

Mr. D’Avanzo began his career with Cushman & Wakefield in 1991, and he has since advised many of the world’s most prestigious companies on their real estate occupancy requirements worldwide. With a primary focus on New York City, he has completed transactions on behalf of clients throughout North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.

Clients Served
A partial list of clients he has acted on behalf of include: AT&T; AXA; Gartner, Inc.; Goldman, Sachs & Co.; Hearst Corporation; Hudson’s Bay Company, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC); M&T Bank; Moelis & Company; National Football League; Stifel Financial Corp, and Union Investment.

Professional Affiliations
Mr. D’Avanzo most recently served as Chairman of New York City Chapter of CoreNet Global and remains on the board as an advisor.
Mr. D'Avanzo is a member of The Real Estate Circle of the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate at Columbia Business School.

Community Leadership
Mr. D’Avanzo is active in civic and non-profit communities, including serving as a trustee of the Franklin Lakes Education Foundation.

Education
He received his BA in Economics from Boston College and his MBA in Real Estate/Corporate Finance from Columbia Business School.

Ronald DIckerman '87

Ronald Dickerman ’87
President
Madison International Realty

Biography

David Dowell '04

David Dowell ’04
Managing Principal
Arliga Capital Advisors

Biography

Biography to come.

Jacob Feingold '14

Jacob Feingold ’14
Vice President
Canyon Partners Real Estate

Biography

Jacob Feingold is a Vice President at Canyon Partners Real Estate, the direct real estate investments platform of Canyon Partners. Based in New York, Mr. Feingold is the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic investments region head responsible for deploying debt and equity capital across property types. Prior to joining Canyon, Mr. Feingold was a member of the investments group at iStar where he focused on structured real estate investments, development of REO assets, and restructuring distressed investments. Mr. Feingold is a graduate of Columbia Business School (M.B.A., Honors) and the University of Michigan Ross Business School (B.B.A., Honors). Mr. Feingold is a member of the Columbia Business School Real Estate Circle.

Edward Gormbley '09

Edward Gormbley '09
Managing Principal
Workforce Partners

Biography

Edward is an entrepreneur with big-company skills and a start-up spirit. He started two companies before graduating from college. He then spent a decade in the fertile training ground of General Electric as a corporate finance professional and private equity investor, from which 3i (a FTSE-100 company) recruited him to be the CFO of its North American division. His experiences span numerous industries and over ten countries. He has held leadership positions as a manager with direct reports and as a board member with less formal influence. A consummate relationship builder with strong ties to his community, Edward currently serves on the Boston University Alumni Council, actively mentors graduates from his high school and college, & recently assisted in a private equity course at Columbia Business School.
An early entrepreneur, Edward started his 1st business, a lawn-mowing and yacht cleaning service, as a teenager. He used the proceeds from the business to finance his tuition in prep school and college. Edward made the transition from landscaping to high-tech with a website he co-founded from his dorm room. The site, BUbooks.com, created a market for students to buy and sell their used textbooks. The site was later sold.

At GE, Edward learned finance and accounting rigor that professionalized his entrepreneurial intuition. Within three years of starting as a finance analyst in a chemical plant, he was appointed finance manager for a $45MM P&L with 215 employees globally. He then graduated to GE’s internal consulting and auditing group, where he ultimately managed 21 people across 3 continents in engagements that ranged widely from auditing the securitization of mortgage backed securities to investigating a $3MM embezzlement with the FBI to creating the Transition Services Agreements (TSAs) for a $725MM corporate disposition.

Edward combined his functional expertise in corporate finance with his intuitive entrepreneurial insight as a private equity investor in GE Equity. In that role he sourced, underwrote, negotiated, and managed minority equity investments. These included such bespoke situations as a $500MM PIK preferred instrument in a chemical LBO and a $25MM debt-for-equity-restructuring in a logistics firm. He eventually concentrated his focus on the midmarket energy sector. There he closed deals in the Oil & Gas and Renewable sectors while serving on the board of directors for company that provided safety equipment and training to various industrial companies.

As CFO and Corporate Vice-President for 3i North America, Edward applied his unique mix of minority investing experiences and operational finance skills to source/underwrite deals while optimizing the firm’s back-office operations. On the deal side, he led the underwriting of a $1B CLO and sourced the pre-eminent SmartGrid transaction from his personal network. On the finance side, he used the principles of LEAN 6 sigma and SOX404 to improve organizational efficiency while cutting costs from 2.25% of AUM to 1.5%. In addition, he led the subsidiary to profitability and through its first successful 3rd party audit in a decade.

Since leaving 3i, Edward has further demonstrated his ability to work across asset classes by starting Workforce Partners LLC, a real estate investment and management firm. His empirical investment approach uncovers neglected properties at attractive prices and his process oriented management runs them with strictly monitored controls that deliver recurring returns with low volatility. The result is a risk/return profile that far exceeds the Sharpe Ratio available from the NACREIF and NAREIT indices.

Edward earned his MBA from Columbia Business School’s Executive Program and his B.A., magna cum laude, in Sociology and Education from Boston University’s interdisciplinary University Professor’s Program. He is currently a twice selected member of Boston University’s Alumni Council and has funded scholarships there and at his Jesuit high school, Fairfield Prep, for students with economic need. In his free time he enjoys teaching Tae Kwon Do, sailing with his wife, cycling, reading (particularly behavioral economics), and working on his house.

Gentry Hoit '90

Gentry Ashmore Hoit ’90
Founder
GAH Real Estate

Biography

Gentry Ashmore Hoit is a Senior Advisor to Finback Real Estate, the CEO and Founder of GAH Real Estate LLC and an independent contractor to K Capital LLC. Her specialties are structuring complex transactions, raising equity capital for deals, finding capital solutions, structuring and investing in Opportunity Zones, and advising companies on best practices and how to grow. She is also an investor in real estate throughout the US with a recent focus on work force housing in the Southwestern US.

Previously Gentry was a Partner and Head of Strategic Business Development (2016-2018) at GreenOak Real Estate, a global real estate private equity investment and advisory firm. GreenOak is a value investor investing in mid-market assets in gateway cities around the world through separate private equity funds in the US, Asia, and Europe. Based in New York, Gentry helped to capitalize funds and co-investments, evaluate and launch new business strategies and further build GreenOak’s brand.

Earlier Gentry was a Partner of Park Madison Partners (2012-2016), a boutique real estate advisory firm. She led the firm’s Capital Advisory practice, which included direct equity investments comprised of individual deals, co-investments, joint ventures and separate accounts and worked with the Park Madison team in the fund raising and manager due diligence side of the business.

Prior to joining Park Madison Partners, Gentry was a Partner at Atlantic Assets Group (2006-2012), a private investment company dedicated to mixed-use and residential investment and redevelopment in Brooklyn, New York. Gentry led capital transactions: acquisitions, dispositions and financings. She oversaw all investor participation in deals: raising equity, finalizing structures and negotiating terms. In addition, she oversaw execution of all retail leasing.

Gentry was a Senior Partner at Rubenstein Partners (while also running Atlantic Assets Group 2009-2010), a private real estate investment fund focused on the acquisition and redevelopment of office properties in the Eastern Time Zone. She advised them on New York and Florida office acquisitions and helped build relationships with strategic operating partners.

Gentry served as Managing Director of Shorenstein Company, LLC (1993-2006). She was with Shorenstein at the inception of their investment management business through seven funds (Funds I-VII) which totaled $2.2 billion. While at Shorenstein, Gentry was responsible for running east coast acquisitions for the firm’s Capital Transactions Group and served as a member of the Executive Committee. She acquired approximately 16 million sf of office properties valued.

Prior to Shorenstein, Gentry worked for Hines as Assistant Project Manager (1990-1993) where she coordinated planning, approvals and construction of a $100 million complex for Bristol Myers Squibb Company in Princeton, NJ.
Education
Georgetown University – BA – History/Computer Science – 1986
Columbia University – MBA – Real Estate and Finance – 1990
Professional Interests and Activities

Full member of Urban Land Institute. Vice Chairman of UDMUC Blue Product Council and former Chairman. Past member of ULI NY District Council Executive Committee and former Co-Chair of Programming Committee.
Member of WX (Women Executives in Real Estate). Former mentor.
Member of the Columbia Business School Real Estate Advisory Board and Columbia Business School Real Estate Circle Board. Former Chairman of Marketing and Communications Committee.
Member of Sundance Bay Advisory Board
Member of Trinity Wall Street Vestry

Christopher Mayer

Christopher Mayer
Paul Milstein Professor for Real Estate
Co-Director, Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate
Columbia Business School

Biography

Christopher Mayer is the Paul Milstein Professor of Real Estate at Columbia Business School. His research explores a variety of topics in real estate and financial markets, including housing cycles, mortgage markets, debt securitization, and commercial real estate valuation. Dr. Mayer is also CEO of Longbridge Financial, an innovative reverse mortgage company focused on delivering responsible home equity products to older Americans to help finance retirement. Professor Mayer serves as a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Director of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, and a member of the Academic Advisory Boards for Standard and Poor's and the Housing Policy Center at the Urban Institute. His research has received funding from the National Science Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Dr. Mayer is active in the media and advising policymakers, testifying six times before committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, writing a paper for the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, and authoring numerous op-ed articles in major publications. Dr. Mayer previously served as Senior Vice Dean at Columbia Business School and held positions at The Wharton School, the University of Michigan, Harvard Business School, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He earned a BS in Math and Economics from the University of Rochester with highest honors and a PhD in Economics from MIT.

Tom Ortinau '09

Tom Ortinau ’09
Head of Acquisitions
GFP Real Estate

Biography

Tom Ortinau is the Head of Acquisitions at GFP Real Estate where he leads the firm’s investment efforts. At GFP, Tom has handled 12 property investments comprising more than 3.0 million square feet and $1.6 billion. Tom also handles leasing, asset management and development activities for GFP’s projects. Sponsored by the Gural family, the firm currently owns and manages 76 properties comprising 16.7 million square feet in New York City.

Prior to joining GFP Real Estate, Tom was a member of the US Transactions group at PGIM Real Estate. As such, he was involved in northeast acquisitions and development activities for the firm’s US funds. At PGIM, Tom was involved in 34 entity and property-level investments comprising over $5.5 billion via common equity, preferred equity and mezzanine debt positions both on a direct basis and through joint ventures.

Tom began his career at WSP Group, a leading design and construction firm in New York. At WSP, Tom worked on the design and construction of approximately 50 properties in New York including The Hearst Building, The New York Times Building, The Plaza Hotel, 184 Kent and Atlantic Yards.

Tom holds a BSE from the University of Kansas, an MS from New York University, and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He is also an Adjunct Professor at New York University.

Mark Portner '99

Mark Portner ’99
Managing Director, Investment Group – East
Shorenstein Properties

Biography

Mark Portner joined Shorenstein in 1999. He oversees the Eastern United States Investment Group which includes Capital Transactions, Asset Management, Leasing, and Development. His responsibilities include overseeing the sourcing of investment opportunities and directing the underwriting, due diligence, structuring and closing of capital transactions. In addition, he is responsible for the investment performance of assets in the East through oversight of the development and execution of asset specific strategies during the company’s ownership.

Mr. Portner is a member of the Urban Land Institute.

Prior to joining Shorenstein, Mr. Portner was a vice president at Carey Winston Company in Washington, D.C. where he specialized in the disposition of distressed loans.

Mr. Portner graduated from University of Richmond with a B.S., and from Columbia University with an M.B.A.

David Sherman '82

David Sherman ’82
Senior Advisor & Co-Founder, Metropolitan Real Estate
Co-Director, Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate, Columbia Business School

Biography

Ross Smotrich '03

Ross Smotrich ’83
Managing Director & Senior Research Analyst, Equity Research, Americas
Barclays

Biography

Ross L. Smotrich joined Barclays in September 2008 and is a managing director and senior research analyst responsible for the US real estate investment trust (REIT) and commercial real estate securities sectors. Previously, Mr. Smotrich joined Lehman Brothers in June 2008 after 10 years as a senior managing director at Bear Stearns and four years as a senior equity analyst at Merrill Lynch.
Mr. Smotrich has ranked in Institutional Investor’s “All-America Research Team” survey nine times and has twice been named to The Wall Street Journal’s “All-Star Analysts” survey (earnings forecasting). Before moving to sell-side research, Ross was a real estate banker for Chemical Bank doing lending, investment banking, and workout.

Mr. Smotrich earned an MBA from Columbia University in Finance/Real Estate and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania in Diplomatic History/International Economics. He currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Columbia Business School and on the MBA Real Estate Program Advisory Board.

Robert Stern '88

Robert Stern ’88 (co-chair)
Founder & Managing Partner
Castle Hill Investors

Biography

Robert Stern, Founder and Managing Partner of Castle Hill Investors, has a 30-year real estate background, encompassing finance, investments, portfolio and asset management, workouts, development and general management. He has invested in all property types throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Castle Hill serves along the continuum between a real estate operating company and an investment management firm. Investing alongside local and product based "operators", Castle Hill connects capital to real estate in ways that bridge the capital/operator divide — providing investors access to deal flow and an asset management capability that limited partners often lack, a fiduciary overlay that may not exist at the operator level, and industry, capital markets and business skills to augment those of its operating partners - thereby
delivering a true value proposition to all constituents.

Previously, Mr. Stern was a Managing Partner of Perry Capital, a multi-billion dollar hedge fund. At Perry, he was co-founder and Managing Partner of Perry Real Estate Partners, a global real estate private equity vehicle designed to make equity investments in real estate assets, portfolios and operating companies, purchase discounted notes and sub/non-performing debt and securities, and provide mezzanine and bridge financing. Prior to that, Mr. Stern served as a Managing Director of Blackacre Capital Management, the real estate arm of Cerberus Capital Management, a multi-billion dollar private investment management firm. Earlier, he was Director of Asset Services at BDG, Ltd., a privately held, Long Island based commercial real estate firm, where he was responsible for the Asset Management division. Before that, he was associated with Kemper Corporation where he served as a Director and Senior Asset Manager in Chicago, and Barcelona, Spain, with responsibility for the financing, management, administration and disposition of real estate investments, as well as a real estate development business unit. Over his career, Mr. Stern has invested in and financed several billion dollars of real estate assets and companies globally.

Mr. Stern has been a member of the Board of Directors for several privately held real estate companies. He currently serves on the Management Committee of GHC Housing, one of the five largest affordable housing companies in the U.S, and on the Investment Committee of Peninsula Investments Group, a Latin America investment fund focused on workforce and middle class housing development. He is a full member of the Urban Land Institute, a founding member of Columbia University's Business School Real Estate Circle, and an Advisory Board member of The Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate at Columbia University. Mr. Stern holds a BA from Connecticut College and an MBA from Columbia University.

Kristin Svenningsen

Kristin Svenningsen
Managing Director, Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate
Columbia Business School

Biography

Kristin Svenningsen is the Managing Director of the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate. Prior to her appointment at Columbia Business School in 2014, Kristin spent several years working in commercial real estate for SL Green Realty Corp (SLG), focusing primarily on tenant and building operations, managing all occupied and unoccupied office space for the SL Green wholly owned subsidiary, Emerge212 Boutique Office space; supervising expansion and development of new Emerge212 Centers, and overseeing 200+ tenant relationships across a myriad of industries. While still at SL Green, she was able to redirect her focus to marketing and sales; building brand recognition, generating new business opportunities and leasing over 150,000 sq. ft. of office space, comprised over 250 individual offices. Concurrently, Kristin received her M.A. in Higher and Post-Secondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She earned a duel B.A. in Mass Communication and Theatre from Towson University, and in the years prior to her career in real estate, worked in the entertainment industry as a casting professional for Broadway and Off-Broadway Theatre (Manhattan Theatre Club and Second Stage Theatre) as well as Network Television (Showtime and The CW).

Reports

Photos

Distinguished Alumni Voices

Peggy DaSilva Headshot.jpg

Peggy DaSilva '83

"The advice I always give women is to stay.

Gina Baker Chambers '09

"I would encourage folks to get a holistic perspective of the industry.

Steven Shores '00

"It is important to be at a place that invests in you and wants to see you grow and succeed."

Meredith Marshall '92

"Your goal is to change the world. Change the structures. Disrupt everything and do it quickly."

Brian Steinwurtzel '04

"Columbia is a great first step if you know you want to transition to real estate."

Neville Rhone, Jr. '00

Neville Rhone ’00 is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Arc Capital Partners.

Julie Wong '03

Julie Wong ’03 is a Partner of GreenOak, where is responsible for global capital raising.

David Neithercut '82

David Neithercut ’82 is the President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Trustees of Equity

Philippe Visser '04

Philippe Visser ’04 is the Senior Vice President of Development, Hudson Yards, at Related. In a recent interview with Mark Abramowicz ’18, Mr. Visser discussed his background and what drew him to real estate, the allure of large, complex projects, and gave advice for current Columbia Business School students aspiring to have careers in real estate.

Andrea Olshan '04

Olshan Properties
Andrea Olshan ‘04 serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Olshan Properties. In a recent interview with Morgan Mann '17, Ms. Olshan discussed market trends and areas of disruption, joining the family business, strategies for the future, and gave advice for current Columbia Business School students aspiring to have careers in real estate.

Nicholas Bienstock '96

Savanna
Nicholas Bienstock '96 discusses trends in creative office development in Brooklyn, starting his own business, and gives advice for Columbia Business School students aspiring to have careers in real estate.

Cia Buckley Marakovits '93

Dune Real Estate Partners
Cia Buckley Marakovits ’93 discusses trends in the real estate industry, provides highlights of her professional experience, and gives advice to Columbia Business School students aspiring to have careers in real estate.

Bob Berne '62

Formerly with Milstein Properties
Bob Berne ’62 discusses trends in real estate and gives advice for students aspiring to have careers in real estate.

Hugh Frater '85

Chief Executive Officer, Berkadia
Hugh Frater ’85 discusses business strategy and opportunities, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and career development.

Peggy DaSilva '83

"The advice I always give women is to stay.

baker chambers, gina_headshot.jpg

Gina Baker Chambers '09

"I would encourage folks to get a holistic perspective of the industry.

Steven Shores '00

"It is important to be at a place that invests in you and wants to see you grow and succeed."

marshall, meredith_headshot2.jpg

Meredith Marshall '92

"Your goal is to change the world. Change the structures. Disrupt everything and do it quickly."

Steinwurtzel, Brian_headshot.jpg

Brian Steinwurtzel '04

"Columbia is a great first step if you know you want to transition to real estate."

Rhone, Neville_headshot.png

Neville Rhone, Jr. '00

Neville Rhone ’00 is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Arc Capital Partners.

Wong, Julie_headshot.jpg

Julie Wong '03

Julie Wong ’03 is a Partner of GreenOak, where is responsible for global capital raising.

neithercut_headshot.jpg

David Neithercut '82

David Neithercut ’82 is the President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Trustees of Equity

Philippe Visser '04

olshan.jpg

Andrea Olshan '04

Nicholas Bienstock headshot.jpg

Nicholas Bienstock '96

photo_CiaBuckley_13.jpg

Cia Buckley Marakovits '93

bob_berne_image.jpg

Bob Berne '62

Formerly with Milstein Properties
Bob Berne ’62 discusses trends in real estate and gives advice for students aspiring to have careers in real estate.

Frater-Headshot-Med 11-11.jpg

Hugh Frater '85

Chief Executive Officer, Berkadia
Hugh Frater ’85 discusses business strategy and opportunities, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and career development.

News

GSB News

June 29, 2022

Introducing New Members of the Real Estate Circle

June 29, 2022

Introducing New Members of the Real Estate Circle

June 6, 2022

Columbia Business School Real Estate Students Earn Second Place at the 2022 University of Miami Impact Investing in Commercial Real Estate Competition

May 25, 2022

2022 Alexander Bodini Foundation Competition Winners

by Daniel Vasserman '22

This year marked the twenty-third anniversary of the Alexander Bodini Foundation Competition, which was held in-person for the first time in three years at the school’s new Manhattanville campus.

May 9, 2022

WX Announces 2022 Scholars, 4 Columbia Business School Real Estate Students Selected

April 30, 2022 | Poets and Quants

High & Low Real Estate MBA Salaries at the Top 25 B-Schools

April 7, 2022 | CNN

What a Real Estate Bubble Would Mean for Homebuyers

February 16, 2022

Introducing New Members of the Real Estate Circle

January 7, 2022

2021 Real Estate Symposium Keynote Conversation #2 Report: How Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast

by Katie Hogan '22

January 7, 2022

2021 Real Estate Symposium Keynote #1 Report: How Real Estate and Physical Space Utilization are Evolving

By Michael Beer ’23 and Christine Yang '23

Diane Hoskins, Co-CEO and Chairperson of Gensler joins the 2021 Annual Real Estate Symposium as keynote speaker sharing trends in the design profession. The conversation was moderated by Ross Smotrich ’83 Principal at RE Strategic Advisors.