Alumni & Mentorship

Zachary Bayer is a member of Columbia Business School’s Class of 2023. Prior to CBS, Zachary worked as an Associate in Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.’s Capital Markets practice in Miami, where he was responsible for arranging joint venture equity, preferred equity, mezzanine financing, and senior-level financing for real estate assets located throughout the United States. Previously, Zachary was on the executive board of United Way’s LINC, and he is an active member of the Jewish Federation. In 2017, Zachary graduated from Emory University with his B.B.A. in Finance with Highest Distinction.

 

Kennedy Shields is a member of the Columbia Business School Class of 2023 focusing on Real Estate and Venture Capital. Prior to CBS, Kennedy was a Portfolio Associate at Stockbridge Capital for the firms' Value Fund Series and several separate account clients. She was previously an Investment Banking Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the Consumer & Retail Group. Kennedy graduated from Georgetown University in 2016 with a B.A. in Finance and Marketing, where served on the board of the Georgetown University Real Estate Club.

 

Careers

Andres Arozarena is a member of Columbia Business School´s full time MBA class of 2023, focusing on real estate investment and development. In addition to serving as an AVP of Careers in the Real Estate Association, Andres is a member of the Family Business Club and the Hospitality and Travel Association. Prior to CBS, Andres worked as an Investment and Development Associate at Arozarena-Paramo and previously as an Investment Analyst at Thor Urbana, overseeing retail, mixed-use, hotel and residential projects. Born and raised in Mexico, Andres has a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City.

 

Deirdre Steel is a member of Columbia Business School Class of 2023, focusing on Finance and Real Estate. Prior to attending CBS, Deirdre completed a pre-MBA internship at Elevation Financial Group, a real estate private equity firm based in Florida, where she worked alongside the investment team to evaluate potential acquisitions. Prior to her internship, Deirdre was an Associate at Goldman Sachs in the Alternative Investments and Manager Selection group in the New York office. Deirdre graduated from University of Florida in 2014 with a B.S. in Finance.

 

Case Competitions

Zheng Jin is a 2023 MBA student focused on real estate at Columbia Business School and the AVP of Case Competitions for the Real Estate Association. Prior to CBS, Zheng worked as a senior investment associate at CA Ventures, a vertically integrated real estate developer/operator headquartered in Chicago. Zheng graduated from Franklin & Marshall College with BA in both Mathematics and Business.

 

Communications & Technology

Jason Cincotta is a member of the class of 2023 at Columbia Business School, where he is focusing on strategy, real estate, and its intersection with the public and nonprofit sectors. In addition to serving as an AVP of the REA, Jason is a mentor team leader with the nonprofit Project Destined. Prior to CBS, Jason was an entrepreneur in real estate development with a focus on hospitality and residential mixed-use projects. He has overseen more than $50mm in new construction in the Boston and Sarasota, FL markets, including the development of The Sarasota Modern Hotel. Jason attended Pomona College, where he studied economics and English. He’s originally from Boston, MA. 

 

Site Tours & Company Visits

Tyler King is an EMBA student in the Class of 2023 and works full time as an Associate Director of Retail Leasing at Newmark, where he is responsible for advising property owners and prospective tenants on all aspects of their real estate strategies including lease negotiations, site selection, marketing campaigns and merchandising strategies. His current project, Manhattan West, is a new development with 240,000 SF of innovative retail, 6 million SF of office space, a 2-acre public plaza, 844 residential units, and a 164-key boutique hotel. He also oversees leasing for City Point, a 1.8 million SF mixed-use development with 600,000 SF of retail for shopping, entertainment, and dining. Before Newmark, Tyler was an Associate at Cushman & Wakefield where he arranged a 49-year master lease for the retail at the Carlyle House on Madison Avenue. Tyler began his real estate career at Massey Knakal, one of New York City’s largest investment-sales brokerages focusing on exclusively on owner representation. Tyler is an Associate Board Member with Harlem Lacrosse and a member of Young Men’s/Women’s Real Estate Association. Tyler received his BA from Denison University.

 

June Deng is a member of Columbia Business School Class of 2023 and will be focusing on Real Estate and Marketing. Prior to CBS, June was a strategy lead in Gensler’s consulting practice area, helping Fortune 100 clients in finance and technology envision their future workplace design and experience. She has also worked at PLP Architecture in London, UK and Spark Architects in Beijing, China. She graduated from Rice University with a Bachelor of Architecture. In addition to her role as AVP of Site Tours and Company Visits, June is also the Cluster C Chair for the Class of 2023.

 

Diversity, Ethics, and Inclusion

Victor Zhang is a member of the Columbia Business School Class of 2023, and is the AVP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Real Estate Association. Prior to CBS, Victor worked in the capital markets team at CoreVest Finance, a specialty finance lender for investor properties, where he raised capital for the firm via securitizations and warehouse facilities. Victor graduated from Yale University in 2016 with a B.A. in Economics.

 

Education

Jack Corcoran is a member of the 2023 MBA class at Columbia Business School focusing on Real Estate and Finance. Prior to CBS, Jack worked in CBRE’s Capital Markets group representing institutional investors in the sale of office and life science assets. In his career Jack has been involved in the disposition of 10 million square feet of real estate valued at over $2 billion. Prior to working with CBRE Capital Markets, Jack spent a year as a research analyst covering the Philadelphia Market for CBRE Global Research. Jack received a BBA from Emory University in 2015.

 

EMBA

Dominic Perkaj is an EMBA student at Columbia Business School in the Class of 2023. He also works full time as a Client Advisor at VTS, where he is responsible for managing over 50 established landlord and real estate investment clients in the onboarding and integration of an innovative technology platform designed to streamline leasing, garnering important data insights, and providing a unique tenant experience. Prior to joining VTS, Dominic was a commercial real estate advisor at Avison Young working directly with Arthur J. Mirante II, Tri-State Principal and Chairman as his mentee and business partner. Dominic exclusively represented nine separate landlords as leasing agent on nineteen buildings for a total in excess of 3.5 million square feet of office space inventory, and played an integral role in the successful leasing of over 600,000 square feet of office space on both the tenant and landlord side. Outside of work, Dominic volunteers with the Columbia Football Players Club as a Board Member and serves as a Co-Chairman of the Mentorship Committee (Shadow-A-Lion-Program). Dominic is currently in student government at Columbia Business School as a Community Representative for Cluster E where he spearheads an integral part of the Columbia Business School experience known as CBS Matters and is also a member of the Student Leadership and Ethics Board. Dominic holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Columbia University in the City of New York where he was a three-year starter on the varsity football team helping the team reach its best standing since 1996 and achieving ALL-IVY recognition as a defensive tackle.

 

Events

Michael Zaks is a full-time student at Columbia Business School (CBS) and Columbia Law School (CLS) as a JD-MBA joint degree candidate in the Class of 2023 with a concentration in real estate. This past summer, Michael was a Summer Associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP in the real estate law group, where he worked primarily on drafting various agreements in association with large-scale real estate transactions in New York City and across the country. Prior to joining the joint JD-MBA program at Columbia, Michael was on the real estate development team at WS Communities, LLC, where he focused on underwriting large-scale multifamily residential and mixed-use developments in the Los Angeles area. In addition to his role as AVP of Events with the REA, Michael serves as the AVP of Training for the CBS Squash Club. Originally from Los Angeles, Michael graduated cum laude from Columbia University in 2017 with a B.A. in Economics-Mathematics.

 

Finance

Jim Rowen is a member of Columbia Business School’s Class of 2023, focusing on Real Estate. Prior to CBS, Jim worked as an Equity Research Associate at BMO Capital Markets, covering the Consumer Sector and servicing over 100 institutional clients. Jim graduated with a B.B.A. from Villanova University in 2016.

 

International

Richard Alty is a member of Columbia Business School's Class of 2023. Prior to CBS Richard worked in acquisitions for Native Land, a central London real estate developer and investor. He began his career at Knight Frank in London, working in development consultancy and valuation. Richard is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a graduate of the University of Cambridge, where he studied Anthropology and Land Economy. 

 

Trips

Benjamin Goldberg is a member of Columbia Business School's Class of 2023. Prior to CBS, Benjamin worked at PwC in New York in their Deals Advisory practice, where he provided accounting and financial reporting advice to corporate and private equity clients pursuing M&A transactions. Benjamin most recently completed a pre-MBA internship at Adam America Real Estate, a multifamily developer based in New York. In addition to his Real Estate Association role, Benjamin is a student ambassador for the Hermes Society and is a volunteer mentor with Project Destined. Benjamin graduated from the University of Southern California in 2016 with a B.S. in Accounting and Business Administration. He is a licensed CPA in the state of New York.

 

Dani Glouberman is a member of the Columbia Business School Class of 2023, focusing on Real Estate. Prior to CBS, Dani worked as a project engineer at a commercial contractor in the Bay Area. Her projects include tech campus, healthcare, mixed-use, and retail sector developments for major Silicon Valley clients ranging in size from $20M to $600M. Dani graduated from UCLA in 2017 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering.