Current leaders.

Adrienne Albert

The Marketing Directors

Adrienne Albert, a licensed real estate broker in NYS, is nationally recognized as a marketing and sales expert in residential real estate and property development. Through her firm, The Marketing Directors, Inc., Ms. Albert has been responsible for the marketing and sales of over $14 billion in properties. Over the past 25 years, The Marketing Directors has served a wide range of projects, from single-family homes to high-density multiuse development, from NY to CA, and from Toronto to Florida.

A leader in the industry, Ms. Albert pioneered site selling through the use of miniature models, vignettes, electronic media and full size recreations of condominium homes. In addition, she has instituted training programs across the country to raise the standards for other real estate sales professionals. Her success is evident in the large volume of repeat business from top developers throughout country, as well as the many awards she has received over the years, including the Associated Builders and Owners' Woman of the Year Award. She has also been named the National Sales and Marketing Council Marketing Director of the Year, and has been awarded hundreds of gold and silver awards for marketing and sales excellence.

Ms. Albert is a member of many professional trade organizations, including the Appointed Board of Governors of the Associated Builders and Owners of Greater New York (ABO) and the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).

Michael D. Bailkin

Stadtmauer Bailkin

Dubbed "Mr. Incentive" by Crain's New York Business, Michael Bailkin heads up one of the most powerful and influential government incentives, zoning and land use practices in the country. Among Bailkin's recent projects is Harlem Park, the $190 million, mixed-use 585,000 SF complex under development that will include a 42-story Marriott Courtyard Hotel, 57,000 SF of retail, 160,000 SF of office, 34,000 SF of catering facilities, and a residential component.

In conceptualizing what he calls "Wall Street North," Bailkin's firm worked with federal, state and city governments ranging from rezoning to negotiating a broad range of federal, state and city incentives.

Among the other signature projects Bailkin has represented are: Cantor Fitzgerald's incentives to help re-grow operations after 9/11; and Conde Nast (4 Times Square), Hearst (57th Street and Eighth Avenue), and Reuters (3 Times Square), all for incentives relating to the development of new corporate headquarters. Bailkin also has an extensive practice for obtaining incentives for numerous industrial, commercial and retail operations both in the NYC metropolitan area as well as nationally.

Bailkin's regional zoning practice has been responsible for some of the largest and most complex redevelopment projects in New York, including MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn, the Queens Plaza commercial district, a mixed use district for a redevelopment area in Brooklyn adjacent to Pfizer's plant, and land use actions necessary for the relocation of Metropolitan Life's operations to renovated and new facilities in Long Island City.

A former NYC Economic Development official, Bailkin created many of the programs in use today and was responsible for the development of the Grand Hyatt Hotel (formerly Commodore), which launched the renewal of the Grand Central terminal area.

Bailkin founded the Stadtmauer Bailkin with David Stadtmauer in the late 1970s. The organization of 25 lawyers and government specialists has offices in Newark and White Plains and recently launched a strategic partnership with Crowe Deegan LLP, one of the largest real estate and economic development law firms on Long Island.

Richard I. Bernstein

Trammell Crow 

Richard I. Bernstein, Trammell Crow Area President, New York, has fifteen years of commercial real estate experience focused on tenant and owner representation. Mr. Bernstein is a skilled real estate negotiator who is particularly adept at understanding market issues and trends and has the ability to devise creative solutions to complex real estate problems. He was responsible for arranging leasing/equity transactions exceeding $500 million in 2002 alone. In addition to his strong commitment to the real estate industry, Mr. Bernstein is also involved several charities and civic organizations. He has been a supporter of the Food Allergy Initiative and has served as a trustee to the City of White Plains School District for the past four years. Prior to entering the real estate industry in 1986, Mr. Bernstein was President and CEO of Monrose Knitwear, a manufacturer and importer of women's apparel. Mr. Bernstein sold the firm in 1986.

Charles Borrok

Cushman & Wakefield

Charles Borrok is vice chairman and a member of the firm's Board of Directors. For more than 25 years he has specialized in negotiating some of New York's largest and most complicated sale and lease transactions, including the Depository Trust Company's lease of 900,000 square feet at 55 Water St., the SIAC's move to Metro-Tech for 400,000 square feet and Proskauer Rose Goetz & Mendelsohn's relocation to 400,000 square feet. In 2003, he represented Pfizer in the pharmaceutical giant's purchase of 685 Third Ave. Mr. Borrok is a past recipient of the Real Estate Board of New York's Most Ingenious Deal of the Year Award.

James Buslik

Adams & Co. Real Estate

James Buslik, principal, runs Adams & Co. Real Estate, which ranks among the top five New York firms, as measured by square footage leased by Costar Group, Inc. And he does it with partner David Levy and only 12 brokers. An aggressive dealmaker, Buslik is personally responsible for closing an impressive 40 million square feet of transactions. Buslik makes negotiating triple net leases, sale-in-fee simples, condominium interests and sale/leasebacks look easy.

Much more than a broker to his A-list of Midtown South landlord and tenant clients, Buslik has created office buildings, specialty buildings, incubator buildings and retail buildings that have significantly increased revenue and achieved occupancy of 95 to 100 percent. Most recently, he was instrumental in carving out space for "big-box" users on 23rd Street, including P.C. Richard & Son.

Buslik launched his career at Helmsley-Spear, where he rose to vice president.

John J. Cannon

Grubb & Ellis New York

John J. Cannon joined Grubb & Ellis in early 2001 with an established 25-year real estate career, encompassing commercial brokerage, corporate facilities management, and principal acquisitions. Mr. Cannon's range of experience uniquely combines brokerage concepts with entrepreneurial flair and corporate understanding.

Prior to his arrival at Grubb & Ellis, Mr. Cannon was a founder and principal of RAK Group, LLC, a real estate investment firm specializing in maximizing real estate opportunities, where he directed acquisitions of a 4.5 million square foot portfolio of CBD office properties in Chicago, Boston, and Dallas. In this capacity, Mr. Cannon secured additional investment opportunities in 50 major CBD markets.

Before forming the RAK Group, LLC, Mr. Cannon was Director of Real Estate Marketing at ICON International, Inc., where he was instrumental in the acquisition, management, and leasing of a 500,000 square foot portfolio of office properties. He spearheaded the aggregate real estate operations and management efforts, including asset management, disposition and leasing.

Mr. Cannon has held senior corporate real estate positions with Chase Bank, Pepsico's Pizza Hut division, and Volkswagen of America. He has successfully completed transactions with a diverse group of prestigious firms, including Coca-Cola, Gap, Inc., Austrian National Bank, IBM, Viacom, Heineken, Medco, and Continental Grain.

Mr. Cannon received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baruch College, New York. He specialized in Real Estate and graduated Cum Laude.

Mr. Cannon is an active member of REBNY serving on the Plaza Committee and Rental Agents Committee, and served as Vice President of the Sales and Marketing Council of LIBI.

John Cefaly

Cushman & Wakefield

John Cefaly has been an industry leader for more than 20 of his 30-plus years in New York City commercial real estate. A two-time recipient of the Leone J. Peters Award as the company's No. 1 brokerage professional worldwide, he is a member of Cushman & Wakefield's Board of Directors, the Global Management Committee and Chairman of the National Brokerage Advisory Board. Mr. Cefaly has been engaged as both broker and consultant by many of the world's leading corporations, financial institutions and law firms, and has been among the top five producing brokers within Cushman & Wakefield worldwide for nearly half his career. He was the leading broker in the downtown Manhattan office from 1988 to 2000. Mr. Cefaly is as a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association, and the Down Town Association. Mr. Cefaly has been personally responsible for sales and leases in excess of 30 million square feet. He attended Wilkes College in Pennsylvania and graduated with a degree in economics.

Marshall J. Cohen 

Stadtmauer Bailkin

Marshall J. Cohen created the unique transactional law practice at Stadtmauer Bailkin that adds immense value to all the firm's real estate deals. Cohen and his colleagues provide an incentive and zoning analysis for every transaction to determine how much value can be added to improve the client's bottom line. The perspective has helped strengthen Stadtmauer Bailkin's highly recognized work in economic development and municipal incentives.

For example, one manufacturing client moving to New York needed to acquire a site and secure a variance. Stadtmauer Bailkin was able to uncover huge tax credits, saving their client hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Cohen's leveraging of his firm's public sector experience made a huge difference to Bridgemarket, a popular retailer under the Queensboro Bridge. He negotiated an 11-year extension of the remaining 35 years on Bridgemarket's ground lease with the City, allowing his client to finance the lease on significantly better terms.

Cohen brings a rich, inquiring mind to real estate law. He earned a Ph.D. and taught history at Harvard and MIT, later receiving his law degree from Columbia University. He practiced at Fried Frank and Tenzer Greenblatt before joining and founding Stadtmauer Bailkin's transactional practice in 1990.

Michael T. Cohen

Williams Real Estate Co. Inc.

Michael Cohen graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and joined GVA Williams in 1981. He currently serves on the firm's management committee and as the President and Chief Executive Officer of its parent company, Williams Real Estate Co. Inc.

Mr. Cohen's primary responsibilities are positioning the firm for global growth and representing national tenants in the acquisition and disposition of office space nationwide.

Cohen represented Xerox in the relocation of its NYC headquarters to 120,000 SF of office, retail and showroom space at 245 Park Avenue. He represented Bank of New York in the acquisition of 290,000 SF at 100 Church Street, and ADP in the relocation of its 100,000 SF Canadian headquarters and acquisition of a 150,000 SF joint venture/occupancy in Chicago. Cohen also represented American Express in the acquisition of 270,000 SF at 40 Wall Street, 170,000 SF at 90 Hudson Street in Jersey City, and the renewal of 120,000 SF at 1120 Avenue of the Americas. He is also Northeast outsource partner for ADP (10 states) and CNA (4 states).

Cohen is currently a member of the Board of Directors of The Jewish National Fund, the Metro Chapter of the Young Presidents' Organization and the New York chapter of NACORE. He is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Housing and Services, Inc. and a former member of Community Planning Board Number 2.

Cohen, his wife and their three children live in Manhattan. He is the third generation of his family to be President of the firm.

John C. Cushman, III

Cushman & Wakefield

John C. Cushman III is the quintessential commercial real estate professional, known across the country and around the globe for handling complex transactions for many of the world's largest corporations. As Chair! man of the Board of Cushman & Wakefield, Mr. Cushman is responsible for formulating and articulating strategic policies and initiatives for the company on a domes tic and global basis. Mr. Cushman began his career with Cushman & Wakefield in 1963 in New York City. In 1967, he moved to Los Angeles to open Cushman & Wakefield's office in Southern California. He and his twin brother, Lou Cushman, started their own firm in 1978, Cushman Realty Corporation, which merged with Cushman & Wakefield in June 2001. Mr. Cushman negotiated the largest office lease in the world, the world headquarters of Merrill Lynch & Company involving 4 million square feet (initial occupancy) at the World Financial Center in New York City, the largest office building lease in the Western United States, and the largest office lease (aggregate rental) in 1997 in the United States for Paine Webber's headquarters in New York City.

Trevor Davis

Davis & Partners

As one of New York City's preeminent residential developers, Trevor Davis is setting the standard today in Manhattan's competitive real estate market by creating buildings that are on the cutting edge of concept, design, and more importantly, service. In addition to developing luxury residential condominiums and rentals, his multi-faceted firm, Davis & Partners LLC, also builds commercial and retail facilities and boasts a management division, Wolf Management and Leasing, which also handles leasing and sales for the company's numerous properties.

His portfolio of high-rise mixed-use luxury homes includes 300 East 64th Street, Eastbridge Landing, Wellington Tower, The Century Tower, The Empire, Rivervue, The Impala; The Seville; and his most recent offering, Park Avenue Place.

Among Davis' newest developments are: Park Avenue Place--A new 45-story luxury condominium development located between Park and Madison Avenues, at East 55th Street. This striking residential tower, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, is conveniently located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan and slated for occupancy in December 2004. It will offer 76 distinctive homes featuring a variety of studio, one, two and three bedroom layouts. One exciting aspect of Park Avenue Place will be the exclusive 23,000-square-foot "Core Club," which resides in its first five floors and is a high-end private club that will offer access to its facilities for building residents. It will also include a new restaurant by noted chef Tom Colicchio; 425 Fifth Avenue--Fifth Avenue's newest signature development designed by noted architect Michael Graves. The 67-story mixed-use tower on the northeast corner of 38th Street contains 81 distinctive condominiums and 90 extended stay residences and features a variety of studio, one, two and three bedroom layouts; and The Seville--A 32-story luxury condominium tower at 300 East 77th Street, at the southeast corner of Second Avenue, which may be one of the last new luxury addresses to be built on the Upper East Side for quite a while.

August DiRenzo

Cushman & Wakefield

August DiRenzo is a vice chairman and member of the firm's Board of Directors who has more than 30 years of experience as an industry leader in virtually every phase of commercial real estate including advisory services, investment sales, leasing and development consulting. Throughout his career, he has become a fixture on the firm's list of its top 100 professionals. He has also acted in an advisory capacity in specialized areas such as privatization, financing, zoning, governmental incentive programs, site development and other areas. Mr. DiRenzo recently represented such firms as Cablevision for its Long Island headquarters, Bell Atlantic, in the sale of 1166 Avenue of the Americas, Con Edison in a zoning analysis and disposition of its First Avenue Parcels, MetLife as an advisor on the disposition of its two-million square-foot 11 Madison Avenue office complex.

Donald DiRenzo, St.

Cushman & Wakefield

Donald A. DiRenzo Sr. is one of the most highly accomplished real estate professionals in the United States. As Vice Chairman of Cushman & Wakefield Inc., a global powerhouse in commercial real estate with 175 offices in 50 countries, Mr. DiRenzo leads by example. Through a career spent in New York City, he has earned the distinction as one of the firm's top-producing brokerage professionals consistently for decades. He has built his 40-year career representing the commercial real estate interests of many of the world's largest corporations. He has been responsible for leasing and sales transactions totaling more than 50 million square feet, and has been a major influence on Cushman & Wakefield's reputation for prominence in delivering sophisticated real estate services. Throughout Mr. DiRenzo's career, his devotion to Cushman & Wakefield has made a major impact on the firm's business model and success. He is a member of Cushman & Wakefield's executive committee and Board of Directors, he heads the Principles and Practices Committee, which oversees the ethical and professional conduct of commercial brokers in the New York City market.

Roxanne Donovan

Great Ink Communications, Ltd.

Roxanne Donovan has established the reputation as New York real estate's "go to" public relations expert for many of the metropolitan area's top real estate and related services companies, as well as emerging companies who want to make an immediate name for themselves in America's leading market. Ms. Donovan formed Great Ink in 1992 with the expressed purpose of focusing exclusively on real estate and related services. Today, her client list reads like a "Who's Who" of New York real estate, and Great Ink now represents companies in major markets across the country. Roxanne's dedication to exclusivity also makes her unique, as her firm was founded on the principle of representing only one client per real estate discipline to insure optimum service to each account.

Roxanne brings nearly 20 years of combined experience in journalism, expert media relations and public relations strategic planning to the industry. Ms. Donovan has extensive journalism experience. A former New York Daily News business reporter covering real estate and economic development, Ms. Donovan also served as Senior Editor of Commercial Property News and Editor of Real Estate Weekly. She also reported and wrote for consumer magazines and daily newspapers around the Northeast, including the Syracuse Herald-Journal. Prior to forming Great Ink, Ms. Donovan served as Director of Corporate Communications for the Edward S. Gordon Company, Inc., one of the country's largest commercial real estate concerns. At ESG, she directed both local and national media relations campaigns and was responsible for the development and implementation of strategies to announce major transactions and corporate developments. Ms. Donovan is a graduate of Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, where she focused her studies on newspaper journalism, marketing and mass media techniques.

Brian Ezratty

Eastern Consolidated

Brian Ezratty is one of the nation's most prolific dealmakers and is a principal at Eastern Consolidated. He's a graduate of the Wharton School of Business and Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, and is responsible for the sale of over $4 billion of commercial real estate during his career. He was 1993 winner of the REBNY Most Ingenious Deal of the Year award for his sale of the Ed Sullivan Theater and office building to CBS for The David Letterman Show. In 1996, he was chosen as one of the top "40 under 40" by Crain's New York Business. His achievements include the sale of 685 Third Avenue, 303 East 83rd Street, 90 West Street, 370 Lexington (twice), 100 Wall Street, 250 Broadway, 80-90 Maiden Lane (twice), 2 Rector Street, and The Eden Roc Resort and Spa, a beachfront hotel in Miami Beach, among many others.

Recently, Ezratty has represented JPMorganChase, The Battery Park City Authority, The Bank of Tokyo, CBS, State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, BRT Realty, Barclays Business Credit, Bank of America, The Related Companies, Rose Associates, Apollo Real Estate Advisors, The Wilpon Family, RFR Holding Corp., Blackacre Capital Group, The Witkoff Group, SL Green Realty Corporation, among many others, on an exclusive basis. Brian was instrumental in developing and executing the largest commercial property auction ever held in Manhattan in 1994, in which 170 properties valued at over $300 million were auctioned off.

Ezratty is a REBNY member, guest lecturer at REBNY's Continuing Education Program and member of REBNY's Sales Brokers Committee, as well as a member of YM/WREA.

Robert L. Freedman 

GVA Williams

Robert Freedman joined Williams Real Estate in 1974. In 2004, Freedman was appointed as president and CEO of GVA Williams. Recognized by the industry as an unparalleled commercial real estate strategists, Freedman leads the specialized commercial realty services offered by GVA Williams, including leasing, property management, investment advisory services, development, mortgage brokerage and tenant representation. He was instrumental in the development and strategic integration of GVA Worldwide, a global partnership organization providing a full range of services to real estate clients in 120 business capitals on five continents, of which GVA Williams is the principal shareholder.

During his 30-year career, Freedman has built an impressive list of long-time corporate and institutional clients, including Bank Julius Baer, Cigna, Holtzbrinck Publishers, Pfizer, Primedia, Inc., Steelcase, Inc., and The Thomson Corporation

A frequent lecturer and industry spokesperson, Freedman has been a featured speaker on major television and cable networks. He currently serves on numerous philanthropic boards and industry associations and served as co-chairman of the Incentive and Zoning Subcommittee of Senator Schumer's Group of 35. Freedman sits on the board of the Partnership for the Homeless and was recently honored by the organization as "Man of the Year."

Michael Fuchs

RFR Holding LLC

Michael Fuchs is the less publicized half of RFR Holding LLC, but that's no reason to doubt he is a titan New York's real estate moguls. Fuchs, like his partner, Aby Rosen, was born into a German real estate family and along with Rosen had the fortitude and the drive to begin reinvigorating the Manhattan real estate market during the recession of the early 1990s.

Growing up, Fuchs not only benefited from the example of his own father and Rosen's father--both prominent real estate investors in their native Frankfurt--he also sought higher education. After graduating from college in Germany, Michael Fuchs obtained an American education in business, earning an MBA from the prestigious University of Southern California.

Together, Rosen and Fuchs melded their European sensibility for business with the American spirit of entrepreneurialism to form RFR Holding LLC in 1990. Today, the firm owns and manages some of the most highly regarded commercial real estate on the planet. While commercial properties were the partners' first investments, the duo have gone on to develop premium-quality Manhattan residences replete with amenities such as exclusive fitness clubs and 24/7 concierges.

Though he shuns the limelight, Fuchs has earned a reputation as a stealth negotiator--he is uncompromising on all matters of quality. Perhaps that's why RFR office buildings are typically 96 and 97 percent leased at all times and why RFR residences achieve sell-out status long before occupancy begins.

Active in philanthropy, Fuchs is supporter of the Jeffrey Modell Foundation and Big Brothers, Big Sisters of New York City.

Brian Given

GVA Williams

Brian Given joined GVA Williams in 1980 and currently serves as Vice Chairman. As such, he oversees the brokerage operations of the farm as a member of the GVA Williams Executive Committee. His other areas of responsibility include institutional tenant representation and serving as exclusive leasing agent for some of Manhattan's premier Class "A" office buildings.

During his career, Given has been associated with the leasing and sales of over 15 Million square feet of commercial real estate space. In 2003, Given represented HIP in New York City's-largest new lease deal of the year--a 555,000-square-foot lease at 55 Water Street. This transaction was named New York City's "Deal of the Year" by NAIOP In addition, he was recently named as one of CoStar's "Top Brokers of 2003."

Given is currently a member of the CoreNet and his comments and insights have appeared in many real estate publications throughout New York.

Jane Gladstein

Metropolitan Housing Partners

Jane Gladstein is a principal of Metropolitan Housing Partners (MHP), responsible for oversight of the firm's development projects. MHP is an urban housing company specializing in the development of multifamily condominium and rental properties in downtown neighborhoods, including the metropolitan areas of New York and Philadelphia. With institutional partners, MHP is currently deVeloping more than 1,100 units in projects valued at more than $800 million.

Previously, Ms. Gladstein was head of Jane Gladstein Real Estate, focusing on residential and retail properties. She has provided development consulting, asset management, owner's representation, marketing consulting and/or sales services for more than $6 billion of residential property.

Prior to managing her eponymous firm, Ms. Gladstein was a Vice President and the Director of the Residential Asset Management Group for North America for Citicorp Real Estate, where she created and led their marketing consultancy for the US-based asset management teams. Prior to joining Citicorp, Ms. Gladstein managed the Development Consulting Group of MJ Raynes Incorporated, where she led a team of 50 product development, marketing and sales professionals who provided strategic consulting services for over $1 billion in new housing. She previously was Senior Project Manager for The Marketing Directors.

Ms. Gladstein was honored as Developer of the Year (1992) by the Associated Builders and Owners of NY and recently was the recipient of their Emma Lazarus Award for her contribution to the real estate industry. Ms. Gladstein holds Registered Apartment Manager and Institute of Residential Marketing designations from the National Association of Home Builders and was a founding Governor/Director on the NY-based boards of these organizations on behalf of NAHB. Ms. Gladstein is a founding member and served for five years on the Board of Directors of AREW, and has served on the Housing Committee of the REBNY, where she is currently a Broker A member.

Neil J. Goldmacher

Newmark & Company Real Estate

Neil Goldmacher joined Newmark in 1995 as senior managing director. In 2000, he became a principal of the firm. Goldmacher is one of the most highly regarded real estate advisors in the US, helping to shape the skylines of cities across the country.

Goldmacher specializes in tenant representation, the financial services industry, strategic planning and national corporate account services. Currently, he provides strategic real estate services to several premier firms, including Lehman Brothers and JPMorganChase.

Additional clients have included Merrill Lynch, Knight Trading Group, Moore Capital Management, The Carlyle Group, Apple Bank for Savings, Norwest Bank/Wells Fargo, Hermes, Omega Advisors, Liberty Marine Underwriters, Societe Generale and Sungard.

Goldmacher was previously associated with Williams Real Estate, where he assisted with their strategic alliance partnership with American Express. As transaction manager, he provided real estate services in connection with American Express facilities at 159 locations, encompassing a total of 1,550,000 SF with an aggregate annual rental value of $29 million.

Goldmacher is a member of the Industrial and Office Real Estate Brokers Association and the Real Estate Board of New York, where he serves on the Leasing Brokers' Committee.

He received his BS in Accounting from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Jeffrey Gural

Newmark & Company Real Estate

Jeffrey Gural is chairman of Newmark and is responsible for all new property acquisitions, as well as the management and leasing of the Newmark partners' ownership portfolio, consisting of more than 8,000,000 SE In addition, he is responsible for the overall supervision of the company's non-institutional portfolio.

Prior to joining Newmark in 1972, Gural served with Morse-Diesel Construction Co. for six years, responsible for vision and construction of more than 1,000,000 SF feet of new office space in such notable properties as 437 and 645 Madison Avenue.

Gural is a member of the Board of Directors of REBNY, President of the NY Chapter of The Starlight Foundation, a member of the Board of the USO, chairman of "I Have A Dream--NY" and cosponsor of the Chelsea-Elliott "I Have A Dream" Project, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Times Square Business Improvement District, member of the Board of Directors of the 14th Street-Union Square District Management Association, member of the 23rd Street Business Improvement District, member of the Board of Directors for A.R.T. New York, member of the Board of Directors for Starworks, vice president of The Broadway Association, member of the Board of Directors of the Eldridge Street Synagogue, member of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community Center of the Upper Westside and member of the Board of Directors of the Settlement Housing Fund. Gural is also a member of the Board of Directors of the UJA-Federation, which honored both himself and his father, Aaron Gural, at its 1995 Annual Luncheon.

In his spare time, Gural is an owner and breeder of racehorses at his farm in Stanfordville, NY. He is married, has three grown children, four grandchildren and resides in Manhattan.

Gural is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he received a degree in Civil Engineering.

Joseph R. Harbert

Cushman & Wakefield

Joseph R. Harbert is one of the most prominent senior management executives in New York commercial real estate. In 2004 he joined Cushman & Wakefield, the world's largest privately held commercial real estate services firm, as Chief Operating Officer for the New York Metro Region, a post to which he brings more than 20 years of New York real estate experience.

Harbert spearheads management initiatives and integration for all of Cushman & Wakefield's service lines, overseeing the operations of eight leading commercial real estate offices in the New York area including the company's offices in Midtown and Downtown Manhattan, Stamford, Conn., White Plains and Melville, N.Y., East Rutherford, Iselin and Parsippany, N.J.

Before joining Cushman & Wakefield, Harbert was Vice Chairman and General Manager of CB Richard Ellis' New York City offices. Prior to CBRE, Mr. Harbert spent 16 years with Insignia/ESG and its predecessor, the Edward S. Gordon Co., where he rose to Chief Operating Officer for the firm's New York Metro Region.

Before entering the real estate services industry, Harbert was deputy executive director of Real Estate for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where he was responsible for leasing, development, acquisition and property management.

Peter Hauspurg

Eastern Consolidated

Peter Hauspurg is a graduate of Duke University and Fordham Law School, with a specialization in tax law. Three years out of law school, Hauspurg entered investment sales brokerage and teamed up with Daun Paris to form Eastern Consolidated. Hauspurg leads the firm's deal-making and property sourcing activities. He has been instrumental in developing Eastern Consolidated's reputation for real estate problem-solving and arranging alternative acquisition and disposition structures to minimize the tax effects in transactions.

Hauspurg is also one of real estate's most highly-regarded dealmakers, and has originated for acquisition or disposition virtually every real estate asset type, including billions of dollars of office buildings, apartment buildings, hotels, development sites, garden apartments and retail properties of all shapes and sizes. Notable transactions include office buildings at 245 and 261 Fifth Avenue, 180 and 366 Madison Avenue, the Architects and Designers Building at 150 East 58th Street, The Lowell Hotel and the recent completion of the last key piece to the puzzle that cleared the way for the 2,000,000 SF assemblage for 1 Bryant Park at 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue.

Hauspurg has represented some of the country's most respected professional investors, including the John L. Loeb family, the Edgar Bronfman family, George Soros, Larry Silverstein, and Stephen Green, among many others.

Hauspurg is a member of the Board of Governors of REBNY and is a past Chairman of its Sales Brokers Committee. He is a guest lecturer in the Board's Continuing Education Program and is a frequent industry speaker. Hauspurg sits on the NYC Board of Directors and the Mortgage Committee of the Manufacturers & Traders Trust Co. of Buffalo. He is also an active member of the Westchester Land Trust and the Northern Westchester Center for the Arts.

Marc Holliday

SL Green Realty Corp.

Marc Holliday, 38, is Chief Executive Officer of SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE:SLG). Since joining the Company as Chief Investment Officer in 1998, Mr. Holliday has directed the Company's focused business plan of repositioning and strategically upgrading the portfolio to larger avenue properties with higher quality tenants, while at the same time driving strong earnings performance and growth in shareholder value. Holliday implemented this plan by overseeing a diversified strategy involving selective acquisitions and dispositions coupled with a successful joint venture initiative and structured finance program.

During Holliday's tenure, SL Green Realty has become one of the largest owners of commercial office properties in Manhattan with ownership interests in 27 buildings comprising over 15.5 million square feet.

Holliday is a former Managing Director and Head of Direct Originations for New York-based Capital Trust (NYSE: CT). While at Capital Trust, Holliday was in charge of originating direct principal investments for the firm, consisting of mezzanine debt, preferred equity and first mortgages.

Holliday received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Finance from Lehigh University in 1988, as well as a Master of Science Degree in Real Estate Development from Columbia University in 1990. He resides in Scarsdale, New York.

Gregory F. Hughes

SL Green Realty Corp.

Gregory F. Hughes is SL Green's chief financial officer, responsible for finance, capital markets, investor relations and administration. Prior to joining SL Green in February 2004, Hughes was managing director and chief financial officer of the private equity real estate group at JP Morgan Partners. From 1999 to 2002, Hughes was partner and chief financial officer of Fortress Investment Group, an investment and asset management firm which managed an $873 million real estate private equity fund and a New York Stock Exchange listed real estate investment trust with assets in excess of $1.3 billion. While at Fortress Investment Group, Hughes was actively involved in evaluating a broad range of real estate equity and structured finance investments and arranged various financings to facilitate acquisitions and fund recapitalizations. Hughes also served as chief financial officer of Wellsford Residential Property Trust, where he was responsible for that company's financial forecasting and reporting, treasury and accounting functions, capital markets and investor relations. Hughes received his BS degree in Accounting from the University of Maryland and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Michael R. Ippolito

Newmark & Company Real Estate

Michael Ippolito joined Newmark's Corporate Advisory Service division in 1991. From very early on, he was involved in many complex transactions. Over the past five years, Ippolito has become a leading tenant representative for the technology and new media industries, specializing in providing creative solutions for such problems as shortages of space, special needs for power and high-speed telecommunications, and short and long-tern growth concerns. He is also expert in the negotiation of city and state incentives. Among his major recent accomplishments, Ippolito arranged for the disposition of the 400,000 SF corporate headquarters of and relocated the firm into a more efficient 75,000 SF headquarters facility, representing the culmination of a two-year partnership between Newmark and DoubleClick.

Ippolito uses his extensive knowledge of various industries to benefit clients. He has negotiated municipal incentives in several markets for a variety of business units, including industrial centers, network operating centers, and sales offices.

Ippolito is a member of REBNY, YM/WREA and the Taxpayers for an Affordable NY Committee. He has also been a speaker at several industry events. He graduated from The School of Management at Boston University with a degree in Finance. He also completed the Commercial Real Estate Development Program at NYU.

Paul V. Ippolito

Newmark & Company Real Estate

Paul Ippolito joined Newmark as part of their Corporate Advisory Ser vices division. In 2003, he was named executive vice president and a principal of the firm. He represents national and international corporate accounts, including American Media, Intellispace, Aspen Technologies, Patient Care, National Puerto Rican Forum, Plaza Construction, Gruzen Samton, Science International Applications Corporation, and The New York Times. At Newmark, Ippolito has completed transactions in excess of 10,000,000 SF.

Recently, Ippolito provided extensive services to DoubleClick, assisting the strategic development of its real estate portfolio and completing numerous dispositions, acquisitions consolidations and lease restructurings. He completed the lease for the company's new international headquarters at 111 Eighth Avenue.

Ippolito is responsible for the leasing of several properties, including 60 East 56th Street, 1501 Broadway and 330 West 42nd Street (where he has leased more than 2,000,000 SF).

Prior to joining Newmark, Ippolito served at Abramson Brothers Real Estate. Before his career in real estate, Ippolito spent eight years with LDA Publishers, where he achieved over $15 million in sales as VP of marketing.

Ippolito is a licensed real estate broker and member of REBNY and YM/WREA. He serves on the Board of Directors for the International Radio and Television Society Foundation. He received a BS from Queens College.

Meredith J. Kane

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

A partner in the Real Estate Department, Meredith J. Kane represents developers, equity investors, institutional and entrepreneurial owners and government agencies in all aspects of development, finance, acquisitions and sales, leasing and securitization of real estate.

Ms. Kane has extensive experience in the finance and development of complex public/private joint ventures including the long-term lease acquisition of New York's World Trade Center complex; the development of the air rights over the 26-acre MTA rail yards on Manhattan's west side, including the proposed new stadium for the New York Jets; and the development and securitized financing of Brooklyn Renaissance Plaza and the Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, a million square foot office and hotel complex in downtown Brooklyn.

Recognized for her work, Ms. Kane was named one of the "Top 50 Women in Real Estate" and one of 25 Current Leaders in the Industry by Real Estate Weekly and The Association of Real Estate Women. Grid Magazine named her one of the top 10 American women in real estate development.

Kane was appointed to the World Trade Center Memorial Center Advisory Committee by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, and serves as a member of its Residential Advisory Council. She served as a commissioner of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission from 1995 to 2004.

A regular speaker on real estate development and finance, Kane is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, ULI-Urban Land Institute and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (former Chair, Economic Development Subcommittee, Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee). She is Chair of the Executive Committee of the Avenue of the Americas Association.

Kane is a magna cum laude graduate of Yale College and cum laude Harvard Law School.

Steven J. Kaufman

Kaufman Organization

Steven J. Kaufman is a Senior Managing Director of the Kaufman Organization and has been involved in New York real estate since 1971. In this capacity, he supervises the ownership, management and leasing of several Manhattan properties in the Kaufman portfolio including 450 Seventh Avenue, 462 Seventh Avenue and 470 Seventh Avenue. In addition, he is a partner in Kaufman/Adler Realty, the main brokerage arm of the Kaufman Organization. Mr. Kaufman is on the Board of Directors of the 34th Street Partnership and is a founding member of the Fashion Center Business Improvement District. He is also an active member of The Real Estate Board of New York and the Young Men's/Women's Real Estate Association. Mr. Kaufman is a graduate of Boston University.

Steven A. Kohn

Sonnenblick-Goldman Company

Steve Kohn currently serves as president of Sonnenblick-Goldman Company. Mr. Kohn joined Sonnenblick-Goldman Company in 1996 as a principal and managing director responsible for the firm's Capital Markets Group.

Prior to joining the company, he was vice president of Wexford Management LLC, an investment fund with more than $1 billion in assets. Mr. Kohn's responsibilities included overseeing acquisitions, portfolio management, loan workouts, and dispositions of various property types throughout the United States. Before assuming his position at Wexford, Mr. Kohn was president of Trafalgar House Real Estate, Inc., the U.S. commercial real estate development subsidiary of Trafalgar House Plc, a multi-billion dollar conglomerate based in London.

Kohn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Geography from Bucknell University, where he has served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Alumni and as president of the alumni chapter of New York. Kohn is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Leadership Group and vice chairman of one of ULI's Councils. He also serves on the New York City ULI District Council Executive Committee. Kohn is a member of the Wharton Real Estate Center Advisory Board, the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) and the President's Council of the Real Estate Roundtable in Washington, DC.

Ken Krasnow

Cushman & Wakefield

Ken Krasnow is Cushman & Wakefield's Executive Managing Director for the New York Metro Region. He has responsibility for managing the firm's offices in Midtown and Downtown Manhattan, White Plains, NY, Stamford, CT and Melville, NY. In 2003, with approximately 200 brokers, the firm completed more than 1,600 transactions totaling 44 million square feet with an aggregate value of about $7 billion. Mr. Krasnow has been named one of Real Estate New York's "40 under 40" and been cited as one of the industry's "next great leaders" by Real Estate Forum. Prior to assuming his current role, Mr. Krasnow was Regional Managing Director for Cushman & Wakefield's Stamford and Long Island offices where he was instrumental in guiding the region to record revenues. He joined Cushman & Wakefield in 1987 and for 10 years rose through the ranks as a commercial leasing broker in Mid-town before being recruited to the management. In his 17 years of commercial real estate he has represented major companies and properties including the United Way, CBS, JP Morgan Chase, Benetton-USA, The Greater NY Hospital Association, Chubb Insurance, 51 W. 52nd St., 730 Fifth Ave., 555 Madison Ave. and 450 Park Ave.

James D. Kuhn

Newmark & Company Real Estate

James Kuhn joined Newmark in 1992, founding Newmark's Capital Group, specializing in providing management and advisory services for corporate and institutional clients. Prior to Newmark, Kuhn spent 15 years as owner/ manager, acquiring 11,000,000 SF of office space and 6,000 apartments in partnership with Bear Stearns and Chuck Davidson of Steinhardt Partners, purchasing distressed assets from RTC, FDIC and other financial institutions.

Kuhn has been advisor, broker or principal in over $3 billion in transactions for 25,000,000 SF of commercial and residential real estate. An expert in the acquisition, leasing, management, repositioning and liquidation of major investments, Kuhn is also experienced in joint venture and equity financing. He is Chairman of the Advisory Board, NYU Real Estate Institute and a member of the Board of Trustees of National Jewish Medical and Research Center. In 1994 Kuhn received the National Jewish Humanitarian Award and was guest of honor at the Real Estate & Construction Industries' Annual Winter Eve Ball, which benefited the National Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine. Kuhn received the NYU "Real Estate Service Award" in 1984 and the 1985 "Young Man of the Year" Award from REBNY. He holds a BBA in Finance and an MBA in Real Estate from Syracuse University.

David Levy

Adams & Co. Real Estate

David Levy, principal, runs Adams & Co. Real Estate, which ranks among the top five New York firms (as measured by square footage leased by CoStar Group, Inc.) And he does it with partner James Buslik and only 12 brokers. A specialist in the Midtown South District, Levy personally serves as exclusive agent for an impressive three million square feet of commercial space in many prominent buildings, and counts marquee fashion names, such as Perry Ellis International, Jennifer Lopez's JLO Fashions, Calvin Klein and Tommy Bahama, among the tenant clients he's represented.

It is Levy's vision and market acumen that has created many of Manhattan's hugely popular and enormously successful Specialty Buildings that average 97 percent occupancy. Levy was named "Top 40 Commercial Real Estate Professionals Under 40" by Real Estate New York magazine in March 2003 and named by Costar Group as one of the top "Hot Dealmakers" in New York City for 2002 and 2003.

Georgia Malone

Georgia Malone & Company, Inc.

One of the few female real estate business owners in a male-dominated industry, Georgia Malone has in seven years built one of the most profitable and influential commercial brokerage and consulting companies in the city.

Malone left a lucrative law career to set up her business with just a secretary and a small sublet space in Manhattan. By employing an unusual pit-market deal-making strategy, in the last year Malone has been able to complete transactions totaling approximately $500 million. Her firm has been able to attract AIMCO, one of the nation's largest apartment REITs, and other prominent investors and owners such as Stonehenge Partners, Manocherian Brothers, the Hakim Organization, Property Markets Group, and Bonjour Equities.

Among Georgia Malone's major deals are the portfolio of over 32 multi-family properties in Manhattan for AIMCO; the acquisition of the Pennmark at 34th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues for $240 million; and the development of Battery Park City entertainment retail and Embassy Suites Hotel complex and the Hilton Hotel on 42 Street and Times Square, totalling $380 million.

Maurice A. Mann

Mann Realty Associates

Maurice Mann founded Mann Realty Associates as a property management firm in 1980. Today Mann Realty Associates is a leading full-service, integrated residential real estate investment, management and brokerage company.

Mann currently manages 30 buildings that he either owns outright or has an equity interest in. The buildings are comprised of approximately 1,000 residential units and 18 commercial stores, with a market value in excess of $150,000,000.

Mann has been involved in several major community housing projects including the total renovation of buildings in partnership with CPC (Community Preservation Corp.) in Harlem's Sugar Hill area.

In addition, after a devastating fire that destroyed two midtown buildings (in which he was instrumental in vacating 38 commercial tenants for the developer), Mann, along with an associate broker, spearheaded the development project of a new luxury 46-story, high-rise apartment building at 38th Street and Sixth Avenue. The project was awarded "The Most Ingenious Deal Of The Year" award for the year 2000 by the Real Estate Board of New York.

Other notable projects include the acquisition and renovation of a $100-million-plus portfolio of residential rental East/West Side properties, and the condominium conversion of a famous Emery Roth 1920's-era upper Fifth Avenue apartment building.

Andrew Mathias

SL Green Realty Corp.

Andrew Mathias is the Chief Investment Officer of SL Green Realty Corp, responsible for the firm's equity and structured finance investments. Mathias also oversees the firm's acquisitions/dispositions and its joint venture program. Prior to joining SLG, Mathias worked at Capital Trust (NYSE:CT)/Victor Capital Group (CT/ VCG) in New York. At CT/VCG, Mathias worked on a wide variety of real estate principal investments and advisory transactions, both on behalf of clients and for the firm's own account. Mathias additionally worked on the High Yield/Restructuring Desk at Bear Stearns & Co.

Mathias received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Jonathan L. Mechanic

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP

Jonathan Mechanic has received more personal nominations to the Legal Media Group's guide, The World's Leading Real Estate Lawyers, than any other real estate lawyer in the world.

Mechanic is chairman of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP's real estate department, resident in the New York office. He is one of the country's preeminent real estate attorneys. At Fried Frank, Jon's practice is broad in scope, covering real estate developments, acquisitions, sales, financings, joint ventures, leasing, restructuring, REIT transactions, governmental incentives, commercial leasing, and workouts. Along with a team of talented partners, special counsel and associates, his ongoing dedication and efforts on behalf of firm clients are the main reasons the Chambers USA Guide to the Leading Lawyers has rated Fried Frank's real estate department among New York City's top three real estate practices, and garnered Jon the coveted number one individual ranking.

Some of Jon's high-profile transactions include the purchase of the Sears Tower in Chicago, the sale of 745 Seventh Avenue to Lehman Brothers for its World Headquarters, the sale of the Viacom Headquarters at 1515 Broadway and the purchase of 200 Park Avenue (the Met Life Tower) and 885 Third Avenue (the "Lipstick Building" in New York City. He was also instrumental in the lease negotiations for the UBS Headquarters at 1285 Avenue of the Americas, the Standard & Poor's Headquarters at 55 Water Street, the Conde Nast Headquarters Building at 4 Times Square, the Cantor Fitzgerald Headquarters at 110 East 59th Street, the CIT Headquarters at 505 Fifth Avenue, and Morgan Stanley's recent leasing of over 650,000 square feet of space at One New York Plaza in Lower Manhattan.

Before joining Fried Frank as a partner in 1987, Jon was general counsel and a managing director of HRO International Ltd (now the HRO Group), which was responsible for the development of more than 2.5 million square feet of office space in New York City.

Jon is a member of the Board of Governors of the Real Estate Board of New York, the Real Estate Roundtable and the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. In addition, he serves on the advisory board of the New York University Real Estate Institute and the board of directors of Wall Street Rising.

Jon is active in many philanthropic endeavors. He sits on the board of Jeffrey Modell Foundation, the YMCA and the Eldridge Street Synagogue and is a longtime supporter of the Association for the Help of Retarded Children, the National Jewish Medical and Research Center, ORT and many other humanitarian causes.

Jon graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University in 1974. Three years later, he earned his JD from New York University's School of Law where he was an editor of the Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif.

Howard P. Milstein

Emigrant Savings Bank 

Howard P. Milstein, Co-Chairman, President and CEO of Emigrant Savings Bank, the largest privately owned bank in the country, is a Managing Partner of Milstein Properties, an investment builder active in both residential and commercial development primarily in New York City,. He is also founding President of the merchant bank FriedbergMilstein and chairs MB Real Estate, a national commercial leasing and management company. In 1989 Mr. Milstein acquired Douglas Elliman-Gibbons & Ives, and served as its Chairman for 10 years until it was sold. In 1986 he created Liberty Cable, which was sold in 1996.

A few of Mr. Milstein's civic and philanthropic services positions include: Chairman of the New York Blood Center; several top positions with Cornell University, Cornell Medical College, Cornell Investment Committee and its Real Estate Committee Chair, the Economic Club of New York, the Board of the UJA Federation, the National Board of the Smithsonian Institution, as well as on the Boards of the Corcoran Museum of Art and the Shakespeare Theatre.

Mr. Milstein received a B.A. in Economics summa cum laude from Cornell University in 1973, and earned Law and Business degrees from Harvard in 1977. He is a member of the Harvard Law School Visiting Committee, and of the Executive Committee of the Dean's Advisory Board.

Joseph Moinian

The Moinian Group

Joseph Moinian's story is synonymous with the quintessential American dream. Arriving in New York at 16, with barely a dollar to his name and speaking no English, Moinian graduated in one semester from Forest Hills High School in Queens before going on to earn a business administration degree from City College of New York.

By investing his early earnings from the women's fashion industry into real estate, Moinian built his development portfolio, originally buying loft buildings and converting them to office space in the Midtown South and Flatiron districts. In 1980, he founded The Moinian Group and grew the firm to its current portfolio of more than 20 million square feet--14 million in Manhattan alone. The company's acquisitions include 180 Maiden Lane, 1775 Broadway, 17 Battery Place, 530 Fifth Ave, 95 Wall St., EAB Plaza, Galleria at 115 E. 57th St. and 1450 Broadway. Moinian is Downtown's largest landlord and a champion of Lower Manhattan's revitalization. He has recently entered into condominium development with Downtown Club at 20 West St., the former site of the Downtown Athletic Club.

Moinian serves on the board of NYC2012, the committee working to bring the Olympics to New York City, and is active in several charities. He and his wife Nazee live in Manhattan and have five children.

Michael L. Moskowitz

Equity Now

Michael Moskowitz, CPA, founder and president of Equity Now, a prominent direct lending firm, is a leader in the cause of mortgage reform and high ethical standards.

Moskowitz founded Equity Now in 1984 and has established it quietly and independently as one of the most efficient and ethical residential 1-4 family co-op and condo mortgage lenders in the Northeast. His firm is licensed as a mortgage banker by the New York State Banking Department and is also currently licensed in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Florida. The company has a staff of 45 that includes loan officers, processors and underwriters, and a closing department.

While building Equity Now, Moskowitz became a widely-quoted expert on mortgage lending, legislation and reform. He has lectured to the State Conference of Banking Supervisors on the state of the sub-prime mortgage industry and has helped reform practices of misleading advertising. He has even taken his reform campaign to Capitol Hill, penning a letter to every member of Congress about lenders who pay brokers higher fees to secure higher rate loans, a practice that has already spawned numerous class action lawsuits.

Moskowitz is a 1982 graduate of Bernard M. Baruch College with a BBA in Public Accountancy and is a New York State licensed CPA. After a few years practicing his profession at Oppenheim, Appel, Dixon & Co. and Pepper Gelborg & Roth CPA's, he founded his firm as M. L. Moskowitz & Co. in 1984. He renamed it Equity Now in March of 2000.

Esther Muller

The Real Estate Academy

Esther Muller is more than an education maven--she is an education revolutionist. Before she created The Real Estate Academy, mandatory continuing education was considered by many real estate professionals as a necessary evil--"Like going to the dentist," Muller remembers. "You didn't want to do it but you had to."

Muller, a 25-year industry veteran, knew that professional learning could and should be fun and informative. So, in 1995, she launched the Real Estate Academy. Working within the strict mandates of the Department of State, Division of Licensing Services, she developed insightful seminars that were creatively taught and held in non-traditional locations that enhanced the learning experience.

Today, the Academy is considered by many to be the gold standard for educational training. Its skills-building program has empowered the thousands of students who have attended its classes and the experience has helped them to take their careers to the next level. Many attendees have returned for additional classes and/or have recommended the school to their colleagues.

The Academy is especially known for the caliber of its instructors--many are industry superstars who take time out of their busy schedules to lecture, without charge, because of Muller's sterling reputation and the school's tradition of learning excellence.

Patrick Murphy

CBRE

Patrick Murphy is an Executive Managing Director at CB Richard Ellis, and is responsible for managing the company's six suburban offices I in New Jersey, Westchester, Long Island and Connecticut.

Patrick's business philosophy is dedicated to putting the client first, augmenting brokerage skills with powerful consulting resources, resulting in strategic methodologies and financial solutions for clients that create winning real estate transactions.

As a senior executive and business leader, Patrick believes in empowering all members of the CBRE team through education and training, resulting in a highly motivated workforce that adds significant value to each client assignment. Patrick has created many innovative processes for the CBRE workforce, and is known for his dedication to his people.

In addition to his executive responsibilities as a manager, Patrick is also known as a premiere real estate advisor and dealmaker. Patrick's clients include KPMG, JP Morgan Chase, Ingersoll Rand, AXA, UBS, SJP Properties, Transwestern and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Patrick is a 23-year veteran of commercial real estate and has been part of the CB Richard Ellis family of companies since 1990. Previously, Patrick was Vice President of Baker Harris-CPC, a London-based international real estate firm specializing in national accounts. Patrick graduated with a BA from Hamilton College in 1980.

Gerard Nocera

SL Green Realty

Gerard T. Nocera currently serves as Chief Operating Officer, for SL Green Realty. He is responsible for the operation, leasing and redevelopment of the entire 27 building, 15.4 million square foot, SL Green portfolio. Nocera also oversees all capital projects, leasing programs and day-to-day operations of all properties owned and managed. He served as Executive Vice President--Director of Leasing for the Company from 1997 to 2001 and for SL Green Properties, Inc. from 1991 to 1997. During these periods, Nocera was responsible for the development and implementation of all repositioning, leasing and marketing programs for the properties owned and managed by the Company. Prior to joining SL Green, Nocera worked as a Promotional Broker for seven years as well as working for Nocera is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York and the YMWREA. Nocera received a B.A. degree from Duquesne University.

Scott M. Panzer

Newmark & Company Real Estate

Scott Panzer brings a diversified wealth of knowledge from the corporate perspective to real estate, facilities management, cost reduction analysis and strategic/tactical planning. During the past five years, he has emphasized the growing need for providing enhanced services to corporations. Since becoming a service provider in 1992, he has completed over 1,000,000 SF of assignments encompassing all facets of real estate, from strategic planning to property management.

Panzer provides clients with significant "corporate side" knowledge. His negotiating expertise on mergers and acquisitions, real estate and bulk purchasing agreements continues to provide ongoing savings for clients. Panzer understands the connections between corporate strategies, operational needs of distinct business units and real estate utilization.

Prior to Newmark, Panzer was VP of Real Estate and Group Purchasing for Maxwell Communication Corporation, responsible for managing and leasing Maxwell's properties in North America. Prior to that, Panzer was Director of Corporate Development and a key member of the initial mergers and acquisitions team responsible for establishing Maxwell's foothold in the US. Panzer is a member of the NY Chapter of NACORE and sits on the board of the NY Chapter of IDRC. He holds an MBA in Finance/Accounting and a BS in Biochemistry.

Daun Paris

Eastern Consolidated

As one of the two founding partners of Eastern Consolidated, which she started in 1983, Daun Paris has gained nationwide recognition throughout her 24-year career. She entered the industry in 1979, at a time when it was a rarity to find a woman working in commercial building sales. Specializing in the sales and acquisition of office buildings, development properties and hotel sales, Paris quickly distinguished herself with such notable sales as The Lowell Hotel, the Midtown Hospital development site and the Americas Towers assemblage, among others.

Moving from sales to managerial responsibilities in 1989, Paris directs the firm's day-to-day brokerage operations and all technology, administrative and personnel operations. Under Paris, Eastern Consolidated has grown into a full service real estate company and has retained a prominent position in the marketplace. In 1994, Paris was chosen by Crain's New York Business as one of their "40 Under 40" for outstanding achievement in the business community.

A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College with a major in economics and the performing arts, Paris received her BA in 1978. Her professional associations include membership in REBNY, where she has been a member of the General Meeting Committee, the sales brokers committee and the arbitration committee for the REBNY. She also served on REBNY's Commercial Board of Directors from 2001-2003. Paris is a member of NY Women Executives in Real Estate and AREW, where she served on the board of directors.

Paris' civic involvements are extensive and are highlighted by her involvement with the Edenwald Pleasantville Cottage School where under her stewardship a pilot educational program is being developed whereby disadvantaged young men and women will be taught marketable skills. Paris also devotes her energies to the Westchester Land Trust, The Northern Westchester Hospital, Prep for Prep, The Boys and Girls Club and The Northern Westchester Center for the Arts.

Frederick Warburg Peters

Warburg Realty Partnership

Frederick Warburg Peters is President of Warburg Realty Partnership, one of the oldest and most respected luxury residential brokerage firms in Manhattan. A graduate of Yale College with a Masters and extensive pre-doctoral work in music, Frederick entered the real estate business as a residential agent in 1980. After working as a Manager at Albert B. Ashforth for a number of years in the late 80s, he acquired and renamed the 95-year old firm in 1991.

During the past 15 years, Peters has expanded the company from 60 to 130 brokers and from one to four locations. In addition to leading the firm's strategic initiatives, he continues to work as a broker for two reasons: he loves the thrill of making a deal, and feels it keeps his finger on the pulse of the marketplace, making him a more valuable resource to the firm's agents. It is this daily involvement that enables Peters to insure that Warburg's core philosophy--providing extraordinary service and forging strong relationships between its professionals and the customers, clients and communities they serve--is consistently fulfilled, and that the firm's position as an independently owner major player in the New York City marketplace is maintained. Always attempting to think one step ahead, he has recently opened the first major luxury brokerage office in Harlem at Frederick Douglass Boulevard and the first office devoted to the sale of Real Property at 30 East 76th Street, in addition to Warburg's existing Upper East Side and Greenwich Village locations. This trailblazer approach has consistently set the firm apart from its competitors and warranted Peters' reputation as one of the most-quoted experts in the Manhattan residential real estate industry.

Peters' dedication to the industry is also seen in his involvement as a Co-chair of the Board of Directors of The Real Estate Board of New York's Residential Division and a member of REBNY's Board of Governors. In 1996, he was the recipient of the Henry Forster Award, a lifetime achievement and contribution-to-the-industry award.

Laura H. Pomerantz

PBS Realty Advisors

Laura Pomerantz is a principal and founding partner of PBS Realty Advisors, LLC, a boutique real estate firm offering commercial real estate advisory and execution services. With 11 years executive-level commercial real estate experience and a significant background in retail, she provides her clients with a breadth of knowledge from the corporate viewpoint in such areas as strategic and tactical planning and cost reduction analysis.

Pomerantz provides comprehensive and strategic real estate solutions based on her clients' growth initiatives. She specializes in strategic planning and tactical plan formation, office and retail tenant representation lease negotiation, and acquisition & development. She has successfully concluded over 5,000,000 SF of commercial transactions for clients that include Bear Stearns, Bloomberg L.P., Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, Lit Claiborne and Abercrombie & Fitch.

Prior to establishing PBS, Pomerantz served as a Senior Managing Director at Newmark & Company Real Estate, with senior level responsibility for major tenant representation assignments. She previously held senior management positions at SL Green and The Leslie Fay Companies for 18 years.

Pomerantz has a longstanding commitment to the community and the arts. She is a member of the Carnegie Hall Board of Trustees, its Executive Committee and is Chairman of their special events committee. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Richard Tucker Foundation. Pomerantz was the recipient of the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund Equal Opportunity Award in 1990, and a 1992 inductee to the YWCA's Academy of Women Achievers.

John Powers

CBRE

As Chairman of CB Richard Ellis for the New York Tri-State Region, John Powers oversees the strategic direction of the company with colleagues Robert Alexander and Mary Ann Tighe. In addition, he continues to work directly with clients.

Prior to the merger with CBRE, John spent 14 years with Insignia/ESG, rising to the rank of Vice Chairman. Starting in the late 1980s, he managed the Consulting Division of Insignia/ ESG; leading the Group into a strong and integral part of the firm. During his tenure, he has represented such household corporate names as AT&T, United Technologies, Hewlett Packard, First Union Bank, McGraw-Hill, Ziff-Davis, Skadden Arps, PNC Bank, Chase Manhattan Bank, Arthur Andersen, Barclay's Bank and many others for both advisory projects and real estate transactions, all between 100,000 and 1 million sq. ft. His expertise is in providing corporate clients with a rare level of experience and insight vis-a-vis the planning required to develop and implement large occupancy strategies, a skill built on his experience as a strategic planner for Swiss Bank Corporation early in his career.

Diane M. Ramirez

Halstead Property LLC.

Diane M. Ramirez is President of Halstead Property L.L.C. The company was acquired by Terra Holdings, its parent company, in April 2001 and the firms principals are David Burris, Kent M. Swig, Arthur Zeckendorf, and Will Zeckendorf.

When the firm was founded in 1984, she worked as a selling broker until 1987. During these years she consistently ranked in the top 5% of the firm's brokers and was the winner of many company sales and listing awards. In 1988 she was the recipient of the Real Estate Board of New York's "Deal of the Year" award. In 1987 Ramirez assumed the management role of director of sales. She was promoted to executive director of sales in 1993; and, named President in 1999. She was a partner and board member until the firm was acquired.

Ramirez is an active member of the Real Estate Board of New York, Inc., where she serves on the Board of Governors and as Co-Chair on the Board of Directors of the Residential Division. She also serves on the Deal of the Year Committee and its Investment Advisory sub-committee. Diane is the voting member of the Residential Brokerage Division, Interfirm Forum, which she co-chaired from 1996-98. She is currently a committee member on Admissions and has served on the Ethics Committee and Education Committee (co-chair from 1994-1996). She is an accredited continuing education teacher for the State. She is a member of the Real Estate Brokerage Managers Council--the professional organization of business management, which serves real estate brokerage owners and managers, and in 1996 earned the industry-recognized CRB designation.

She began her real estate career in 1973 in Palm Beach, Florida, where she continues to maintain her license. In 1975, Ramirez, her husband and two children returned to New York, their hometown. She acquired her real estate license and worked at a competing firm until joining forces with Mr. Halstead, the founder of Halstead Property.

She and her husband reside in Manhattan. Their son, his wife and their two daughters dwell in Manhattan; and, their married daughter resides in Connecticut with her husband and two children.

Peter Riguardi

Jones Lang LaSalle 

Peter Riguardi joined Jones Lang LaSalle Americas in 2002 as president of the company's New York region. He is responsible for broadening the company's New York platform, developing and maintaining key client relationships, and setting the strategic direction of the company's tenant representation, and leasing and management business in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area.

In the more than two years that Riguardi has helmed Jones Lang LaSalle's New York office, he has turned what was a minor company in the Manhattan real estate market into a dominant player. Jones Lang LaSalle has landed the most prestigious assignments in New York under his leadership, including Bank of America's 1.1 million-square-foot lease and co-development agreement with Durst Organization at One Bryant Park, the redevelopment of Madison Square Garden, a real estate consulting assignment for the Port Authority on the rebuilding of the World Trade Center, the redevelopment of Governors Island, and the redevelopment of Roosevelt Island.

During his 20-plus year career, Riguardi has been actively involved in several of the largest and most noteworthy transactions in the metropolitan area, including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's 1.6 million square foot net lease of 2 Broadway and the ground lease and development of 1.2 million square foot at 745 Seventh Avenue to Morgan Stanley.

Riguardi serves on the Board of Directors of the Real Estate Board of New York and is an active member of the organization. He was honored in October 2004 by the Special Olympics and as The 2004 Professional of the Year by The Torch Foundation, a children's charity that provides financial assistance directly in need by funding medical bills or equipment. As co-chairman and coach of the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Muscle Team 2004 sports dinner, he helped raise more than $1 million, bringing top athletes from throughout the metropolitan New York area together with local MDA.

Andrew H. Roos

GVA Williams

Andrew Roos joined GVA Williams in 1975 and currently serves as its Executive Vice President and is a member of the firm's management committee. His primary areas of responsibility include strategic planning, standards compliance and coordinating media relations for the firm. He also advises national and international companies on the acquisition and disposition of their facilities. He is the third generation of his family to be associated with the firm.

During his career, Roos has been associated with the development, sale or repositioning of over $200 million of real estate and the leasing of over 15 million square feet of commercial property.

He is a former chairman of the Young Men's/Women's Real Estate Association of New York, Inc. and of the New York University's Real Estate Round Table. He is presently a member of the University's Advisory Board. Mr. Roos graduated from American University.

Some of his career highlights include Xerox corporation NY headquarters, offices and showroom at 245 Park Avenue; Bank of New York's 400,000 sf office consolidation from multiple NYC locations; Loews Corporation's office expansion at 655 Madison Avenue; and Dupont's 45,000 sf sublease to the National Hockey League at 1251 Avenue of the Americas. Roos has also handled Aquascutum of London's NYC and Boston flagship stores 680; Tommy Hilfiger's NYC flagship store; Restoration Hardware's NYC flagship store; the United Nations Development Program Synthetic "Tax Free" Condo at 304 E.45th Street; Site selection and acquisition for 17 State Street, a 42-story office tower; and Bic Corp.'s Commercial Condominium sale of three floors at 155 East 59th Street.

Aby Rosen

RFR Holding LLC

Aby Rosen founded RFR Holding with his childhood friend Michael Fuchs in New York in 1990. At the time the Manhattan commercial real estate market was in the depths of recession, but Messrs. Rosen and Fuchs had a vision to acquire well-located but underpeforming Midtown assets in need of repositioning. The partners had confidence that with extensive capital investment and proper marketing and leasing, such assets would perform beyond all expectations. With that strategy, the success of RFR was born.

German-born Aby Rosen was raised in a real estate family that stressed education and practical experience. After earning a law degree at Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Rosen worked as an investment advisor for Jones Lang Wootton in New York, serving institutional investors. While he found it satisfying to direct investment decisions at a major real estate firm, Rosen longed to be an entrepreneur. Both he and Fuchs envisioned a totally hands-on operation that would perform acquisitions, construction, leasing and management entirely in-house, thereby ensuring the stellar quality of assets in their name. The goal, which has arguably been achieved time and time again over the firm's 14 years, was not to become a massive, detached investor, but instead to maintain a deliberately small portfolio managed so meticulously that its properties would become the most coveted locations for tenants in all of Manhattan.

The first acquisition Rosen and Fuchs made together as RFR Holding was a retail property at 451 Lexington Avenue. After successfully repositioning that property, their formula became almost combustive and commercial successes led to the opportunity to form residential partnerships. Today, RFR controls a commercial portfolio of eight million square feet, which is leased and managed by its RFR Realty division. RFR Realty is responsible for 27 properties, including 390 Park Avenue, 375 Park Avenue, 17 State Street, 2 Herald Square, 757 Third Avenue, and 1334 York Avenue (Sotheby's Building). RFR has also been involved in the development of more than five million of luxury residential properties, including The Empire, The Wellington The Impala, The Seville, RiverVue, Century Tower, 425 Fifth Avenue, and 300 East 64th Street.

While RFR continues to acquire and develop real estate primarily in Manhattan, the firm has in the last few years broadened its reach to include retail and hotel assets in boom markets such as Miami and Las Vegas. It has also selectively expanded its residential development projects beyond the confines of Manhattan.

Though nationally renowned in business for his ingenious real estate investment strategies, Rosen is also quite highly regarded for his appreciation of the arts. Mr. Rosen has a vast private art collection that includes works by Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Damien Hirst. He has also been the driving force behind RFR's modern art installations at buildings such as 390 Park Avenue (Lever House) and 375 Park Avenue. RFR also holds a highly anticipated Music on the Plaza concert program each spring and summer at 375 Park Avenue.

Rosen and Fuchs have been honored by various art councils and commissions for their work restoring legendary skyscrapers, such as the Municipal Arts Society, The Skyscraper Museum, and the American Institute of Architects.

Rosen is also known for his financial support and personal involvement with several philanthropies including Israel Bond, UJA Federation, Jeffrey Modell Foundation (he was the foundation's Man of the Year in 2000) and Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City. He is also active in the Real Estate Council of Carnegie Hall and the Grand Central Partnership & District Management Association.

Howard Rosen

Grubb & Ellis New York

Howard Rosen has over 24 years of experience in the real estate profession as an owner, landlord's agent, and tenant representative broker. Mr. Rosen's forte lies in complex deal structuring, lease negotiation, acquisition, and disposition of commercial properties. Since rejoining Grubb & Ellis in 2001, Mr. Rosen has been named top producing broker in New York in 2003 and selected for the Circle of Excellence in 2002, 2003 and 2004. At Grubb & Ellis, Mr. Rosen represents tenants and landlords in achieving their real estate objectives.

Rosen received a Bachelor of Science degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, New Jersey. Rosen is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York where serves on both the Plaza District Committee and Owner's Agent Committee. He is a licensed real estate broker in both New York and New Jersey.

Merrill L. Roth

Grubb & Ellis New York

Merrill Roth joined Grubb & Ellis in the spring of 1998, as the co-head of the Company's downtown office, having established a reputation throughout the industry as one of the premier transaction specialists and agents in Manhattan. He has acted as agent, broker, and consultant for hundreds of transactions involving millions of square feet of office space throughout the United States and worldwide. Over most of the past ten years, he has created transactions that were industry recognized as among the ten largest deals of the year in Manhattan. Of note, this year, Mr. Roth is the top broker in the United States for Grubb & Ellis.

Roth currently leads a major corporate representation team in Manhattan that specializes in providing on-going strategy planning, acquisition and disposition support services to large, multi-market clients.

Roth holds a B.A. (cum laude) from SUNY at Cortland and an M.B.A. from Baruch College. He has been recognized by the senior brokers and building owners in the lower Manhattan real estate industry by being chosen to act as chairman of its prestigious Real Estate Board of New York Downtown Committee for nine years. (Retired in 2002.)

He was also the elected member of the REBNY's brokerage division board of directors commercial brokerage division (1999-02).

Mitch Rudin

CBRE

Mitch Rudin, President of CB Richard Ellis' New York Tri-State Region, oversees all the business and operating functions within the firm's New York Tri-State Region, with day-to-day responsibility for the company's operations in New York City, northern and central New Jersey, Long Island, Westchester and Fairfield counties.

In his previous role as President, Brokerage Services, for CB Richard Ellis, Mr. Rudin oversaw the firm's tenant and landlord brokerage operations for office, retail and industrial leasing throughout the United States. He held the same position at Insignia/ ESG as President of US Transaction Services beginning in 1999 until CB Richard Ellis' acquisition of that firm in 2003.

Mr. Rudin was an instrumental member of the firm's Consulting Group upon joining the firm in 1989, and both created and grew Insignia's Agency Group (formerly Gordon Property Group) in 1993, which became one of New York's pre-eminent owner's agents with a portfolio in excess of 23 million sq. ft. Clearly one of Insignia's leaders, Mr. Rudin was named New York's "Young Real Estate Man of the Year" and in 2001, was recognized by the company with its first annual Edward S. Gordon Award for Excellence, Insignia/ESG's highest honor named in memory of the firm's legendary late founder.

Stuart M. Saft

Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, LLP

Since the completion of his Juris Doctor from Columbia University Law School, Stuart M. Saft has played an instrumental role in many of the nation's largest legal decisions affecting the housing community. Today, Saft is Partner and Chairman of the Real Estate division at the Manhattan-based law firm, Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP.

In a career spanning over three decades, Saft has become a leading legal expert working on numerous complex commercial and residential property negotiations, sophisticated financings and workouts of troubled loans, such as his representation of Cityspire in its Bankruptcy Reorganization and completion efforts.

Saft is also heavily involved representing the boards of directors and sponsors in the development of cooperatives and condominiums, including Co-op City in its $475 million refinancing and reconstruction, the largest to date. On the condominium side, he worked on behalf of Parkchester North/South Condominiums, helping arrange a $240 million financing and reconstruction of its facilities. Saft's successful negotiation of Parkchester, one of the largest condominium financings and construction plans, resulted in the completion of work on time and budget. He also completed one of the most successful condominium conversions at the Ruppert-Yorkville, working on behalf of the tenants living in the 1260-unit complex, where more than 75 percent of the residents purchased their homes.

Saft was responsible for coauthoring one of the newest amendments to the New York Condominium Act, permitting condominium financing. During the past 30 years, he has also penned an extensive collection of books and articles and is frequently cited in real estate, business and trade publications addressing legal matters in the housing community.

Saft is a member of the Bars of the State of New York (1972), Florida (1975) and the U.S. Supreme Court (1990). He is a recent recipient of the Theodore Small Award from the National Association of Workforce Boards, recognizing his work following September 11th that led to the development of Family Centers.

Salt holds leadership roles in a number of organizations including: National Cooperative Bank's; NCB, FSB's; Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums; New York City Workforce Investment Board; First American Title Insurance Company; American Women's Economic Development Corporation; National Association of Housing Cooperatives; American College of Real Estate Lawyers; and Worldwide Student Outreach.

Scott Salmirs

American Building Maintenance

In 2002, Scott Salmirs, a corporate real estate veteran with over 15 years of experience in commercial property management, development and construction at the highest levels of Corporate America, including Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs and Prudential Securities, moved to the service side of real estate. He joined one of the largest facility services contractors listed on the New York Stock Exchange, American Building Maintenance Co. of New York (NYSE: ABM), a subsidiary of ABM Industries, Inc.

In his first two years at the helm, Salmirs reshaped the company's regional management team, bringing on top executives with strong corporate real estate experience to supplement the existing staff of experienced senior level executives. He has built upon ABM's reputation as a trusted advisor in asset management and a partner in tenant retention and property enhancement. Under his leadership, ABM was awarded the rare ISO 9001 Certification for building maintenance operations at Deutsche Bank's 31 West 52nd Street in Manhattan, marking the first time a cleaning company operation had been so designated east of the Mississippi.

Before moving to ABM, Salmirs was the Head of Corporate Real Estate for North and South America at Lehman Brothers, where he was responsible for the firm's Property Management, Leasing, and Design & Construction groups. After 9/ 11, Salmirs was instrumental in reorganizing Lehman Brothers' real estate portfolio in New York and New Jersey. This included the purchase of their headquarters at 745 Seventh Avenue and the start-up of management operations there, as well as at 70 Hudson Street in Jersey City, NJ. In addition, Salmirs helped orchestrate the construction of over 1 million square feet of office space.

Prior to joining Lehman, Salmirs was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs, where he oversaw the design and development of their 1.5 million square-foot office tower in Jersey City, NJ. Before joining the development team in 1999, he was responsible for managing Goldman's four million square foot real estate portfolio in the United States.

Salmirs' experience also includes five years at Insignia/ESG as its Managing Director in the Property Management group and six years at Prudential Securities in its Real Estate Direct Investment Group.

Salmirs has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business-Economics from the State University of New York at Oneonta and a Masters of Business Administration degree specializing in Finance from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Thomas Z. Scarangello, P.E.

Thornton-Tomasetti Group

Tom Scarangello and his fellow managing principals of Thornton-Tomasetti Group (including Aine Brazil, featured in This issue's "AREW Top Women" section), are the new generation of leadership of the international engineering and design firm. Scarangello and his colleagues are carrying on the near 50-year-tradition of excellence of the firm's founding principals Charles Thornton and Richard Tomasetti.

Scarangello has extensive experience in the planning, design, analysis and review of a wide range of structures including arenas and stadiums, office buildings and long span structures. A graduate of Manhattan College and Columbia University, he is a member of several engineering associations, such as the American Society of Civil Engineers, Structural Engineers Association of New York and the International Association of Assembly Managers and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including being named one of Engineering News Record's "Top 25 Newsmakers."

Thornton-Tomasetti Group has been on the design team for some of New York's highest profile projects in recent years, including 5 and 7 Times Square, St. George's Ferry Terminal on Staten Island and 731 Lexington Avenue. In addition to his work on high-rise structures such as the New York Times headquarters, Scarangello is a leader of the firm's sports and entertainment practice, which has been involved in more than 30 major sports facilities around the world. Currently, Thornton-Tomasetti is providing engineering services for the new Yankee Stadium project, the proposed Jets Stadium, the new Nets arena in Brooklyn and the Newark arena.

Scarangello and his colleagues were among the first responders called upon by the City of New York on September 11, 2001, and Thornton-Tomasetti, along with their forensic division LZA Technology, was selected to oversee structural integrity during the unprecedented rescue and clean-up operations that followed. The company also contributed to the reconstruction of the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center, for which they were on the original design team.

In addition to their New York projects, some of the firm's significant international projects include Taipei 101 in Taiwan and Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the world's tallest buildings; the Federation tower in Moscow, which will be Europe's tallest building; Plaza 66 in China; and dozens of other current projects throughout Europe and Asia. Thornton-Tomasetti is also involved in scores of new commercial, residential, sports, industrial, institutional and transportation projects in cities across the United States. The firm maintains 12 offices in the U.S. and international offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Frank J. Sciame

F.J. Sciame Construction

Widely regarded as one of the industry's most influential leaders, Frank J. Sciame transcends all conventional descriptions of architect, builder, developer and civic leader. With a degree in Architecture from CCNY, Sciame has been referred to as a builder with the vision of an architect and the eye of a constructor. Since establishing F.J. Sciame Construction Co. more than 30 years ago, Sciame has combined his talents with those of his long-time division heads and has successfully completed many of the metropolitan area's most notable projects for prestigious cultural, educational, commercial and retail clients.

With a philosophy based on providing "the highest quality craftsmanship," EJ. Sciame Construction today stands above the competition as one of the tri-state region's leading construction management firms with current projects valued at nearly $500 million. Among the firm's current and recently completed projects are: The New York Public Library-South Court; new educational facilities for Spence School, Lycee Francais, The Millennium High School, and Sarah Lawrence College; the Harvard Club expansion; an addition for Pratt Institute; and the new addition and restoration at The Pierpont Morgan Library. In addition, Sciame is in the pre-construction phase for the New Museum of Contemporary Art, The Museum of Art & Design, Theater for a New Audience, and a new academic building for Cooper Union.

In 1996, Sciame took on the role of developer and formed Sciame Development. The firm is currently engaged in the revitalization of Historic Front Street, a mixed-use project in the South Street Seaport Historic District. The project features the restoration of 11 early 19th century warehouses into 100 residential apartments and boutique retail shops. Sciame is also working closely with internationally-acclaimed architect Santiago Calatrava on the development of 80 South Street Tower in Lower Manhattan, a project which has received worldwide attention.

While Sciame is widely respected for his business acumen, he is equally recognized for his commitment and contributions to the quality of life in New York City through his years of civic responsibility and his dedication to the preservation of the City's historic treasures. Among his many honors, he received the 1997 Chairman's Award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy, a 2003 "Pillar of New York" award from the Preservation League of New York State, and an Honorary Member of the New York City and State chapters of the American Institute of Architects. Mr. Sciame currently serves as President of the New York Building Congress.

Steven Simkin

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

A partner and chair of the Real Estate Department, Steven Simkin maintains an active practice in major financings, acquisitions and development projects. His work includes representation of lenders in a $1.3 billion financing for the Columbus Centre project, representation of the majority partner in the $3.3 billion World Trade Center acquisition and representation of clients in the $750 million purchase of Citigroup Center.

His practice also focuses on real estate-related litigations and disputes. He has represented numerous clients in these matters including a New York City developer in a multi-state, multi-property litigation involving secured and unsecured debt.

Simkin has extensive experience in multi-state mortgage financings on behalf of lenders and borrowers. Currently, he is representing an owner of the Las Vegas Sands Hotel in the development of the city's largest construction project, casino and shopping center.

With his involvement in the purchase, sale or financing of several hundred regional malls, Simkin's shopping center experience is vast. Simon Properties, Taubman, Federated Department Stores, and Saks & Company are among his list of clients.

Having represented many major tenants in New York City and elsewhere, Simkin has broad experience in the area of commercial office leasing. He recently completed office lease negotiations for the headquarters of HBO and NASDAQ.

Simkin is a cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (college and law school). A frequent speaker at real estate-related conferences and seminars, Simkin served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Real Property Section of the New York Bar Association and is currently on the Advisory Board of First American Title Insurance Company and Commonwealth Title Insurance Company. He is on the Boards of the New York University Real Estate Institute, the New York Junior Tennis League and the Dahesh Museum of Art.

Tara Stacom

Cushman & Wakefield

Tara Stacom has risen to become one of New York City's most influential and accomplished real estate professionals, an Executive Vice President and member of Cushman & Wakefield's Board Directors. In 2004, she became the first woman ever to win Cushman & Wakefield's Leone J. Peters. Award, given to the company's No. 1 brokerage professional worldwide. She is a lead agency broker in more than a dozen Class-A properties, representing New York's most prominent landlords and a highly distinguished tenant representation professional who routinely handles the largest and most complex assignments in New York and throughout the world, for clients such as The Bank of New York, The McGraw-Hill Companies, J. & W. Seligman & Company, the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, and the global law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Ms. Stacom is on the Ethics Committee of the Real Estate Board of New York and its Commercial Brokerage Division's Board of Directors. She is a member of the Board of Directors of WX, the preeminent women's commercial real estate organization, and is on the Board of Trustees and Board of Advisors of her alma mater, Lehigh University, where she earned her B.S. in Finance in 1980.

Rob Speyer

Tishman Speyer Properties 

Rob Speyer oversees the company's activities in the New York metropolitan area, and chairs on the company's management committee. Since joining the company, Speyer has spearheaded several projects in New York, including: Development and leasing of 222 E. 41st Street, the company's first ground-up office project in Manhattan in over a decade; Acquisition, redevelopment and leasing of 300 Park Avenue; Acquisition of the Lipstick Building (885 Third Avenue); Launching a joint venture to invest $200 million from the New York City Employee Retirement System (NYCERS) and Teachers Retirement System (TRS) into New York City real estate projects; Acquisition of the New York Times Building (229 West 43rd Street); Acquisition of the MetLife Building (200 Park Avenue); Restoration and forthcoming reopening of the Rockefeller Center Observation Deck; Upcoming development of 3.5 million SF project in Long Island City.

Speyer also serves on the Board of Visitors of Columbia College, and the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors of the Real Estate Board of New York.

He graduated magna cum laude from Columbia College in 1992 and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

Elizabeth Stribling

Stribling & Associates, Ltd.

Elizabeth Stribling, president of Stribling & Associates, Ltd. began her distinguished real estate career in 1967 as a broker at Whitbread-Nolan, Inc. and in 1980, established Stribling & Associates, Ltd. As a leading real estate professional with eight top brokers under her guidance, she steadily grew the firm to over 160 agents during a span of twenty years. In 1989, Ms. Stribling acquired the downtown office of James N. Wells & Sons, the oldest real estate firm in Manhattan dating back to 1819. In 1999, Ms. Stribling founded a separate division, Stribling Marketing Associates, LLC to market new developments and conversions with the dedication and expertise that Stribling is known for Uptown and throughout the city.

Recognized in the New York community as a leading expert in luxury residential sales, Elizabeth Stribling is also highly regarded as a knowledgeable business and civic leader. In 1995, she was the recipient of the "Henry Forster Memorial Award" for Outstanding Achievement and Conduct within the Residential Brokerage Profession of New York City.

Elizabeth Stribling currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors for the Real Estate Board of New York. In addition, she serves on the Board of Directors for The New York Landmarks Conservancy, Cambridge in America, The Women's Committee of the Central Park Conservancy and the Board of Governors for The Foreign Policy Association. Ms. Stribling graduated cum laude from Vassar College, and completed graduate studies at Girton College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England.

Kent M. Swig

Terra Holdings, LLC

Kent Swig is an Owner and Co-Chairman of Terra Holdings, LLC, which owns and operates several real estate service firms including Brown Harris Stevens, one of the oldest and largest residential real estate service providers in NYC, the Hamptons and Palm Beach; Halstead Property Company, a residential brokerage and management company; Vanderbilt Holdings, a service firm with disciplines in appraisal and consulting, advertising and marketing, insurance and residential mortgage brokerage. The combination of Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property Company sold more than $6 billion of apartments and townhouses during 2004, and the company's management divisions manage over 300 buildings comprising more than 20,000 residential units.

Swig is President of SwigEquities, LLC, an investment and development firm focusing on the acquisition and development of real estate in NYC and California. Since 2001, SwigEquities has purchased and/or is in the process of developing in excess of $1.3 billion of properties, which includes these NYC office buildings: 110 William Street; 80 Broad Street; 5 Hanover Square; 44 Wall Street; 48 Wall Street; 770 Lexington Avenue; and 450 Sansome Street in San Francisco. In addition, SwigEquities residential acquisitions include The Sheffield, a 50-story mixed-use building comprising 845 residential units; 201 West 92nd Street, a 134 unit residential building; 112 apartments within the 198 unit residential building located at 401 East 89th Street; among others.

Swig is also a principal in and serves as Chairman of the Board of The Swig Company, a family-owned real estate and hotel company based in San Francisco and New York. The Swig Company's portfolio includes over 11 million SF of prime commercial office space throughout the United States as well as two of more than 50 hotels that comprise the prestigious Fairmont Hotels chain.

After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in Chinese History from Brown University, Providence, RI, Swig attended Hastings College of Law, San Francisco, where he was selected for the Law Review.

John B. Trainor, Jr.

Helmsley-Spear, Inc.

John B. Trainor, Jr., executive vice president and director of strategic planning at Helmsley-Spear, brings nearly 40 years of experience in the New York real estate industry to Helmsley-Spear, Inc. At the company, Trainor's responsibilities include the supervision of all operations as well as business development. He will also continue serves as account executive for the Empire State Building.

In his previous position as senior vice president, Trainor was in charge of leasing, management and operations for a portfolio of ten million square feet of Helmsley-Spears' flagship office buildings. Earlier, he also served as vice president and general manager for the 1.7-million-square-foot 120 Broadway. During his combined thirty-seven years with the organization, he worked with and reported directly to Harry B. Helmsley until Mr. Helmsley's death in 1997. Trainor had left the Organization after ten years, but returned five years later at the invitation of Mr. Helmsley.

Trainor also serves as the Chairman of the Planning Board for the Village of Pelham Manor, where he and his wife reside, and has served on various executive committees, as well as the Engineering Committee for the New York Athletic Club, of which he is a member. He is a graduate of Wheeling Jesuit University, member of the Real Estate Board of New York, and a former member of The Seventh Regiment.

Helmsley-Spear, Inc. has been a leader in commercial office and residential management, leasing and sales brokerage since 1866. Behind the name and statistics is the heart of Helmsley-Spear: an organization of uncommon depth of experience and expertise; and a chain of command that functions with certainty, efficiency and unusual flexibility. The result is personal service, high-caliber performance and bottom-line profitability for clients.

Robert Von Ancken

Grubb & Ellis Valuation and Consulting Services

Robert Von Ancken, Executive Director, one of the most highly respected appraisal professionals in the country, heads up Grubb & Ellis' Valuation and Consulting Services. Von Ancken has over 40 years' experience evaluating complex buildings and unusual properties, from office and apartment buildings, theaters, gas stations, hotels and hospitals to schools, colleges, marinas, rail stations, farms, parking lots and vacant land. He has appraised over 6,500 commercial properties.

Von Ancken has represented some of the most famous landmark buildings in New York, including the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal, Rockefeller Center and the World Trade Center. He has also advised such prominent organizations as the Trump Organization, Marriott International, Verizon, Disney Co., Columbia University, Princeton University and SUNY.

In 2004 alone Von Ancken's 12-person department has handled 175 separate valuations with 600 buildings, involving billions of dollars in real estate, including over 300 apartment buildings, 30 office buildings and rental re-determinations on land use, condominiums, and retail.

Among recent notable valuations were highest and best use studies of the West Side and Javits Center, appraisals of the value of the World Trade Center as of 9-11, zoning studies of 500 acres of land in Riverhead, LI, a market study for a race track in Staten Island for International Speedway Co., and land underground for the East Side Access to Grand Central Station involving 80 commercial properties and 20 townhouses.

Edward Weiss

Cushman & Wakefield

Edward Weiss is a three-time recipient of the Leone J. Peters Award as the top-producing professional for Cushman & Wakefield worldwide. He is a vice chairman of the firm, a member of its Board of Directors and 28-year veteran. Throughout his career he has handled significant leasing and sales transactions for clients such as Alston & Bird, the Archdiocese of New York, Forbes, Insurance Services Office, KPMG, MCI, Meredith Corporation, Shearman & Sterling and Verizon. Mr. Weiss represents advertising industry giant The Interpublic Group of Companies and its subsidiaries in the Northeast United States and Canada. He and his team negotiated one of the largest transactions in Midtown Manhattan, the 1,062,000-square-foot lease for Ernst & Young's headquarters at 5 Times Square. A former Naval Flight Officer, Mr. Weiss' educational degrees include a BA in psychology from SUNY Stony Brook, an MBA from Long Island University and a Diploma of Real Estate Analysis and Appraisal from New York University.

Mark S. Weiss

Newmark & Company Real Estate

Mark S. Weiss joined Newmark as executive vice president and principal in May 2002, in a move that was noted within the New York City real estate industry. Mr. Weiss has more than 19 years of experience in commercial real estate, focusing on tenant representation and advisory services.

During his career, Weiss has completed more than 500 transactions. Prior to. Weiss was an executive managing director at Julien J. Studley, Inc. Several transactions in his career were recognized for their significance as well as their complexity. Clients he has worked with include: Microsoft Corporation; Hartmarx Corporation; Willkie Farr & Gallagher; Advent Software, Inc.; Coming Incorporated; Country-Wide Insurance Company; Pernod Ricard and Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Company.

Weiss is on the Board of Directors of the Joint Passover Association and a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, where he is a panelist for its Continuing Education Program. Weiss is a member of the Young Men's/Women's Real Estate Association of New York and is an active fund raiser for the Sexual Assault & Violence Intervention Program for Women and Chabad Vocational Schools in Israel.

Weiss is a graduate of Syracuse University.

David Winoker

Winoker Realty Company

David Winoker, an experienced professional in the NYC commercial real estate and construction industries for over 15 years, is currently spearheading the transformation of his family's 30-year-old brokerage and management firm into the City's preeminent independent mid-size commercial real estate services firm. Once famous for its command of the Fashion Center's real estate needs, Winoker Realty is now recognized for the outstanding service it provides to its diverse roster of prestigious tenants, owners and properties throughout New York.

Winoker joined Winoker Realty in 1988, after a career in project and construction management for Lehrer McGovern Bovis. Within this family business, Winoker has made his own mark on the firm and the industry. He has been personally involved in leasing over a million square feet of commercial space in addition to overseeing the management of Winoker Realty's list of commercial, retail and residential properties. Today the firm manages and leases over 2.5 million square feet of space throughout the Metropolitan area.

Winoker Realty is active throughout the region, but remains "the name" in the Fashion Center.

The honorees in this section were selected by the editorial staff of Real Estate Weekly in consultation with the in-house marketing staffs of New York's leading real estate companies and public relations