NEW YORK CITY-The recently formed Empire State Realty Trust has hired a former leasing agent of the Empire State Building, nabbing him from Newmark Knight Grubb Frank. Ryan Kass will become SVP and director of leasing and marketing, joining Fred Posniak—who holds the same title—at the REIT.
At NKGF, Kass was senior managing director and completed over 600 transactions, totaling a value in excess of $2 billion, since joining the firm in 2002. The 10-year veteran oversaw a number of successful leasing and marketing campaigns, including that of One Grand Central Place, Carnegie Hall Tower, 645 Madison Ave., 1040 Avenue of the Americas, and many others.
Says Thomas Durels, EVP and chief of property operations and leasing at ESRT, “Ryan will join Fred and lead the growth of Empire State Realty Trust's leasing and marketing team. He brings experience in leasing and marketing, knowledge of our properties and excellent relationships within the brokerage community. We are very excited to have him on board.”
Noting that ESRT is a public company, a representative of the firm declined a request for an interview with Kass. A NKGF representative did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
