Meet Tomorrow's Leaders

Nat Rockett, 43
Executive Vice President-NY Capital Markets, Cushman & Wakefield
Rockett and Helen Hwang, also an EVP, co-head the investment sales & acquisitions group in C&W's NY Capital Markets Group. Among his sales credits over the past few years: the HSBC building at 452 Fifth Ave. and the Takashimaya Building at 693 Fifth Ave., both in 2010; 80 Broad St. and 217 Sullivan St., both in 2011; and 400 Madison Ave., 610 Broadway and 71 Smith St. in Brooklyn, all in 2012. “The ownership profile is continuing to shift away from private individuals towards institutions,” says Rockett. “That will continue as values grow beyond the scope of any private group with the continued improvement of New York City.”

Shawn Rosenthal, 42
Principal, Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group LLC
Since joining Ackman-Ziff in 2000, Shawn has closed over 75 transactions nationally totaling more than $2.5 billion. Some of his recent notable transactions include the $400-million refinancing of the HSBC Tower in 2012 and 4 New York Plaza with Harbor Group in 2010. In 2008, Rosenthal closed the financing for the $680-million acquisition of 650 Madison Ave, which won REBNY's Edward S. Gordon Memorial Award the following spring. During his 13 years with Ackman-Ziff, Rosenthal has become a point person for the mezzanine debt markets and spends significant time on joint venture equity transactions, often speaking on panels at industry conferences.

Andrew Sachs, 45
Executive Director, Cushman & Wakefield
A leasing broker with a focus on Midtown Manhattan, Sachs advised the New York Times Co. in the 2009 sale and leaseback financing of a 750,000-square-foot condominium interest in its headquarters at 620 Eighth Ave. The transaction led to his winning a Most Ingenious Deal of the Year award from REBNY. He was also an instrumental member of the C&W team that represented the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in the one-million-square-foot Conde Nast headquarters lease at One World Trade Center. “Overall, Manhattan leasing activity held up in the face of political and economic uncertainty in 2012, and tenant commitment to new development will be the story of 2013-2014,” he comments. In Midtown, “we will see the re-emergence of large corporate and financial service occupiers in the market” when the political and economic environments “gain clarity.”

Russell Schildkraut, 40
Principal & Head of Underwriting and Loan Placement, Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group LLC
A partner in Ackman-Ziff, Schildkraut oversees its debt and mezzanine platform, in addition to working on his own transactions. He also sits on the deal approval committee for all transactions within the firm. On a direct basis, he has done more than $10 billion in financing and successfully closed more than 250 transactions at Ackman-Ziff, including the 2012 refinancings of Herald Tower, 915 Broadway and 120 Wall St.. Schildkraut led the financing execution on two deals—in 2000 and 2004—that were awarded REBNY's Most Ingenious Financing Deal of the Year Award. He was also awarded REBNY's Most Promising Commercial Salesperson of the Year award in 2002.

Megan Sheehan, 29
Vice President & Director of Sales, ClickPay Services Inc.
Before joining ClickPay a year ago, Sheehan was a vice president in the private real estate banking business at Capital One. In her current role, she is helping many New York City property owners and managers upgrade and modernize their operations as they move from processing paper checks to electronic payments. At the same time, she is helping grow the ClickPay Services portfolio in other key markets across the country. “Competition in property management has also increased and in order to compete, these companies need to become more efficient and flexible,” she says. “Providing amenities or other 'differentiators' will be a key to winning and keeping new business.”

Victor Sozio, 30
Vice President, Ariel Property Advisors
Since launching his real estate career in 2005, Sozio has been involved in selling 411 properties valued at $1.25 billion. He's used his expertise to sell assets governed by Section 8 vouchers, HUD, LIHTC and other regulatory agreements, closing on 65 properties of this type valued at $185.6 million. He co-founded Ariel Property Advisors in January 2011; as one of four members of the company's leadership team, he helps Ariel implement its business plan, which in two years has meant growth to a 35-person operation.

Dev Subhash, 37
SVP & Portfolio Manager, Cohen & Steers Global Realty Partners
One of the key investment people on the Global Realty Partners team, Subhash is a regional portfolio manager for the firm's global private real estate multimanager strategy. He has 14 years of experience. Before joining Cohen & Steers in 2008, Subhash was assistant portfolio manager for the Citigroup Property Investors global real estate fund of funds, where he was primarily responsible for identifying potential investments, and before that was vice president for global product development at Citi Alternative Investments. He's also a founder of the New York Private Equity Network.

Mark Tergesen, 35
Managing Director, ABS Partners
Tergesen oversees an ABS retail portfolio of more than six million square feet, including more than 250,000 square feet of ground-floor space. Early in his career he developed a niche in the 1,000- to 2,500-square-foot category, which provided him both high deal volume and market knowledge. Since 2006, he has completed leases with HSBC Bank, Sephora, Dunkin Donuts, GNC, Hale & Hearty, Foot Locker and Stubhub, and has represented premier regional restaurant tenants such as the Momofuku restaurant group and five locations for the Terroir Wine bar. Tergesen also leased 10 stores along Harlem's Frederick Douglass Boulevard between 110th and 125th streets since 2006, reportedly more than any other broker on that stretch.

Obie Walli, 35
President & CEO, Coldwell Banker Commercial Alliance
Walli launched Coldwell Banker Commercial Alliance in NYC as the first national RE services brokerage dedicated to serving small/midsize businesses. He identified that the small balance commercial property market is an underserved national segment that makes up 35% of CRE business and accounts. The company is backed by NYC headquartered Waterfall Asset Management and is an affiliate of national company Coldwell Banker Commercial. Walli established the company's headquarters and first office in New York City, the epicenter of the commercial real estate world, but is continuing to grow the company nationally. Offices in Denver and Orange County, CA were opened within six months of CBCA's launch, and more are on the way.

Colleen Wenke, 33
Vice President, Taconic Investment Partners LLC
As a senior member of the construction team, Wenke supervises design and construction of multiple investments within Taconic's real estate portfolio. She works closely with the finance and acquisition teams during the acquisition phase and, once a property closes, transitions it into development and construction. A born New Yorker, Wenke returned to the city after studying in Boston, joining Taconic and helping it transform the Meatpacking District. She led the redevelopment of the Apple store in the district, which included extensive compliance with historical preservation regulations. Taconic has redeveloped numerous other properties in the area under Wenke's leadership.

Ira Zlotowitz, 37
President, Eastern Union Funding
Zlotowitz founded Eastern Union Funding in 2001 and closed out 2012 with more than $1.2 billion in financing placed, along with a 73.5% increase in growth revenue. The firm intends to place $3 billion in loans in 2013. The majority of those transactions are middle market, typically involving family owners who stand as the backbone of New York City real estate. Notwithstanding his responsibilities at the helm of Eastern Union, Zlotowitz  closes several hundred million in loans every year. “With the current state of the national property market and looking back on the last few years, investors are more focused on the long-term value of New York and its faster recovery, versus other markets,” he comments.