NEW YORK CITY-Glenn Rufrano, most recently CEO at Cushman & Wakefield, is taking the same role at O'Connor Capital Partners, the privately owned real estate investment, development and management firm of which he was a founding partner in the 1980s. Rufrano is taking the reins as chairman and CEO effective immediately, and has also acquired a partnership stake in the firm, which is increasing its presence in the retail and residential sectors.
Bill O'Connor, president and COO of New York City-based O'Connor Capital, says the team is “thrilled to have Glenn rejoin our company. Not only does he possess a deep knowledge of our firm and our industry, but he also shares a common set of values and beliefs that has served the company well since its founding 30-plus years ago.”
Rufrano joined what was then the O'Connor Group in 1983, becoming its president and COO during the course of his 17-year tenure there. He also served as co-chairman of the Peabody group, which was sponsored jointly with J.P Morgan.
Between 2000 and 2007, Rufrano was CEO of New Plan Excel Realty Trust Inc., which was acquired by Australia-based Centro Properties Group in an '07 deal valued at $6.2 billion. For the next three years he served as Centro's CEO, joining C&W as CEO in 2010. He stepped down from his C&W post this past June, telling GlobeSt.com that he and EXOR S.p.A., the firm's majority owner, had mutually agreed that “it's time to part. The company is in great financial shape, we've grown our EBITDA by 17% and the balance sheet is pristine. That's not a bad time to part.”
O'Connor Capital's $3.5 billion of assets under management currently includes 14 million square feet of retail properties including three million square feet in Mexico, and approximately 8,000 multifamily units. Over the past three years, the firm has invested $1.7 billion gross in retail properties, most recently acquiring a large joint venture interest in a portfolio of six malls in partnership with the Westfield Group.
During that same time frame, the company has invested $500 million gross in residential development. Two of its new rental projects, the 188-unit Maximilian in Long Island City and the 420-unit Atmark in Cambridge, MA, are scheduled to open this month.
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