Who’s News

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) announced that Robert T. O’Brien has been appointed to lead its global real estate group.
O’Brien, a vice chairman with Deloitte in the United States, will also continue as the U.S. real estate leader.
O’Brien’s background, spanning 29 years, includes significant global client relationships, initial public offerings, acquisitions, dispositions, workouts and bankruptcies. He has advised some of the largest public real estate investment trusts, private equity real estate funds and hospitality clients.
He has been the U.S. member firm’s real estate practice leader for three years. Prior to that he served as the U.S. member firm’s audit and enterprise risk management leader for its real estate practice, as well as Deloitte’s global real estate funds initiative leader.
O’Brien joined the Deloitte U.S. firm in 1983 upon graduation from John Carroll University with bachelors of science in accounting.
In 1989, he earned a MBA in finance with highest honors from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, with a concentration in real estate and international business.
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The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) has added several new staff members to key positions.
Paimaan Lodhi, formerly of Manhattan Community Board 10, has taken the position of vice president of Urban Planning.
Lodhi replaces veteran zoning expert Carol Van Guilder who has left the Board after 18 years.
He was initially brought on as an assistant vice president of Government Affairs, working predominantly on Hurricane Sandy-related issues and responsible for spearheading REBNY’s long-term planning efforts to improve building resiliency and redundancy measures.
His primary role is to research, evaluate, and advise on all major land use, planning and development proposals in the City. He will also continue his work on Hurricane Sandy-related planning issues.
Prior to joining REBNY, Lodhi was district manager of Manhattan Community Board 10 and previously served as Urban Planner for Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. He holds a Masters of City and Regional Planning from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ.
Ali Ruth Davis, formerly of the Economic Development Corporation, has been named assistant vice president of government affairs.
Davis serves as liaison to elected officials, city agencies and other stakeholders on key issues affecting REBNY members and manages REBNY campaigns related to legislative issues impacting the real estate industry.
She joined REBNY from the New York City Economic Development Corporation, where she was tasked with overseeing government and community relations for the agency’s Manhattan portfolio of projects.
Davis holds a B.A. in English from Harvard University in Cambridge, M.A.
Ryan Baxter has also joined REBNY as policy analyst.
As a Policy Analyst within the Government Affairs and Management Services divisions of REBNY, Baxter’s work focuses on liaising with various City agencies and lobbying the State Legislature.
Prior to joining REBNY, Baxter worked with Assembly member Dan Quart, where he researched pressing issues and represented Quart at various municipal events. He has also worked in investment banking with Lazard LTD and Gordian Group LLC.
He graduated cum laude from the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College where he majored in Urban Studies.
Liliya Magid has taken a position in REBNY’s research department.
She compiles the monthly REBNY broker confidence index as well and co-ordinates other data tracking efforts.
Magid, whose previous experience includes providing market research for L’Oreal, holds a B.A. in Economics and Psychology from Rutgers University.
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Savanna has hired Brian Reiver as director of leasing.
He is responsible for supervising leasing across Savanna’s office portfolio and for tenant relations, advancing Savanna’s strategy in the market and supporting asset management and repositioning initiatives.
Reiver joins Savanna with over 11 years of experience, having most recently held the position of vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle where he worked in both the landlord agency and tenant representation business units.
His experience throughout New York City has includes office and retail leasing, property redevelopment and repositioning, site identification and selection, as well as interfacing with the brokerage community.
Reiver earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at Boston University and a Master of Science in Real Estate with a concentration in finance & investment from New York University.
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Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP (TKD) announced that Alan R. Arkin has joined the firm as a partner in the Litigation Group.
Arkin represents private equity and hedge funds, financial institutions, corporations and individuals in a wide range of matters.
He has significant experience in alternative dispute resolution, and represents employers in negotiations and litigation concerning wrongful terminations, compensation disputes, restrictive covenants and employment discrimination, among others.
He also counsels clients with respect to private equity and hedge fund breakups
Arkin received his Juris Doctor from Tulane University Law School and his Bachelor of Arts from Washington University in St. Louis.
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Arbor Commercial Mortgage, LLC announced the appointment of Todd Hirsch as executive vice president, head of CMBS Finance and Distribution. Hirsch will oversee Arbor’s growing national CMBS origination platform.
He will also be responsible for overseeing Arbor’s syndication platform and its various stages from sourcing to structuring to distribution.
During a long tenure at Credit Suisse, Hirsch most recently served as managing director, head of the European Finance Group, where he was responsible for managing the firm’s European CMBS Portfolio and for structuring and managing select joint venture companies.
Prior to that, his titles at Credit Suisse included director and managing director, US CMBS; and vice president and director, Real Estate Group and Principal Transactions Group. Hirsch holds a B.A. in Economics from Hamilton College.
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Brickman, a private equity firm, announced the appointment of Steve Klein as chief investment officer.
Klein will work closely with company principals Bruce Brickman and Kathy Corton, and the senior executive team of Mike Esquenazi, Tony Fineman, and Doug Barnes.
His responsibilities include sourcing and evaluating investment opportunities for the firm in Boston, New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and Washington, D.C., as well as residential opportunities in New York City.
Previously, Klein was the co-founder and a managing partner at JOSS Realty Partners. Prior to that, he spent three years as chief investment officer at Broadway Partners. Klein was also an executive vice president and director of acquisitions at SL Green Realty Corp.
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Cushman & Wakefield announced that John Alascio has joined the firm as managing director in the Equity, Debt & Structured Finance group and will be responsible for covering the greater New York and New Jersey markets.
He will be based in the firm’s Midtown Manhattan and East Rutherford locations and will report to Steve Kohn, president, Equity, Debt & Structured Finance.
Alascio was previously a senior vice president at Oberon Securities, a boutique investment bank headquartered in New York. Previous to this position, he served as a director at Lighthouse Business Group, originating, structuring, and underwriting equity and debt for both corporate and real estate companies. Alascio also founded and served as managing partner at Greenwich Strategic Capital.
He received a bachelor’s degree from Villanova University in Political Science, Criminology, and Italian.
He also completed additional studies at Lorenzo Di Medici in Florence, Italy, the New York Institute of Finance, and the Risk Management Association.