The Dealmakers’ Edge with A.Y. Strauss

Greg Corbin is the President and founder of Northgate Real Estate Group, which specializes in the sale and workout of distressed properties. In addition, he has deep expertise in judicial and UCC foreclosures, loan and REO sales, restructuring, and stalled construction sites. He’s widely recognized as one of the most active and sought-after industry leaders, with countless accolades throughout his...

Bob Knakal is a name everyone knows in commercial real estate. Since 1984, he’s brokered over 2,399 buildings in the New York City area, with a market value approximating $22 billion. For 26 years, he owned and ran Massey Knakal with a focus on building a culture of servant leadership, training people, and dominating the market. He eventually sold the company to Cushman & Wakefield for $100 mi...

Jonathan Zamir is the founder and managing partner of real estate investment firm Keystone Equities . Keystone operates as both a private equity and private credit platform and focuses on acquiring, redeveloping, and repositioning commercial and residential properties in key U.S. markets while also originating and managing debt investments. Under Jonathan’s leadership, the firm has grown a diverse...

Garvin Brown recently retired from Brown-Forman Corporation , the company behind Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, founded by his great-great-grandfather in 1870. His career with the company began as a wine salesperson in New York and evolved through various corporate and operational roles. By 2007, Garvin had become chairman, steering the company through key transitions between the fourth and fift...

In this episode of The Dealmaker’s Edge , Aaron Strauss is joined by Stephen Bittel , founder and chairman of Terranova Corporation . With over four decades of experience, Stephen shares his remarkable journey in real estate and offers insights on leadership, market strategy, and the importance of empathy in business. From his early days in Miami to managing an investment portfolio of over $1 bill...

Russ Krivor , CEO and Founder of Sovereign Properties , joins the podcast this episode. They discuss Russ's journey in real estate, the importance of education, navigating entrepreneurship, raising capital, market insights, the future of senior living, and the significance of building relationships in business. Russ shares valuable lessons learned throughout his career and emphasizes the need...

On this episode, managing partner Aaron Strauss sits down with Robert Logan of B&D Holdings to explore the strategies driving their impressive growth in industrial real estate.  Rob Logan is a Principal at B&D Holdings. Based in New Jersey, B&D Holdings is a privately held investment and development firm with a real estate portfolio of over 200 properties throughout 34 states. Their pr...

Yannis Papadakis is a Business Development Manager and Podcast Host at CREXi . Based in Los Angeles, CREXi is a commercial real estate community, marketplace, and technology company that simplifies transactions and accelerates business for brokers, buyers, agents and tenants.  Yannis is responsible for building relationships with commercial real estate professionals from across the country and con...

Jordan Kavana is the Founder and Chairman of ARK Homes for Rent , established in 2021. ARK Homes for Rent is a real estate investment company that owns, operates, and manages a nearly $2 billion portfolio of rental properties located across the Sunbelt of the United States. For nearly three decades, Jordan has built and led several successful ventures in real estate and private equity, including T...

Boots Dunlap is the Co-founder and CEO of RRA Capital . With offices in midtown New York City and Phoenix, Arizona, RRA Capital is a real estate investment firm that provides customized debt products at institutional pricing for real estate sponsors across the United States. Notably, RRA is a Veteran-founded, owned, and operated real estate investment firm. Boots leads the investment strategy and...

Adam Heine is the CEO and President of both Consolidated Development Corporation and Camden Securities Company . He is also the founder of Great Hill Investments, LLC .  At Camden Securities, Adam is responsible for overseeing all aspects of investment, development, and property management. Since joining Camden in 2009, he has successfully overseen the acquisition, development, and repositioning o...

David Lubin is the founder and managing partner of Clairmont Group . Based in New York, Clairmont Group is a fully integrated real estate investment and management firm that invests in mixed-use, multifamily, hospitality, retail, office, and industrial assets.  In his role, David oversees the firm’s strategic direction as well as acquisitions, development, and asset management. To date, David has...

On this episode, Aaron Strauss is joined by Michael Sommer , Chief Development Officer at Kushner Companies . Michael oversees development and construction efforts across the entire Kushner portfolio which includes residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, and industrial properties, over 12.9 million square feet currently under development, and over 26,500 apartments across 13 states.  Michael...

Carl Wright is the founder and president of Wright Partners , a real estate development firm focused on the development, ownership and management of retail, industrial and healthcare properties. The firm is the exclusive developer for Patient First for Philadelphia and New Jersey as well as a preferred developer for brands like AutoZone, CVS and National Tire and Battery.  Carl founded Wright Part...

Managing partner Aaron Strauss sits down with Seth Weissman , founder and managing partner of Urban Standard Capital (“USC”). The Goldman Sachs and Perry Capital alum takes listeners through his career journey, lessons learned, and the steps he took to build USC into a fully integrated real estate private equity firm managing over $600 million in real estate equity and debt investments.  Enjoy the...

On this episode, managing partner Aaron Strauss sits down with Michael Seeve to discuss his career, favorite deals, the current market, and his advice for those new to the real estate industry. Michael serves as President of Mountain Development Corporation (MDC) and guides the firm’s activities in close coordination with its executive team, professionals, and partners. Michael provides strategic...

On this episode, managing partner Aaron Strauss sits down with Ezra Stark , CEO of Stark Enterprises. Founded in 1978 by Robert Stark, Stark Enterprises is a full-service commercial real estate development firm focused on Mixed-Use, Retail, Office, Student Housing, and Parking Facilities located across 7 States .  As CEO, Ezra has grown Stark’s footprint to include over 9 Million square feet of Cl...

Gary Lipsky has been a real estate entrepreneur for over 20 years. He is the founder of an award-winning multifamily syndication business and has acquired over 3,000 apartment units valued at over $250MM. Gary is the host of the Real Estate Investor Podcast ( available on Apple podcasts ), where he interviews industry experts to provide a broad range education to investors. He is also the best-sel...

Enjoy the show? Have a guest in mind?  Email us at podcast@aystrauss.com to let us know your feedback and who you want to hear on the next episode.  Connect with Aaron and the A.Y. Strauss team: Our website ( www. AYStrauss.com )   Aaron's website bio page  ( Aaron's bio page )  Aaron's LinkedIn account ( LinkedIn )  Our Twitter account ( @AYStrauss )

On this episode, managing partner Aaron Y. Strauss is joined by Michael Maturo , founding Managing Partner and President at RXR Realty (“ RXR ”), a multi-billion-dollar private real estate company, headquartered in New York. The RXR platform manages 84 commercial real estate properties and investments with an aggregate gross asset value of $21 billion. Prior to becoming President of RXR, Mr. Matur...

In this episode, managing partner Aaron Strauss sits down with  Mark Cover, CEO for the Southwest region at Hines. Founded in 1957 by Gerald D. Hines, Hines is a privately-owned global real estate investment firm with over $95 billion in assets under management and more than 96 million square feet of assets for which it provides property-level services. As CEO for the Southwest region, Mark is res...

James Nelson serves as Principal and Head of Avison Young ’s Tri-State Investment Sales group based in New York City. Throughout his illustrious 25-year career, James has facilitated the sale of over 500 properties and loans, amassing an impressive total valuation exceeding $5 billion. Since the inception of James' sales team in 2018, their impressive performance has culminated in closing ove...

Ellie Perlman is the founder of Blue Lake Capital Group , a private investment and management firm focused on multifamily real estate in the United States. Ellie draws from over fifteen years of experience across real estate investment, law, and property management. At current, Blue Lake Capital owns and manages over 3,300 multifamily units across the U.S. Ellie’s professional journey has been fea...

Chris Okada is the CEO of Okada & Company , a privately-held, full-service commercial real estate brokerage and investment company based in New York City. To date, the Okada & Company has completed more than $1.5 billion of commercial sales and leasing transactions.  Chris is also the founder of The Okada Acquisition Company , which focuses on acquiring prime office, retail, and multi-fami...

John Usdan , CEO of Midwood Investment & Development . Founded in 1925 as a residential brokerage, Midwood is a vertically integrated investment, development and management platform focused on best-in-class mixed-use commercial and residential properties. John has spent the past 42 years helping Midwood amass a portfolio that includes over 130 properties across the U.S., and several million sq...