| Neil R. Aaronson Chief Executive Officer naaronson@hilcorealestate.com |
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Neil brings nearly 10 years of merger, acquisition, disposition, investment and general deal-making experience to The Hilco Organization. During his career, Neil has been instrumental in the successful completion of over $4 billion in transactions. Prior to joining Hilco, Neil had served as Senior Vice President, Business Development, for Cendant Corporation, where he oversaw all merger, acquisition and investment activity for the Company's hotel and timeshare businesses. He also served as the Senior Vice President of Strategic Development for the corporation's Timeshare Resort Group and prior thereto as Vice President of the Strategic Development Group. Among the many well-known acquisitions, divestitures and investments in which Neil was involved were Wyndham Hotels, Budget Rent a Car, Trilegiant and Trendwest Resorts. Neil also served as an Associate Investment Banker for ING Barings, where he handled the analysis and negotiations of acquisitions, divestitures and financings for several public and private companies. Neil received a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a Bachelor of Economics Degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. |
| Gregory S. Apter President gapter@hilcorealestate.com |
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Greg is the President and a Principal at Hilco Real Estate. He brings 20+ years of leasehold restructuring, owned property disposition and strategic advisory experience, and is the founder/creator of Hilco’s lease mitigation practice. Prior to joining Hilco, Mr. Apter was a Senior Vice President and head of Retail Tenant Representation with Jones Lang LaSalle. In that role he was responsible for new business development as well as directing, managing and facilitating real estate related functions, such as lease portfolio restructuring, bankruptcy, market analysis, site selection, asset management, consulting, acquisition and disposition services. At Hilco, Greg has served such esteemed clients as Wal-Mart, WorldCom, Starbucks, Talbot’s, Ahold/Stop & Shop, HD Supply, Samsonite, Biomet, Bally Total Fitness, Michael’s Stores, Claim Jumper Restaurants, Bain & Company, Golden Gate Capital, Angelo, Gordon & Co., TPG and many others. Prior to joining Jones Lang LaSalle, Greg served as General Counsel for Syndicated Equities Corporation where he managed all corporate business and legal matters, including site valuation & evaluation, negotiation of contracts, oversight of loan commitments and documents and the review of lease, zoning, title and environmental issues. In addition, Greg was one of the first to develop a syndication program to accommodate multiple individuals contemplating the purchase of investment real estate while satisfying tax-free exchange requirements of Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code. His previous work experience also includes serving as President of Water Tower Bank in Chicago, where he was responsible for all commercial and consumer lending operations, business development and legal matters. Greg holds a Juris Doctor degree from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. |
| Navin Nagrani Executive Vice President nnagrani@hilcorealestate.com |
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In the nearly ten years Navin has been with Hilco, he has served as a central deal maker in many of Hilco’s largest principal and advisory related transactions. His primary responsibilities include leading several key strategic initiatives for the firm including shaping the real estate business development strategy and execution, as well as overseeing deal origination, deal qualification and transaction structuring. Over time, Navin has developed a significant expertise in the restaurant category and has been appointed the leadership role in this specialty area within the overall Hilco Real Estate practice. Navin currently serves on the Executive Board of Directors for the Real Estate Investment Association (REIA) where he was appointed as its President in 2010. He also serves as Director of Strategy for the Young Real Estate Professionals Association, and, is the current Chair of the Educational Committee for the Chicago Chapter of the Commercial Finance Association (CFA). Navin is also an active member of the Restaurant Leadership Advisory Council. A published author of articles, Navin is frequently invited to speak at industry events and participate in panels and forums all over the country. He is sought after in the real estate industry today having been recently named to M & A Advisors prestigious 40 under 40 top young executives, and, he is an award winning member of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA). Navin is a graduate of Loyola University in Chicago and is a licensed Real Estate Broker by the State of Illinois. Prior to joining Hilco, Navin was a Strategic Consultant for Hewitt Associates where he worked on Merger & Acquisition assignments covering the financial services industry. Before Hewitt Associates, Navin was a Junior Economist for the Federal Reserve Bank.
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| Ronald M. Lubin Managing Director - Debt Management Services rlubin@hilcorealestate.com |
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Prior to joining Hilco, Ron had served as Managing Director at Crystal Capital Fund, LLC where he led the real estate debt and equity investment business, including the origination and structuring for the $1 billion fund. Ron had been with the Bank of America and its predecessors for over 24 years. During that time he held various senior management positions including executive vice president and senior banker in the FleetBoston Financial, Real Estate Structured Finance Group where he focused on entity level, syndicated corporate real estate finance activity throughout the United States. While at FleetBoston, Ron also served as the business line executive for the Shopping Center Finance Group where he directed entity level and property finance lending activity to national REIT and private real estate development companies. Under his leadership FleetBoston originated and syndicated over $2 billion of debt and became recognized for its specialty focus on the shopping center development industry. At Shawmut Bank, N.A. Ron served as business line executive of Real Estate Workout, Restructuring and OREO where he managed the restructuring and disposition of a $1.3 billion portfolio and reducing the ratio of non-performing loans to total assets from over 10% to less than 2%. Ron went on to direct Shawmut’s Portfolio and REIT Finance Group, where he led the origination and structuring of debt products to buyers of distressed and under performing portfolios. At the Bank of America, Ron was senior vice president and region executive in the Home Builder Finance Group where he directed structuring land acquisition, land development and development lending activities. |
| David Kirshenbaum Senior Vice President Hilco Real Estate dkirshenbaum@hilcorealestate.com |
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David has multiple, senior-level responsibilities as team/project leader in connection with lease restructuring/renewal, asset management of owned and leased property and property acquisition transactions. He has and will continue to work with esteemed companies such as Starbucks, Office Depot, Whole Foods, Wal-Mart, Bed Bath and Beyond, Walgreens and a host of local, regional and national retailers and restaurants. An experienced real estate professional, David brings Hilco Real Estate a broad and deep background in property development, leasing, brokerage, acquisitions, dispositions, loan restructuring, asset management and general management. He has been actively involved with large portfolios of retail projects, consisting of nearly 10,000,000 square feet, as well as several office assets. He has overseen the development of over 1,200 affordable rental units, 600 high-end condominiums and over 3,500 mid-rise and loft condominium units, and has been involved in numerous ground- up and rehab retail, office and mixed-use projects comprising several million square feet. In addition, David has been responsible for residential sales, rentals and operations as well as several stand-alone real estate related businesses such as student housing and public storage facilities. Prior to joining Hilco Real Estate, David was Senior Vice President of Residential and Retail Operations with Joseph Freed and Associates, LLC, a Chicago-based developer, manager and owner of large-scale urban retail, residential and mixed-use projects. Prior thereto, David served as COO then President of LR Development Company, also a Chicago-based developer focused on affordable, adaptive re-use and high-end residential developments. Earlier, David was a transactional real estate attorney with the firm of Rudnick & Wolfe (now DLA Piper). David graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Following Emory, David graduated from Northwestern University School of Law with a JD degree, followed by an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management where he majored in Finance, Marketing and International Business. He is an active member of ICSC, the National Association of Homebuilders and several state Builder Associations. He is actively involved with the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and Northwestern Law School as a mentor, has guest-lectured at Northwestern, and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Law at Northwestern Law School where he teaches Real Estate Finance Law. |
| Joel H. Schneider Senior Vice President – Dispositions jschneider@hilcorealestate.com |
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Joel Schneider, in his almost thirty years of real estate experience, has developed a broad range of expertise, covering the areas of sale transactions, asset and portfolio management, valuation and investment analysis, development, financing, and strategic planning. Joel recently joined Hilco Real Estate from Atlas Partners, a Chicago-based boutique real estate advisory firm where he specialized in assisting clients who were not in the real estate business --- usually in the context of a bankruptcy, liquidation, or corporate restructuring --- with implementing strategies to create liquidity from their real estate assets. His clients included attorneys, lenders, and turnaround firms. Prior to joining Atlas Partners, Joel was Senior Manager in the Midwest practice of Ernst & Young’s Real Estate Advisory Services group. There he led assignments for clients including Best Buy Co., Equity Office Properties, and CMD Realty. Much of the focus of his consulting work was devising and implementing cost saving and improvement strategies related to his clients’ real estate holdings. As Vice President for Portfolio Management at American Express’ internal corporate real estate department, Joel was responsible for strategic programming and transactional support with regard to the company’s 18 million square foot real estate portfolio it occupied around the world. At the Balcor Company, an institutional owner of real estate, Joel was Managing Director of Portfolio Management, where he was involved with creating, underwriting, and supporting workout strategies for many of the company’s real estate assets, including retail, office, industrial, multi-family, and vacant land. Joel earned a B.S. degree from Indiana University and a Masters in City Planning from Harvard University. He holds real estate sales and auction licenses in numerous states and is a member of several professional organizations, including the Turnaround Management Association, the Commercial Finance Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Chicago Real Estate Council where he previously served as its president. In 1995 he was elected into Lambda Alpha, an honorary land economics society. |
| Tom Davidson Senior Vice President Hilco Real Estate, LLC tdavidson@hilcorealestate.com |
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Tom brings over thirty years of extensive retail and real estate experience to the Hilco Real Estate team. Throughout his career he has worked with many nationally-recognized clients in all stages of financial health from restructure to growth, including such high profile companies as Blockbuster, Starbucks, Linens ‘n Things, Restoration Hardware, Pacific Sunwear, Borders, Boston Market, Zellers, Smith & Hawken, Discovery Channel, Circuit City, Bi-Lo Winn-Dixie and more. Tom is one of the most respected industry leaders in retail merchandising, store operations and real estate services throughout North America. His expertise has enabled his clients to maximize value through acquisitions of assets and locations, mitigation of lease liabilities through rent reductions, lease terminations, disposition of retail and industrial locations, strategic retail advisory services, lease renewals, debt restructure assignments and valuation projects in the US and Canada. His innovative and collaborative approach has fostered an extensive network of long-term relationships within the industry. Prior to joining Hilco, Tom was a consultant with A&G Realty Partners and previously with DJM Realty for 8 years. Tom’s retail experience was forged during his 25+ year affiliation with teen apparel retailer Weathervane, where he was formerly Chief Operating Officer. Tom is an ICSC member and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree from Syracuse University.
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Ross Block |
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Ross has been with Hilco Real Estate since 2004. He is principally responsible for leasehold valuation, disposition and restructuring work throughout the United States. Some of the recent clients served by Ross include Bally Total Fitness, Movie Gallery, Tops Markets, Interstate Bakeries, Pep Boys and GameStop. Prior to joining Hilco, Ross was an associate with a Milwaukee-based asset appraisal company, where he focused on the appraisal of industrial assets of major manufacturers for large institutions throughout the country. Ross received his B.A. from of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and has taken continuing education courses at the Chicago School of Real Estate and CCIM Institute. He is a member of the International Counsel of Shopping Centers (ICSC). |
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Geoffrey S. Schnipper, CCIM |
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Geoffrey brings 10 years of commercial real estate marketing and transactional experience to Hilco Real Estate. Geoffrey is responsible for the disposition of owned real estate, project management, and deal structuring for Hilco Real Estate. He has represented a diverse client mix of REITs, Fortune 500 Companies, banks, home builders, and the US Bankruptcy Court handling the disposition of virtually every asset class of real estate. During his career, Geoffrey has executed more than 150 transactions totaling over $300 million in Gross Proceeds for his clients. Prior to joining Hilco Real Estate, Geoffrey was a Sr. Project Manager with Sheldon Good & Company Auctions, the nation's largest real estate auction firm, structuring and executing accelerated marketing programs. |
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Roberto Perez |
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Roberto has been with Hilco Real Estate nearly four years. In that time, he has helped move the company into the acquisitions field. Roberto began at HRE managing the company’s own investment portfolio, which totaled more than $150 million in asset value. Prior to Hilco, Roberto was with U.S. Equities Reality, where he was part of the tenant representation team led by Nancy Pacher. The team achieved notoriety as one the nation’s leading office lease brokers. Prior thereto, Roberto founded a residential real estate investment firm and a healthcare recruiting firm, both of which he sold before joining U.S. Equities. |
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Matt Tabloff |
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Matt joined Hilco Real Estate as a key member of the principal acquisitions group during its inaugural year. He has played a vital role in the creation of an active and successful business unit with a portfolio of holdings. As a member of the principal acquisitions group, Matt's primary responsibilities include the sourcing and underwriting of many of the groups pursuits, all property and market due diligence, financial analysis, deal structuring, as well as developing/managing relationships with strategic partners. Matt has played an instrumental role in the acquisition of fee and leasehold interests across virtually all commercial real estate classes, both inside and outside of bankruptcy, including transactions ranging from the acquisition of vacant "dark" real estate to raising capital for companies via sale-leaseback. He also serves as a team leader for Hilco Real Estate's portfolio lease restructuring and valuation practice. In this capacity, Matt is responsible for overseeing a broad range of activities, including the underwriting and deal structuring for new pursuits, acting as a primary contact and quality control point for the group's clients, leading of day to day operations and reporting, and deal making. Matt attended the business school at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance. Matt holds his real estate license for the state of Illinois and is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). |
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Janice K. Nocita |
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Jan is responsible for various aspects of business development and marketing initiatives at Hilco Real Estate, in addition to refinement of operating processes across HRE’s entire platform of services. Jan brings to Hilco more than 20 years’ experience in commercial real estate, finance and corporate operations. Prior to joining Hilco, she was Director of Corporate Operations at Joseph Freed and Associates LLC, a Chicago-based developer, manager and owner of large-scale urban retail, residential and mixed-use projects. At Freed, Jan was responsible for a broad range of company operations including corporate risk management, operational policies and procedures, office facilities and procurement of services, employee training and development, media relations and company communications, in addition to various special projects related to development financing and management of owned properties. Prior to Freed, Jan was a Vice President and Underwriting/Planning Manager at Heller Financial, Inc., an international lending institution providing financing to mid-market and small business clients. The majority of Jan’s 15-year Heller career was in commercial real estate finance, where she served primarily in due diligence and credit management roles, coordinating new business underwritings and establishing and implementing credit policy. While at Heller, Jan also gained direct hands-on real estate experience through management of large portfolios of both performing loan and non-performing REO properties, in addition to such diverse responsibilities as establishing an internal corporate portfolio analysis process which served to enhance business performance reporting and information for the holding company. |
| James Rategan Vice President, Business Development jrategan@hilcorealestate.com |
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James develops client and partner relationships for Hilco Merchant Resources and Hilco Real Estate, as well as other companies in the Hilco retail platform. He works with retailers and their advisors to provide capital and liquidity through asset-related advisory and monetization services in the context of mergers & acquisitions, restructurings, divestitures, and operational enhancements. James is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, Turnaround Management Association, Commercial Finance Association and American Bankruptcy Institute. Prior to joining Hilco, James worked for mTeam Financial, CIBC Oppenheimer, and the Asset Management Division of Goldman, Sachs & Co. |
| Joseph A. Malfitano Executive Vice President, Special Situations jmalfitano@hilcotrading.com |
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For more than a decade, Joe has been structuring complex asset acquisition and disposition transactions involving stressed, distressed and insolvent companies, both in-court and out-of-court. Over the years, Joe has developed the expertise needed to quickly assess a situation, formulate a comprehensive set of strategic alternatives, and work to quickly implement the solution best positioned to maximize short- and long-term stakeholder value. In his role as EVP, Special Situations, Joe is primarily responsible for sourcing and structuring distressed and non-distressed transactions that involve the investment of capital by Hilco. While the majority of transactions are underpinned by either retail inventory, industrial machinery and equipment or real estate, or combinations thereof, Joe is also active in sourcing and structuring opportunities that touch upon every asset class and involve services offered by all of Hilco’s business units. Joe joined Hilco in 2007 as the Deputy General Counsel. In that role, he was instrumental in documenting and closing over one hundred transactions representing an aggregate asset valuation in excess of $1 billion. Prior thereto, Joe was a member of the Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring practice of Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP, one of Delaware's most prominent bankruptcy and corporate restructuring law firms. Among the many companies that benefitted from Joe’s restructuring expertise at Young Conaway are Alterra Healthcare Corporation, Big V Supermarkets, Inc., Budget Rent-a-Car, Polaroid, Inc. (Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors), Smart Papers, LLC, The Institute for Cancer Prevention, The Top-Flite Golf Company, Inc. and Worldtex, Inc. Joe is a graduate of State University of New York, College at Buffalo and earned his law degree from Temple University - James E. Beasley School of Law. |
| Jake Schumer Senior Associate jschumer@hilcorealestate.com |
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Since joining Hilco Real Estate in 2009, Jake has played an integral role in HRE’s business operations and client development. He has focused on real estate valuation services, lease renegotiation and disposition, market diligence, and retail bankruptcies. As a key member of the lease restructuring division, Jake has performed work across a variety of asset classes. He is an operations leader for healthy, distressed, and bankrupt entities looking to reposition their real estate portfolios and has conducted successful lease restructuring programs for franchisee tenants. Jake has been involved with a broad spectrum of clients including A&P, Burger King, Conn’s, HD Supply, Michael’s Stores, Starbucks, and Zales.
Jake earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Iowa and is currently pursuing his MBA at DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business with a dual concentration in Real Estate Finance and Investment, and International Business. He is a licensed real estate broker in Illinois and a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
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| Regarding Brokerage Activities Unless otherwise noted, the individuals listed above are sponsored licensees of Hilco Real Estate, LLC, which is an Illinois-licensed real estate holding company. Mr. Greg Apter serves as managing broker of record for Hilco Real Estate, LLC. |
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