Meet the 2019 honorees JUNE 24, 2019 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 17 “More and more partnerships are happening,” he says, “The biggest opportunities are taking technologies that “between established players in traditional industries exist in a lot of other businesses,” Baugier says, “and and newer platforms that helped change the industry for applying them to very mundane processes and, in the the better.” process, creating a lot of value.” New agents have to continue to educate themselves Given the innovation in the industry, tech jobs are prolif- AT THE daily on new technologies and mergers and acquisitions, erating and sometimes attracting people who started out according to Laura Brady, founder and president of in a different area of real estate. Concierge Auctions, a city firm that sells properties at “Initially, if you wanted to get into real estate, it meant you auction and publishes a “days on the market index” for wanted to become a broker, a developer, work in private CENTER OF the industry. equity or get into commercial or residential appraisals,” The growing accessibility of information in easy-to-use says Noah Isaacs, founder of Battery Valuation, provider of databases will be crucial to these newcomers as they es- a software solution for commercial real estate appraisers. tablish careers. The days when key data was available to Today, in a sign of how much change has occurred, only the top players in the industry will become history. Isaacs’ 45-member firm has product managers, UI UX The fast-changing “That knowledge is going to instill power,” Brady says. designers and software engineers. “All of these people are working in real estate in a way WHAT’S Data has become so important that how real estate firms that you would never think of as a real estate job—but it future of real deploy technology has become a differentiating factor. is,” Isaacs says. “Ten years ago, many brokerages were more or less creat- Elie Rieder, founder and CEO of Castle Lanterra Proper- estate ed equal,” Brady notes. ties, an investor in multi-family properties, finds his firm But today, she explains, many differences exist among depends so heavily on technology for tasks such as prop- The real estate world is traditional brokerage brands based on what technology erty management, portfolio management and reporting NEXT they offer to their agents and whether they ask the agents that he needs to hire people who adapt to it easily. changing by the day. to pay for it or the brokerage provides it. “When we’re hiring,” Rieder says, “we’re focusing on “Technology enablement is important when brokers finding faster learners and people who understand how a decide which agency to go with,” she adds. specific need or software fits into what our organization is trying to accomplish.” Cushman & Wakefi eld Congratulates Dan Faggella is the founder of Emerj Artificial Intelli- echnology is transforming the way gence Research, which speaks to organizations such as The Real Estate Board of New York is showcasing the the World Bank on the future of technology. opportunities in real estate to a younger generation. work is done in unprecedented ways REBNY is launching an internship program this summer “The No. 1 trend in real estate is that everything is quan- as venture capitalists pour money for 45 high school and college students, partnering with T tifiable,” Faggella says, “and anything that has to do with the city’s Department of Youth and Community Devel- into proptech. As many are discovering, quantifying what is going on in real estate is going to be opment. Under the leadership of REBNY Chairman Bill blossoming.” the changes in the field—particularly Rudin, CEO and co-chairman of Rudin Management That’s because consumers also have more information. Company, the six-week program will introduce the stu- the spread of new technologies and dents to commercial real estate, development and other “Back in the day, the real estate agent had access to all of types of positions in the field. databases—are bringing opportunity, the information,” says Eric Barron, chief revenue officer “Diversity is a big issue in the real estate space,” says enabling newcomers to access knowledge of Triplemint, a platform that matches residential buyers, Mariya Lyubman, senior vice president of human re- sellers and renters. “Today the consumer has access to and connections once available to only sources administration at REBNY. “Our commitment to a lot of that information. The agent is providing much diversity and Bill Rudin’s commitment to diversify the a select few. more advisory service.” industry are what prompted us to look at how REBNY can Although real estate professionals are working in new be impactful.” Jason Greenstone Mallika Winsor Molly Sandza Aylin Gucalp ways, few say these new technologies will eliminate The good news for emerging real estate professionals is This is the environment where Crain’s 56 Rising Stars in people from high-touch areas such as sales. An artificial that the pace of change—and the opportunity it creates— Real Estate are embarking on their careers in New York intelligence-enabled chat bot, for example, would have shows no signs of slowing. City, one of the most competitive markets in the world. difficulty answering the highly on their selection to the The list is made up of professionals in residential and individual questions people ask a commercial real estate or ancillary fields. They have a residential broker. maximum of 10 consecutive or cumulative years of expe- Crain’s New York Business rience in real estate, and they are making their mark on “Compared to banking, health “More and more partnerships are happening the city market. Some of the honorees are early in their care and retail, the questions careers, while others have started in or returned to real are super-tailored to families’ between established players in traditional estate after establishing themselves in another industry. individual preferences,” Faggella Rising Stars in Real Estate list. says. “You can’t preprogram a The honorees were discovered through Crain’s research industries and newer platforms that helped machine to address them.” and nominations by their firms. They were selected for their knowledge, skills, integrity, accomplishments and That said, online tools for vetting change the industry for the better.” contributions to their profession and to the community. sales leads continue to advance, Ryan Williams Ryan Williams, co-founder and CEO of Cadre, advises providing a way for ambitious Co-founder and CEO, Cadre those who are starting careers in real estate and real es- brokers to gather information tate technology to “understand the impact of what came that will foster stronger relation- before you, but always challenge the status quo.” ships with prospects. He followed his own advice, founding the technology- “Real estate is a handshake busi- enabled investment platform Cadre in 2014. Cadre is an ness,” says Sam Viskovich, vice president of marketing for “Venture capital is realizing there is a multitrillion-dollar online marketplace that provides institutions and indi- Reonomy, a platform that provides data on commercial industry in real estate that is highly antiquated,” Isaacs viduals access to real estate and alternative investment properties. “It always has been. Technology is helping to says. “That excitement is bringing fuel for new compa- opportunities. get to that handshake quicker.” nies with new ideas to start building technology to make things more efficient. We’re in the heart of it right now.” Williams, who has worked in real estate for less than a Louis Baugier, an honoree, has capitalized on this as decade, says some of the best opportunities are emerging founder and CEO of Vero Technologies, a fintech startup Read on for a look at how the industry’s new movers and cushwakenytristate.com as longstanding firms partner with innovators in the field. focused on speeding the leasing process. shakers lean into change as they make their mark. 18 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JUNE 24, 2019 AT THE CENTER OF WHAT’S NEXT Cushman & Wakefi eld Congratulates Jason Greenstone Mallika Winsor Molly Sandza Aylin Gucalp on their selection to the Crain’s New York Business Rising Stars in Real Estate list. cushwakenytristate.com HARRISON ABRAMOWITZ TREVOR ADLER MARKO AGBABA Director Partner Director, investment sales NEWMARK KNIGHT FRANK STROOCK STROOCK division & LAVAN ARIEL PROPERTY ADVISORS As director of the New York Trevor Adler advises clients in Marko Agbaba executes Ariel office of Newmark Knight commercial real estate matters Property Advisor’s exclusive Frank, Harrison Abramowitz with a focus on complex listings and leads its business represents both tenants and leasing transactions. Adler development initiatives in landlords in retail leasing transactions. In one recent deal, has recently represented Edward J. Minskoff Equities in Northern Manhattan, particularly East Harlem. Since he helped CVS pharmacy negotiate a lease for 10,000 the complete leasing of about 400,000 square feet of office, he joined the firm in 2012, he has been involved in the square feet at 387 Park Ave. South. He currently is working educational and retail space at 51 Astor Place. He has valuation of more than $1.2 billion in properties and par- CONGRATULATIONS TO with emerging brands including Candid Co., which is ex- also represented the Visiting Nurse Service of New York in ticipated in the sale of more than 40 transactions worth panding around the country, and with Japanese cosmetics negotiating a 30-year headquarters occupancy transaction more in aggregate than $200 million. Agbaba is a member company Shibuyala, for which he negotiated the lease for in 300,000 square feet of the former News Building on 42nd of REBNY’s Commercial Upper Manhattan & Bronx Com- its first Manhattan store last year and is now expanding in Street and has worked with the Durst Organization in its mittee.