Kessler participates in Harvard program

Real Estate Weekly, March 26, 2003

The Harvard University Graduate School of Design has created a new program for real estate corporate executives, the Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate (AMDP). The AMDP is now in its second year and has attracted and enrolled many of the real estate industry's most senior executives for its six-week program. The current class boasts the attendance of one of New York's most senior real estate investment and development executives: Richard A. Kessler, chief operating officer of The Benenson Capital Company.

The AMDP, the first of its kind, is an intensive educational program for real estate entrepreneurs and senior managers with 15-25 years of experience. "Our program provides the opportunity for executives to study with Harvard faculty, expand their industry leadership, and develop lifetime relationships with key decision makers from the global real estate community," says Richard Peiser, Michael D. Spear Professor of Real Estate Development at Harvard Design School.

Kessler, who has been involved in acquisitions, dispositions, developments, leasing, and financing transactions valued in excess of $1 billion in his career, is the company's senior most officer. He is responsible for developing, directing, and implementing the firm's strategy, and developing a long-term strategic plan for Benenson Capital Company, one of the nation's oldest and most active privately held real estate investment and development companies.

"My transactional skills were topnotch, but I recognized that I would need a broader skill set, including trained management and strategic planning talents, in order to fulfill the role of chief operating officer at Benenson Capital," says Kessler. "Harvard's Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate is an outstanding resource for me and other experienced real estate professionals, who want to deepen their skills with serious, forward-thinking learning in challenging arenas of management."

Harvard's AMDP is a six-week program divided into four segments, and can be completed in one year. Drawing on the unparalleled resources of Harvard University, AMDP sessions are led by faculty from the Harvard Business School, the. Harvard Design School, the Kennedy School of Government, and Harvard College, as well as eminent practitioners and scholars in real estate and related industries from across the global community.

Topics covered include finance; general management; development; planning and design; technology; and personal leadership techniques.

"I am finding Harvard's AMDP to be extremely valuable, and I believe the course work will enhance my abilities to direct The Benenson Capital Company through a new generation of leadership," Kessler said.

The AMDP website, http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/amdp is complete with program details including a downloadable application. All applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Application deadline is April 7, 2003. For further program questions, contact Janet Wysocki, program coordinator at (617) 496.6164 or e-mail jwysocki@gsd.harvard.edu.