Who's News

Real Estate Weekly, May 30, 2001

Melissa Bazar, a managing director with Insignia/ESG's midtown office, has been tapped to oversee alumni affairs for the New York University Master of Science in Real Estate Alumni Association, announced alumni board president Scott Robinson.

Bazar will be responsible for communications within NYU's alumni network and will focus on increasing the association's profile within the real estate community. Bazar is a graduate of NYU's Masters in Real Estate program and has been with Insignia/ESG since 1993.

Edward A. "Lou" King, Jr. has joined investment banking firm Whiteweld, Barrister & Brown, Inc. as senior vice president. King assumes responsibility for the firm's mezzanine funding, joint ventures, equity participations and credit enhancement activities.

King is a 30-year veteran of the real estate financial services sector. He joins the company after six years in the New York City office of Buffalo-based M&T Bank where he was responsible for a sizable commercial real estate loan portfolio. King has lectured at New York University and has been a guest speaker at meetings of the New York Real Estate Board, the New York State Assessors' Association and the Long Island Chapter of the Appraisal Institute.

A graduate of the University of Arizona, King attended Brown University's Graduate School of Banking and holds a certificate from the Mortgage Bankers Association. He is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association of New York, the Young Mortgage Bankers Association, the Real Estate Lenders Association, the National Realty Club, Inc. and REBNY. He resides in West Islip.

Insignia/ESG promoted Michael H. Siegel to executive managing director.

Siegel joined the company in 1993 as executive director, with more than 25 years of experience in commercial real estate. He has been the backbone of Insignia/ESG's Westchester-Connecticut office since its inception, and has consistently ranked among the highest producers throughout the New York metro region. In addition, Siegel has earned Insignia/ESG's distinguished "Broker of the Year" award for the northern suburbs of New York three times.

Over the past few years Siegel's accomplishments have included Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide's 203,110 SF headquarters relocation to White Plains, Cendant Mobility Services' 225,000 SF headquarters expansion in Danbury, Conn., and Wamaco Inc.'s 95,000 SF headquarters lease in Milford, Conn. Siegel is currently the exclusive leasing agent for Hines/Sterling Equities, Oaktree Capital Management, and Prodigy Corporation's properties in Danbury, Milford, and White Plains.

Among organizations Siegel is a member is the Urban Land Institute, Building Owners and Managers Association International, the Real Estate Board of New York and the Real Estate Finance Association of Westchester and Connecticut. Siegel is a resident of Southport, Conn.

Wilder Baiter Partners, Inc. hired Joel H. Suskin as its new chief operating officer. Suskin has more than 20 years of financial experience in financial operations, asset management, and acquisitions.

In his new position with Wilder Baiter Partners, he is responsible for overseeing the daily financial operations of the company. Prior to joining the firm, Suskin was chief financial officer and vice president with private venture capital firms, controlling assets valued at more than S1 billion. His experience also includes seven years with Saul P. Steinberg's Reliance Group Holdings.

A certified public accountant Suskin, of Armonk, also holds an M.B.A. from New York University and a B.B.A. from the University of Hartford.

William Sander joined Reis, Inc. as chief operating officer. In this newly created position, he will report directly to the company's founder and president Lloyd Lynford.

As chief operating officer, Sander will direct product management, sales, marketing, human resources, operations and the economic analysis group. Among his key responsibilities will be the growth of the company's building level database, rollout of a subscriber edition of the core product and expansion of the analytical division. He will also be responsible for enhancing the company's on-line products and services.

Sander was formerly a senior vice president of product management for Thomson Financials' investment banking/capital markets group where he was responsible for the development and launch of two of the company's primary products, Global Access and Piranha Web. In 1997, Global Access won the Information Industry Association's "Hot Shots" award for best-enhanced product.

Sander is a graduate of Marietta College, and the Washington Economic Policy Semester at American University. He and his family reside in Norwalk, Conn.

Barry F. Hersh has been named associate director of the Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute at Baruch College. Hersh comes to the institute with 20 years of real estate and planning experience, including service as vice president of the Brookhill Group and development director of the city of Poughkeepsie. He has also taught and lectured extensively, most recently as faculty associate of the Lincoln Land Institute in Cambridge, Mass.