TEAM
OWNERSHIP
Bruce (Bill) W. Benenson
Principal
Frederick C. Benenson
Principal
Lawrence B. Benenson
Principal
SENIOR MANAGEMENT
Richard A. Kessler
Chief Operating Officer
Rachel Loeb
Chief Investment Officer
Suzanne K. Boehm
Chief Financial Officer
Gary F. Sedoruk
Managing Director, Property Management
MANAGEMENT
Salvatore J. Ciaravino
Senior Director of Real Estate
Leonard J. Kreppel
Director of Asset Management
Matthew M. Butts
Property Manager
Zakary J. Katzman
Senior Director of Strategic Projects & Investments
EMERITUS
James. E. Stifel
David P. Thomas
OWNERSHIP
Bruce (Bill) W. Benenson
Principal
After graduating in 1967 from Columbia University, Bill Benenson served two and a half years in the US Peace Corps in Bahia, Brazil. He made his producing and directing debut with two award-winning documentaries, The Marginal Way and Diamond Rivers, which received national broadcast. He served as a Directing Fellow at the American Film Institute in 1975. He then went on to produce Boulevard Nights and wrote the original treatment for Pumping Iron starring Arnold Schwarzenegger before starting his own company. Under Benenson Productions, he was involved with the creation of three features: Under the Volcano, The Lightship, and A Walk on the Moon. He served as Executive Producer for A Walk on the Moon and the critically acclaimed Mister Johnson.
Frederick C. Benenson
Principal
A graduate of Harvard University, Fred did his graduate work at Oxford University, leading to a Doctorate in Philosophy. He taught both full-time and part-time from 1972 – 2004 in Departments of Philosophy and Physics at the University of Birmingham, England and in America at SUNY, Purchase. His main research interest and publications centered on Theories of Probability.
Lawrence B. Benenson
Principal
As a Principal and a member of the firm’s Investment Committee, Lawrence B. Benenson is involved in developing and implementing the Company’s investment strategies and internal operations as well as guiding the Company’s short and long-term planning. His leadership guides the Company’s near-term and long-range planning and has helped Benenson Capital Partners grow to become one of the nation’s premier owners of net-leased properties.
SENIOR MANAGEMENT
Richard A. Kessler
Chief Operating Officer
As Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Executive and Investment Committees, Mr. Kessler is the Senior Officer responsible for developing the Company’s strategic direction and overseeing its day- to-day operations. In addition to his executive management responsibilities, he is a key leader in developing, evaluating and pursuing the Company’s investment, development, joint venture and financing opportunities. Since joining the Company in 1978, he has served in several capacities including development, finance and acquisitions. He was named Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director in 1989 and was appointed Chief Operating Officer in 1998. Throughout his tenure with the Benenson family, he has been responsible for completing billions of dollars of real estate transactions.
Rachel Loeb
Chief Investment Officer
Rachel Loeb is the Chief Investment Officer of Benenson Capital Partners where she co-leads the company’s development, investment, asset management, and construction strategies and teams. She is a creative real estate leader with two decades of real estate and economic development experience and a proven track record in the private and public sectors. Before joining Benenson, Rachel led the NYC Economic Development Corporation as President and CEO. With annual revenues of $250MM, she ran a diverse 60MM+ square foot portfolio and managed a $10B+ capital budget. She launched the city’s post-pandemic economic recovery plan that led to historic investments in life sciences, off shore wind, and created the city’s business development unit which won the Amazon HQ2 competition and negotiated the retention of the JetBlue headquarters. Prior to joining NYCEDC, she was a real estate developer and created or acquired more than $1.5B of mixed-use assets and over 3,000 units of mixed-income housing across the Northeast. Throughout her career, she led a broad range of ground up developments, acquisitions, dispositions, and financings for real estate properties and worked for privately held companies as well as at AvalonBay, a public REIT. Her career began in Vietnam working on the country’s first master-planned community.
Suzanne K. Boehm
Chief Financial Officer
As Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Boehm is responsible for all accounting, tax, treasury and reporting functions.
Gary F. Sedoruk
Managing Director, Property Management
As Managing Director of Property Management at BCP, Mr. Sedoruk oversees the general operations of all assets in the Benenson portfolio in the U.S. and Canada, ensuring that all are well leased and carefully maintained.
MANAGEMENT
Salvatore J. Ciaravino
Senior Director of Real Estate
As Senior Director of Real Estate, Mr. Ciaravino focuses on sourcing and underwriting potential acquisitions or dispositions and financing these transactions, and his responsibilities require him to prepare and coordinate all investment analysis and due diligence in support of these transactions. Since joining the firm in 2000, Mr. Ciaravino has worked on over 40 transactions valued in excess of $1 billion on properties including office and single-tenant retail in various cities throughout the US and he has secured construction and permanent financing, utilizing multiple lending sources from CMBS to insurance companies.
Leonard J. Kreppel
Director of Asset Management
As Director of Asset Management, Mr. Kreppel manages BCP’s national real estate portfolio. His specific responsibilities include acquiring property, redeveloping underperforming assets, supervising property sales as well as leasing, financing, managing and maintaining properties. He is a specialist in converting underperforming assets into first class facilities for public and private partners and tenants including New York State, the State of Oregon and the State of Washington. He has participated in numerous redevelopment projects and the sale of properties in every region of the county.
Matthew M. Butts
Property Manager
As a Property Manager on the Asset Management team Mr. Butts is responsible for the general operations and tenant relations for many of the properties in the Northeast. His responsibilities include budget administration, project management and developing the long term capital programs for each property with a focus on increasing the operational efficiency of the properties. Prior to joining the Asset Management team, Mr. Butts worked for six years as the General Manager for Benenson owned 1600 Summer Street in Stamford, CT. He also worked for many years in the Boston area as a Property / Project Manager for The Flatley Company and Maloney Properties.
Zakary J. Katzman
Senior Director of Strategic Projects & Investments
As an Associate on the Investment Team, Mr. Katzman is primarily responsible for the financial analysis in support of Benenson Capital Partners’ direct investment, co-investment, redevelopment, financing, and re-tenanting initiatives.
EMERITUS
James. E. Stifel
As Chief Investment Officer and a member of the investment committee, Mr. Stifel played a major role in the development and implementation of the firm’s investment strategies while overseeing financing, underwriting and negotiations. After joining the firm in 1987, he also served as Managing Director for Acquisitions.
David P. Thomas
As Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Thomas was responsible for all accounting, tax, treasury and reporting functions.