Mark Fogel brings over 20 years of commercial real estate experience to a discussion with students in the Baker Program in Real Estate as part of the weekly Distinguished Speaker Series. Fogel is the Chief Executive Officer and President of ACRES Capital, a specialty finance company focused on bridge, mezzanine and equity investments on properties located throughout the United States. ACRES is a highly specialized asset investor that leverages creative lending strategies to provide solid value-add opportunities on a deal-by-deal basis. Its opportunities come from operators that have identified strong real estate investments that are unable to access traditional lending sources due to standards imposed by internal or external hurdles. The company specializes in short-term debt investments in the $2 million to $30 million range with stable and transitional properties that offer upside potential in primary, secondary and tertiary markets nationwide.
Fogel founded ACRES in 2012 and leads the executive management team as the President and Chief Executive Officer. Before establishing ACRES, Fogel was Executive Vice President at UC Funding (“UC”), a CRE specialty finance company focused on bridge, mezzanine and equity investments on properties located throughout the United States, and prior, Fogel served as the senior executive in charge of risk and asset management and led the screening, selection and structuring of new investment opportunities.
Prior to his leadership role at UC, Mr. Fogel was Senior Vice President, Head of Asset Management for Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE:ABR), where he was instrumental in the growth of the company’s structured finance portfolio from $400 million to $3.5 billion. Fogel served as Chairman of ABR’s restructuring committee where he oversaw loan modifications, foreclosures and bankruptcies. Earlier in his career, Mr. Fogel served in a variety of capacities at notable real estate firms including General Growth Properties, Forest City Ratner Companies and Greenwich Group International, where he worked on asset dispositions, property management, development and finance.
Fogel holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Delaware and a Master of Science degree in Real Estate Investment and Development from New York University.
