Campbell named CEO of The Carlton Group

 

 

Manhattan, NY According to The Carlton Group, Ltd., Michael Campbell has been promoted to CEO.

Throughout his 25-year career, Campbell has been involved in the procuring and structuring of equity and debt capital totaling $140 billion of real estate projects globally. Campbell now also assumes the role of CEO following the passing of The Carlton Group founder Howard Michaels. Campbell succeeds Michaels, who founded the firm in 1991 and remained its active chairman up until his death on September 21 of this year, following a battle with gastric cancer. 

“Howard did a brilliant job establishing The Carlton Group as the go-to source of capital for developers and owners working on large projects where traditional financing is more difficult to obtain,” said Campbell, who worked closely with Michaels for 20 years. “Building on what Howard started, our pipeline of business is as deep and robust as ever, and Carlton’s current exclusive transactions range from New York, to South Florida, to Chicago and Dallas, and out to the West Coast to Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.”

He is joined as co-managing principal by Daniel Bildner, Carlton’s general counsel for the past seven years, who assumes the role of COO. 

“My primary role with The Carlton Group is to further elevate what has already been an incredibly successful firm focused on raising equity and debt capital for the acquisition and development of real estate, particularly for transactions that require a more complex financial structure,” said Mr. Campbell, who first joined the firm in 1999 and will now oversee the firm’s direction, lead its team of brokers, and be responsible for the firm’s growth.

Bildner said, “Carlton will continue as a pioneer in sourcing of ‘off the radar’ capital that is eager to invest in large and complicated development projects, recapitalizations and other complex transactions throughout the United States and abroad.”

The Carlton Group was one of the first mortgage finance companies to broker securitized loans, and in 1998 right before Campbell was joining, the firm put a major emphasis on raising equity capital. During Mr. Campbell’s tenure at the firm, more than $140 billion in transactions were completed, including securing equity and debt capital for trophy assets such as The General Motors (GM) Building in New York, Willis Tower (aka Sears Tower) in Chicago, as well as The Edition Hotel in Times Square New York, and the Bank of America Tower in San Francisco.

The Carlton Group is typically engaged on equity and debt assignments ranging from $50 million up to $1 billion+, with the firm averaging between $4 and $6 billion annually in total transaction value. Mr. Campbell emphasized that the goal at Carlton is to continue or exceed that level of annual production, which, based on the firm’s current pipeline, will most likely be surpassed in the coming year. 

Prior to joining The Carlton Group, Campbell spent five years at various Prudential Global Investment Management real estate groups including PRG, PCG and PMCC. He has extensive relationships around the world from domestic and overseas family offices to major international institutions and sovereign wealth funds.  He has experience in all facets of real estate investments, including complex equity and debt capital structuring, loan/REO auctions and underwriting for all property classes.  Mr. Campbell has a bachelor’s degree in financial engineering from James Madison University and a master’s in real estate finance and investments from New York University.

Bildner is a 20+ year veteran of the real estate industry, including a 13-year stint at the international law firm of Greenberg Traurig, LLP where as a partner and during his tenure he handled several billion dollars of acquisition, financing, development, joint venture and hospitality transactions. Mr. Bildner is a graduate of Emory University and the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law.