Jericho, NY According to Ripco Real Estate Corp., Mark Kaplan has joined the firm as principal and chief operating officer. He will be based in the company’s Long Island office and charged with growing the brokerage business and pursuing various ventures and partnership opportunities. He graduated with honors from Columbia Law School where he was named a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and spent the last 11 years working in various areas of the industry including finance, law, property management, and leasing. He comes with vast experience, having worked in Credit Suisse’s large-loan CMBS origination group in New York and then as principal of both Kaplan Equities LLC and Kabro Associates LLC.
Kaplan’s role as chief operating officer includes advancing Ripco’s standing as a top retail real estate brokerage with plans to grow the business through lateral hiring and training programs. Ripco boasts an impressive roster of exclusive retailers with over 85 national tenants currently represented in one or more of its offices.
Kaplan said, “I am excited to start a new challenge within Ripco. I look forward to working with the team to further develop their already extensive list of tenant and landlord relationships and to utilize the wealth of information flowing through the company to better serve our clients. I’m fortunate to be joining such a well-respected company that prides itself on top quality representation.”
Peter Ripka, co-founder of Ripco Real Estate Corp. said “My partner, Todd Cooper, and I both feel that in addition to Mark’s breadth of industry experience, he’s a natural leader and someone we look forward to working with on a day to day basis. His high ethical standards compliment the culture we’ve worked hard to establish and maintain. We’re confident Mark will advance us in all facets of our business.”
Ripco Real Estate Corp., founded in 1991 by Todd Cooper and Peter Ripka, is a leading full-service retail brokerage firm with offices in Manhattan, Long Island, New Jersey. Ripco’s dominant tenant and landlord representation businesses have led the company to become one of the tri-state area’s premier retail real estate brokerage firms.