About PILOT Real Estate Group - Acquisitions, Finance, Management
Robert Rieger
Mr. Rieger is a founding member and principal of PILOT and has over 30 years of broad real estate experience in many aspects of the industry. Early in his career, Mr. Rieger headed the Real Estate Equity Finance Group at Chase, was a VP of Kidder Peabody Realty Corporation, and was an account manager in Citibank’s Real Estate Industries Division.
More recently, Mr. Rieger has been the managing partner of Rieger Enterprises, a real estate investment company he started in 1990 with a focus on opportunistic investments in commercial real estate properties and real estate-related operating companies. Rieger Enterprises acquired numerous poorly managed and distressed properties (as well as debt on properties), stabilized their tenant bases, and placed them on solid financial footing as a result of their aggressive, “hands-on” management of the assets. In the late 1990s, Rieger Enterprises expanded its investment parameters to include hotel development and the executive office suite industry.
In addition, Mr. Rieger is a principal in Rieger Homes, Inc. (www.riegerhomes.com), a company that was founded in 1960 and is one of the largest land developers and home builders in Orange and Dutchess Counties, New York, having built over 6,000 homes in the Mid-Hudson Valley.
Mr. Rieger graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and received his MBA from New York University.
Jordan Saper
Mr. Saper is a founding member and principal of PILOT and has over 30 years of experience in the real estate business. He has been active in acquisitions, workouts, and development.
He began his career working for U.S. Senator Robert Kasten (R-WISC.) in his real estate syndication business, and in the mid 1980s moved to Integrated Resources (a former NYSE financial services firm) where he trained a captive sales force inside of their Broker/Dealer.
From 1989 to 2000 Mr. Saper was the president of The Clifford Companies, a boutique workout and advisory firm with offices in NYC and Newport Beach, CA. On behalf of the Pritzker family and British Sugar, Clifford worked out a 6,000,000 SF New York City office building portfolio saddled with over $2 billion dollars of debt. Clifford ultimately took control of some assets, namely 500 Fifth Avenue, 14 Wall Street, 111-115 Broadway, and 286-292 Madison Ave. Clifford also became leasing agents and property managers for these assets. In 1995 Clifford represented another public British Company (L.E.P.) in its workout of a 5,000,000 SF flex/industrial portfolio in Southern California. At the same time Clifford was actively buying assets at auction from the RTC and the FDIC for its own account.
Since 2000, Mr. Saper has been a partner in one of the largest luxury spec home building companies in Greenwich, CT and the Hamptons. Saper has a B.A. from Brown University and did his graduate work at the Wharton School of Finance.
Eric Schwartz
Mr. Schwartz is a founding member and principal of PILOT and has spent his entire 30 year real estate career in the construction, real estate development and management business. He has developed numerous residential projects, including single and multi-family, comprised of both new construction and rehab.
In addition, Mr. Schwartz is the managing partner of a second generation real estate development entity based in Greenwich, CT. Beginning in the 1970s, the Schwartz family, in partnership with the Schacter family, developed, owned and managed some of the largest office and apartment properties in Greenwich. In recent years, they sold the commercial portfolio to the State of Oregon Pension Plan and the apartment portfolio to Antares Development Partners. Today, Schwartz oversees the family’s investments, including those in the distressed real estate debt and equity markets with Saper & Rieger. He is the partner responsible for the construction and management initiatives. Since 2000, Mr. Schwartz has been a partner, with Saper, in the luxury spec home business in Greenwich.
Mr. Schwartz is a graduate of Washington University with a degree in architecture.
Justin O'Leary
Mr. O’Leary has been in the real estate business for the past 20 years and with PILOT since 2002. When he began with PILOT, Mr. O’Leary directed and managed all development and construction activities for their luxury residential spec home business and multi-family projects.
Since 2008, Mr. O’Leary has been responsible for managing PILOT’s current portfolio, specializing in distressed, value-add opportunities within PILOT’s equity platform. In addition, Mr. O’Leary sources new debt and equity opportunities and relationships (in current and new markets) for PILOT, and manages the underwriting and due diligence efforts for prospective deals. Before joining PILOT, O’Leary was an environmental consultant focused on real estate development.
Mr. O’Leary holds a B.A. in Biochemistry from Skidmore College and an M.S. in Real Estate Finance from New York University’s Shack Real Estate Institute.
Beth L. Lipman
Ms. Lipman has been working in the real estate investment business for over 20 years and has both transactional and legal experience working on acquisitions, dispositions, construction, development and real estate financing. Ms. Lipman has also worked in an asset management capacity overseeing the construction, design, leasing and operations of an 87-unit multifamily rental development in lower Manhattan. Ms. Lipman joined PILOT after 3 years at HREV, LLC, a real estate investment platform based in NYC where she was responsible for legal compliance and asset management of the fund’s equity and debt investments.
Previously, Ms. Lipman was Assistant General Counsel at Pegasus Capital Advisors, a middle markets private equity firm with over $2 billion in assets under management. At Pegasus, Ms. Lipman advised on legal matters associated with the firm’s investments and portfolio companies and was responsible for communication and reporting with investors.
Ms. Lipman began her real estate career with Emmes Asset Management Group (now known as Vanbarton Group), a privately held real estate investment firm where she spent 7 years working as Associate General Counsel assisting on a wide range of legal matters associated with the firm’s real estate investments, asset management and investment due diligence.
Ms. Lipman graduated from Northwestern University with a double major in political science and communications and received her JD from the George Washington University Law School.
Adam King
Mr. King began his real estate career in 2013 and joined PILOT in 2022. At PILOT, Mr. King is responsible for the asset management of PILOT’s debt and equity portfolio and assisting with the due diligence and underwriting for acquisitions.
Prior to joining PILOT, Mr. King worked as a commercial real estate broker at Cushman & Wakefield and Savills in New York City. During his career in brokerage, Mr. King advised landlords and a broad range of tenants with lease acquisitions and dispositions. He brings to PILOT an analytical thought process, strong negotiating skills, and experience managing transactions of varying scope and complexity.
A native of the United Kingdom, Mr. King received a B.A. in Business from Oxford Brookes University in the UK and a Master’s in Real Estate Finance and Investment from New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate.
Bob Pfeiffer
Mr. Pfeiffer came to PILOT after almost 40 years at GE Capital. Starting in GE’s Financial Management Program and subsequently joining GE’s Corporate Audit Staff, he systematically rose to one of the top positions in GE Capital's Real Estate Group. During the collapse of the early '90's he directed their internal "Bad Bank". He set strategy and organized a team of 145 real estate professionals who successfully resolved GE Real Estate’s multi-billion dollar problem portfolio.
In 1990 Bob was promoted to Vice President of GE Capital Corp. and helped establish GE Real Estate’s global investment and business strategy. In his last 10 years at GE he rose to the position of Senior Vice President of Global Asset Management. In that capacity he created and directed GE Real Estate’s Global Asset Management Operations. He was responsible for $85 billion in investments and managed a global staff of 650 professionals located in 45 offices across 28 countries. Bob retired from GE in 2008 and has been active mentoring a large network of real estate professionals, investing for his own account, advising private real estate companies, and pursuing philanthropic interests.
Bob has maintained a 20 year relationship with some of the PILOT principals, began advising PILOT during 2010, and his Real Estate Solutions and Investments, LLC recently commenced co-investing with PILOT.
He is a graduate of Lehigh University with a B.S. in Business Administration.
