Richard Serko is a Senior Director with Cushman & Wakefield in their New York World Headquarters, with over 30 years of commercial real estate experience, and is responsible for management of existing accounts, business development and agency assignments.  During the course of a diverse and comprehensive career as a senior real estate executive, he has concluded over 750 transactions, consisting of more than 18 million sf, with a value in excess of $2.0 billion.  He has had responsibility for portfolios comprised of 47 million sf, with over 950 locations in North America (42 states/provinces, in 145 cities), and globally (34 countries).  30 million sf have been leased properties, where Mr. Serko has been in the roles of both landlord and tenant, as well as representative for both landlord and tenant.  He has extensive experience with diverse asset classes and property types, and his activities have included corporate leadership, development, acquisitions, dispositions, due diligence, commercial brokerage, construction management and property management.  Having received a Juris Doctorate, Mr. Serko augments his significant real estate expertise with his legal knowledge, including significant contract, leasing, zoning and land use experience. 

Prior to joining Cushman & Wakefield, Mr. Serko was most recently COO & Executive Vice President for Wharton Equity Partners, LLC, a boutique real estate investment firm, where he was Head of Acquisitions, Head of Asset Management and a Member of the Investment Committee.  While at Wharton he was responsible for implementation of all real estate acquisitions and investments, formulation and implementation of investment strategies, analytic and legal oversight, project/acquisition due diligence, and the sourcing, evaluation, analysis and underwriting of acquisitions in excess of $3.5 billion.  In his capacity as Head of Asset Management, Mr. Serko was responsible for the oversight and deployment of a $250 million dollar investment fund, where he was also responsible for Project Management, Construction Management, Property Management, Operations, Controller Function; Leasing, Marketing, Promotional Programs; Contractor/Vendor/Professional relationships; P&L’s, Operating Statements, and Budget preparation; review and implementation applicable to all of the above.  Prior to joining Wharton, Mr. Serko was Head of Corporate Real Estate for 2 large multinational corporations, Unilever/Bestfoods and GAF/ISP, where he had responsibility for both their entire North American and International real estate portfolios (respectively), comprised of over 40 million sf, with a combined value in excess of $3.0 billion.  Mr. Serko has also provided senior leadership for CBRE as Senior Transaction Manager on a major corporate account, with over 7 million sf and 500 leased locations, and at The DeMatteis Organizations, where he served as Assistant Superintendent, managing and supervising the construction of a $110 million mixed-use project on the New Jersey waterfront.  Prior to these positions, Mr. Serko was a commercial real estate broker at the Edward S. Gordon Company, Inc. (subsequently Insignia/ESG, now CB Richard Ellis, Inc.), where he represented both major commercial landlords and tenants.  

Mr. Serko has been a licensed real estate broker in the State of New York since 1982.  Mr. Serko received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College, with Dean’s List distinction, and his Juris Doctorate degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University.