Gil Tenzer
Portfolio Manager & Director of Real Estate Investments
Mr. Tenzer is a founding member of Contrarian and the Portfolio Manager for Contrarian’s Real Estate Fund series. Since Contrarian’s formation in 1995, Mr. Tenzer has been responsible for sourcing, managing, and coordinating the disposition of the Firm’s real estate investments, as well as taking an active role in Contrarian’s corporate investments. Mr. Tenzer has chaired and served on several creditor and unofficial bondholder committees. Prior to co-founding Contrarian, from 1993 to 1995, Mr. Tenzer served as Co-Head of the High-Yield Real Estate Group at Oppenheimer & Co. (“Oppenheimer”), as well as a Senior Analyst at the firm. Prior to Oppenheimer, Mr. Tenzer worked at Arthur G. Cohen and was responsible for the analysis, financing, acquisition, disposition, restructuring, and asset management of a nationwide portfolio of investments in the real estate, lodging, restaurant, aviation, and manufacturing industries. Mr. Tenzer received his MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Business Administration cum laudefrom Georgetown University.
Brett Rowland
Co-Portfolio Manager of Real Estate Investments
Mr. Rowland joined Contrarian in 2003 and is Co-Portfolio Manager for Contrarian’s Real Estate Fund series. Prior to joining Contrarian in 2003, Mr. Rowland was an Associate at J.P. Morgan Partners, the Bank’s internal Private Equity Group. At J.P. Morgan, Mr. Rowland was responsible for domestic corporate and asset-level principal investments in the real estate sector. Before J.P. Morgan, Mr. Rowland worked at Vornado Realty Trust from 1998 to 2000, where he had responsibilities in acquisitions, development and capital markets. Prior to Vornado, Mr. Rowland was an Associate in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group at Lazard Freres & Co. from 1994 to 1998. Mr. Rowland received a BS in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Michael Halperin
Managing Director & Real Estate Research Analyst
Mr. Halperin joined Contrarian in 2004 and is a Managing Director and Real Estate Research Analyst. He is responsible for acquisitions and asset management of private real estate investments. Prior to joining Contrarian in 2004, Mr. Halperin was a Senior Vice President in the real estate group at Oaktree Capital Management, LLC. Mr. Halperin’s responsibilities at Oaktree included acquisitions, asset management and the disposition of distressed real estate assets in the United States and Europe. Before Oaktree, from 1992 to 1996, Mr. Halperin was a Senior Investment Analyst and Asset Manager in the real estate division of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, where he was responsible for the repositioning and asset management of troubled assets located in California, Arizona and Colorado. From 1991 to 1992, Mr. Halperin was an Account Officer with Citibank Real Estate, Inc. Mr. Halperin received an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a BA from the University of California at Los Angeles. Mr. Halperin is an active member of the Urban Land Institute.
Michael Rader
Senior Vice President & Real Estate Research Analyst
Mr. Rader joined Contrarian in 2016 and is a Senior Vice President and Real Estate Research Analyst. He is responsible for acquisitions and asset management of private real estate investments. Prior to joining Contrarian in 2016, Mr. Rader was a Vice President at CPG Real Estate where his responsibilities included evaluating, structuring and executing opportunistic real estate debt and equity investments in Latin America and the Caribbean. From 2008 to 2011, he was an Associate/Analyst at Torchlight Investors where he performed underwriting, analysis and asset management of high yield real estate debt investments across the United States, including CMBS, first-lien commercial mortgages, mezzanine loans and preferred notes. From 2007 to 2008, he was an Analyst within the CMBS group at J.P. Morgan, focused on loan origination and underwriting. Mr. Rader received a BS in Management with Honors from Binghamton University.
Sam Robinson
Senior Vice President & Real Estate Research Analyst
Mr. Robinson joined Contrarian in 2020 and is a Senior Vice President and Real Estate Research Analyst. He is responsible for acquisitions and asset management of private real estate investments. Prior to joining Contrarian, Mr. Robinson was a CRE Sector Manager at Medalist Partners, LP., where he was responsible for evaluating, structuring and underwriting real estate debt investments across the CMBS and bridge loan portfolios. Prior to Medalist, Mr. Robinson held positions of Research Associate (2012-2014), CMBS Research Analyst (2014-2016) and CMBS Sector Manager (2017-2018) at Candlewood Investment Group, LP. In those roles, he was primarily tasked with the analysis of CMBS and other real estate opportunities. Mr. Robinson received a BA in Biology with a Minor in Economics from Colgate University. He is also a CFA charterholder.
Prospective real estate investments and joint venture opportunities should be referred via email to Gil Tenzer at [emailprotected]
