2021 Virtual Real Estate Speaker Series Biographies
Michael A. Comras is President and CEO of The Comras Company of Florida, a Miami Beach-based full-service real estate brokerage company founded in 1992. Comras specializes in the leasing and sale of urban and suburban retail properties across South Florida. As a principal in various development entities, Michael also has been involved in the construction, leasing and sale of properties that have evolved into some of the region’s top retail and entertainment destinations.
His talent for seeing transactions from the perspectives of both owners and tenants has generated phenomenal success for once-languishing urban centers. A-list clients represented by Comras include Gap/Athleta, Nike, Forever 21, Guess, Apple, Le Pain Quotidian, Capital One Bank, BCBG, J Crew, Madewell, Sephora, Suitsupply, Lucky Strike, Sugarcane, and Tesla to name a few.
Michael has been extremely active in Miami’s emerging neighborhoods, including the burgeoning Design District, Wynwood Arts District, and Downtown Miami. His influence also stretches beyond Miami’s urban core through various leasing assignments in suburban areas throughout Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties.
Among the firm’s renown redevelopment achievements are the conception of Miami Beach’s Collins Ave. Fashion District and the renaissance of the Lincoln Road promenade. This culminated in Comras’ $370 million sale of an entire Lincoln Road blockfront, achieving the largest sale of a retail property in Miami-Dade County history. On Miami’s mainland, Comras recently spearheaded the investor groups’ acquisitions of the lifestyle centers CocoWalk and the Shops at Sunset Place. His latest venture, BLVD at Lenox, a 67,000 square feet multi-story retail project, features Target’s long-awaited debut on South Beach.
New York-born, Comras holds a BA from the University of Miami and an MBA in banking and finance from Pace University. A licensed real estate broker in the state of Florida, he is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches. Comras participates in several business improvement districts and civic committees, including The Underline. He serves on the UM Real Estate Advisory Board and is a sought-after panelist for real estate programs organized by ICSC, The University of Miami and commercial real estate news providers. A former chairman of The Lincoln Road Marketing Association, he has also served on the Miami Beach Mayor’s Blue-Ribbon Task Force on Tourism-Retail-Nightlife/Dining. Charitable activities include The AIR Society of National Jewish Health (founding member), Mount Sinai Medical Center and Miami Children’s Hospital.
Mark Gilbert has 27 years of capital markets experience, eighteen with C&W and has completed over 600 transactions valued at nearly $7 billion. Mr. Gilbert joined C&W in 1997 as a Director within the South Florida Capital Markets Group, specializing in the disposition and financing of investment properties.
Prior to C&W, Mr. Gilbert co-founded and served as President and Principal of Venturvest Realty Corporation (“Venturvest”), a regional real estate service organization with offices throughout Florida. In his capacity at Venturvest, Mr. Gilbert was responsible for a portfolio of over four million square feet of property and was also successful in completing nearly $1 billion in disposition, financing and lease transactions from 1992 through 1997.
Most importantly he has been married to his wife Belinda for 25 years and they have 3 children; Stuart (23), Brett (19) and Grace (17).
Arnaud Karsenti is the Managing Principal of 13th Floor Investments, a real estate investment and development firm based in Miami, Florida. Since inception, 13th Floor has acquired, developed, and managed nearly $2.0 billion in real estate assets. The firm adheres to a value-investing philosophy and seeks opportunistic risk-adjusted returns for its investors. 13th Floor has been active across the broad real estate spectrum, ranging from distressed residential assets to condominiums, multi-family, and single family homes. Today, the firm is mainly focused on mixed-use residential developments and expanding its home building business, 13th Floor Homes.
Mr. Karsenti is primarily responsible for the general direction of the firm’s investment strategy as well as its overall capitalization. 13th Floor manages capital through a series of discretionary private equity funds, which consist of private and institutional capital. In addition, the firm enjoys longstanding partnerships with best-in class capital partners across the United States. Given its unique role as both operator and capital partner, 13th Floor prides itself on being a great partner to a wide range of players in the real estate industry. This reputation has allowed 13th Floor to expand geographically as well as across a wide range of asset classes.
Prior to founding 13th Floor, Mr. Karsenti founded Collegeboxes, the nation’s leading college-based shipping and storage company, which was acquired by U-Haul in 2004. Mr. Karsenti began his real estate career by knocking on doors in Miami’s urban core where he assembled a portfolio of properties which ultimately lead to forming 13th Floor. Mr. Karsenti is also active in the community – he is an active member of the Young President’s Organization (YPO) and sits on the executive board of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. Mr. Karsenti graduated cum laude from the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, with a dual degree in Mechanical Engineering and Economics, and holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Fred Rothman is Chief Operating Officer of Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN). Rothman began his career in 1984 as a real estate and corporate attorney with the New York Law Firm of Kronish Lieb Weiner and Hellman. He left the practice of law in 1986 to become a Senior Project Manager for Toll Brothers, Inc., and in 1988 became the Vice President of Development and Acquisition for Calton Homes, Inc.
In 1990, Rothman formed SCR Financial Services. SCR represented large financial institutions and corporations in developing strategies to maximize the value of troubled assets and properties. Rothman became a founding partner of SGS Communities in 1992 and served as Chief Executive and President of the New Jersey and Florida homebuilder. SGS was sold in 1996 to D.R. Horton, Inc., and Rothman became its New Jersey Division President.
Rothman formed Paramount Residential in 2001, with homebuilding operations throughout Southeast Florida and real estate consulting operations in select markets around the country. He sold Paramount’s homebuilding assets to Lennar Corporation in 2006, and he was the Eastern Regional President until his recent promotion to Chief Operating Officer.
Rothman graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree. He earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1984.
