Getting Connected - Summer Internships

In the midst of an economic recession, the Class of 2011 obtained a variety of impressive internships. Students obtained internships in Asset Management, Consulting, Private Equity, Real Estate Investment Banking, brokerage, and Sustainable Development.  An undeniable benefit of attending a two year masters program is the opportunity to participate in a summer internship between the first and second years.  Students leveraged the relationships they made at events during their first year, used personal connections and the extensive Cornell network of alumni and advisory board members to obtain their positions. They put the skills and knowledge gained over the last year to work by performing a variety of tasks which consisted of project valuation, investment strategy analysis, project management, financial analysis, land acquisition and portfolio management. Although some students pursued internships in their preferred industry, others used the opportunity to sharpen their skills in fields where they are less experienced.  The following is sample of the internships obtained by the Class of 2011:

Yingying Zhu (MPS/RE ’11)
Summer Associate
Tishman Speyer
After much competition and a lengthy interview process, Yingying was one of typically five or six individuals chosen as summer interns with Tishman Speyer, a leading owner, developer, operator, and manager of first-class real estate. Tishman Speyer has built a portfolio of assets since its inception of over 116 million square feet and more than 92,000 residential units in major metropolitan areas across the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Zhu described her summer by saying “The most important impact of this internship for me was that it opened a door for me to look into from inside a US fund manager’s perspective. By working at the Portfolio Management level for Tishman Speyer’s emerging market funds, I even gained a new understanding of local teams and the project-level decision making process for acquisitions and executions.”

William Duke Fairchild (MPS/RE ’11)
Summer Associate
The Greenwich Group International
Internships are an excellent way to gain experience in lesser known industries. As Fairchild explained, “When I initially entered the Program in Real Estate, I planned to pursue a career in commercial development.  My summer internship experience with The Greenwich Group International was an eye-opening experience, and is the primary reason that I have now changed my concentration to real estate investment banking.” The Greenwich Group International, or simply Greenwich, was formed in 1995 by Simon Mildé, one of the founders of Jones Lang Wootton USA. It is a unique real estate investment bank whose core business has expanded dramatically in recent years from one primarily built around investment sales to a business focused on recapitalizations, platform financings, joint ventures and development funding. Since its founding, Greenwich has completed more than $30 billion in capital transactions.


Kristopher Rhoads (MPS/RE ’11)
Summer Associate
Aardex LLC, Development
Aardex LLC is a vertically integrated design-build firm committed to the highest standards in sustainability. Founded in 1983 by CEO Rick Butler, the company’s primary mission is to design structures that improve worker productivity. Aardex LLC is now one of only two design/build firms in the world to achieve Double LEED Platinum for its work on the Signature Centre in Golden, Colorado.

Andy Green (MPS/RE ’11)
Summer Associate
Lubert Adler
Lubert-Adler is a real estate investment company co-founded by Ira Lubert and Dean Adler in March 1997. Messrs. Lubert and Adler collectively have over 50 years of experience in underwriting, acquiring, repositioning, refinancing and exiting real estate assets. Lubert-Adler has been built on a fundamental, value-add real estate mindset. Since its founding in 1997, the firm has invested $6.5 billion of equity into $16 billion of assets pursuant to three value-add platforms: Value-Add Redevelopment, Land Entitlement and Residential Resort.

Ankoor Jivan (MPS/RE ’11)
Summer Associate
Tabani Group
The Tabani Group is a commercial real estate company based in Dallas, Texas offering a variety of products and services.  Summer internships are an excellent way to gauge your abilities. As Ankoor describes, “I realized that I have the quantitative skill set but need to increase my knowledge of accounting and operations especially in a restricted environment where the majority of property acquisitions are distressed in nature.”

Chris Chorebanian (MPS/RE ’11)
Summer Associate
CRA/LA
Chris was involved with the New Markets Tax Credits, which was created in 2000 as part of the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act. The fund has a capacity of $21 billion with $8.19 billion reserved for tax credits. The objective of the program is to execute real estate projects in low income communities with the following target product types: commercial, mixed-use, industrial and community facilities. Chris described his experience, “Interning with CRA/LA proved to be an invaluable experience. I gained a deeper understanding of public/private partnerships in real estate development and exposure to many of the programs that CRA/LA administers.  Given the climate of the real estate job market, I feel very fortunate to have found such an opportunity.  Furthermore, I strongly believe that the strength of the Cornell brand was a key consideration in CRA/LA’s hiring decision, and discussions I have had with my supervisors have affirmed that belief.”

Sam Bechthold (MPS/RE ’11)
Summer Associate
Los Arboles Management LLC
Los Arboles Management’s goal is to provide the highest quality real estate asset management services.  The fund invests with mostly direct equity ownership in luxury hotels, agriculture, raw land, commercial, retail, and exotic products.
Richard Weidel (MPS/RE ’11)
Summer Associate
Real Estate Capital Partners

Richard worked with the acquisitions group at Real Estate Capital Partners. He worked on both limited partner and levered equity investments in multifamily and office investments. Real Estate Capital Partners is a U.S. real estate investment advisor, founded in 1989, whose goal is to create superior risk adjusted returns by investing in U.S. real estate and offers a full range of real estate investment advisory services.

Wylie Gibbins (MPS/RE ’11) & Frank Chen (MPS/RE ’11)
Summer Associates
Toll Brothers
Bob Toll, President and CEO of Toll Brothers, is on the Advisory Board for the Cornell Program in Real Estate and commits to hiring two PRE students each summer.  Toll Brothers was established in 1967 with current headquarters in Horsham, Pennsylvania. With operations in 20 states, Toll Brothers is dedicated to building luxury homes, master-planned communities, and golf course communities.

Doug Solinsky (MPS/RE ’11)
Acquisitions Associate
Klingbeil Capital Management
Klingbeil Capital Management, founded by James D. Klingbeil, is a privately owned, full service real estate operating company that is dedicated to the mission of producing long range value for its investors. Since the late 1950s, the Klingbeil Organization has built, acquired, rehabilitated, repositioned, managed or sold over 191 apartment communities consisting of over 44,000 units in 52 metropolitan markets. Although they are primarily focused on multifamily investments, the Klingbeil Organization also has experience in single family housing and condominiums.

Stephen Woodward (MPS/RE ’11)
Summer Associate
Westport Capital
Westport Capital Partners LLC is an investment management company focused exclusively on opportunistic and distressed real estate investments. Westport’s investors consist of pension funds, endowments and charitable institutions, as well as family offices and individuals. Russ Bernanr, the founder of Westport Capital Partners, is a member of the PRE Advisory Board and enjoys engaging with students through the Mentor Program.

Tyler Williams (MPS/RE ’11)
Summer Associate
Bank of America Merrill Lynch – Investment Banking
Tyler spent the summer working on diverse projects with different senior bankers in order to learn the various facets of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Investment Banking Division. This division consists of the following services: Real Estate Investment Banking, Strategic Advisory, Equity Capital Markets, Debt Capital Markets and Capital Commitments.

The Class of 2011 gained invaluable experience from their summer internships and ultimately had very successful placement. Students used personal connections, career services and networking opportunities offered by the Program in Real Estate in order to obtain their summer positions. The internship experience is optional in the program, but as students quickly learn, the connections offered by Cornell faculty and alumni are numerous and students may find passing up on the opportunity quite difficult. Ultimately, the goal is that these summer experiences allow students to gauge their abilities in an industry setting, but often find themselves with future job placement opportunities within those firms.