Turnaround Management Association Webinar Program
Tuesday, April 13, 2010, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Eastern
“Tribulations in Commercial Real Estate and How to Profit from Them”
Moderator: Biff Ruttenberg, CTP, Atlas Partners LLC
Panel: Andrew B. Graiser, DJM Realty, A Gordon Brothers Group Company; Spencer Levy, CB Richard Ellis Group
Inc.; Anup Sathy, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
This webinar will focus on the major issues that are impacting the commercial real estate market at the present
time. There will be a discussion of the negative factors that are causing stress and distress in the office building,
shopping center area, hospitality and the multi-family areas. Attendees will be able to:
 Analyze the impact of consumer behavior on the health of the shopping center business
 Determine the impact of the contraction of financial services and legal employment, especially, on the
office building business
 Understand factors that have exacerbated difficulties in the hotel and restaurant business
 Identify potential execution risks associated with capital raise processes
The discussion will also cover the current state of the market for distressed real estate debt. Information will be
provided regarding opportunities to acquire whole loans and various CMBS tranches of bonds. Guidance will be
provided to assist attendees who might be interested in loans or bonds. Finally, an update on the General Growth
bankruptcy will be provided based on the most recently available information.
Moderator
Moderator: Biff Ruttenberg, CTP, is a principal of Atlas Partners with 39 years of retail development,
redevelopment, management, and leasing experience. Prior to co-founding Atlas Partners, Ruttenberg was
senior vice president and head of the retail group at Frain Camins & SwartchildONCOR International were he
oversaw a leasing and management portfolio of approximately two million square feet and as well as the group’s
leasing activities representing numerous national retailers. Prior to joining FC&S, Ruttenberg founded Lakewest
Equity, Inc. in 1978, a Chicago-based shopping center development firm.
Panel Andrew B. Graiser is co-president of DJM Realty. He specializes in strategic disposition and acquisition
solutions, marketing of real estate and negotiations with landlords. Under Graiser’s leadership, DJM has
evaluated over 25,000 properties, disposed of over 20,000 locations, generated $3 billion in proceeds and
eliminated over $6 billion of leasehold liability exposure for a growing roster of more than 260 leading brands.
Clients have included Linens ‘n Things, Circuit City, The Sharper Image, KB Toys, Pep Boys, Borders, Toys R Us, ,
CompUSA, Yum! Brands and Office Depot among others.
Spencer Levy is senior managing director in capital markets for CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) responsible for
overseeing and coordinating the activities of more than 300 investment sales and debt/equity finance
professionals in the Eastern Region of the United States. Levy also serves as the national head of CBRE’s
restructuring services initiative. Prior to joining CBRE, Levy was a principal at Stifel Nicolaus (formerly Legg
Mason Capital Markets) responsible for leading overall execution several major merger and acquisition
assignments.
Anup Sathy is a practitioner in matters relating to corporate restructurings, workouts and chapter 11
reorganizations. He has substantial experience representing and advising companies, buyers, boards, investors
and lenders in all aspects of distressed and insolvency situations. Sathy led a team of attorneys in the
complicated reorganization process of Conseco and has represented debtors, lenders and investors in several
large, complex restructurings and bankruptcy cases, including General Growth Properties; Chiquita Brands
International, Inc.; Zenith Electronics Corporation; Movie Gallery, Inc.; Tower Automotive Inc.; Hyatt
Corporation; Teligent, Inc,; and Oaktree Capital Management LLC.
Turnaround Management Association  150 S. Wacker Drive, Ste. 900  Chicago, IL 60606
Tel: 1-312-578-6900  Fax: 312-578-8336  www.turnaround.org