Award Recipient Biographies
Award Recipients
Bruce Ratner
Former CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies and Philanthropist
Bruce Ratner began his career in city government, eventually becoming commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs under Mayor Ed Koch before jumping into real estate. As chairman of the Forest City Ratner Cos., Ratner built the new Renzo Piano-designed New York Times building, but he is best known for his work in Brooklyn, starting in the mid-1980s, when he constructed the borough's downtown MetroTech complex and, more recently, Barclays Center.
Bob Knakal
Chairman & CEO of BKREA
Bob is the Chairman & CEO of BKREA, a commercial real estate capital markets brokerage company in New York City. Bob was the former Chairman of NY Investment Sales & Head of the NY Private Capital Group within JLL Capital Markets in New York City as well as Chairman of NY Investment Sales at Cushman & Wakefield and Chairman and Founding Partner of Massey Knakal Realty Services, New York’s #1 building sales firm. He started his real estate career in 1984 at CB Richard Ellis where he met Paul J. Massey Jr. They both left CB in 1988 to form Massey Knakal.
From 1988 through 2014, Massey Knakal closed over 6,000 transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $23 billion. To date, Bob has been personally responsible for the sale of 2341 buildings (generally considered to be the highest total ever for a single broker in New York) and over $22 billion in sales.
With respect to development sites, Bob has personally handled the sale of over 250 development site transactions totaling over $7 billion in sales.
In 2014, Cushman & Wakefield acquired Massey Knakal. At Cushman & Wakefield, Bob served as Chairman of New York Investment Sales. He was ranked the top originating investment sales broker at Cushman & Wakefield, globally, in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Bob joined JLL in September of 2018 as Chairman – NY Investment Sales.
Since 2009, Bob has written a regular column on the New York City Real Estate Market called Concrete Thoughts for the Commercial Observer.
Katie Nilsen
Vice President, Development & Strategy, E-J Electric Installation Co.
Katie Nilsen is the Vice President of Development & Strategy at E-J Electric Installation Co. Founded in 1899, E-J Electric Installation Co. (E-J) was established during the infancy of the electrical industry. With a history of innovation sweeping the company through 126-years, it is the oldest privately-owned electrical contractor in the country.
E-J has been an integral part of the electrical contracting industry as it evolved from wood-lined conduit to complicated communication systems and renewable power. Its ability to innovate, embrace change and apply new technologies has propelled its success and set it apart as a versatile company offering services ranging from bulk power delivery to energy conservation, and from value engineering to computer networking for new and existing structures.
The company’s portfolio is known for its high-profile, and complicated projects. E-J has performed work on many of New York’s iconic buildings, bridges, transportation facilities and stadiums. Those include the United Nations, Rockefeller Center, Museum of Modern Art, East Side Access, East River Tunnel Rehabilitation, Kosciuszko Bridge, Throgs Neck Bridge, John F. Kennedy Airport’s New Terminal One Microgrid, NYU Langone Medical Center, Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NY), the 96th Street Station for the Second Avenue Subway, the Long Island Railroad, Yankee Stadium, Barclays Center and many more.
Schillivia Baptiste, PE, Assoc. DBIA
Chief Executive Officer
Schillivia Baptiste brings her detail-oriented approach to everyday practices to ensure client satisfaction with the highest quality. She has more than 13 years of experience in the civil engineering industry. She has particular expertise in site and land development. She has a strong understanding of the civil design process and has worked with clients in both the public and private sectors. Mrs. Baptiste’s expertise includes conceptual site planning, drainage design, design of septic and sewer collection systems, environmental review, zoning and land use analysis, and subdivision planning and design. She also has designed waterfront structures, including bulkheads and docks. She is familiar with the expediting of applications and permits for various municipalities. She has worked on numerous residential and commercial projects in the Suffolk and Nassau County areas.
Mrs. Baptiste has a bachelor’s degree from Polytechnic University and a master’s degree from Polytechnic Institute of New York University, both in civil engineering.
Gemma Burgess
Managing Director, RRA Global Real Estate Practice Russell Reynolds Associates
Gemma Burgess co-leads the global real estate practice with a particular focus on global capital flows and cross-border work. With over 20 years of executive and non-executive search experience globally, Gemma primarily works on global real estate team build outs within Private Equity, Private Credit, Investment Management, Sovereign Wealth Funds and Limited Partner clients. In addition, Gemma places C-suite and Board professionals within the real estate public markets (Real Estate Investment Trusts) across the globe. Functionally, Gemma has placed Global Heads of Real Estate, Global Chief Investment Officers, Global Heads of Capital Formation and Global Heads of Asset Management and has also built out those teams regional across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific.
A huge advocate for inclusive leadership across the industry, Gemma is passionate about bringing best in class talent to the clients she serves and assisting those clients to work through their strategic growth plans and their succession projects. Gemma moved to the US in 2014 from the UK, bringing experience that spans geographies. She possesses a deep understanding of the international markets and the global flow of both institutional and non-institutional capital in the real estate industry.
Prior to joining Russell Reynolds Associates’, Gemma was at Ferguson Partners from 2007 to 2023 and had many roles including Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman. Previously, Gemma spent two years at Hanson Green working on non-executive appointments and two years at Ramsey Hall working as a generalist within executive search.
When she’s not working with clients, Gemma enjoys traveling and watching her son play soccer, watching basketball, running, and learning to play golf.
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James Nelson
Head of US Investment Sales
James Nelson is Principal and Head of U.S. Investment Sales where he leads Avison Young’s significant investment sale efforts and growth strategies in the top U.S. markets. Avison Young is a full service global real estate firm with over 5,000 real estate professionals located in 120 offices in 20 countries including more than 50 offices across the United States. With a differentiated approach, the cohesive U.S. Investment Sales Group leverages best in class execution to deliver superior results for clients.
Since joining Avison Young in 2018, James has been involved in over 225 sales valued at well above $3 billion dollars, resulting in his being named a top global top producer, a Commercial Observer’s Power 100, and a CoStar Power Broker. James has also been a recipient of REBNY’s prestigious Edward S. Gordan Deal of the Year award. Some noteworthy clients include The Archdiocese of New York, Breaking Ground, The Carlyle Group, JP Morgan Chase, Salvation Army and Vornado among others.
James builds unique sales platforms at Avison Young consisting of a unified, client-first sales group that is broken out by asset class and providing the best client experience. This approach aligns with Avison Young’s principally owned structure which allows principals to be personally invested in the long-term success of their clients.
Throughout his over 25-year career, James has been involved in the sale of approximately 500 property and loan sales for an aggregate value of over $5 billion dollars. Prior to joining Avison Young, James served as Vice Chairman of Cushman & Wakefield, where his team was ranked the number one Investment Sales broker nationwide in 2016. Previously, James was a partner and top producer for Massey Knakal for six of their last eight years and was named the company’s youngest partner in 2004.
James is passionate about real estate and helping others achieve success. With his Wall Street Journal bestselling book The Insider’s Edge To Real Estate Investing, podcast, videos, and weekly Forbes articles, he advises on how to navigate and stay on top of this ever-changing market. He enjoys guest lecturing at Columbia, Fordham, NYU, Wharton, and of course his alma mater Colgate. He often provides this real estate expertise to notable mainstream publications such as The Wall Street Journal, NY Times, and the NY Post.
James serves on the boards of REBNY, SparkYouth NYC, and USA Water Polo and is a former Chairman of YM/WREA. He is also a co-founder of the Real Estate Services Alliance (RESA) and the Colgate Real Estate Council. His greatest joy is spending time with his wife Allison and three sons Luke, Austin, and TJ either at home in Connecticut, up on the Cape, or travelling to their water polo tournaments on the West Coast. You can follow James on Instagram at @jamesnelsonnyc or visit jamesnelson.com for more information.