Draft:Brian Waterman

Brian Waterman (born June 4, 1963) is an American commercial real estate executive and an executive vice chairman of New York-based Newmark, a commercial real estate advisory and services firm.

He joined Newmark in 1986, hired by the firm's CEO Barry Gosin during his first job interview out of LIU Post (formerly C.W. Post College), where he earned a bachelor of science degree with a concentration in management and marketing. Waterman became a principal at Newmark prior to the firm's acquisition by BCG Partners Inc.

Waterman has negotiated more than $6 billion in leasing transactions and his clients have included high profile tenants and landlords at some of Manhattan's most important properties.

Among the list of tenants he has represented are Morgan Stanley, Blackstone, and JPMorgan Chase. On the landlord side, he has represented SL Green Realty, Silverstein Properties, and Vornado Realty, among others. Waterman has described tenant and landlord representation as "complimentary," expressing a hesitation to choose between the two.

Recent work
In 2020, Waterman won the Real Estate Board of New York's (REBNY) "Most Ingenious Deal of the Year"--the Henry Hart Rice Achievement Award--for his representation of NYC Health + Hospitals in its 526,552 square foot lease at 50 Water Street. The complex deal was estimated to save the public health system more than $200 million over the course of the 25-year lease.

Awards
Waterman has received numerous industry awards. The 2020 REBNY "Most Ingenious Deal of the Year" award was Waterman's third. He won in 2013 for representing Morgan Stanley in its 1.2 million square foot lease at One New York Plaza and in 1999 for representing Federal Employment and Guidance Services in its lease at 315 Hudson Street.

REBNY also honored Waterman in 2002 with its "Young Real Estate Professional of the Year" award, presented by the Young Men's/Women's Real Estate Association.

He is a recipient of CoStar's annual Power Broker award, having won it more than ten times, as recently as 2019. In 2013, Commercial Observer recognized him as one of five "Future 100" leaders within the commercial real estate industry. The Association for a Better Long Island and the Commercial Industrial Brokers Society twice presented him with their "Most Ingenious Deal of the Year" award. He won in 2012 for Hain Celestial Group's international headquarters relocation and in 2015 for the sale-leaseback of a 252,000 square foot office building for a Massachusetts real estate developer.

Personal life
Waterman married Lauren Lesser, a principal at Lauren Lesser Interior Design, on August 3, 2017. He has two children from a previous marriage--David, an associate in Newmark's Manhattan office, and Kayla, who works on the investor relations team at Apax Partners. His stepson, Zach Gronfein, is an investor at Sound Ventures, a Los Angeles based venture capital firm.

Affiliations
Waterman is a member of REBNY and a past chairman, vice chairman, and membership chairman of the Young Men's/Women's Real Estate Association of New York. He serves on the advisory committee at the Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management at the University of Denver.

Philanthropy
An active participant in many philanthropic causes, Waterman supports the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, having lost his brother to Leukemia in 2012. He also supports the New Renaissance Basketball Association and is a former chairman and vice chairman of the new leadership division of Israel Bonds. Currently, Waterman serves on the board of trustees of the New York City Police Museum.