Arlington, Va.–based Blackfin Real Estate Investors has announced that Leslie Furst will serve as the company’s new chief operating officer. In this role, Furst will be a senior officer responsible for debt placement, asset management, investor relations, and company operations.
Prior to joining Blackfin, Furst was senior vice president of asset management and finance, as well as chief risk officer, of Kettler, where she was responsible for overseeing asset management, all financing activities, and lender relationships. She was also actively involved in equity placement and investor relations.
Furst successfully managed more than $2 billion in funds on behalf of Kettler and its partners during her 15-year tenure with the company. Prior to Kettler, Furst was a vice president in the Charles E. Smith Division of Vornado Realty Trust, as well as a managing director of Bank of America.
“Leslie is a perfect fit to our senior management team,” said Doug Root, co-founder and managing partner at Blackfin, in a statement. “Her extensive knowledge and demonstrated expertise in real estate and finance will play an integral part in Blackfin’s ongoing success, today and in the future.”
Furst holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from George Washington University. She is an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), serves as a ULI Young Leaders Mentor, and sits on the community service committee at Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) DC.
Blackfin founders Root and Andrew Buchanan, veterans of Washington, D.C.–area real estate firms Kettler and Greystar Investment Group, respectively, came together to form the real estate investment company in August 2016. In the past 12 months, they've closed six transactions comprising nearly 2,000 multifamily units in markets including Boston; Washington, D.C.; and North Carolina.
“We are thrilled with the opportunities we secured in the last year,” Buchanan said in a statement. “These assets represent our vision to take aging properties that need physical, cosmetic, and management upgrades and position them into truly top-quality apartment communities in the most desirable neighborhoods.”
