Real Estate Alumni Continue Their Career Training

The Real Estate Minor Alumni of Cornell (REMAC), Cornell’s alumni real estate network, continues to offer its members a diverse array of events. REMAC recently sponsored a roundtable chat between Sush Torgalkar ’99, COO of Westbrook Partners, and 15 club members. Mr. Torgalkar has been one of the critical driving forces behind Westbrook’s growth into one of the most active and prolific global real estate private equity funds, having invested $10 billion of equity and $40 billion of transactions worldwide. In a conference room at Westbrook’s headquarters in New York City, Mr. Torgalkar discussed his evolution from being a teenager working in his family’s Cleveland restaurant, to his time as a Hotelie, to his rapid ascension through the ranks at Westbrook (and in the process, making the elite New York’s 40 Under Forty list).

Imparting advice to the group members in attendance — who represented an impressive roster of New York’s top real estate firms, including hedge and private equity funds, developers, investment banks, and brokerage houses — Mr. Torgalkar emphasized maintaining patience and a long-term view of one’s career and encouraged the young members to expand their networks and strive to originate new deals for their firms. In his customary friendly, yet frank, style, Mr. Torgalkar spent the majority of the 75-minute session answering members’ questions about what paths to follow in their careers and how to become their firms’ most valuable assets.

REMAC is planning additional speaker panels over the coming months, both in and outside of New York City. The board encourages potential speakers, as well as chapter leaders, to reach out to remac.club@gmail.com. REMAC’s next event will be in Ithaca during Homecoming, in which recent graduates will speak to current students about their experiences thus far in the industry.