Zachary Kraft, 29
Director of capital markets, and equity, debt and structured finance at Cushman & Wakefield
Word on the street is Zachary Kraft makes a mean chicken piccata, but at work he’s busy whipping up the best possible deal for Cushman & Wakefield’s clients as a director sourcing, underwriting and procuring financing in one of the most difficult markets in recent history.
“In times like these, it’s really important for us — as capital markets advisers — to be constantly in front of different capital providers — whether debt funds, banks, life companies or CMBS lenders — so that we know how lenders are thinking about structuring deals, and we can ensure that our clients are getting the best structured solution available,” Kraft said. “Ours is more of an advisory role during times like these in helping clients figure out not if, but when, to do a deal.”
Today, Kraft’s days are filled with deals of all shapes and sizes, as his team works its magic up and down the capital stack. But one financing source is leading the charge.
“We’re doing a lot more with debt funds today, or funds that have life company allocations,” he said. “We’re doing a good amount of multifamily construction, which has been the best bid in the market, unless our clients are willing to sign some level of recourse.”
That’s not to say other asset classes aren’t also keeping him busy. In May, Kraft worked on the $334 million restructuring and refinancing of 2505 Bruckner Boulevard, a logistics facility in the Bronx spanning nearly 1.1 million square feet. Working on behalf of Innovo Property Group and Affinius Capital, his team brought in PIMCO to recapitalize the existing construction loan alongside Bank OZK.
The largest deal thus far of his five-year career — all of it at C&W — was the refinancing of Vornado Realty’s 1290 Avenue of the Americas (and C&W’s headquarters) in November 2021. JPMorgan led the CMBS SASB execution while Goldman Sachs, Citibank and BMO Capital Markets also participated.
Kraft credits his boss, Gideon Gil, for much of his success. “He’s become a mentor to me, and I think that’s really what’s helped my young career propel to such an advanced stage,” Kraft said.
If you can’t find Kraft in his office, out and about on the mean streets of CRE, or in the kitchen, you’ll find him in Vermont snowboarding, or maybe watching a New York Rangers game at Madison Square Garden.
