Chuck Kohaut, 31

For many of our young professionals, it’s “New York or nowhere.” For Chuck Kohaut, however, it’s perhaps “New Jersey or nowhere.” After all, it was the Garden State that ignited his passion for commercial real estate.

Kohaut attended the University of Notre Dame and interned at Colliers before his final year. His job was walking New Jersey office buildings, seeing how landlords were utilizing spaces and taking note of the tenants drawn to them. “It was very much a ‘boots on the ground’ experience,” Kohaut said. “I wasn’t sitting behind a desk, and it gave me an appreciation for the real estate itself. I fell in love with it right away.” 

He spent six years at Colliers as an investment sales broker before being recruited by Cushman & Wakefield’s debt and equity team to help build out its New York metro business in March 2020. The timing was interesting — to put it lightly — but, while the world turned upside down during the pandemic, he leaned into learning the debt side. 

“It was an opportunity to broaden my skill set, which was hugely important to me,” Kohaut said, “but, moreover, I saw a massive opportunity in the market itself, where there were only a handful of teams covering the New York metro area and the suburban New York metro specifically. It felt like an open runway — and it’s continued to be that type of opportunity.” 

Kohaut’s played an integral role in multiple high-impact deals over the past four years, including the $275 million in debt and equity his team arranged for Turnbridge Equities and Manekin’s National Capital Business Park in Prince George’s County, Md. Apollo Global Management provided a $165 million construction loan in the deal, with the Qatar Investment Authority and PCCP teaming up to provide the equity. 

He also worked on two mammoth industrial portfolio refinancings for Ares Management Real Estate totaling $590 million across 32 buildings, showcasing Kohaut’s chops in managing large, national portfolio deals. 

As his career progresses, Kohaut has some simple yet sage advice for those starting out in the business: “Be yourself.” 

“There is a role for everybody in this business, and I think being true to yourself as to what makes you happy and what you’re good at gives you the best chance of being successful,” he said.