Benjamin Bouganim, 27
Senior associate at Cushman & Wakefield
Growing up in Sunny Island Beach, Fla., just north of Miami, Benjamin Bouganim found himself drawn to real estate, interning and working for both residential and commercial shops during his time at the University of Florida. But the pull of Manhattan was undeniable. When rumors of a gig in New York reached him in 2019, he cold-called brokers at Cushman & Wakefield, sold himself, and has been working up North ever since.
Focused on office leasing, Bouganim was drawn to the analytical side of the work. There’s emotion in commercial leasing, like in any area of real estate — but, for him, it comes down to advising clients and thinking five or six steps ahead to fashion a long-term strategy.
He’s recently signed a number of deals in the Financial District and for law firms and coworking companies. That includes working with colleagues to close a number of deals for flex provider Industrious, landing them new boutique space post-CBRE acquisition, including 20,000 square feet at 560 Lexington Avenue in March, 27,630 square feet at 860 Broadway in April, and a 24,000-square-foot deal at Trinity Church in May.
Bouganim has taken to negotiating like some of the lawyers he’s found offices for. He said during one negotiation for the firm Cole Schotz, which led to a 32,128-square-foot lease at 1325 Sixth Avenue, he played hardball to convince the landlord to come to the table and make a deal — one that eventually included concessions and tenant improvement packages.
While Bouganim has started to advance in his career, he remembers starting out in June of 2020, when he was traversing the eerie, empty, pandemic-cleared streets. He feels like he’s still in the trenches today.
“Even as I progress, I relate to the guys starting out who are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and eager and excited,” he said. “And I think that’s a beautiful thing.”
