Komal Sankla.
Komal Sankla, 26
Senior Associate at Blackstone
Komal Sankla joined Blackstone about four and half years ago and has since helped close $5.4 billion in commercial real estate debt transactions, mostly in New York City.
The University of Michigan alum has been tied to deals such as the $1.25 billion debt package on L&L Holding Company and Columbia Property Trust’s redevelopment of the historic Terminal Warehouse in West Chelsea, which closed in the summer. Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies (BREDS) and Goldman Sachs combined to originate that loan.
“It’s a testament to the strength of our business in a period of disruption,” Sankla said, adding that she has about another $1.5 billion in debt deals through the BREDS platform that she is involved in and set up to close by the end of this year.
The Terminal Warehouse deal, with its historic status, hit close to home with Sankla. One of the first real estate transactions she was involved with in New York, while interning for a small development company one summer while in college, was for a single-family rental conversion of a landmarked property in Brooklyn.
The work she did on that historic Brooklyn property sparked a passion for commercial real estate. Sankla said she acted as a “sponge” throughout the whole process, working with the team to get landmarks approvals for the project and working with the architect through the design processes.
“[That] historic conversion in Brooklyn made me appreciate the scale with Terminal Warehouse,” she said, adding that BREDS leaders Michael Eglit and Katie Keenan have been instrumental in teaching her about the business and helping her grow in her role since joining in June 2017.
Prior to Blackstone, while still enrolled at Michigan, Sankla worked summer analyst stints at 522 Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs.
Sankla was also the only woman of 60 students in a commercial real estate elective class, and she takes real pride in being engaged in outreach and advocacy efforts around making the commercial property sector more inclusive. She was a president of Michigan Business Women while in college, and she’s involved in a Blackstone Real Estate diversity and inclusion task force that works to grow and retain minority talent.—M.B.
