NewOak Capital, an investment advisory and asset management firm in Manhattan, announced Wednesday that it has named Amy Levenson managing director and chairman of the company’s newly formed commercial real estate loans and properties capital markets group. The new business unit will offer one-stop structuring and execution solutions for entities looking to dispose or recapitalize real estate and related assets and loans. Asset types include REOs, CMBS, CLOs, CDOs, whole loans, mezzanine debt, and stable to busted individual properties or pools of properties. Members of the team have real estate capital markets and sales experience, along with real estate and securities licenses. They also have established relationships with hedge funds, private equity funds, banks, insurance companies, and REITs, as well as access to experienced developers, MAI appraisers, and construction consultants.

Levenson herself has over 25 years’ experience on Wall Street, primarily at Goldman Sachs and previously at Barclays Capital. At Goldman Sachs, she divided her tenure between institutional bond trading and sales to the hedge fund and insurance industries. Levenson’s multi-decade relationships with the hedge fund community and experience as head bank note trader at Goldman Sachs will enable NewOak Capital to provide coverage on both sides of the real estate asset trade, the company said. Additionally, her brief tenure as managing director at Grubb and Ellis gives her insight into integrating real estate and capital markets to provide clients with a broad range of solutions. Levenson holds a master’s degree in finance from Columbia Business School and a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University. “Professionals who have worked with Amy know that her level of energy, integrity, and desire to help the clients is unmatched,” said Ron D’Vari, CEO and co-founder of NewOak Capital. “We are glad to have Amy lead our team of experts focusing on real estate capital markets solutions.” Shad Quraishi, vice chairman and head of NewOak Capital’s business development, added, “Given the dislocation in the commercial real estate securitization and lending markets, we believe that this business represents one of the most significant opportunities to create liquidity by providing creative solutions.”