Joe Azrack

Chairman

Azrack has been a member of the Little Compton community since he met his spouse, Abigail Congdon, over 45 years ago. In 2015, Joe was appointed by Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo as the Chairman of the Providence, Rhode Island I-195 Redevelopment District Commission, in which capacity he served until 2019. Joe is a member and past Chairman of the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), and a member and former Trustee, Officer, and Director of the Urban Land Institute. Joe has served on the not-for-profit boards of I Have a Dream Foundation, NY Live Arts, the De Cordova Museum and Sculpture Park, and Forest Trends, among other organizations.

Joe has over 30 years’ experience in real estate investment, management, and development. He is the principal owner of Azrack & Company, a real estate investment and advisory firm. Previously, he was the Chairman and Managing Partner of Apollo Global Real Estate Management (NYSE: “APO”). At that time, he was also Chairman and CEO of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE: “ARI”). Prior to Apollo, he was Chief Executive and Chairman of AEW Capital Management, as well as serving as the lead investment partner for numerous investments in public and private real estate operating companies and partnerships.

Joe is Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business where he created the curriculum for and taught Real Estate Entrepreneurship. He is a member of, and for many years chaired, the Columbia Business School’s Millstein Center Real Estate Advisory Board.

He holds an M.B.A. from Columbia University and a B.S. from Villanova University. He is also a graduate of the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative.