Gil Tenzer

 

Gil Tenzer, co-founder of Contrarian Capital Management and head of its real estate investments, has been a dear friend to IDC Herzliya for years and now serves as chairman of the board of trustees of the American Friends of Reichman University. Mr. Tenzer earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with Cum Laude honors, from Georgetown University in 1984 and currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the McDonough School of Business. He earned his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business in 1987.


Following his studies, Mr. Tenzer worked for leading American real estate investor Arthur G. Cohen, and was responsible for the analysis, financing, acquisition, merging, restructuring and asset management of a diverse investment portfolio, ranging from real estate and aviation to restaurants and manufacturing industries. In 1993 Mr. Tenzer joined Oppenheimer & Co. as senior analyst and co-head of the High Yield Real Estate Group focused on distressed real estate and corporate debt investments. Two years later, along with two partners, he co-founded Contrarian Capital Management, with Mr. Tenzer assuming leadership of the company’s real estate investments.


As part of his role, he has been responsible for sourcing, managing and coordinating the disposition of Contrarian’s real estate investments. He has also served on several creditor and unofficial bondholder committees. For the past 19 years the firm has continued to manage primarily institutional capital from its Connecticut headquarte​rs. The company also has offices in Paris, Brazil and Hong Kong. In 2007, Mr. Tenzer dedicated the Atara Kaufman Auditorium at the Arison-Lauder Building, named for his late mother. In 2008 Mr. Tenzer established the Mimi Gishuri Scholarship Fund for Israeli and Ethiopian students attending Reichman University in honor of his great aunt. In 2012, he dedicated the Atara Kaufman Chair in Real Estate at the Radzyner Law School, with aim of bolstering the Reichman University’s position as a leading center of excellence in the field of real estate.