Robert Emden joined Newmark Knight Frank as executive managing director in the New York headquarters in 2010. A highly distinguished name in the industry, best known for his extraordinary career in the Plaza District, Mr. Emden joins the firm with more than 39 years of experience in real estate and a dynamic team to match. Mr. Emden’s areas of expertise include both tenant representation and landlord leasing agency. Over the course of his career, Mr. Emden has negotiated more than $3 billion in lease obligations as a tenant’s representative and has delivered on a wide scope of achievements, including acting as receiver on foreclosure properties and buying and selling buildings.
Prior to joining Newmark Knight Frank, Mr. Emden led the Emden team for PBS’s financial services practice, recently completing nearly 70 transactions which represented over 800,000 rentable square feet. He specializes in representing high-profile real estate users, particularly financial services firms, law firms and retail tenants. At PBS, Mr. Emden cultivated important relationships, providing unparalleled access to New York’s most prominent tenants, landlords and developers.
Preceding his tenure with PBS, Mr. Emden served as the vice chairman of USI Real Estate Advisors, LLC, where he led the Integrated Tenant Services practice in New York.
Mr. Emden began his career at Edward S. Gordon Company (ESG). He joined ESG in February of 1972 as the first associate, becoming a vice president and, subsequently, a senior vice president and stockholder. Mr. Emden’s primary role entailed overseeing the firm’s leasing agency division. In this capacity, some noteworthy assignments included 450 Park Avenue, the Squibb Building at 40 West 57th Street, 800 Second Avenue, 1140 Avenue of the Americas, 900 Third Avenue, 599 Lexington Avenue and 5 Penn Plaza.
SELECT TENANT RELATIONSHIPS
- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer Feld
- Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria
- Bridge Information Systems Inc.
- Cyprus Amax, Inc.
- Dresdner Bank
- EisnerAmper
- Frank Russell Trust Company
- Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
- Guardian Life Insurance Company
- Hachette Book Group
- Hunton & Williams
- iStar Financial
- Messier Partners
- Michael C. Fina
- National Financial Partners
- Oakhill Partners
- Och-Ziff Management
- Peter Marino Arquitect
- PGI
- Prudential Reinsurance Co.
- Quadra Financial Group
- Reservoir Capital
- Ripplewood Holdings
- Sciens Capital Partners
- Shinsei Bank / JC Flowers
- Siris Partners
- Starwood Hotels & Resorts
- Stratus Technologies
- The Jordan Company
- Time Life
- TNS Global
- Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
- William AM Burden Co., LP
- Zelnick Media
- Ziff Brothers Investments
Mr. Emden is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York. He is also a trustee of the American Friends of Hebrew University and is active in the Israeli Bond Organization, the United Jewish Appeal and Concerned Parents for AIDS Research.
Mr. Emden graduated from Adelphi University and earned a diploma in financial analysis from the New York University Real Estate Institute.