Keen-Summit Capital Partners LLC (Keen) and our parent company, Summit Investment Management LLC (Summit), announced today that we have jointly hired David Levy, CCIM, a leading commercial real estate expert, to open our new joint Chicago office, expanding our growing presence in the Midwest. We saw the need for a bigger presence in the Midwest where our business is enjoying tremendous growth. Levy, who has a deep bench of experience in distressed assets and structured, sealed bid, and auction sales, was vice president of a Chicago-based real estate firm.
Harold Bordwin, Keen’s Managing Director and Co-Principal, noted that the pandemic and the chaos it wrought in commercial real estate markets created an urgent need for the expertise our firm offers in real estate workouts, lease restructurings, real estate dispositions (brokerage and auctions), real estate investment banking, and fiduciary services.
Levy, a Chicago resident, is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), the commercial real estate’s global standard for professional achievement. In his new role with Keen and with Summit, he will be responsible for all aspects of business development and execution in connection with the company’s distressed debt acquisitions and opportunistic credit transactions, plus real estate brokerage and auction, investment banking, and lease modification and restructuring services.
“Chicagoland is a core market for both Summit and Keen,” notes CJ Burger, Summit’s President & CEO. “With restrictions on travel and meetings affecting businesses, we’re excited to have David in-market to help us to continue to grow and offer our expert services to a wider number of clients.”
At his prior firm, Levy engaged in business development for structured sales (M&A, sale-leaseback, “call-for-offers”), sealed bid sales, and auction processes as a solution for parties nationwide interested in divesting real estate and real estate-based businesses. He also provided financial advisory services with a focus on the gas station and convenience store and franchised restaurant sectors.
“As a seasoned professional in the real estate restructuring industry, I have long admired Keen-Summit for their technical expertise and proven abilities to handle wide-ranging assignments nationwide,” says Levy. “I have similar respect for Summit Investment Management for the solutions they bring to Special Asset professionals and their unique understanding of underlying asset values,” he adds. “I am excited for the opportunity to open the Chicago office and expand both platforms.”
David Levy earned his MBA from Miami University, where he also received a BS in Marketing. He holds both the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) and Certified Auctioneers Institute (CAI) designations, making one of fewer than fifty professionals in the United States to hold both. He is a frequent speaker and moderator on real estate restructuring programs, a member of the Turnaround Management Association Chicago/Midwest Board of Directors, and has held various leadership roles on the American Bankruptcy Institute Real Estate Committee.
He lives in Chicago with his spouse and two children.
