MANAGEMENT
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Ben Wacksman

Don Wallace

Ben Wacksman

Ben Wacksman is President of Capital Realty Investors, LLC., a real estate acquisition and investment firm based in Tampa, Florida. Capital Realty Investors acquires commercial properties throughout Florida and the Southeast. Mr. Wacksman has led the firm from inception to a portfolio of over 1 million square feet that includes office, industrial, retail and hotel properties. He serves as Chairman and CEO of the Radisson Bay Harbor Hotel and is the managing member of its ownership group. In the past five years, Mr. Wacksman has completed acquisitions, dispositions and financings of over $100 million. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Ivy Realty Trust, a private Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) based in Houston, Texas.

Before forming Capital Realty Investors, Mr. Wacksman served as a Hillsborough County Commissioner, appointed by former Florida Governor Lawton Chiles in 1998. As Commissioner, Mr. Wacksman oversaw a $2.3 billion dollar budget affecting over 900,000 residents and held policy responsibility for economic development, transportation, land use and zoning, along with healthcare, tax policy, environmental protection and social services. As Commissioner, Mr. Wacksman proposed innovative programs for streamlining government for better efficiency and was a leading advocate for environmental protection, responsible community planning, economic development, law enforcement and consumer protection.

In 2000, Mr. Wacksman received the EDDIE (Excellence in Education) award from the Hillsborough County School Board and the Hillsborough County Education Foundation for his creative leadership regarding education issues. Mr. Wacksman received the "40 under 40" award from The Tampa Bay Business Journal and West Coast Junior Achievement which recognizes emerging leaders in Tampa Bay's business community. The Tampa Bay Business Journal's "Who's Who in Tampa Bay Business" selected Mr. Wacksman as one of Tampa's top business leaders.

Mr. Wacksman is a graduate of Leadership Florida's Class XXII and serves on the Board of Advisors for the University of Florida's Center for Real Estate Studies. Mr. Wacksman serves on a variety of community Boards in a volunteer capacity including Tampa Bay Partnership, Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP) and is Chairman of the Florida Riverwalk Exchange, a cooperative statewide venture to promote the planning of Riverwalks to open the waterfront to the public and pedestrian use.

Mr. Wacksman received a bachelor's degree with honors from New York University and a master's degree from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs where he was a Stetton Scholar. He is a graduate of Harvard University's "Running a Real Estate Company Program", which is a joint program of Harvard University, the Urban Land Institute and the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks.

Mr. Wacksman, his wife, Emy, and their son, Aiden, live in Tampa.