Northwood Investors is a privately-held real estate investment advisor that was founded in 2006 by John Z. Kukral, the former President and CEO of Blackstone Real Estate Advisors. Northwood invests alongside institutional and private clients in a broad range of real estate and real estate-related investment opportunities globally, with over $3.5 billion of assets under management. Northwood invests across the capital structure, including debt, equity and securities investments. The firm invests in a range of real estate asset classes, including hotel, office, retail, residential and industrial properties. The firm's investment strategies include single property acquisitions, property development and redevelopment, multi-property portfolio acquisitions, joint ventures, operating companies and public and private securities. Northwood's investment strategy emphasizes capital preservation and incentive alignment between the firm's principals and investors. The firm focuses on long-term value creation and has the flexibility to make investments with a longer hold period than typical real estate opportunity funds. Northwood seeks to unlock unrealized value in its portfolio over time through execution and a hands-on asset management approach. The firm also owns management platforms to operate its hotel, retail and residential properties.
Multifamily |
Office |
Industrial |
Retail |
Hotels |
Real Estate Fund |
Equity syndication/Club Deal |
Pref/Mezz equity |
JV partnership |
Acquisition/Fee Simple |
Securities |
Value-add |
Opportunistic |
Erwin K. Aulis, Chief Operating Officer of Northwood Investors, has been active in the real estate investment management business for over 28 years. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Northwood, including asset management, capital markets, finance and control, investor relations and human resources. Mr. Aulis serves on Northwood's Investment Committee and is actively involved in the acquisitions process. During his career Mr. Aulis has been involved in approximately $20 billion of real estate transactions in the United States involving a wide range of property types in both the public and private markets. Mr. Aulis began his real estate career in 1985 at The O'Connor Group in New York and, prior to joining Northwood in May 2007, spent 10 years at Transwestern Investment Company, a Chicago-based real estate private equity firm. At Transwestern Investment Company, Mr. Aulis was the Chief Investment Officer responsible for the firm's acquisition, due diligence, asset management, and disposition functions. Starting in 1999, his primary focus was on the firm's series of discretionary investment vehicles, Aslan Realty Partners I – III, aggregating over $1.9 billion in committed equity capital. He served on the funds' Investment Committees, the Management Committee of the Transwestern Multifamily Partners investment fund, and the firm's Management Committee. While at O'Connor, Mr. Aulis established the firm's Los Angeles office in 1989. Shortly after his return to New York in 1994, he was named President and Chief Operating Officer of O'Connor Capital Incorporated ("OCI"). OCI, in joint venture with J.P. Morgan & Co., co-sponsored the Argo Partnerships I and II, two real estate partnerships aggregating $650 million in discretionary investment capital. Mr. Aulis served on the funds' Executive and Investment Committees and was also an Executive Vice President of The O'Connor Group and served on the firm's Executive Committee. Mr. Aulis is a member of the Urban Land Institute, the International Council of Shopping Centers and serves on the Kellogg School of Management's Real Estate Advisory Board. Mr. Aulis received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and his M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management.
Officer of Northwood Investors, has been an active real estate investor for over 30 years. Mr. Kukral serves as the Chairman of the Investment Committee and approves all commitments by the firm. During his career Mr. Kukral has been involved in over $40 billion of real estate transactions worldwide ranging from office buildings, shopping centers, hotels, and residential. Mr. Kukral started his career at JMB Realty Corporation in 1982 and, prior to founding Northwood in 2006, he was most recently (1994 to 2005) with Blackstone Real Estate Advisors where he served as President and CEO from 2002 until his departure in 2005. During his tenure, Blackstone Real Estate Advisors grew to become one of the largest and most successful real estate managers globally. He served as a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group from 1997 through 2005 and was a member of the firm's Executive Committee from 2000 through 2005. As a Co-Head, and then as President and CEO of the group, Mr. Kukral was actively involved in overseeing all investment activities of Blackstone's real estate funds including (i) the creation of five real estate investment partnerships with approximately $5.8 billion in discretionary investment capital; and (ii) the day-to-day management of Blackstone's 70-person professional, financial reporting, and support staff. In this capacity, Mr. Kukral worked closely with Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman and CEO of The Blackstone Group and John G. Schreiber, Partner and Founder of Blackstone Real Estate Advisors. Mr. Kukral spent three years in London, helping to open Blackstone's office and building its European real estate investing platform. In July 2001, the European team raised BREP International which at the time was the largest real estate investment fund dedicated to investing in Western Europe and Blackstone's first fund dedicated to non-U.S. investments, with over $1.0 billion of discretionary capital under management. Mr. Kukral is a Trustee of the Urban Land Institute, a Governor of the Urban Land Foundation, a Trustee of the National Jewish Hospital in Denver and former Chairman of the Savoy Group in London. He lives in Connecticut with his wife Karin and three children. Mr. Kukral received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Michael P. Sullivan has overall responsibility for financial reporting, tax compliance and property accounting. In addition to the financial aspects, Mr. Sullivan is responsible for treasury, budgeting, compliance, certain investor relations, and various other operational and administrative responsibilities. As Chief Compliance Officer, Mr. Sullivan oversees the maintenance and implementation of Northwood's regulatory compliance program as required by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Prior to joining Northwood Investors, Mr. Sullivan served as the Chief Financial Officer at J.C. Flowers & Co. in New York. Mr. Sullivan’s experience also includes financial reporting and control positions at Olympus Capital and The Blackstone Group as well as the audit and consulting groups in Ernst & Young LLP’s financial services office in New York. Mr. Sullivan is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Sullivan received his undergraduate degree from Villanova University and his M.B.A. from Columbia University.
Ross M. Cowan is responsible for sourcing and executing real estate equity and debt investment opportunities in the United States. Prior to joining Northwood Investors, Mr. Cowan was a Managing Director at Transwestern Investment Company, a Chicago-based real estate private equity firm. Since 1999, Mr. Cowan's primary focus was executing real estate investments on behalf of the firm's series of discretionary investment vehicles, Aslan Realty Partners I – III, aggregating over $1.9 billion in committed equity capital. Prior to joining Transwestern, Mr. Cowan was a project manager at the Trammell Crow Company where he managed office development and redevelopment projects. Mr. Cowan began his career as a project engineer with Philipp Holzmann/J.A. Jones. Mr. Cowan received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from North Carolina State University and his M.B.A. at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina.