Vessel Technologies Establishes Powerhouse Advisory Board
Taps former Fannie Mae CEO Hugh Frater, other business leaders
to join its mission to reshape the failed housing economy
New York, NY – (August 2, 2022) – Vessel Technologies, the innovative, user-centric housing product developer, has attracted established leaders from the worlds of finance, real estate, and industry to advise the company in its drive to transform the nation’s troubled housing economy. Chaired by Hugh Frater, the former Fannie Mae CEO and a co-founder of BlackRock, Inc., Vessel’s Advisory Board shares the company’s commitment to revolutionizing the way in which homes are designed, manufactured, financed, and operated, so that each person has an equal opportunity for an extraordinary life.
In addition to Frater, Vessel Technologies Advisory Board members include: David Brickman, CEO, NewPoint Real Estate Capital and former CEO of Freddie Mac; Keith Anderson, also a BlackRock Co-Founder, and former Soros CIO; Brad Bernstein, Managing Partner, FTV Capital; Jonathan Bilzin, Co-CEO of Towerbrook Capital; David Blitzer, Founder & Co-Chairman, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment; Mark Booth, former Chairman & CEO, NetJets Europe and MTV Europe; Jonathan Fascitelli, CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment Real Estate (HBSE Real Estate); Matt Harris, Partner, Bain Capital Ventures; Jonathan Mechanic, Chairman, Real Estate Practice, Fried Frank; Ben Nickoll, Managing Partner, El Faro Partners; and, Gregory Rush, Founder & Managing Partner, Scarp Ridge Capital Partners.
“The opportunity for this great group of respected leaders to help shape what Vessel has created as a practical, innovative solution for our challenged multifamily housing economy is truly exciting,” said Advisory Board Chairman Frater. “One of our nation’s biggest challenges is housing affordability and especially rental housing affordable to those of moderate incomes who do not benefit from the subsidies provided to low and very low-income renters. I believe Vessel has the potential to address many of the challenges of creating affordable, equitable housing by looking holistically at the entire value chain in both manufacturing and operations and in so doing save money for renters. I’m honored to work with this talented, experienced team of thought leaders to support Vessel Technologies in changing the world for the better.”
Neil Rubler, Vessel Technologies Founder & CEO, said “Vessel’s mission is super ambitious, and I needed a dream team of the most brilliant minds around to help us navigate the challenges ahead. Every one of our Board members shares our commitment to finding a solution to the global housing affordability crisis. They’re all in.”
Vessel Technologies is a mission-driven housing product company focused on partnering with ‘hometowns’ to deliver aspirational homes for the “missing middle,” those who earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing and too little for current ‘market-rate’ options. Leveraging strategies borrowed from exceptional consumer product development companies, Vessel’s unique design incorporates the latest software-enabled technologies, sustainable building materials, and elegant aesthetics in apartments accessible to hard-working community members. Each Vessel property is operated by someone from the community – a vested Caretaker – who is trained and empowered to forge a career in the service of their communities and a pathway to economic opportunity for themselves and their families.
About Vessel Technologies Advisory Board Members
· Chairman: Hugh Frater - A former CEO of both Berkadia Commercial Mortgage and Fannie Mae, Frater is focused on the intersection of housing, finance, and social impact. He was a founding partner and served as Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc., which has grown to become the world’s largest asset manager. As CEO and Board Member of Fannie Mae, one of the world’s largest financial institutions, he led the company through the pandemic and championed the company’s efforts to make our housing financing system more equitable.
Currently, Frater is a Principal and Advisory Board Chairman at Shift Capital, LLC, and a Board Member at Hippo Holdings Inc. A Dartmouth College graduate with an MBA in finance from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business, where he serves on the Board of Overseers and is a member of the Real Estate Forum.
· David Brickman – Formerly CEO of Freddie Mac, Brickman is CEO of NewPoint Real Estate Capital and Executive Chairman of Meridian Capital Group, a leading commercial real estate services firm. He is also a senior advisor to real estate and financial services private equity firm Stone Point Capital. As CEO of Freddie Mac, one of the nation’s largest mortgage financing providers - where he also served as President and a Board Member and spent most of his career - Brickman led the $2 trillion company through transformative innovations in affordable and workforce housing offerings. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University, he was a professional lecturer at George Washington University, adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University, and is a non-resident Fellow at the Urban Institute.
· Keith Anderson – Prior to founding family investment office AGM, LLC in 2012, Anderson served as Chief Investment Officer for Soros Fund Management and its principal entity, the Quantum Fund. Previously he was Vice Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of BlackRock, Inc, which he co-founded in1988. Earlier in his career, Anderson worked in fixed income research at The First Boston Corporation and in portfolio management at Criterion Investment Management Company. The Nicols College and Rice University MBA graduate has served on key advisory committees for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
· Brad Bernstein – Bernstein is Managing Partner of FTV Capital, where he has been a growth equity investor for over 18 years, leading investments in enterprise technology and services, and financial services. With over 25 years of private equity experience, Brad was previously a partner at Oak Hill Capital Management where he led the business and financial services group. The Tufts University graduate began his career in the investment banking division of Merrill Lynch, then Patricof & Company Ventures.
· Jonathan Bilzin - Co-CEO of Towerbrook Capital, Bilzin also co-chairs its Portfolio Committee. He previously was a Managing Director at Soros Private Equity, and before that, served as a member of Goldman Sachs’ Principal Investment and Real Estate Principal Investment Areas. Bilzin earned his B.B.A. degree from the University of Michigan and his M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
· David Blitzer - Founder & Co-Chairman of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, Blitzer serves as Global Head of Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities group, an opportunistic investment business specializing in attractive risk-adjusted returns. He previously had been involved in the execution of Blackstone investments across a variety of asset classes, including establishing and leading Blackstone’s European private equity business. A Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania graduate, Blitzer serves on several academic, charitable, and advisory board. He and his wife Allison founded the Blitzer Family Foundation, focused on positive youth development opportunities.
· Mark Booth – A veteran media and aviation industry executive, Booth is the retired Chairman & CEO of NetJets Europe. During an accomplished career, he was founding CEO of London-based MTV Europe, and was founding CEO of Foxtel, a joint venture between New Corp. and Telstra. As CEO of BSkyB in London, Booth oversaw the launch of Sky Digital and led development of the “free box” strategy credited with revitalizing the company. Booth was also general partner of early-stage venture capital firm epartners. The University of Kansas graduate began his career at MTV Networks, where he held a variety of positions in the sales and marketing side of the business. Booth serves on several boards, including The Michael J. Fox Foundation and the Serpentine Gallery, London.
· Jonathan D. Fascitelli – CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment Real Estate, 76 Devcorp, DAE Development, and Wollman Park Partners. He guides HBSE Real Estate’s focus on large-scale mixed-use developments that help improve neighborhoods around the venues where HBSE’s platforms (Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, Loews Theater, Camden Practice facility, Prudential Center) are based. Fascitelli also serves on the board of Mosaic Development Partners and manages Blue Atlantic Capital, his family’s investment vehicle. The Harvard Business School graduate began his real estate career with Colony Capital, LLC.
· Matt Harris – A Partner at Bain Capital Ventures, Harris focuses on investments in financial technology and services. After five years at Bain Capital private equity, Harris founded Village Ventures in 2000, a firm focused on early-stage fintech investing. He returned to Bain Capital Ventures in 2012. A Williams College political economy graduate, Harris serves on several boards including GreaterNY, the New York Federal Reserve Fintech Advisory Group and the Partnership Fund for New York City. He also is the former Chair of the Board of the Williamstown Theatre Festival.
· Jonathan Mechanic – Mechanic serves as Chairman of Fried Frank’s Real Estate Practice, the largest, most powerful, and successful real estate legal practice in the United States. He has been recognized every year for more than a decade as America’s top real estate attorney by the Chambers guide. He served for five years as general counsel and a managing director for real estate developer HRO International, before he returned to Fried Frank in 1987 as a partner. Mechanic serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors for REBNY, chairs the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, and has been honored over the years for his philanthropic activities. A graduate of Brandeis University, he earned his JD from New York University’s School of Law, where he served as a Law Review editor. For over a decade he has taught real estate transactions at Harvard Law School
· Ben Nickoll – Nickoll runs El Faro Partners, a Family office investing primarily in Private equity and Real Estate. Previously, he co-founded and served as CIO of Ore Hill partners, an asset manager which was subsequently sold to the MAN Group. He began his career in the High Yield business at Lehman Brothers and later worked for Morgan Stanley as a Managing Director in charge of their High Yield Trading Department. Nickoll graduated from UCLA’s College of Honors where he currently serves on the boards of the Fink Center of Finance and Investments at the Anderson School of Management and the History Department. He also serves on the boards of Agrovision and Method Co.
· Gregory Rush – Rush is Managing Partner at Scarp Ridge Capital Partners, a firm he established in 2021 to focus on distressed, value-add and opportunistic real estate investments. With a focus on hospitality and senior housing, he started the SRC business through a predecessor entity, Rush Capital Partners. Rush previously was a Partner and Managing Director at Cadre, a data and technology driven real estate investment platform, here he led the investments team and co-headed acquisitions. He was also a Partner and Managing Director at Dune Real Estate Partners for over a decade. The University of Pennsylvania graduate with an M.B.A. with distinction from New York University’s Leonard Stern School of Business, Rush is a member of the Urban Land Institute and is Chair for the Urban Development and Mixed-Use Council (Green Flight). Earlier in his career he held roles at Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and Vornado.
About Vessel Technologies, Inc.
Vessel Technologies, founded by Neil Rubler, is a mission-driven, 21st century housing product company focused on reimagining the apartment building as a consumer product by creating exciting, sustainable, and user-centric housing at attainable prices. Vessel believes that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to an extraordinary life, which begins with access to a high quality, healthy, safe, and sustainable residence. Founded in 2017 and based in New York City, Vessel Technologies currently has over 10 projects under development throughout the Northeast.