President and Co-Founder
The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group
Simon Ziff serves as president of Ackman Ziff, a position he assumed in 1995. Since joining the firm as an analyst in 1989, Simon has overseen the firms arranging of over $50 billion of debt, mezzanine and equity financings for some of the nation’s foremost real estate developers and owners while solidifying the firm’s relationships with key capital sources. Simon has engineered the firm’s collaborative culture which functions as a magnet for financial talent. He has directed its evolution as an industry thought-leader with over 30 professionals on the team.
Simon received a B.S. in Finance from Pennsylvania State University, and an M.S. in Real Estate Finance from New York University. In May 2002, New York University awarded Simon its second ever distinguished Real Estate Alumni Recognition Award. He has also been recognized on multiple occasions by the Real Estate Board of New York, including as the first recipient of its Most Promising Commercial Salesperson of the Year Award” and six times as the recipient of its “Most Ingenious Deal of the Year award. Simon has also been active in leadership of many not-for-profit organizations.
In January 2012, Simon received the prestigious Louis Smadbeck Broker Recognition Award from the Real Estate Board of New York in recognition of his positive influence on the real estate brokerage industry over the past 17 years.
