Michael Alpert is the vice chairman of Ashkenazy Acquisition, a New York City-based firm that invests in retail and office real estate and says it has a portfolio of over 100 buildings worth $7 billion in all. Within the firm, Alpert focuses on acquisitions and dispositions as well as raising debt or equity, he told the New York Times in 2012. He has been a friend of Ben Ashkenazy, the firm's founder, chief executive and chairman, since high school. Before joining Ashkenazy, he worked in M&A and private equity activities. Alpert is the public face of the firm.