Denholtz taps Silverstein exec as CEO

New Jersey-based investor Denholtz Properties has a new chief executive, its first from outside the founding family.

Katie Kurtz, who was previously co-chief investment officer and chief financial officer at Silverstein Properties, has joined the commercial real estate investment and development company as CEO, the firm announced.

Kurtz replaced Steven Denholtz, whose father started the company seven decades ago. Denholtz will continue on as chairman. Kurtz will also take over the daily responsibilities of Stephen Cassidy, the current president, who will now serve as managing partner.

“Katie does really represent, in our minds, that next level of succession,” Cassidy said. “She brings a wealth of experience from an institutional background and we feel can really continue the progress of the company that we’ve developed over time.”

Cassidy said his children are still in college and Denholtz’s children work in other industries, so they looked for someone from outside the family to take over the day-to-day operations of the 120-person firm.

“Katie is somebody we’ve come to know over time,” he said. “She is aligned with our value system. We are a big small company and very entrepreneurial. As we came to know her, she really is aligned with that entrepreneurial spirit, she understands what we’re about.”

Denholtz specializes in the acquisition and development of ground-up multifamily, industrial and office properties. The Red Bank, New Jersey-based company has $2 billion in assets under management.