Stellar Names New Co-CEOs

After years of stewardship by the Gluck family, Stellar Management elevated two long-term internal employees to take over the company.

Stellar named Matthew Lembo and Ryan Jackson as co-chief executive officers of the firm, the Commercial Observer reported. Each of them had been serving as managing partners and had been with the firm for at least 15 years; they will start their next roles immediately.

“Matthew and I are aligned in our vision to build on the firm’s strong foundation while pursuing new opportunities for innovation and value creation across the business,” Jackson said in a statement.

For nearly 40 years, the company was run by Larry Gluck, who co-founded the firm with Steve Witkoff in 1985. They parted ways in 1997 when Witkoff became more interested in office properties and Gluck turned to multifamily properties.

Gluck died in June 2024 at 71 years old, 11 years after he was diagnosed with ALS. Since his death, his widow, Sandra, and oldest daughter, Amanda, have been leading the company.

“Having already served in leading the firm these past few years, they are exceptionally well positioned to drive Stellar Management into its next chapter and build on the firm’s continuing success,” Sandra said of Lembo and Jackson.

They are tasked with overseeing a portfolio of more than 13,000 apartments and 3 million square feet of office and retail space, largely centered in New York City. A few months ago, Stellar and co-owner City Urban Realty sold an apartment building in Dumbo to Hubb NYC Properties for $20.3 million.

Of more immediate concern, shareholders of a $400 million mortgage backing the Columbus Square shopping center on the Upper West Side filed a lawsuit seeking to foreclose on the property. The move came months after ownership — Stellar and the Chetrit Organization — defaulted on the debt at the outdoor shopping center, stretching from West 97th to West 100th Street on Columbus Avenue.

Chetrit and Stellar began missing monthly $1.9 million debt payments in August, according to a lawsuit. Chetrit promised to make good on the back payments and resume monthly payments after receiving a default notice in October, but failed to actually do so, according to the suit, leading to another default notice.

Ownership allegedly owed $370 million, including more than $7 million in interest and late charges, at the time of the lawsuit filing in January.

— Holden Walter-Warner