Chairman and CEO, Related Companies LP, United States
Stephen M. Ross is the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Related. Mr. Ross formed the company in 1972 to develop, finance and manage government-assisted rental apartments. Today, Related is a fully integrated real estate firm with divisions specializing in development, acquisitions, finance, property management and sales. In the thirty-four years since launching Related, Mr. Ross has assembled a team of over 2,000 professionals, who oversee a real estate portfolio valued in excess of $15 billion.
Related is one of the nation’s preeminent developers of residential, retail and mixed-use properties. Related developed Time Warner Center, a $1.7 billion complex at Columbus Circle in Manhattan which opened to much fanfare in 2004. For the first time in a New York City development, a mixed-use complex combines office, hotel, retail, residential and cultural components at one location. Time Warner Center’s 2005 ULI Award for Excellence reads “this 2.8 million-square-foot, mixed-use project has provided the City with a landmark worthy of its unique location and with a hugely successful magnet for investment.” Through Related’s mixed-use development arm, Related Urban, several mixed-use properties are currently under development nationwide. CityPlace in West Palm Beach, Florida opened in October, 2000. Subsequently, in 2002 CityPlace won the ULI Award for Excellence in the Mixed-Use/Large-Scale category.
In New York City, Mr. Ross is widely regarded as one of the most prominent developers of moderate and luxury apartments. Related’s most recent residential projects include The Chatham, The Park Imperial, The Westminster, The Sierra, The Tate, The Westport, Tribeca Green, Riverwalk Place, Astor Place and One Carnegie Hill.
Mr. Ross began his career in Detroit, Michigan working for the accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand as a tax attorney. He later moved to New York where he specialized in real estate and corporate finance at two investment banking firms immediately prior to founding Related.
Mr. Ross graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and from Wayne State University Law School with a Juris Doctor degree. He then received a Master of Laws in Taxation from New York University School of Law. Based on a substantial gift in 2004, the University of Michigan renamed its business school the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
Mr. Ross is Chairman of the Board of Directors of both CharterMac (NYSE:CHC), the country’s largest financier of affordable housing and Equinox Fitness Clubs, Related’s most recent acquisition, and a director of Kerzner International. Mr. Ross is also Chairman of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), the city’s leading real estate trade association. As a member of the Board of Trustees of the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Mr. Ross was involved in the planning of a major renovation of the Frank Lloyd Wright iconic building and other new museums. He is a trustee of Lincoln Center, New York Presbyterian Hospital, the Urban Land Institute, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Levin Institute, the National Building Museum, and the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
Over the years, Mr. Ross has received numerous honors for his business, civic, and philanthropic activities. Most recently, he was named “Housing Person of the Year” by the National Housing Conference. In 2006, REBNY presented him with “The Harry B. Helmsley Distinguished New Yorker” award. In 2003, he received the “Jack D. Weiler Award” from UJA. Crain’s New York named Mr. Ross one of the “100 Most Influential Leaders in Business” in 2002. Mr. Ross was recognized by NYC & Company with their 2002 “Leadership in Tourism” award. Mr. Ross was the 2001 honoree for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Promise Ball. Earlier that year he received the “Henry Pearce” award presented by the Jewish Association for Services for the Aged. Mr. Ross was named “Owner & Developer of the Year” by New York Construction News in 2000.
