Bio: Peter Boritz
As a record starter in his college wrestling team, there was never any doubt that Peter Boritz had the gumption to succeed in life, but by tapping into a raw nerve in the real estate industry he has propelled his company to the forefront of the information technology sector.
“Playing sports taught me to be competitive, face challenges and to aim for success; that translates into business,” said Boritz, president of Real Data Management, a technology and consulting firm that services over 500 million square feet of real estate nationwide.
“Companies were so scared of technology five years ago, a lot of them didn’t even have email, but what’s happening now is that technology in companies is almost like a requirement.,” Boritz explained.
That’s where RDM comes in. As real estate firms set about outsourcing many of their technological needs, the firm has spent the last 25 years building a client roster, one real estate company at a time, by providing the high-tech services that allow companies and property owners to achieve maximum operational performance from any portfolio.
Those services can range from marketing and management programs, to web-based document management, to accounting integration. The firm offers property due diligence to owners and developers as well as area calculations and property plan books. It solves problems keeping floor plans up-to-date and provides reminders for lease review, maintains building archives and updates portfolio information, all at the touch of a button.
The company has completed projects in over 1,500 buildings around the country and has played a role in some of the biggest real estate transactions in US history. When global brokerage Cushman & Wakefield was retained to arrange the sale of 666 Fifth Avenue for a record $1.7 billion late last year, RDM was called in to utilize its expertise analyzing available rentable square feet.
Boritz admitted that’s been a big portion of the company’s work this year, as buyers ;ppl to capitalize on every inch of available space, but he added, “This can’t go on forever, but at the moment that part of the business is very busy.”
When developer Leviev Boymelgreen, was selling his 14 Wall Street recently, RDM carried out due diligence for the buyer that also helped determine their decision to ultimately purchase the office building.
While the multi-billion dollar sales with which RDM has been involved are indicative of a market at its most dynamic, Boritz himself has been on the fast-track since a very young age.
He recalled, “I started a leaf-raking and snow shoveling business in my neighborhood when I was a kid and hired my friends to do the work. At 10, I told my parents that snow and leaves were going to make me a millionaire.”
He earned a business degree at the State University of New York, in upstate Oneonta, then went to work as a commercial broker at GVA Williams. While he had an obvious flair for the intricacies of real estate, it wasn’t until he met his future father-in-law, Donald D. White, the CEO of RDM, that Boritz found an avenue for both his passion for details and his drive to succeed.
“I wanted to be actively involved with the clients but have the entrepreneurial leadership, and this company was perfect for it,” said Boritz.
When he joined the 25-year old firm in 2001, RDM had already established a name for itself among the city’s pioneering brokerages, but Boritz explained, “There were a lot of challenges we had to face. We had three employees and the company didn’t have any marketing tools.”
Boritz helped RDM develop its marketing capabilities abilities and built a website that, along with its client list, has helped elevate the firm to the next level in real estate technology. As Boritz explained it, “Keeping one foot in the present and the other in the future” has helped the firm, and by extension, its clients, stay one step ahead in the high-stakes world of real estate. The next phase in the evolution of the firm will be national expansion, according to Boritz, who added, “We need to be able to provide for our clients wherever they are, so expanding our platform to toher major cities is important.
“Everyday is something new, which is my motivation.”
