Governance
Board of Directors
JAMES M. BETTER, CHAIR
Mr. Better has been a director of Merchants’ National Properties since 2002 and has served as Chairman since May 2010 and as a Member of the Dollar Land Associates, LLC Board of Managers since 2010. He is an Operating Partner of Kohlberg & Company, LLC, a private equity investment firm and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nellson Nutraceuticals, LLC, a Kohlberg portfolio company. Previously, Mr. Better was a Managing Director of Celerant Consulting, an operationally focused consultancy, and a General Partner of Capricorn Holdings, LLC, a private equity investment firm. Mr. Better is a graduate of Williams College and Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
CRAIG M. DEITELZWEIG
Mr. Deitelzweig joined Merchants’ National Properties, Inc. and its management and development arm, Marx Realty & Improvement Co., Inc. in August of 2017 as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Deitelzweig has been a director of Merchants’ National Properties, Inc. since March, 2019 and a Member of the Dollar Land Associates LLC Board of Managers since 2018. Mr. Deitelzweig brings over 20 years of diverse real estate experience to Marx Realty. Prior to joining MNP, he was a Managing Director and head of Asset Management at Building and Land Technologies, where he oversaw a diverse portfolio of office, multifamily and hotel assets across the United States. Prior to joining BLT, Mr. Deitelzweig oversaw the office division of Rockrose Development Corp., and previously led the leasing and asset management activities of the Ruben Company’s 4,000,000 square feet of retail and office space in New York, Washington, DC, and Boston. Mr. Deitelzweig is also an attorney having worked in the real estate group of Skadden Arps. Mr. Deitelzweig graduated cum laude from Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business and received his law degree from Fordham Law School.
LEONARD S. GRUENBERG, JR.
Mr. Gruenberg has been a director of Merchants’ National Properties, Inc. since 2006. He was formerly a Managing Director of Bear, Stearns & Co and JP Morgan Securities. He was previously a member of Dollar Land Associates, LLC Board of Managers and attended the University of Arizona.
JAMES MAGOWAN
Mr. Magowan has been a director of Merchants’ National Properties, Inc. since May 2017 and serves as Managing Director of Private Equity with responsibility for private capital raising transactions in real assets and operating companies at Deetken Capital LLC, an affiliate of Deetken Asset Management. Previously, Mr. Magowan held similar roles at Sutter Securities, Security Research Associates, and Johnson Capital (Walker & Dunlop). Mr. Magowan is a graduate of Harvard University and IMD International.
MARK MAGOWAN
Mr. Magowan has been a director of Merchants’ National Properties, Inc. since 2004, and was the Chairman from 2007 to 2010. He is President of The Vendome Press, a graduate of Harvard College and Oxford University. Mr. Magowan is the President of the Magowan Family Foundation and the Hellen Plummer Foundation.
RICHARD SCHOSBERG
Mr. Schosberg, a graduate of Cornell University, has been a director of MNP since 2017 and is Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Governance Committee. He has also been a director of many of the Marx Corporations for more than a decade. Richard is President of the Take2/Take The Lead Thoroughbred Retirement Program Inc. and Vice President of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, Inc. He chairs committees on governance, worker safety and housing, as well as thoroughbred aftercare and legislative issues.
JAMES A. STERN
Mr. Stern has been a Director of Merchants’ National Properties, Inc. since 2012. He is the Founder and Chairman of The Cypress Group, a NY based private equity firm and family office. He was previously a member of the Dollar Land Associates, LLC Board of Managers. Prior to founding Cypress in 1994, Mr. Stern was a managing director of Lehman Brothers and a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee. He serves or has served on the boards of Cinemark USA, Infinity Broadcasting, Lear Corporation, OHA Investment Corporation, RP Scherer Corporation, Two Harbors Investment Corporation., and Wesco International. Mr. Stern is Chairman Emeritus of Tufts University and served as Chairman from 2003-2013. He is a board member of several charitable organizations including The Jewish Museum, WNET and The Cancer Research Institute.
JOHN USDAN
Mr. Usdan has been a director of Merchants’ National Properties, Inc. since 1998. He is the CEO of Midwood Investment & Development, a company originally started by his grandfather in 1925. He has amassed 3.5 million feet of real estate in 10 states and the District of Columbia. Mr. Usdan’s philanthropic interests are primarily focused on education and the arts. He is a Trustee Emeritus of Wesleyan University, a Trustee of Brooklyn Academy of the Arts, Board President of the Usdan Center and a member of the Hastings Center Board of Directors. Previously Mr. Usdan served as Chairman of the Board of Brandeis International Business School, Board President at Bronx House, Chair of Wesleyan’s Capital Campaign and on Ascena Board of Directors.
MATTHEW MAGUIRE
Mr. Maguire has been a director of Merchants’ National Properties, Inc. since 2019. Matthew K. Maguire is President of Loeb Partners Realty LLC. He has over twenty years experience in commercial real estate. At Loeb, Mr. Maguire has been responsible for the asset management of an approximately 3.2 million square foot portfolio of major office properties, as well as identifying acquisition opportunities for the firm. Prior to joining Loeb in 2005, Mr. Maguire was Senior Vice President of the NYC Economic Development Corporation, where he served as the City’s lead negotiator of discretionary incentives for job creation and office construction and was responsible for development and implementation of the City’s post-9/11 business recovery and redevelopment efforts. He has a master’s in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and is a graduate of Dartmouth College.
Committees
Nominating & Governance Committee
- Leonard S. Gruenberg, Jr. (Chair)
- Richard Schosberg
- Mark Magowan
- Matthew Maguire
- James M. Better, ex officio
Audit Committee
- Richard Schosberg (Chair)
- Mark Magowan
- Matthew Maguire
- James M. Better, ex officio
Compensation Committee
- James Magowan
- James Stern
- John Usdan
- James M. Better, ex officio