Leading Voices in Real Estate

Leading Voices in Real Estate


Ken Bernstein | President and Chief Executive Officer of Acadia Realty Trust

August 24, 2020

In this episode, Matt discusses the retail sector with Ken Bernstein, President and Chief Executive Officer of Acadia Realty Trust. Ken talks about the fundamental reworking of the sector due to what he terms the “Retail Armageddon,” a trend that was taking place well before Covid. They also discuss the long-term trends of retail and the additional impacts Covid may have on the retail sector. Acadia Realty Trust specializes in the acquisition, redevelopment, and management of retail properties with an ownership interest in over 100 properties totaling approximately $4 billion in value.


Ken co-founded Acadia in 1998. Acadia is also the manager of a series of discretionary institutional acquisition funds. Acadia is currently investing on behalf its Fund V, which is capitalized to acquire $1.5 billion dollars of retail properties.


Along with his responsibilities at Acadia, Ken is a past Trustee of the Board of Trustees of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and served as the 2017/2018 Chairman. Ken served as Chief Operating Officer of RD Capital until its merger with Mark Centers Trust in 1998, creating Acadia Realty Trust. Prior to that, Ken was an associate with the New York law firm of Battle Fowler, LLP.


Ken received his BA from the University of Vermont and his JD from Boston University School of Law. In addition to being a member of the World President’s Organization (YPO-WPO), where he was the founding chairman of the Real Estate Network, he currently sits on the Board of Advisors. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Golub Capital (NASDAQ:GBDC).