Ivan Kaufman is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ABR), a leading multifamily and commercial real estate lender and real estate investment trust. Arbor manages and services a $42 billion real estate loan portfolio and has originated more than $20 billion in loans since 2021. Arbor is recognized as a top lender by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Mr. Kaufman is also the co-founder of Arbor Multifamily Acquisition Company (AMAC), an investment firm created in 2012, which owns and operates over 12,000 units and has acquired more than $2.5 billion of multifamily properties across the country.
Mr. Kaufman has previously served as the chair of the Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission for the 10th Judicial District of New York, on the national and regional advisory boards of Fannie Mae, and on the board of directors of the Empire State Mortgage Bankers Association.
He has been named regional “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Inc. Magazine and has served as a regional spokesperson for Global ReLeaf, a program of the American Forestry Association. He has guest-lectured at Harvard Business School’s Real Estate Club, Columbia University, and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Kaufman’s broad philanthropic contributions include the recent establishment of Aish Aspire, a Jerusalem-based exploration of the foundations of Judaism, self, and spirituality for young women seeking to accelerate their Torah growth. He also founded the North Shore Hebrew Academy High School and has served on the board of trustees for the Birthright Israel Foundation. He holds a Juris Doctor from Hofstra University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Boston University.