Rick Rakow
President & Chief Executive Officer
For over 26 years, Rick has assisted businesses locate, lease, buy and sell commercial real estate in Fairfield County. During his first 10 years in commercial real estate, Rick exclusively represented an owner of over 2,000,000 square feet of commercial space.
As an owner representative, Rick identified a growing trend among the more sophisticated tenants – they employed tenant representatives to provide negotiation services that allowed them to achieve better terms. Rick capitalized on this trend by opening one of the region’s first commercial real estate firms focused on tenant representation. Today, he runs the largest commercial tenant advocacy firm in the region.
Rick has provided successful tenant advocacy services for:
- Large Firms – The Better Business Bureau, Benjamin F. Edwards & Co., Hertz, illy café North America, Wittnauer International, Bay Networks, Bank of New York, IBM, Motorola, Castle Oil Corp., Ampacet Corporation, Sprague Energy, SKCG Group, Inc., Environmental Power Corp, Stonebridge Partners, U.S. Energy, Borg Warner, and State Farm Insurance, among others.
- Local firms - The Business Council of Westchester, AKRF, Gage-Babcock Associates, Micro Powders, Inc., Chriss Careers, Ltd., Community Mutual Savings Bank, Guaranteed Home Mortgage Corporation, Harvey Ginsberg & Co, CPA, Hospice & Palliative Care of Westchester, Deitch Media Management, Inc., Proftech Corp., Pure High Net Worth Insurance, Red Oak Transportation among others.
- Law firms - Kissel, Pesce, Hirsch & Wilmer LLP, Fair FitzGerald & Hershaft, P.C., Beck Liebman Petrone, PC, Steinberg & Cavaliere, LLP, Hoffman, Wachtell, Koster & Maier, LLP, Jones Hirsch Connors & Bull, LLC, Hankin, Hanig, Stall & Kaplicki LLC, Marshall, Conway & Wright, P. C., Colangelo & Goldenberg, LLP, Watkins & Cherneff, Steven Sundheim, Esq., Law Offices of Freedman & Baer, and Milde Hoffberg, PC among others.
- Medical tenants - The Westchester County Medical Society, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Dermatology Consultants of Westchester PLLC, Scarsdale Physical Therapy & Sports Rehabilitation Services, Inc., Primary Care Cardiovascular Associates, Chester Pediatrics, Russell Kamer, MD, Partners in Safety, Craig Fern, MD, Shore Management, Healthcare Radiology and Diagnostic Systems, PLLC, Hudson Valley Pediatrics, Kevin Plancher, MD, Ira Levine, DDS, and Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.
Rick has been directly responsible for successfully completing several hundred transactions. Annually, his firm assists approximately 100 commercial real estate tenants.
While the primary focus is tenants, Rick and the team at RakowGroup have also represented many landlords, such as Benerofe Properties, The Beekman Estate, Amcott Associates, Buckingham Properties, WP Mall Realty, North Street Community, LLC, Cohen Brothers Realty, Stillman Management, Broadway Freeform, Marli Hartsdale, Polymer Management Associates, Reggie Pink, LLC and more, lease and sell properties.
Craig Ruoff
Managing Director
Craig Ruoff is a strong tenant advocate with over 18 years of commercial real estate experience.
Widely known for his ability to devise creative solutions for his clients, his expertise, loyalty and tenacity make him a successful deal maker and exceptional client representative.
Craig’s personal credo “I look to the decade – not just the deal” embodies his goal of protecting clients’ long-term interests. This philosophy and his dedication to providing superior client support help Craig serve his clients throughout market cycles, relocations and renewals.
Craig has represented many of the area's largest and most prestigious local, national and international companies, including: Allegiance Telecom; Beringer Blass Wine Estates; Bernard C. Harris Publishing Co.; Boardroom Inc.; Bresnan Communications; Burnham Securities, Inc.; Central Lewmar; CNA Insurance; DiLapi & Co. PC; Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc; Littman Krooks, LLP; Lowestloan.com; Macsteel; MBIA; Metzler USA, Inc.; Optum Software; Oracle; Reliable Floor Supply; Sanders Smith LTD; Secundino Services Inc.; Shinkensha USA Inc.; Stewart Title Insurance Company; The Dannon Company; The Devereux Foundation; The Judicial Title Insurance Agency; The Oberman Companies; The State Insurance Fund; Travelers; Unistar Federal Credit Union; WARC; Worby Groner & Edelman; World Travel Partners BTI; and many more.
Paul Haight-Moulins
Associate
Paul Haight-Moulins, the RakowGroup’s industrial specialist, facilitates the sale and leasing of a diverse range of industrial properties from manufacturing installations, office buildings and development/conversion sites.
Among his most recent transactions in Fairfield County is 30,000SF manufacturing facility acquisition in Bridgeport, CT. Paul is passionate about helping people and building long-lasting relationships. He brings finely tuned experience and its natural bi-product, confidence, to every deal. In leasing, he provides creative strategies to reach the most favorable transaction. When representing a seller, his belief is that, “Most agents just put your building on the market; I create the market for your building.” Paul’s list of clients includes: illy café, Reggie Pink Harley-Davidson, Inc.; Activant Solutions; Ad Edge, Inc.; Bow Tie, Inc.; Data Matrix Technologies; Energy Services of New York Corporation; Fantastic Sam’s Hair Salons; General Bronze Corp.; Gen Gen, Inc.; JPR Mechanical, Inc.; Kintronics, Inc.; Morse Business Machines, Inc.; My Sister's Place; NorStar CGI, Inc.; NRS Logistics Inc.; Perfecto Distributors, Inc.; PW Hardwood, LLC; Spindletop, LLC; Strocchia Iron Works, Inc.; Tracie A. Sundack & Associates, LLC; U.S. Security Associates; Universal Remote, Inc.; and Westhab, Inc..
Born and raised in Canada, Paul has lived and worked in the Fairfield market for seven years. Before becoming a real estate professional, he was an air ambulance pilot and commercial airline pilot. He is an avid supporter of several local charities, including My Sister's Place, the Maria Ferrari's Children's Hospital and Westhab, Inc.
David Richman
Associate
David Richman is an experienced, knowledgeable resource in the office, retail and industrial sectors, with a proven track record of excellence. He has received several awards for his extensive leasing activity, including the Mack-Cali Broker of the Year award for the most transactions by an individual.
David has successfully negotiated close to 200 leasing transactions during his seven years in the business. Many of these transactions had David representing existing tenants on lease renewals, as well as on relocations.
Whether a 100,000 or 1,000 square foot tenant, David gives every client the full benefit of his experience. His list of clients includes:
- Office Clients - 3TP Imaging, AmLaw Discovery, Another Step, Concept: CARE, Credit Clearing House, Delta Trade USA, Double G Entertainment, Clay Finlay, HCP Packaging USA, Holistic Healthcare of Westchester, Klapper & Fass, Laurus Advertising, Law Offices of Linnea J. Levine, Madison Approach Staffing, Medical Media Services, Media Options, Overseas Japanese Family Medicine, Red Oak Transportation, Rivertowns Pediatric Dentistry, US Security Associates, Union Rehabilitation and Acupuncture, and Zadrima, Djonovic & Gojcaj, LLP
- Retail Clients - Black Belt Taw Kwon Do of Mt. Kisco, Comic Book Heaven, Community Mutual Savings Bank, The Complete Golfer, Gymtime Place, Natural Selection Furniture, Schakolad Chocolate Factory, Sip N Supper, The Voracious Reader, Trotters Restaurant, Unistar Federal Credit Union, and Woodshed Unfinished Furniture.
- Warehouse/Industrial Clients - Art Yarns, Atlas Coatings Corp., CP Communications, Certified Appraisal, Hoboken Floors, Westchester BMW, Woodshed Unfinished Furniture, and XCitement.
David also has experience representing owners leasing or selling property. Clients have included - Amcott Associates, The Beekman Estate, Crossroads Management, Group 5 Limited, TRAM Properties, TS, LLC, Silverman Realty Group; Stillman Management; Ventresca Realty Corporation; Wilrock Management; and WP Mall Realty.
