Guest Speaker:
James-Robert Sellinger

Title: Finding job opportunities in troubled times, aka How I capitalized on distress.



National job losses and a slowdown associated with COVID has caused much anxiety from those in the job (or potential) job search process. Hear from a fellow FENG member (real estate SIG, Westport Chapter) who has faced similar upheaval during real estate industry downturns (Great Recession, Asian Contagion financial crisis of the late 1990’s and Savings and Loan (S & L) crisis of the 1980’s. James-Robert Sellinger will discuss current market conditions, his experience during these prior downturns working for buyers, sellers, and regulators dealing with distressed real estate and banking assets, and how FENG members can capitalize on their background, work relationships and contacts. How upheaval can be framed as an occasion for change and opportunity.

James-Robert Sellinger Bio
James-Robert Sellinger, Principal. Mr. Sellinger is a real estate executive with over 25 years experience in diverse institutional and entrepreneurial environments. James has a successful career in transactional commercial real estate and a track record in formulating creative financial structures within the capital, property and real estate asset markets. He has recently become interested in green housing and is involved in funding ground-up land development for senior housing properties as a Principal of SLD. James-Robert is also CFO and Partner in Built Environment, a benefits corporation committed to integrating sustainability and resiliency efforts to safeguard property, critical infrastructure and natural systems from the effects of climate change. As former Chairman of the Tenafly (NJ) Planning Board, he was instrumental in advocating its Green Agenda; sustainability and resilience efforts to alleviate storm water runoff.
His past positions have included Manager and Senior Underwriter at Merrill Lynch Mortgage Capital, Senior Director at the hedge fund Palisades Financial, Mortgage Banker at Northmarq Capital, and Manager with AT & T Real Estate. He has a B.B.A from University of MA, Amherst; an M.B.A. from Cornell University. Mr. Sellinger currently is an Adjunct Professor in the graduate program at the Schack Real Estate Institute, New York University.