Hirsh Fellows Endowment students

Hirsh Fellows Endowment

Supporting and Empowering the Future Leaders of Real Estate

The Hirsh Fellows program is supported by an endowment gift by NYU alumni Liz and David Z. Hirsh. Liz Hirsh received her MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business in 1994, and David Hirsh received his MS in Real Estate Development from the Schack Institute in 1990. He currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Schack Institute's Advisory Board, as a member of the NYU SPS Dean's Advisory Board, and as an adjunct professor.

David Hirsh headshot

About David Hirsh

David Z. Hirsh is a veteran real estate investor with more than 30 years of experience across all major real estate product types. Over the course of his career, he has completed in excess of $30 billion in transactions and established himself as an industry veteran in areas including asset management, asset sales and dispositions, lending, workouts, and restructuring.

Hirsh spent the last sixteen years with Blackstone’s Real Estate Asset Management Group, retiring in January 2018 with plans to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities. 

During his tenure at Blackstone, he oversaw day-to-day strategic management of Equity Office Properties, IndCor Industrial Properties, LXR Hotels and Resorts, and several investments in the retail and senior housing sectors. Additionally, from 2009 to 2012 David led the effort to restructure and extend the debt on numerous investments in Blackstone’s real estate portfolio.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Hirsh worked at Citigroup for 15 years, including six years in real estate asset management, where he led the company’s hotel group. Prior to that, Hirsh spent five years in corporate finance, and specialized in corporate real estate and project lending. Hirsh received a BBA in Accounting from Pace University and his MS in Real Estate Development from the Schack Institute. In addition to serving as vice chairman of the Schack Institute’s Advisory Board and as a member of its adjunct faculty, his civic and philanthropic commitments include serving as chair of the Thyroid Head and Neck Foundation, board member of Caring Kind (formerly served as a board member of the the New York Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association of America) and as a Pace University trustee.

You must apply and be accepted to the MS in Real Estate in order to apply to the Hirsh Fellows program.