Our Team

PRESIDENT & CEO

WILLIAM “BILLY” PROCIDA

William “Billy” Procida Founded Procida Funding and Advisors in 1995 and has financed, fixed and built over 3 billion dollars of buildings and companies. Procida manages the 100 Mile Fund which provides financing for commercial real estate projects and small to mid size businesses. His awards over the years include: Rockland County, New York Citizen of The Year New York City Developer of The Year National Home Builders Pillar of the Industry Award Institutional Investor Non-bank Lender of the Year Bronx Business Man of the Year New York Mortgage Bankers’ Man of the Year New Jersey Gold Coast Business Man of the Year American Jewish Congress Man of the Year Just to name a few He has lectured at Yale, Columbia, NYU, Saint Thomas Aquinas and a dozen more colleges. He has been a regular guest on CNBC, Fox Business and has appeared on every major TV network in the United States as well as networks in Japan, Russia and England. Billy has also been the subject of hundreds of articles from The Wall Street Journal to Der Spiegel in Europe. Billy is also an avid sponsor for multiple charities throughout the community such as Table to Table, Habitat for Humanity, Keep Rockland Beautiful and SHARE Africa to name a few.

CFO

ALLAN LAZAROFF

Mr. Lazaroff received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from Monmouth College in 1974. He also obtained a law degree (Juris Doctorate degree) from Northern Illinois University College of Law in 1978. Following college he joined the accounting firm of Touche Ross & Co. (now Deloitte Touche) where he worked in the accounting department for two years before going to law school.

In 1978, subsequent to graduating from law school, he rejoined Touche Ross & Co., as a member of the tax department where he remained until 2001 when he and Marc Reichman formed the public accounting and advisory firm of Reichman & Lazaroff (subsequently Reichman & Lazaroff LLC). Growing up in Queens New York he relocated.

CONTROLLER

ALI BETTS

Ali Betts joined Procida Funding in May 2011 as Controller. In her capacity, she is responsible for managing all aspects of the company’s accounting functions and, is an integral part of our investor relations function. Ali directly supports Mr. Procida with program and investor initiatives.

Prior to joining Procida, Ali served as Controller and Investor Relations for Palisades Financial reporting directly to the partners of the firm. In her 7 years working with Palisades Financial, her main focus was working closely with investors, accountants, banks, and auditors, managing two investment Funds (Palisades Regional Investment Funds [PRIF and PRIF II]. Ali’s diverse background is an asset in providing the personalized attention for our investors.

VICE PRESIDENT

MIKE COEN

Mike Coen joined Procida Funding and Advisors in June of 2015. Mike serves as Vice President of Loan Syndication and plays a key role in the syndication and distribution of the Fund’s loan portfolio. Coen facilitates in the underwriting, structuring, and execution of syndicated real estate loans seeking to maximize the Fund’s yield while mitigating risk. Mike continues to expand the investor base among banks, funds, and other investment partners.

Prior to joining Procida, Mike help manage a portfolio of distressed commercial and residential real estate assets at NRT REO Experts. Mike worked closely with other nationwide asset management companies servicing clients including JP Morgan Chase, Capital One, and Bank of America and generating a liquidation value of more than $670 million. Mike served as a key member of the division with $300 million in assets under management, directly overseeing 300+ loans.

Mr. Coen completed his Masters in Real Estate Development (MSRED) at Nova Southeastern University in addition completed NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate Professional Certification in Real Estate Finance.

VICE PRESIDENT

DEREK WEISSMAN

Derek Weissman is a Vice President at Procida Funding and Advisors responsible with overseeing the Asset Management Department. Since joining Procida in 2015, Mr. Weissman has been directly involved in the underwriting, closing and asset management of over $400 million of construction, bridge, and DIP loans. Currently, Mr. Weissman runs the Asset Management division and oversees a portfolio of over $250 million in assets consisting of ground up development, historical renovations, environmental clean ups, and much more. In his capacity as an Asset Manager, Mr. Weissman spends his time on site overseeing all aspects of a project which typically range from the development of the capital stack, predevelopment and construction oversight, marketing strategy and implementation through lease up to stabilization. Since 2015, Mr. Weissman has overseen the development and renovation of over 700 units in and the across the Northeast Corridor in addition to the development of over 1 million square feet of commercial space.

Recent Notable projects: The Met Philly- Historical Renovation; Divine Lorraine- Historical Renovation; Gulls Cove II- Ground Up development; Hudson Valley Brewery- renovation and brewery fit out; The Tower at Mural West- predevelopment approvals and zoning variance; RCA Victor Records Building- Environmental remediation and demolition.

VICE PRESIDENT

BRIAN FOLEY

Brian Foley joined the team full time as an Associate in May of 2016 after graduating with a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania with concentrations in Finance and Real Estate. Brian was also a member of Penn’s varsity swim and dive team, specializing in the backstroke.

Before coming to Procida, Brian interned at Advantage Futures, one of the highest volume futures broker in the industry, based out of Chicago. There, Brian learned key values in sales and trading.

At Procida, Brian worked on R.E.O. assets and distressed deals. Now, Brian leads Procida Funding’s Originations department.

 

Connect CRE’s 2021 Next Generation Awards

ASSET MANAGER

KYLE SMYTH

Kyle Smyth joined Procida Funding & Advisors as a full-time Analyst in July 2018 after graduating with a B.B.A. from the Villanova School of Business at Villanova University with concentrations in Finance and Real Estate.

Prior to joining Procida, Kyle interned with the firm in 2015 and 2017 as an Asset Manager for the Tallman project. In 2016, Kyle interned with Cerberus Capital Management in its Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities division as a member of its Asset Sourcing team.

Kyle is currently a CFA Level II Candidate.

ACCOUNTING

CAROLINE SMYTH

Caroline Smyth joined Procida Funding and Advisors in May of 2016. Caroline facilitates in maintaining accurate and well-organized financial data for the company. She supports Ali in investor relations for all 100 Mile Fund Shareholders. Caroline also provides support for her colleagues by helping them with situations involving the company financially. Before joining Procida, Caroline worked in both the accounting and hospitality fields giving her a versatile set of skills to bring to the Procida team.

ASSET MANAGEMENT

OMAR KHAN

Omar Khan joined Procida Funding & Advisors as an Asset Manager in April 2019. He, along with Kyle
Smyth, will Assist Derek Weissman in handling the day-to-day operations of the 100 Mile Fund loan
portfolio.

Prior to joining Procida, Omar worked for Descon, Pakistan’s largest Engineering and Construction
Company. Mr. Khan worked closely with the corporate strategy and business development team on
several multimillion-dollar projects ranging from grid stations to large scale hydropower plants.

Omar is a graduate of Texas A&M University. He was the Valedictorian of his graduating class, a member
of the chemical engineering honor society and a recipient of the dean’s honor roll and distinguished
student award.

Investor at Large

MARK JACOBS

Mark Jacobs founded K&M Newspaper Services, Inc in 1984. The company grew to supply equipment and services to over 500 newspaper publishers worldwide.

Through Alipress Realty, LLC he owned and managed real estate for the past 30 years. Currently, he sits on the following nonprofit boards: Montefiore Nyack Hospital, Montefiore Nyack Foundation, The Wartburg Foundation, Saint Dominic’s Family Services, YMCA of Middletown, Rockland County Pride Center, Center for Safety and Change, and Rockland Country Club Foundation.

Special Advisor

MAX ROSENBLUM

Max Rosenblum Prior to earning his MBA and Six Sigma certification from the University of Miami in 2003, Max’s Wall Street background in venture capital and managing over $100 million in private client investment portfolios paved the way to a now 25+ year career in Real Estate, Finance and Entrepreneurship.

With several executive level positions in development acquisitions, and both project and asset management, Max is a seasoned professional whose portfolio includes serving as Vice President of Acquisitions with The Trump Group of Williams Island in Aventura, followed by Multi-Project Operations and Strategic Management of over 1,200 condominium units located throughout South and Central Florida. Since 2006 and with sales volumes exceeding $200 million in Residential and Multifamily transactions, Max’s Orlando based Real Estate Advisory, Asset Management, and Brokerage operations have been recognized for their leading role in regional housing stabilization and specialize in Multi-Family Acquisitions, Repositioning and Management of market rate and distressed properties throughout Florida.

Max is a licensed Realtor and General Contractor in Florida. He has collaborated with Procida Advisors on multiple projects since 2008 prior to joining the team in 2020.

Originations and Due Diligence

NATHANIEL JOHNS

Nathaniel Johns joined the team as a full-time hire in August 2020 after completing two internships. Nathaniel will be assisting Vice Presidents Brian Foley and Mike Coen in all aspects of the firm’s Originations and Due Diligence capacities.

During the two summers he spent with us, Nathaniel aided the team by providing tri-state market analyses as well as analyses of current and prospective projects.  Additionally, Nathaniel created marketing materials and worked with senior-level employees to underwrite various investments.

Nathaniel graduated from Swarthmore College in May 2020 with a B.A. in Economics.  At Swarthmore, Nathaniel was a four-year member of the Swarthmore College Men’s Lacrosse Team and received Centennial Conference Academic Honors in three of his four seasons.