Sharif El-Gamal

Chairman & CEO at Soho Properties

Speaker

Sharif El‐Gamal is a New York City real estate developer. He is the founder & CEO of Soho Properties, a Manhattan‐ based real estate and investment firm. With over 20 years of experience in New York City real estate, Sharif has a broad array of expertise in real estate investment and has been involved in the acquisition and disposition of over two million square feet of space including the management and construction of hotel, multi‐family, office, retail, and residential developments. Sharif founded Soho Properties in 2003 with the intention to invest and develop residential and commercial real estate projects and has made an impressive mark on the New York City skyline. Sharif is responsible for overseeing the complete operations of the company, including identification, evaluation and execution of projects and investments. He also spearheads strategy on all ongoing asset management and disposition of investments. Sharif pinpoints and capitalizes on market opportunity, constantly looking for the next prospective project.

Born in Brooklyn, Sharif returned to his roots after spending time in Liberia and Egypt, leading him to enter commercial real estate in the late 1990s. Prior to Soho Properties, Sharif built a firm to oversee the asset management of a residential portfolio of mixed-use buildings and retail stores in New York City. Additionally, he advised international and institutional investors in the acquisition and sales of office and residential properties in New York City.

In 2003 he received his real estate broker’s license and soon after bought his first loft building in Soho. From there Sharif established himself as a real estate man and has been heralded as a brand name in the New York City real estate market. In 2009 Sharif secured property at 45 and 51 Park Place, adjacent to the World Trade Center, which is currently under construction to become a 700-foot luxury condominium skyscraper and the Islamic Museum of New York respectively and arranged for the largest Shariah-compliant facility in the history of New York with Maybank, the largest financial institution in Malaysia.

Notably, Sharif is also the developer behind the Margaritaville Resort, turning one of the “last untouched corners of Times Square” into a 32-floor and 324-room hotel nestled in Midtown Manhattan. Since its opening in July 2021, the resort was named “Best New Hotel” in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. This complex deal also included negotiating to build a new synagogue for the Garment Center Congregation.

Sharif incorporates a variety of philanthropic activities into his life, including helping non‐profit organizations find and purchase properties in addition to assisting them with investment advice and equity sourcing. He is currently a board member of Stella Adler and Search for Common Ground, and the Chairman and a founding member of IM-NYC.

In addition to Sharif’s background in real estate development and his philanthropic endeavors, he is a founding investor of Desert Technologies, a Saudi Arabian company originating, developing, and managing power projects and PV manufacturing operations across the entire value chain of solar energy. In 2021 he also cofounded Game Square, a technology business reimagining how people game with a fully integrated IRL and digital skills gaming platform offering cash prizes to competition winners.

A charismatic and sought-after public speaker, Sharif has appeared in national and international media such as NBC, BBC, CBS, CNN, NPR, MSNBC, NY1 and BBC. He has been quoted in the New York Times, New York Post, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, The Real Deal, Financial Times, ABC This Week, USA Today, BBC News Radio and Associated Press. He was also honored by NBC as one of the People of the Year in 2010.