Ryan Tiger, broker of record for Livingston-based Punia Co. LLC, is set to step down as president of the Industrial & Office Real Estate Brokers Association after a one-year term. — Photo by Aaron Houston for Real Estate NJ
By Joshua Burd
Ryan Tiger — fresh into a career pivot from advertising — recalls what was likely more than a suggestion by his father when he joined the family’s commercial real estate firm in 2011.
“The first thing I was told when I came here was, ‘You’ve got to join IOREBA,’” he said, referring to the nearly century-old Industrial & Office Real Estate Brokers Association. He did exactly that, despite knowing nothing about the organization, and would quickly become an active member as he settled into his role with Livingston-based Punia Co.
Thirteen years later, Tiger is finishing his term as IOREBA’s president, a year in which the group continued to provide value to its members through networking opportunities such as its annual Developers Night in Teaneck. The event, which took place in late March, drew more than 250 attendees to the Teaneck Marriot at Glenpointe for what is one of New Jersey’s most popular commercial real estate events, with a program that features leading owners, brokers and other professionals.
Tiger saw it as a sign of the industry’s continued health and of IOREBA’s enduring role in the state’s commercial real estate sector.
“The main goal of IOREBA is always to try to bring people together in the real estate community under a real estate setting,” he said. “Face time is very important in the industry, and these events help to facilitate that face time.”
Tiger, who serves as Punia Co.’s broker of record, spearheads leasing and management for the firm’s portfolio of commercial and residential buildings in the tristate area. That gives him a clear view of market trends such as the robust demand for medical office space. Punia also sees steady interest in its corporate office properties with spaces ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 square feet, catering to tenants that are right-sizing and downsizing, he said.
The 68-year-old firm has about a dozen partners or employees spread across offices in Livingston and Bridgewater, he said, calling it a “small, lean and mean shop (that) does a little a bit of everything.”
“I knew one day I’d be involved in the family business,” said Tiger, who also does third-party brokerage for landlords and tenants. That move to Punia came in 2011, when he was seeking a change after two years as an advertising strategist for clients such as PepsiCo.
His involvement with IOREBA led to his election to board treasurer in 2020, as the organization sought to infuse its leadership with younger professionals. Since taking over as its president last spring, his main goal has been “maintaining the ship and the camaraderie among the board members,” in addition to managing its calendar of events. That slate had included everything from an axe-throwing event in January — a new addition for 2024 — to the upcoming golf, tennis and pickleball outing in June that will mark the end of Tiger’s term.
A continued focus, he said, is to draw a younger crowd to the event and to recruit them as members. One challenge is that entry-level brokers and professionals are often cash-strapped, but IOREBA feels that having strong events can make the difference.
That makes programs like Developers Night, typically the first major commercial real estate event of the spring in New Jersey, ever so critical for IOREBA.
“Word of mouth is really the number one way we get more people involved,” said Tiger, who will be succeeded as IOREBA president by The Aztec Corp.’s Kurt Kalafsky. “And then, when they hear about the events and they hear there were 200 people there from development companies and banks, they should want to be involved in this.”
The same is true for the association’s other major events — its annual holiday party and its spring golf outing — which are notable in that they draw diverse crowds of professionals. Aside from brokers, IOREBA’s membership and event attendees include everything from attorneys and architects to contractors and environmental consultants.
“There’s a nice mix of occupations within the same industry that are there,” Tiger said. “And everyone just wants to create business for themselves and each other. So if that’s the goal for everyone, then I think we’ve created an environment that allows that to flourish.”
