Susan Levine Joins Ramius As Managing Director And Head of Marketing & Product Distribution For Real Estate Funds
NEW YORK, Jul 11, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Ramius LLC, the global alternative investment management business of Cowen Group, Inc. (“Cowen”) (NASDAQ: COWN), today announced that Susan Levinehas joined the firm as aManaging Director andHead of Marketing & Product Distribution for the firm’s real estate investment activities, primarily through the RCG Longview investment platform. RCG Longview is a real estate investment company that is jointly controlled by Ramius LLC and The Feil Organization, a private owner/manager of residential, retail and commercial real estate in the United States. Ms. Levine will report jointly to Michael Boxer, Ramius’ Head of Real Estate, and Thomas W. Strauss, President and CEO of Ramius, LLC.
In this newly created role, Ms. Levine will be responsible forRCG Longview’s marketing and distribution initiatives, strengthening institutional relationships and generating increased visibility for the Company’s unique real estate platform and industry-leading real estate investment opportunities.
Ms. Levine brings a wealth of experience marketing real estate and alternative investments. Prior to joining Ramius, she was the Director of Business Development for Marshfield Associates, a Washington D.C.-based investment manager. Prior to this, Ms. Levine worked at Watershed Asset Management as both Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of Investor Relations and Marketing. Before that, she co-founded Quince Hill Partners, a Washington D.C.-based broker dealer where she co-led the firm’s efforts to raise capital for private investment funds, including a real estate fund sponsored by Ramius LLC. Earlier in her career, Ms. Levine held positions of increasing responsibility focusing on marketing and distribution at a number of other firms, including real estate firm J.E. Robert Companies. She also spent time in the U.S. government, including at the U.S. Treasury Department. Ms. Levineholds a B.A. with Distinction in Political Science from Swarthmore College and an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business.
Mr. Strauss commented, “Real estate investments have been a unique and integral part of the firm’s approach since its inception. As we continue to grow Ramius’ product portfolio, we believe we can benefit from having a focused real estate marketing effort, and look forward to Susan’s expertise and contributions as we grow this important business.”
Mr. Boxer noted, “We are confident that Susan’s strong relationships and extensive experience in business development will enable us to leverage our achievements in the real estate investment marketplace over the last 10 years by broadening our reach into segments of the institutional investor community not already familiar with our proven capabilities.”
RCG Longview provides unconventional financing solutions and operational expertise for real estate products and investments. As the primary real estate investment platform for Ramius LLC and The Feil Organization, RCG Longview has been successfully investing across the real estate spectrum since 1999 through RCG Longview debt funds and RCG Longview equity funds. RCG Longview has made more than 450 investments directly in, or secured by, $15 billion in assets, employing an owner/manager approach to each of its real estate activities. RCG Longview, on behalf of Ramius, is led by Managing Director, Michael Boxer, head of Ramius’ real estate-related investments.
About Cowen Group, Inc.
Cowen Group, Inc. is a diversified financial services firm and, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, provides alternative investment management, investment banking, research, and sales and trading services through its two business segments: Ramius and its affiliates makes up the Company’s alternative investment management segment, while Cowen and Company is its broker-dealer segment. Its alternative investment management products, solutions and services include hedge funds, replication products, managed futures funds, fund of funds, real estate, health care royalty funds and cash management services. Cowen and Company offers industry focused investment banking for growth-oriented companies, domain knowledge-driven research and a sales and trading platform for institutional investors. Founded in 1918, the firm is headquartered in New York City and has offices located in major financial centers around the world.
About Ramius LLC
Ramius LLC is a registered investment advisor that manages assets in a variety of alternative investment strategies and is the global alternative investment management business of Cowen Group, Inc. Ramius LLC is headquartered in New York City with offices located in London, Tokyo, Luxembourg and Munich.
SOURCE: Cowen Group, Inc.
Cowen Group, Inc.
Peter Poillon, 646-562-1983
Head of Investor Relations / Corporate Communications