About Us

KOR Companies is a leading, diversified real estate investment and development company that has built an enviable reputation in the New Jersey real estate marketplace. For more than twenty-six years, KOR Companies has continuously built a track record of excellence that stands as a testament to the company's deep talent base, passion for quality and dedication to performance.

To date, KOR Companies has built in excess of $450 million in real estate--earning numerous awards and accolades from its peers, partners and customers. Whether developing for its own portfolio or creating value for third-party clients, KOR Companies places customer satisfaction above all else.

The cornerstone of KOR Companies' success is the ability to consistently create value over a wide span of product sectors. In office, retail, industrial and residential development, KOR Companies' vast internal resources and proven expertise enables the Company adapt to changing market conditions and economic cycles. Driven by the pursuit of quality and bottom line execution, KOR Companies is able to create opportunities where others see only obstacles.

A hands-on developer with an unyielding focus on being a good responsible citizen, KOR Companies adheres to a "win-win" business strategy that guides every endeavor it undertakes.



KOR Companies Management Team


Harry Kantor
President and Chief Executive Officer

Since establishing KOR Companies in 1999, Harry Kantor has successfully directed the fortunes of the Company, helping to make it one of the leading real estate investment and development companies in New Jersey.

With over 30 years experience as a builder-developer in New York City and New Jersey, Mr. Kantor has developed KORs strategic and operational focus, overseen the Company’s growth in both urban and suburban residential and commercial development, and has driven the KOR Companies’ diversification into brownfield redevelopment, asset management, and industrial business park development.

Mr. Kantor, the first American-born member of a family of Holocaust survivors, was educated in the New York City public school system. He spent one year at Baruch Business School, then decided to follow his future wife, Wendy, to Israel, where he spent four years at Haifa University.

Mr. Kantor has created a company that is truly a collaborative environment. Employees, contractors, vendors and professional consultants enjoy mutual success by embracing the “Kor” values that define the Company - “Leveraging our collective knowledge base, and experience, we define ourselves by the projects we have built, are building, and plan to build.”

No where is that statement more evident than within the Company’s current development holdings. They include over 2,500 suburban residential units, 500 urban high-rise units, almost 1.2 million square feet of retail and commercial, and an additional 1.8 million square feet of industrial.

Mr. Kantor’s professional affiliations include being an NAIOP Governer, Trustee for NAIOP Research, former Officer of the New York City Builders Association, member of the National Association of Home Builders “20 Club,” member of the National Urban Line Institute, and a participant in the “How to Run a Real Estate Company” Harvard School of Management.

In addition, Mr. Kantor has been married for 36 years and has four children, two that have married, and a son-in-law in the business. He enjoys skiing, fly-fishing and biking at his residences in Windham, N.Y., and Jackson Hole WY. Harry and Wendy also participate in various philanthropic endeavors.

Paul J. Ciesmelewski, CPA
Chief Financial/Operating Officer

Paul Ciesmelewski is a dynamic leader who is responsible for all financial aspects of KOR Companies, ranging from analysis of acquisitions to temporary and permanent project financing to monitoring of cash flow and construction costs. Tapping into his more than 25 years experience in the increasingly competitive environment of real estate financing, Mr. Ciesmelewski is responsible for coordination of day-to-day operations, banking relationships, and all cash flow and tax forecasting for the company.

Prior to joining KOR Companies in 2005, Mr. Ciesmelewski was employed by Edison Properties, Newark, N.J., for over 15 years serving in various executive positions, including Executive Vice President of Operations, Chief Financial Officer and Controller. Mr. Ciesmelewski was credited with helping the company grow to over 500 employees with 60 properties and attaining annual revenues in excess of $100 million.

Mr. Ciesmelewski’s previous experience also includes a tenure as the General Manager of Accounting for Seiko Corporation of America; Senior Auditor of Coopers Lybrand; and Senior Tax Account for the Edison Parking Corporation.

Mr. Ciesmelewski earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Accounting from Rutgers University in 1982 and has been a Certified Public Accountant in New Jersey since 1985.

William D. Rogove
Vice President
President of Residential Division

With over 30 years experience successfully directing operations for multimillion-dollar residential and commercial projects, William D. Rogove serves as Vice President of KOR Companies and President of the Residential Division. As part of the KOR senior management team, Mr. Rogove is responsible for all operational aspects of the Company’s industrial and residential construction projects.

His duties include involvement in projects’ approval process, coordinating and testifying at public hearings, plan and bid reviews, examination and evaluation of job specifications, due diligence investigations, and varied other responsibilities with construction.

Prior to his position at KOR Companies, Mr. Rogove was the Vice President of Construction for 68 Construction, a division of Vintage Communities in Holmdel, N.J. Mr. Rogove also served as Senior Project Manager at SGS Communities/D.R. Horton, Manalapan, N.J. As the Director of Construction for The Matzel & Mumford Organization in Hazlet, N.J., he helped increase sales volume by improving construction management and communications, reporting, and accountability within the company.

Mr. Rogove has also served as District Construction Manager, Residential Development Group, at the Kaplan Organization in Edison, N.J.; Vice President of Construction for Yaencda Enterprises in Wayne, N.J.; and Vice President of Construction for Leisure Technology; a publicly traded company, where he managed and developed the company’s retirement communities in New Jersey.

Mr. Rogove is a licensed building inspector and building sub-code official in New Jersey, and is a member of the zoning board for Freehold Township, N.J. He served as a Trustee of the New Jersey Shore Builders for nine years; where one of his duties was sitting on the State Codes Committee. In this role, he regularly interfaced with the DCA and other State leaders of the Construction Industry. Mr. Rogove was also appointed in April 2005 to the NAIOP National Business Development Park Forum. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Alfred University in New York.

Patricia Schlaefer, MIRM
Vice President of Marketing & Sales

With over 30 years as a new home sales and marketing specialist, Patricia Schlaefer is responsible for developing sales and marketing strategies for KOR Companies residential division. Additionally, Ms. Schlaefer is involved in all aspects of merchandising, design and advertising, as well as hiring and training the company’s expert sales professionals that promote and sell KORs outstanding new home communities.

Ms. Schlaefer, who brought her expertise and success in new home sales to KOR Companies in 2006, is a licensed real estate broker in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Since 1983 Patricia has been a member of the Institute of Residential Marketing, a prestigious marketing designation from National Association of Home Builders. She has earned the “Living with Diversity”
certification from the The National Association of Realtors.

During her career, Ms. Schlaefer has been recognized for her outstanding achievements, earning a myriad of awards that include a National Sales and Marketing Silver Award from NAHB for her work at the Chestnut Hill Condominiums in Staten Island, N.Y.; a NJSBA “SAM” for sales and marketing for her work at the Premier at Burke Hollow, Jackson, N.J.; and a Weichert Realtors “Top Sales Associate New Home Sales” award for the entire Monmouth/Ocean Counties region. She is also a nine-time recipient of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce’s sales and marketing award of excellence for various new home communities.

Prior to joining KOR Companies, Ms. Schlaefer was the Owner of Schlaefer Associates Marketing & Sales; Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Paramount Homes in Jackson, N.J.; and Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Vineyards Residential Group, also in Jackson.

Ms. Schlaefer is also a member of the New Jersey State Builders Association and a member of the Builders League of South Jersey Sales and Marketing Committee, and the Task Force Committee for South Jersey. She has also served as a judge for the NJSBA “SAM” Awards, Builders League of South Jersey “MAME” Awards, and Long Island Builders Association “LIBI” Awards.

Theodore M. Holod
Controller

With a pro-active and results-oriented mindset, Controller Mr. Holod executes a large spectrum of accounting, purchasing and operational functions for KOR Companies. Mr. Holod optimizes his 15 plus years of experience in accounting and financial management to improve efficiency, as well as the accuracy and timelines of financial information.

Prior to joining the company in 2004, Mr. Holod served as an Internal Auditor for Automatic Data Processing (ADP) in Princeton, N.J., where he improved the account reconciliation and reporting process as well performed audits in all areas of operations and parts of corporate accounting. From 1994 until 2002, Mr. Holod was an Internal Auditor and Associate Vice President for Goldman Sachs Asset Management in Princeton, N.J., where he oversaw the operations department for various hedge funds by managing the daily reconciliations of commodity, security, and fixed asset accounts. He also led his department through Y2K testing and multiple fund restructurings.

Mr. Holod earned a Master of Business Administration from Rider University in 1999 and a Bachelor of Science from The College of New Jersey in 1993.