About Biff Ruttenberg

Biff Ruttenberg has 48 years of retail development, redevelopment, management, and leasing experience.  His real estate background, including mortgage banking, construction, real estate brokerage and lending experience, has contributed to Mr. Ruttenberg’s years of successful business projects and relationships. He holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

He is the president of Atlas Partners, LLC, a real estate services firm focusing on consulting to asset-based lenders, institutions and other users of commercial space.  It specializes in workouts, turnarounds, dispositions, and maximizing the value of difficult properties. The company’s registered slogan is “The real estate department for companies that do not want to be in the real estate business…but are.”®. Affiliates of Atlas Partners also acquire distressed debt and operating businesses.

Mr. Ruttenberg is also the president of Lakewest Equity, Inc., a Chicago-based developer and owner of retail properties and his has holdings in Illinois and five other states.  Affiliates of Lakewest Equity also invest with other developers as an equity partner.

Biff is an active member of the Turnaround Management Association and is a former member of its executive committee and board of directors. He is also active in the Chicagoland Association of Shopping Center Owners where he is a vice-president and director and the International Council of Shopping Centers. Professional designations include Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP), Certified Shopping Center Manager (CSM), Certified Leasing Specialist (CLS) and a member of the first group of Certified Retail Real Estate Professional (CRRP).

His philanthropic memberships include groups at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, TN.