Burka named Freeman Companies director of operations
Carl M. Freeman Companies welcomes Neil D. Burka as director of operations. He joined Carl M. Freeman Companies in January, tasked with oversight of all commercial real estate operations. This includes the company’s owned portfolio as well as properties for which the company serves as a third-party manager.
Burka joined Carl M. Freeman Companies with a 25-year track record in retail and financial operations. He began his career as an owner and manager with a local restaurant group. During his 11-year tenure, he acquired and subsequently managed four restaurants in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, supervising over 90 employees and handling all aspects of the business including day-to-day operations, site selection, lease negotiation, cash flow analysis, and problem solving. He sold the units after 11 years to unrelated owners after enhancing value through higher sales and increased profitability.
“Now that Neil Burka has joined our team, we are positioned to move forward with our planned acquisitions and growth of our third-party management portfolio,” said Andrew Galbraith, senior vice president. “His depth of experience and knowledge of asset management and his core values are in step with those of the company and its operating philosophy.”
In 2003 he was named chief financial officer of PMM Companies Inc., a regional, privately held building maintenance company in Rockville, Md. At PMM, Burka maintained all fiduciary responsibilities and managed all non-operational departments including human resources, administration and technology.
Burka joined Federal Realty Investment Trust in 2009 as a regional property manager and was promoted to director of asset management in early 2014. Most recently, he was the operations manager for the phase 1 opening of Pike & Rose, a 3.5-million-square-foot urban infill mixed-use development coordinating construction turnover, residential move-ins, retail openings and property grand opening events.
He also had operational oversight of Bethesda Row, The Village at Shirlington, Rockville Town Square and a portfolio of grocery-anchored strip shopping centers. His focus throughout his employ was value creation. During Burka’s tenure, he initiated green projects focusing on trash recycling and reduced electricity consumption, and sought opportunities to enhance value through increased ancillary income.
Burka is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and Institute of Real Estate Management. He lives in Gaithersburg, Md., with his wife of 30 years with whom he loves discovering hole-in-the-wall restaurants and particularly enjoys Asian cuisine. Along with their two grown children, they enjoy traveling, hiking, cooking and summer barbecues.
For more information about Carl M. Freeman Companies and its diverse interests, go to www.freemancompanies.com or call 240-453-3000.
