Our Team

Ishay [pronounced ee-shy] is the Founder and President of Rental Beast. After spending 13 years working in the real estate industry, Ishay saw the need for a comprehensive online platform that would help tenants and landlords navigate the rental experience. Starting in Boston, Ishay spent over seven years perfecting the Rental Beast database, gathering millions of listings and developing influential industry relationships to create a unique and tailored user experience for landlords, property managers, tenants and brokers. Today, Ishay guides the strategic direction of the organization, leading its expansion throughout the U.S.

Prior to launching Rental Beast, Ishay worked as a real estate agent and then a sales manager for a boutique real estate firm in New York City. Ishay has experienced every facet of the residential real estate transaction firsthand and is all too familiar with the challenges faced by landlords and tenants at various stages of the rental experience. Ishay made his first real estate investment in South Boston, and later became a developer and a landlord in the area.

Ishay served as a Combat Officer for the Israeli Defense Force, and it was there that he learned the importance of good decision making and developed his skills at formulating and executing great strategies. He spent the last 10 years involved in building and helping the Jewish community in Wellesley and Weston, Mass. as the president of the Wellesley Weston Chabad. He is also currently a member of the RHA, NAA, CAA, PAA, Greater Boston Real Estate Boston, Boston University Coalition and other associations.

Ishay spent too much time over the past six years perfecting his golf game but it’s still far from perfect! He is an avid runner and to offset that habit, his drink of choice is good whiskey or scotch along with a great cigar. Ishay grew up in Haifa, Israel and currently resides in Natick, Mass.

Shmuel Freeman is the Vice President of Business Development for Rental Beast. Shmuel has over 10 years of business development experience from across the pond and from coast to coast. Today, Shmuel helps accelerate the development of the Rental Beast database across Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, D.C. and beyond. He provides support for newly formed teams and local managers, and has played a pivotal role in the expansion of Rental Beast’s vision nationally. As the company grows, Shmuel is responsible for identifying new opportunities and maintaining the quality and transparency of Rental Beasts’ services across all areas of operation.

Shmuel has developed a proven track record in revenue generation and business development in various industries. One might say that Shmuel has learned a thing or two about how to negotiate a deal and provide unparalleled client service.

Prior to taking on his current role at Rental Beast, Shmuel worked as a Senior Business Development expert in the technology industry and shortly thereafter, he worked as Vice President for a financial services company in California, where he provided expert financial advice to clients for nearly 10 years. Shmuel grew up in London, England and graduated from the Rabbinical College of America in 1992. He currently resides in Sudbury, Mass. where, as an avid snowboarder, he roams the slopes of New England.

Josh is the Vice President of Operations at Rental Beast. He brings a broad range of experience in operations, finance and technology to help implement the company's strategic vision and manage its national expansion, while ensuring the continued quality of the customer experience.

Prior to Rental Beast, Josh worked at FastCloud, holding senior management roles in operations, finance and client service. During this period, Josh worked closely with FastCloud customer Rental Beast, witnessing its impressive growth and transformation into the go-to provider of apartment search data and tools. Before FastCloud, Josh oversaw product and operations at Back9Links (acquired by ClubSoft NA), which provided software to the Private Club industry. Josh began his career at Morgan Stanley, where he helped start and grow a multi-billion dollar asset management business.

Josh received a BA from Rhodes College, where he studied abroad at Oxford and was on the golf team. He earned his MBA from MIT.

Josh has been engaged in varied pursuits, including: helping students prep for standardized tests, collaborating on dynamic pricing algorithms for Broadway and a brief stint writing trivia questions. Josh grew up in North Carolina and enjoys cooking and golfing.

Harald has 30 years of experience spanning most of the high tech industry. Throughout his career he has spent most of the time being a trailblazer and entrepreneur, leading companies into new products and markets by ways of identifying needs, specifying new products, and leading the engineering teams.

Today Harald is creating a future oriented IT platform for the Rental Beast application by taking advantage of the cloud, and adding the required business continuity configuration and scaling capabilities. Add to this the streamlining required to simpler interaction and data exchange with Rental Beast partners, and setting the platform and application up for strategic future capabilities.

Before Rental Beast Harald wrote the product specification and lead a team developing integrated disaster recovery for a fault tolerant computer platform at Stratus Technologies. While at Acopia Harald identified the need for, wrote the new product specification, and added the infrastructure required to do data protection for a file system virtualization appliance. At Network Appliance Harald represented the company for three years on the SNIA Technology Council, lead the development of the NDMP v4 specification together with collaborators from more than 10 other companies, lead the company into a deeper strategic involvement in SNIA, and designed and implemented several new product features.

When not thinking about Rental Beast Harald spends his time playing competitive tennis, exercising his mountain bike in the woods around Nashua NH, telemark skiing, preferably together with his two sons, and cooking good food! Harald was a good soccer player once, has coached his sons soccer teams, and would like at some point to coach soccer again!

PJ is the Director of Client & Partner Services. In this role, PJ works with our broker and agent clients to ensure their success. PJ and his team handle client onboarding, ongoing client success and all aspects of client service. PJ also oversees ongoing support for Rental Beast’s strategic partners.

Prior to this role, PJ served as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Director at Rental Beast. Before that, PJ was the General Manager of Rental Beast’s Philadelphia operation. During this time, PJ gained hands-on experience working with some of Rental Beast’s largest clients, helping these brokers and agents successfully leverage Rental Beast to build and grow profitable leasing businesses. Prior to joining the Rental Beast team, PJ worked as a consultant at Grindstone Advisory.

PJ graduated from Bentley University with a degree in Economics and Finance. In his free time, PJ enjoys walking down the right side of golf courses and mastering the art of grilling. PJ is a passionate Boston sports fan.

Emily is the Director of Training and Education. She brings her extensive experience as a curriculum developer and educator to develop and oversee all Rental Beast training and education initiatives. She is excited to connect the worlds of real estate and education to make Rental Beast agents the best prepared agents in the industry.

Prior to working at Rental Beast, Emily has a long history of working in education as a teacher, curriculum developer and coach. Most recently, Emily was Dean of Instruction at KIPP Academy. In this role, she was responsible for teacher performance, including curriculum development, coaching and evaluation. Before KIPP, Emily was Deputy Director for Education Inc. In this position, she trained teachers who were working with students in hospital settings by creating observation protocol, professional development and curriculum programs. Emily was a founding English teacher at the Academy for Software Engineering, a public high school in NYC. During this period, she was a mentor teacher through the Urban Teacher Residency program, a curriculum writer with New Visions and a model teacher through the NYC DOE.

Emily received her BA in English and MS in Education from Fordham University. In her spare time, she loves to read anything she can get her hands on. She has dual citizenship with Ireland and travels there frequently. After years of city living, she loves to get away to Portsmouth, NH and Portland, ME for some peace and quiet on the weekends.

Richard is the Mid-Atlantic Regional Director and General Manager.

Prior to joining Rental Beast, Richard worked for CoStar Group/Apartments.com for twelve years. He began managing a local research team and eventually took over his department, becoming the Senior Director of a large, multi-national team of researchers that serviced both commercial and residential real estate markets.

Prior to CoStar, Richard served in the United States Army as an Infantry Squad Leader. It was this experience that gave him the tools required to lead by example, make decisions based on all data available and formulate actionable plans.

Prior to joining the Rental Beast team, Jose worked for the high-rise division of FirstService Residential, one of the largest property management companies in North America. Starting in a frontline role as a front desk manager at a luxury high-rise Jose sharpened his community association and hospitality skills. Within a year he was promoted to the corporate coordinator role for the downtown Miami region. In this role, Jose wore many hats and attended to a portfolio of over 36 high-rise properties throughout Miami. He spearheaded the launching of a Service Culture for the area, which included creating property specific training initiatives for each of the properties, quality assurance visits and standardization and reporting back to regional senior management. Jose also led a team of eight Area Specialists that supported the staffing of properties for FMLA purposes. A net promoter score (NPS) survey of community boards revealed that Jose’s largest business unit had the highest score in the country. He also maintained the lowest employee turnover in his department with all employees leaving his team to promotions within the company.

Jose is a Miami native and graduated from Miami Dade College with a degree in management, and earned his MBA from Florida International University. He is a member of NSHMBA and is a huge Florida State fan. In his free time Jose enjoys offshore fishing, free diving, working out or relaxing with his Dachshund by the pool.

Spencer is the Regional Director and General Manager for Rental Beast in Dallas, Texas. In this role he is focused on developing the Rental Beast brand and providing the most up to date and complete information on rental properties for the entire DFW market.

Before joining the Rental Beast team, Spencer was an integral part of the leadership team and launch of the US Operations and Content groups for a global food discovery app and website. He also spent many years in Operations as a Senior Manager and Director with a global contact center outsourcing company that delivers innovative, quality-driven, customer service solutions, across multiple industries. Upon relocating to the Dallas area from Denver and opening a new office he built an award winning team from the ground up working with a global streaming service.

When Spencer has free time he's an avid backyard BBQ enthusiast and is constantly inviting friends over to try something new he's thought up and wants to try out. Some of his other hobbies include classic car shows, watching as many movies as time will permit, finding the next “hole in the wall” restaurant before it becomes too popular, and attending live music events and concerts. Spencer now considers Dallas his home.

Qian is a Data Analyst at Rental Beast. In this role he uses statistical methods to analyze data, generate dashboards, and empowers business decisions.

Prior to joining Rental Beast, Qian worked as a Data Analyst at Boston University’s Student Health Services. He was responsible for analyzing data related to the health of their students and providing insightful reports. He graduated from Boston University with a MS degree in Statistics and also has a Mathematics with Finance degree from the University of Liverpool.

Qian was born and grew up in China. In his free time, he likes to watch movies and enjoys good food and conversation with friends.

Nikul Patel is Chief Strategy Officer of LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE). He joined LendingTree in 2012 and since then he played key role in strategic turn around of LendingTree by launching new businesses. During his tenure, he held various executive positions as Chief Product Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Nikul’s career has revolved around transforming online financial services for the benefit of consumers. Prior to joining the LendingTree team, Nikul was COO/VP of Products for Home-Account.com, a start-up focused on innovative online mortgage shopping experiences. Home-Account was later acquired by Bills.com where Nikul served as President of Lendage. Nikul is a co-founder of online real estate search website Movoto.com and also worked at Intel Corporation for 12 years in various senior management roles involving technology products and services for the company. Nikul possesses an MBA with honors in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a M.S. in Computer Engineering from Florida Atlantic University.

Considered a vanguard of the real estate industry for 25 years, Steve commanded billions in revenue and tens of thousands of employees, restructured finances, and expanded coverage to achieve dominant market leadership. For ingenuity in the use of technology, He's been named a Top Innovator and influential leader by The National Association of Realtors and other media outlets. His involvement across all facets of the industry and business community—residential brokerage, residential mortgage, corporate relocation—enables Him to envision profitable opportunities and lead the agenda for change in the way services are offered.

“Those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are usually the ones that do.”
Striving for a legacy of the best possible real estate experience, He's capitalizing on technological advancements to redefine how end-to-end real estate transactions are conducted digitally to make them more integrated and user-friendly for all parties. No stranger to realizing game-changing initiatives others said cannot be done, He was instrumental in REALTOR.com becoming the #1 online destination for real estate and holding this position for years. As a board member of Lending Tree, He helped prove they weren’t going to be a part of the Internet bubble and could forever alter the way consumers have transparent access to loans.

“Stronger than any individual is the collective wisdom of the team.”
As chairman and CEO of Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, He built out a multibillion-dollar national organization and introduced groundbreaking software and training programs that better serve online customers. He realizes large-scale results by creating financial, operational, and talent structures around a strategic vision and forging strong partnerships between business and IT teams. Growing up playing ice hockey first taught him how working as a team makes all the difference, and He’s instilled this with his close family.

Duncan L. Niederauer is Chief Executive Officer of NYSE. During his tenure as CEO, Mr. Niederauer is proud to have overseen the transformation of the company into an innovative, globally integrated organization with a high-tech, high-touch focus. Prior to his current position, Mr. Niederauer was President and co-Chief Operating Officer of NYSE Euronext with responsibility for U.S. cash equities.

Before joining NYSE Euronext in April 2007, Mr. Niederauer was Managing Director and co-Head of the Equities Division Execution Services franchise at Goldman, Sachs & Co. His career at Goldman Sachs spanned 22 years.

Mr. Niederauer has served on the board of Archipelago Holdings, LLC and Colgate University, and now serves on the board of Operation Hope, The American Ireland Fund and the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. His current affiliations include G100, Chief Executive 50, British-American Business Council International Advisory Committee, Partnership for New York City, Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, Shanghai International Financial Advisory Committee, Museum of American Finance, Pace University President’s Council and Fundação Dom Cabral in Brazil.

He earned an MBA from Emory University and a BA from Colgate University. He and his wife, Alison, led the Newmark School’s “Destination of Promise” campaign, which built a state of the art school for children with autism and related disabilities in Scotch Plains, NJ. They have three children and reside in New Jersey.

Ms. Sydney is Chief Executive Officer of Sydney Associates, Inc. She is also an Independent Director, investor, and business builder experienced in diverse real estate development, property management, and financial services ranging from large, traditional organizations to young, entrepreneurial companies.

Ms. Sydney has extensive and varied board experience in the for profit and philanthropic sectors. Currently, she chairs the Compensation Committee and serves on the Board of Plaxall, Inc., and serves on the Advisory Boards of several private real estate technology companies, including Rental Beast, Embue, and Doorbell. Ms. Sydney also sits on the Neuroscience Advisory Committee and Overseers Executive Council at Beth Israel Medical Center, and is the Treasurer of C200, an executive women’s organization.

In 1999, Ms. Sydney launched Sydney Associates, Inc., where she serves as CEO. Sydney Associates is a mid-size real estate developer, asset and property manager. Ms. Sydney’s infectious drive and perseverance have resulted in major real estate transactions, with representative clients such as Bank of America, Trader Joe’s, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, AT&T, and CVS.

Earlier, as a Principal at State Street Advisory Strategies, Ms. Sydney pioneered a new division to market institutional grade investment management services to Registered Investment Advisors for their high net worth clients, garnering $175M in new assets in its first year.

As a Senior Vice President at BayBank, Ms. Sydney spearheaded the Mortgage Division’s leap to number 1 in the market by rejuvenating real estate broker calling efforts. As a result, purchase mortgage volume increased by 50% and broker-referred business increased over 100%. She also expanded market research and subsequently launched new image campaigns.

Ms. Sydney holds an MS in Real Estate Development from MIT, an MBA from Harvard, and an undergraduate degree from Wellesley College. She maintains an active real estate brokerage license, and lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Mr. Silverman is an active entrepreneur and investor in a number of businesses. He is a Founder and Managing Partner of Eastham Capital, a private real estate investment business based in Needham, MA. Eastham Capital will raise its fourth private equity fund in 2014. Mr. Silverman was also a Founder of St. James Capital, LLC, a Bloomfield Hills, MI based FHA-approved lender specializing in multifamily residential housing financial services. As of December 2012, St. James Capital is a division of Pillar Multifamily, LLC, an affiliate of Guggenheim Partners, LLC.

From 1995 through 2010, Mr. Silverman was the President and then non-executive Chairman of RentGrow, Inc. Before joining RentGrow, Mr. Silverman was a Founder and Principal in St. James Mortgage Company, a Fannie Mae-approved residential mortgage banker. From 1991 to 1994, he directed and implemented the company’s retail expansion into Massachusetts and New Hampshire and managed operations in those states. Mr. Silverman is also a Vice President of Holtzman and Silverman Construction and Realty, based in Southfield, MI, which is an asset manager of apartment and retail properties. In 2002, he became a founding non-executive director of Leader Bank.

Mr. Silverman graduated from Bowdoin College in 1985 with an AB in Mathematics. In 1991, he earned the degree of Master of Science in Management, with a concentration in Finance, from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is an active alumnus of MIT, where he served as a judge in the $100K entrepreneurship competition for seven years. Mr. Silverman is also on the Board of the Jewish Venture Mentoring Service, and he is a Friend of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT.

Scott is a Vice President at New England Development, with a primarily role of overseeing investing actives that fall outside the firms core real estate business. Prior to joining New England Development, Scott spent almost 10 years at Athena Capital Advisors serving a variety of functions, most recently as a Vice President working directly with families and institutions with a primary focus on designing and implementing customized strategic and tactical asset allocations, as well as evaluating and monitoring direct investments into early stage businesses . Prior to this role, Scott was an Analyst in Athena’s research group with responsibilities including private equity, private real estate, and hedge fund due diligence. Prior to Athena, Scott was with the State Board of Administration of Florida (Pension Board) where he was a Transaction Analyst within their Alternative Investments group. In addition to his responsibilities at New England Development, Scott currently serves as a board member and advisor to several private companies. Scott has a B.S. in Finance and Entrepreneurship/Small Business Management from Florida State University. Scott received the CharteredAlternative Investment Analyst designation in 2008 and currently holds the Series 65 license.

Steven has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, corporate executive, private equity investor and corporate lawyer.

Steven is currently Co-Founder and Chairman of Swaponz, Inc. Swaponz, a company who developed a patented technology platform for incorporating Infinite Swap Technology and Augmented Reality Technology into new everyday consumer products, transforming those products into a platform for the delivery and sharing of experiences and content. He is also a Founding Partner and Director of Healthier Cleaning Innovations, LLC. HCI has launched a new product: a device that produces an all-purpose cleaner, disinfectant and odor-killer that doesn't contain toxic chemicals. The patent-pending product is called Force of Nature (forceofnatureclean.com) and its technology is based on the science of electrolyzed water, where salt, vinegar and water are processed at a low level of electricity.

Previously, he was the CEO and a Director of Rotobrush International LLC, Chairman and CEO of Unger Software Corporation, and Chairman and CEO of Specialty Catalog Corp.

Mr. Bock has served as an independent director on public and private for profit Boards; and as a member of several nonprofit boards, including 2020 Women on Boards, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and The Boston Children’s Museum.

He holds a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School, and a B.S. in Economics/Accounting, summa cum laude, from S.U.N.Y. at Albany.