Board Chairman and Founder

Joseph J. Sitt

CEO, THOR EQUITIES

Joseph J. Sitt is Chairman and Founder of the Global Gateway Alliance (GGA), a not-for-profit organization established to address the major challenges facing the New York-New Jersey region’s aging airport system and related infrastructure.  Mr. Sitt created the organization in 2012 to help bring our airports into the 21st century and was honored by City & State in its "Power 100" list of the most influential people in New York politics for his work developing GGA. 

Mr. Sitt is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and various universities including Columbia University, New York University, and Notre Dame and is an active board member of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, one of the most renowned and respected community development organizations in the country.  He also serves on the board of the Real Estate Roundtable in Washington D.C., the Department of Real Estate at Baruch College, and is a member of the Partnership for New York City.  He is a director of Venetian Heritage, one of the leading restoration organizations in Venice, Italy, where he is chairing the effort to restore the Jewish museum and ancient synagogues of the Venice Ghetto. 

Mr. Sitt was awarded the 2014 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, was an honoree of Crain’s New York’s annual “40 Under 40” list in 2004, and has been named by the New York Observer in its annual list as one of the Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate. Harvard professor Michael Porter and the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) have also honored Mr. Sitt for his commitment to fostering healthy competitive business conditions and new opportunities in inner city neighborhoods.

In the private sphere, Mr. Sitt is the President and CEO of Thor Equities, a forward-thinking international real estate development company that specializes in value-added investments in mixed-use urban developments, hotels, shopping centers, and residential developments in the United States, Europe, and Latin America with a portfolio totaling more than 18 million square feet. 

Mr. Sitt is also the Chairman of Town Residential, a full service and industry leading, luxury residential brokerage firm in Manhattan. He serves as Chairman and Managing Principal of the Thor Urban Property Funds–an investment vehicle serving pension funds, investment banks, top-tier college endowments and foundations.  In addition, he serves as CEO of Thor Retail Advisors which provides tenant representation and advisory services to high end retailers seeking premier retail locations around the world.

Mr. Sitt founded the women’s clothing retailer Ashley Stewart whose success prompted many national retailers to take notice of opportunities in the urban marketplace.  He is a graduate of New York University.