Neil R. Aaronson, CEO, Hilco Real Estate, announced that Joel H. Schneider has joined the company as senior vice president, Dispositions. He will source and manage owned and leased property disposition assignments.

Schneider has nearly 30 years of real estate experience. He has developed a broad range of expertise, covering sale transactions, asset and portfolio management, valuation and investment analysis, development, financing and strategic planning. He specializes in transactions within the context of a bankruptcy, liquidation or corporate restructuring, helping attorneys, lenders and turnaround firms structure and implement strategies that rapidly create liquidity from real estate assets.

Prior to Hilco, Schneider was a principal with Atlas Partners, a Chicago-based real estate boutique advisory firm. Prior thereto he was senior manager in the Midwest practice of Ernst & Young’s Real Estate Advisory Services group, where he led assignments for clients including Best Buy Co., Equity Office Properties and CMD Realty. Earlier, Schneider served as vice president for Portfolio Management at American Express and the Balcor Company, an institutional owner of real estate, where he was managing director of Portfolio Management.

Schneider earned a B.S. degree from Indiana University and a Masters in City Planning from Harvard University. He holds real estate sales and auction licenses in numerous states and is a member of several professional organizations, including the Turnaround Management Association, the Commercial Finance Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Chicago Real Estate Council where he previously served as its president. In 1995, he was elected into Lambda Alpha, an honorary land economics society.

Hilco Real Estate helps businesses improve leverage and cash flow by repositioning and restructuring their real estate commitments.