Richard Ressler
Founder & President
Orchard Capital Corporation and CIM Group
Mr. Ressler* is the founder and president of Orchard Capital Corporation (Orchard Capital), a firm that provides consulting and advisory services to companies in which Orchard Capital or its affiliates invest. Through his affiliation with Orchard Capital, Mr. Ressler serves in various senior capacities with, among others, CIM Group, L.P., a real estate and infrastructure investment and management company, Orchard First Source Asset Management, an investment adviser focusing on middle market debt investments, and OCV Management, LLC, an investment adviser focusing on controlled investments in technology companies. Mr. Ressler also serves as a board member for various public and private companies in which Orchard Capital or its affiliates invest, including as chairman of j2 Global, Inc., director of Presbia PLC, and chairman of CIM Commercial Trust Corporation.
Mr. Ressler co-founded CIM in 1994 and, through an agreement with Orchard Capital, chairs its executive, investment, allocation and asset management committees and serves on its credit committee.
Mr. Ressler co-founded the predecessor of OFSAM in 2001 and, through an agreement with Orchard Capital, chairs its executive committee.
Mr. Ressler co-founded OCV in 2016 and, through an agreement with Orchard Capital, chairs its executive committee.
Mr. Ressler served as chairman and CEO of JCOM from 1997 to 2000 and, through an agreement with Orchard Capital, currently serves as its non-executive chairman. Mr. Ressler has served as a director of LENS since January 2015 and as chairman of CMCT since 2014.
Prior to founding Orchard Capital, from 1988 until 1994, Mr. Ressler served as vice chairman of Brooke Group Limited, the predecessor of Vector Group, Ltd. (VGR) and served in various executive capacities at VGR and its subsidiaries. Prior to VGR, Mr. Ressler was with Drexel Burnham Lambert, Inc., where he focused on merger and acquisition transactions and the financing needs of middle-market companies. Mr. Ressler began his career in 1983 with Cravath, Swaine and Moore, working on public offerings, private placements, and merger and acquisition transactions. Mr. Ressler holds a B.A. from Brown University, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Columbia University.
*All organizational affiliations and titles are listed for identification purposes only. All individuals serve in their personal capacity only and not as a representative of their employer.