Bob Knakal, Chairman and CEO of BK Real Estate Advisors (BKREA), is an icon in the New York City commercial real estate business. He has also been honored as the “Top Leading Inspirational Leader in Real Estate of 2025” by CToday Awards. His long career has been over forty years, but in that period, he changed the investment sales market by introducing data-driven approach strategies, a forward-thinking stance that now embraces artificial intelligence in a bid to take the market by storm. His legacy in commercial real estate investment sales is unparalleled. Today in the NYC investment sales arena, there are 32 companies, or divisions of companies, that are owned by, or run by, brokers who learned the business at Massey Knakal Realty Services, a company he founded in 1988 with Paul Massey and sold to Cushman & Wakefield for $100 million in 2014. Today, he is reinvigorated with his latest venture, BKREA.

A Career That Started Accidently and Constructing a Leading Firm

Knakal’s real estate career began by accident. As a freshman at the Wharton School of Business, he was looking for a summer job to enhance his resume. Investment banks weren’t hiring college kids for the summer back then. Without any other choice, he signed up with Coldwell Banker, whom he walked into dropping his resume off believing it was a bank instead of a real estate brokerage. That serendipitous mistake ended up revealing his passion. He came back two more summers and, in 1984, formally began his full-time real estate career, specializing in investment sales in New York City.

It was this enthusiasm and commitment that eventually helped establish Massey Knakal Realty Services as the leading building sales company in New York City. Four principles were the cornerstone of the company’s success: training, servant leadership, data-driven decision-making, and the innovative territory system. Knakal prioritized ongoing training, not only on market savvy but also on business development, pitching, and implementation. His leadership approach emphasized empowerment, and he built a motivated and collaborative workforce. Moreover, through using data to inform strategic choice and dividing New York City into specialized territories, Massey Knakal transformed real estate investment sales and established new industry standards. Massey Knakal was relatively more dominant than any other brokerage company, perhaps in the history of the United States. The company sold at least three times the number of properties as its closest competitor in New York City for fourteen years in a row, an unparalleled record.

Recognition as a Real Estate Industry Leader and the Future of Real Estate with AI

In 2025, Knakal was recognized as the “Top Leading Inspirational Leader in Real Estate.” Though thankful for the award, he considers it a reflection of his team’s combined efforts. For him, leadership is empowering others and providing opportunities for success. This recognition also motivates him to lead with integrity, mentor future professionals, and help further develop the industry.

As one of his cutting-edge leadership initiatives, Knakal is also a leader in the integration of technology and artificial intelligence in real estate. With the establishment of BK Real Estate Advisors, he is using AI to automate prospecting, transaction management, and data analysis. Through the use of more than 40 years of proprietary data, the company can effectively forecast market trends, giving clients a huge competitive advantage. While technology is revolutionizing the business, Knakal makes sure that technology complements—instead of substituting—for the personalized service that has long defined his practice. His vision not only leads the way in innovation but also makes sure that the human touch remains at the core of real estate transactions. Knakal constantly says that he is not in the real estate business but in the information and relationship business. He says information always has to be proprietary and updated weekly, and relationships have to be constantly nurtured.

Words of Wisdom: Advice for the Next Generation

For up-and-coming professionals who want to get into the real estate business, Knakal’s tip is straightforward: begin now and be dedicated to mastery. Brokerage success is based on merit, decided by hard work and commitment. He advises prospective professionals to become experts in a specialty since competence establishes credibility and is a sound competitive edge. He sees three characteristics in those who get to top levels in real estate: expertise, passion and discipline. Expertise in a narrow slice of the market, small enough to understand everything about the niche completely but large enough to make a good living in. Passion for the busines that keeps you going when others might stop. And the ability to use discipline well. For success, you have to do things over and over and over again.

His own career path—from a chance summer internship to one of the industry’s top leaders—is proof that through expertise, passion, planning, and tenacity, exceptional success is within grasp.