Mr. Higgins brings 40 years of real estate and alternative investment experience in the insurance and public pension industries to The Busch School of Business. He recently retired as the Head of Real Estate for the New Jersey Division of Investments, where he managed the private real estate for the state’s $84 billion pension system. As an asset class head he served on the internal investment committee that reviewed Alternative Investments. He represented NJDOI on numerous fund advisory boards.

During his career he held investment management and restructuring positions at Swiss Re Asset Management, AIG Real Estate Investments, Lehman Brothers, MBL Life and TIAA-CREF. In the wake of the Global Financial Crisis, he established his own consulting practice to create and recover value in real estate assets and portfolios. He is adept at managing through board and CIO-level turnover,  organizational restructures, and market cycles. He is instrumental in developing staff, building investment teams, and constructing and restructuring portfolios to meet changing needs and goals.

With a commitment to shaping the future of the industry, he served on the Advisory Board of the Center for Real Estate at Rutgers Business School. Among his responsibilities, he sat on the curriculum committee and taught on the adjunct faculty.  He is an Adjunct Lecturer at New York University and teaches for the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF).

Higgins earned his MBA from New York University, and holds a Bachelors degree in civil engineering from Manhattan College. Current and former professional memberships include Pension Real Estate Association (where he served on the Investor Council), CFA Institute (non-charterholder), NCREIF, Institutional Limited Partners Association and Urban Land Institute.

As the proud father of a CUA alum, he has a deep appreciation of the university and its mission.