Hall of Fame Honorees

2025 Hall of Fame Honorees

Congratulations to our 2025 Hall of Fame Honorees - Lloyd C. Berger, Richard A. Berkowitz, and Leland C. Pillsbury

Click here for the October 7, 2025 event invitation

 

The Inductees and Their Accomplishments

 

Lloyd C. Berger, MBA

President, Berger Commercial Realty

Lloyd C. Berger is the founder and president of Berger Commercial Realty, a firm he established in 1998 to provide a uniquely client-centric approach to commercial real estate brokerage and property management. For over 26 years, Mr. Berger has led the company’s growth, earning it recognition as one of Florida’s top commercial real estate firms.

Under his leadership, Berger Commercial Realty has cultivated a team of seasoned professionals who share his commitment to market expertise, strategic insight, and superior client service. The firm’s mission is to deliver tailored solutions and exceptional value across every client engagement. Mr. Berger continues to provide strategic oversight of all major client matters and has been appointed by the courts to serve as receiver for more than 150 distressed properties throughout Florida.

Berger Commercial Realty is a proud member of CORFAC International, a global alliance of independently owned commercial real estate firms. Mr. Berger also serves on CORFAC’s Board of Directors, promoting industry best practices and professional standards on a global scale.

In addition to his leadership at Berger Commercial Realty, Mr. Berger is a principal of Andrews Avenue Residential (AAR), a multifamily property management company operating throughout Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia.

A respected voice in Florida’s commercial real estate industry, Mr. Berger serves on the board of directors for the South Florida Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP). He is also an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), and the Commercial Industrial Association of South Florida (CIASF). A graduate of Leadership Broward Class XI, Mr. Berger is also a designated member of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR).

He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Rollins College and a master’s degree in real estate development from the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University.

Mr. Berger is particularly proud of his many long-standing client relationships and the role his firm continues to play in representing the interests of domestic and global commercial real estate owners and investors. Additionally, he supports several community charities and endeavors including Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center, Kids In Distress and Boys and Girls Club of America.

Richard A. Berkowitz, JD, CPA

Founding and Executive Chairman, Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors + CPAs

Nearly 45 years ago, Richard Berkowitz had a vision of a firm that hired talented people and created an environment for them to build outstanding careers. Today Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors + CPAs and its affiliates, Provenance Wealth Advisors, BayBridge Capital Advisors and BayBridge Real Estate Capital, continue to operate on these principles.

Mr. Berkowitz provides his clients with a comprehensive approach to income, estate, financial and investment planning. A trusted advisor to clients in a wide range of industries, he helps them define their goals and develop strategies to succeed. His areas of focus include strategic planning for closely held businesses; mergers and acquisitions; fiduciary services for businesses, individuals and trusts; financial and tax planning for entrepreneurs and executives; and alternative dispute resolution, mediation and arbitration.

Mr. Berkowitz is a past council member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, past president of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and past world president of PrimeGlobal. In addition, his professional affiliations include the American Arbitration Association, Florida Academy of Certified Mediators, American Bar Association, The Florida Bar, Dade County Bar Association, American Association of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants, and he is a Certified Global Management Accountant.

A devoted philanthropist and community leader, Mr. Berkowitz has chaired the Community Foundation of Broward; the Miami Foundation; Take Stock in Children (statewide); the Miami Dolphins Cancer Challenge; and serves as treasurer of the Miami Cancer Institute at Baptist Health South Florida. He is a founding board member and current chair of Bounce Back from Cancer and serves on the boards of the Broward Workshop, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, University of Miami Citizens Board and is a trustee of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Berkowitz received his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and earned his Juris Doctor from University of Miami. He was inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame in 2018, among many professional and community awards. He received the South Florida Business Journal’s Ultimate CEO award in 2018, and has been named seven times to the SFBJ’s annual Top 100 Power Leaders in South Florida list.

 

Leland C. (Lee) Pillsbury, EMBA

Chair, TLG Investment Partners

After graduating from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, Lee Pillsbury spent 19 years at Marriott, rising to become an Executive Vice President and head of Lodging Strategy and Corporate Officer. During his six years as EVP, Marriott achieved a fivefold increase in revenues and an eight-fold increase in EBITA as the company rapidly embraced a multi-brand strategy and moved into time sharing.

Mr. Pillsbury left Marriott in 1988 to launch Thayer Lodging Group, a hotel real estate private equity fund for institutional investors. During its 25+ years, Thayer Lodging’s funds achieved a 26.2% IRR, ranking it one of the most successful real estate funds. Thayer Lodging Group launched several companies, including TIG Global Internet Marketing, Thayer Insurance Group, EMC Venues, and PURE Rooms. The company was sold to Brookfield Asset Management in 2015.

In 2004, Mr. Pillsbury and his wife Mary, with Teddy Zhang, formed Thayer China. They toured 18 of China’s provinces at the request of the Beijing government to meet with local officials to promote the development of travel and tourism within China as a major employer and engine of economic growth. Thayer China formed a joint venture with China’s Jin Jiang Group to build the first central reservations/ global distribution system running in Mandarin. Thayer China also formed joint ventures with other Chinese firms during this time, including the development of Shanghai Tower, the tallest building in Asia. In 2010, Thayer Lodging Group partnered with Jin Jiang to take Interstate Hotels and Resorts (NYSE) private, tripling the company's size to manage over 500 hotels worldwide before its sale in 2015.

In 2009, Lee Pillsbury partnered with two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to found Thayer Ventures. Thayer Ventures is now the largest venture capital firm in the early-stage travel and technology space. Its portfolio companies include several industry leaders including Duetto Research, Uplift, Sonder, Redeem and Mews.

Today Mr. Pillsbury serves as Chair of TLG Investment Partners. TLG IP is a national real estate investment and development firm. The company has developed over 3,000 single and multifamily residential units in communities in Florida and Arizona and is actively investing in other real estate sectors including hotels.

Lee Pillsbury has been an active supporter of higher education. He served for two years as the Rhodes Visiting Professor at Cornell University and has lectured across the US and Asia. A Presidential Counselor and Trustee Emeritus of Cornell, he served on the Board of Trustees for 12 years. He also served on the Dean's Advisory Board of Cornell’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration and currently serves on the Leadership Council of the S.C. Johnson College of Business. Lee and Mary Pillsbury endowed the Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship (PIHE) at Cornell in 2006.

Mr. Pillsbury was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Cornell in 2016. He was the recipient of the Schaffner Award from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where he received his Executive MBA. He has been recognized by Penn State and the University of Denver, among others, and has served on numerous company boards, both public and private.

Lee and Mary Pillsbury have been married for over 55 years and reside in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They are avid boaters and pilots, and together are the first husband and wife pilot team to fly a single engine airplane across the North Atlantic. Mrs. Pillsbury is a successful entrepreneur as well, having built a large national insurance agency and also having been a custom home builder.  She holds a BS degree from the University of Denver and an MBA from University of Maryland.