Dan O’Brien

After starting his career as a landlord leasing professional with the industry-leader General Growth Properties, Dan O’Brien has been with Hilco Real Estate since 2008 and provides clients with over 25 years of experience in the commercial real estate sector. Dan focuses on broad market analysis to then develop strategies to hone tactical planning, assess asset optimization, and maximize brick & mortar positioning within varying marketplaces across North America and around the world.

As a team leader with Hilco Real Estate, Dan has worked complex cases for clients, inside and outside bankruptcy, assessing, managing and repositioning real estate portfolios in order to mitigate risk and enhance sustainable growth potential. His vast success in leading lease optimization initiatives on behalf of his clients was built on strategic negotiations with landlords of both domestic and international real estate. Dan has also served as an interim head of real estate for a regional big-box operator and previously managed 26 states for a national retailer, while those companies were in a leadership transition phase.

Overall, Dan has assisted +100 tenants in his sixteen years with Hilco, restructuring thousands of leases and procuring billions of dollars in value for clients such as WeWork, Cineworld/Regal, J.Crew, Intermix, Cinemark, Godiva, Edge Fitness, BCBG, Gymboree, Janie & Jack, as well as a host of restaurateurs including Applebee’s, Boston Market, Nando’s, Logan’s Roadhouse, Ovation Brands, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Landry’s, Claim Jumper, Mimi’s Café, Sbarro and Sarku Japan. From landlords to brokers, dealmakers to CEOs, Dan excels across all asset types at managing critical relationships while delivering marked results.

Dan received his Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University’s School of Law in Chicago, passing the Illinois state bar in 2015. He is an active member of several professional organizations, including ICSC, TMA, and ABI.