Mr. Ackerman formed Big Rock Partners in 2004 as an opportunistic real estate investment firm that has since invested in and managed over $800 million in assets. Prior to Big Rock Partners, Mr. Ackerman was head of the Los Angeles office of Apollo Real Estate Advisors, overseeing all investments on the U.S. West Coast and Japan for the global private equity firm that has invested over $7 billion of equity.

In 1999, Mr. Ackerman was appointed by Apollo as Chief Executive Officer in order to restructure Atlantic Gulf Communities Corporation (an Apollo portfolio company) and served in that capacity until 2001. This publicly traded development and asset management company's primary operations included development and sale of home sites and land tracts and construction and sale of oceanfront condominiums.

From 1996 to 1999, he was President and Co-founder of Crocker Realty Trust, a private REIT (an Apollo portfolio company) specializing in ownership and development of office space in the southeastern United States. Crocker Realty Trust raised additional capital from affiliates of Fidelity Management and Morgan Stanley.

Prior to 1996, he was President and Co-founder of Crocker Realty Investors, a publicly traded REIT and a portfolio company of the first Apollo Real Estate Investment Fund. The company specialized in ownership and development of office space until its sale to Highwoods Properties, Inc.

Mr. Ackerman is currently on the Board of Directors for Tulane Law School and instructs as an Adjunct Professor. Mr. Ackerman is also a former Director of Summerville Senior Living, Inc., which is one of the largest assisted living companies in the nation. Mr. Ackerman graduated with a BA from Tulane University and a JD from the Tulane School of Law.