David Krantz, 34, VP, The Praedium Group

It's a good thing Dave’s a fitness fanatic who hits the gym five or six days a week to do cardio and weights. He needs the stamina and agility to find just the right assets for his firm, established 23 years ago as the real estate private equity arm of Credit Suisse First Boston (it became independent a decade later).

During his nine-year tenure, Dave has helped acquire and manage 20,000 apartments, though lately, given favorable pricing, he's been doing more selling than buying. He’s also working on several development deals in NYC, including the gut renovation of a SoHo warehouse and combining four Upper West Side buildings. Both properties will be redeveloped as high-end condos.

In his office at 50th and Third, Dave keeps a picture of Brooklyn to remind him how entrepreneurs find new trends and markets early. After college at Michigan, he was an analyst at Commerce Bank and originated loans for developers who became successful because they were ahead of the curve.

Outside NYC, his firm of 25 also has shifted nimbly: It focuses on high-quality assets in primary and secondary markets with high cash flow and value-add upside. On behalf of public and private pension funds, insurance companies, and endowments, it’s invested more than $9B around the country.

A huge classic rock fan who's seen The Wall Live several times, Dave also will go out of his way for Billy Joel and The Who, though he makes time for movies, too. (Current recommendation: Joaquin Phoenix's Her, high marks for originality.)

And he travels—places like Japan, Australia, and even once to Korea, where in addition to visiting the DMZ, he got some suits, though at 6'4" it might not have been the perfect place to shop for them.