Management Team

Kirsten Brecht, Managing Partner

Kirsten Brecht is one of the founders and owners of the companies of New City. Ms. Brecht’s primary responsibilities for the company include land development, general management, and marketing strategy and implementation. Additionally, she is responsible for helping to define the company’s investment and development strategies.

Kirsten Brecht has a diverse background in strategy, marketing and business development. She has built companies and has served as both an industry executive and a consultant with ventures from start-up to Fortune 50 status. Prior to her role in New City, Ms. Brecht was a managing partner of Constellar Group, Inc. a business consulting firm focused on accelerating the growth of emerging and established companies. She is a business growth and marketing specialist whose expertise includes:

• Formulating, evaluating and articulating company growth strategies, particularly for emerging companies undergoing key business transitions
• Developing fact-based marketing and sales strategies to drive revenue, and overseeing their effective deployment in the field
• Managing market intelligence projects to evaluate value, market size and viability
• Providing practical, data-driven solutions to help grow revenue, improve business models and build long-term company value.

Previously, Ms. Brecht served as a senior strategic consultant for Monitor Company (now The Monitor Group), a fast growing and highly regarded strategy-consulting firm. For Monitor, she was responsible for project-based solutions for Fortune 250 companies in corporate growth and operations strategy, with a focused expertise in marketing strategy. She spent her last two years at Monitor developing intellectual capital in marketing strategy. Ms. Brecht began her consulting career at the Wharton Small Business Development Center, where she was responsible for helping small businesses in the Philadelphia area handle a wide array of marketing, operational and financial issues.

Ms. Brecht has experience building companies. Prior to New City, she founded and grew three different companies: two technology-based services companies and a consulting firm. Ms. Brecht holds an MBA in entrepreneurial management and marketing from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, and a BA in political science and Russian from the University of Pennsylvania.

Joseph Yaffe, Managing Partner

Joseph Yaffe is one of the founders and owners of the companies of New City, described above. Mr. Yaffe’s primary responsibilities for the company include general management and operational strategy and implementation. Additionally, he is responsible for helping to define the company’s investment, financing and technology strategy.

Joseph Yaffe has a diverse background in strategy, finance, operations and technology. He has built companies and has served as both an industry executive and a consultant with ventures from start-up to Fortune 50 status. Prior to his role in New City, Mr. Yaffe was a managing partner of Constellar Group, Inc. a business consulting firm focused on accelerating the growth of emerging and established companies. Mr. Yaffe’s experience and expertise lie in:

• Formulating, evaluating and articulating company growth strategies, particularl for emerging companies undergoing key business transitions
• Planning for and executing transactions, including capital formation, M&A and company sale
• Developing and analyzing complex financial models to facilitate decision-making
• Providing practical solutions to help grow revenue, improve business models and build long-term company value

Previously, Mr. Yaffe served as Vice President of Siegel Management Company, a Philadelphia-based strategic consulting and investment-banking firm. In his capacity there, he developed successful strategies for companies in a wide range of industries and served as an advisor on both the buy and sell sides of M&A transactions. Mr. Yaffe began his consulting career at the Wharton Small Business Development Center, where he was responsible for helping small, Philadelphia-area businesses address a wide array of marketing, operational and financial issues. Mr. Yaffe also served for several years as an Adjunct Professor at George Washington University.

Mr. Yaffe is a successful serial entrepreneur. Prior to New City, he founded, grew and managed four different companies: a special events services company, an information products developer, an Internet services firm and a consulting firm. Mr. Yaffe holds an MBA in entrepreneurial management from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and a BS in finance and marketing from the University of Maryland.