Neil Shekhter

Neil Shekhter: From Soviet Refugee to CEO

Neil Shekhter, CEO of NMS Properties

Neil Shekhter, Chief Executive Officer of NMS Properties, is the founder of NMS Properties, a Los Angeles based property management company.  The portfolio of mixed use and multi-residential buildings is concentrated in Santa Monica, the Wilshire Corridor, Brentwood, Sawtelle Japantown and the San Fernando Valley.

Neil Shekhter, CEO of NMS Properties

While you may have heard his name before or recognize the company logo, many do not know much about the very private man himself.  In fact, many may make assumptions based on the current success of the company that would never guess that Neil Shekhter had very humble beginnings as a young refugee seeking to live the American dream.
Born in early 1960’s Soviet Russian, in the city that is now known as Lviv, Ukraine, Neil Shekhter grew up in less-than-ideal circumstances under Soviet oppression.  One example of his underprivileged background includes the story of how one of his only, and most cherished, “toys” growing up was actually a family chicken.
With aid from the Jewish Federations of North America, Neil Shekhter came to the United States at the age of 17 and lived in West Hollywood with his mother and grandparents.  They joined an entire community that was largely comprised of Russian Jews who had also fled Soviet oppression.
After arriving in the States, he started out his new American life as a cab driver.  A few years later he had saved enough money to purchase a few of the cabs and start his own taxi service.  With hard work and determination he set out to break into real estate industry which he did in the mid-1980’s by purchasing an auto center.  Thus, NMS Properties was established.
From that point on, thanks in large part to savvy decision making and a reasonable approach to property management, NMS Properties grew and has become one of the largest names in local real estate to date.
In addition to being the CEO of his own company. Neil Shekhter is also a husband and father who considers himself extremely fortunate in being able to give back to the community.