Melissa Pianko

Melissa Pianko has over 20 years of experience in real estate investments, acquisitions, development, and asset management. In November 2023, she joined InterCapital Group as a partner and serves as the co-CEO of their affiliated property manager, DayRise Residential, which manages the approximately 15,000 apartments predominately owned by InterCapital Group. Prior to that, she served as a managing director and sector lead for residential asset management in North America for Blackstone.  

During her six-year tenure at Blackstone, Melissa helped create and grow multiple portfolio companies that collectively grew from managing 40,000 units to 300,000 units. She was responsible for evaluating and reshaping management teams and was integral in the hiring process of multiple C-suite executives across the portfolio of multiple operating companies including LivCor, Home Partners of America, and Beam Living. She served formally on several Blackstone affiliated boards including Extended Stay America, a long-term stay hospitality company, and Hembla, a Swedish workforce housing owner and developer which has since been acquired.  

Before joining Blackstone, Melissa spent 11 years at Gotham Organization, a privately held New York City real estate development firm, most recently overseeing all acquisitions and development for the firm. Her contributions led to over 2,000 new units across several large projects in New York City.  

Melissa started her career at Goldman Sachs working in both the municipal finance and real estate investment banking departments.  

Melissa received an MBA from Stanford University and a BA from Columbia University with a major in urban studies and a concentration in economics. She was named to Crain’s NY 40 Under 40 Class of 2012. She is involved with ULI Multifamily Silver Council and Stanford Real Estate Council. A native of Hyde Park in Chicago, Melissa now lives in Westchester with her husband and three school-aged children.