Mickey (Michal) Penzer

CEO - Papillon Partners
VP - Penzer Family Foundation
Director - TBG Recruiting

Mickey has been involved in the real estate industry her whole life. Her dad was a developer- she started working for her family’s office as a kid, helping to check on their buildings and even going with her dad on business trips. Her mom even had a mini hard hat made for her as a toddler! After she made her way through business school and law school at NYU and Fordham respectively, she started working full time for LIFE, a nonprofit in New York. All while still heavily involved in her family endeavors, managing investments, doing some direct deals and taking a large hand in their foundation arm- including making grants and allocating investments. As part of her role she attended conferences, charity events and the like.

In 2016, she came to a crossroads with her work at the nonprofit. She was at a Bisnow affordable housing event when she met Chris Papa, who ultimately became her mentor. Chris asked how she knew so many people who were at the event. Her explanation: she had been around the business since a child. It was at that moment, he convinced her to come aboard his team as a recruiter for The Bachrach Group, which centered on real estate. She is still a key leader with TBG Real Estate and has helped them expand into Puerto Rico - https://bachrachgroup.com/puerto-rico/.

Although her speciality is commercial real estate, partnering with TBG allows her access to hundreds of recruiters across all industries and geographies - including but not limited to Financial Services, Legal, Corporate Support, HR, technology. Executive assistants, relocating back office roles and technology have been very common placements in PR. She has become a crypto enthusiast and has worked with several companies in this arena.

The biggest advantage that Mickey has in the recruiting industry is that when she reaches out to someone for an opportunity, it’s almost never her first time meeting them. There’s always a backstory- she has met them at an event, or worked with them through organizations or charities where she has held numerous leadership positions. Both her education and family history gives her credibility with these professionals that many other recruiters don’t have. On the client side, she has a particular knack with businesses that started as family run helping them grow into more institutional organizations. So as much as she would say she is lucky to be where she is today, luck is really where preparation meets opportunity, and being a CRE recruiter is really a natural fit for her. To learn more about Mickey’s networking philosophy check out this Bisnow article -https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/commercial-real-estate/how-cre-recruiter-mickey-penzer-weaves-her-networking-web-pandemic-or-not-106402

Sitting in the recruiter seat gives her a much wider view of the real estate market. She gets to see first hand what asset classes or regions are hot, who is raising capital and which deals/funds are getting traction. It has also given her more than an MBA in how to run a successful company in real estate and beyond.

In 2021 Mickey moved to Puerto Rico and has really embraced Island life! Her dog Ghenghis Cohen is her partner in Papillon Partners, her export services company. Her son Samson was born on the Island in 2023. She is also a very active member of the local Chabad (of Puerto Rico) as well as a member of many local networking groups (act 20/22 society, C-Suite Women of Puerto Rico, several local mom groups). Besides her involvement on the island, she maintains her involvement in charity and professional groups on the mainland. She attends conferences and events both locally and nationally. Follow her events and life updates at her newsletter - https://mailchi.mp/bachrachgroup/mickeypenzercrefall2025