Robert R. Merck

Robert R. Merck is senior managing director and head of real estate and agricultural investments at MetLife, Inc. He was named to this position in 2003. In this role, Merck is responsible for managing the company's $50 billion commercial mortgage and equity real estate portfolio, as well as its $13 billion agricultural investments portfolio. In this capacity, Merck oversees a staff of 250 investment professionals, both domestic and international.

Since assuming responsibility for the real estate and agricultural portfolios, Merck has implemented strategic initiatives and a risk management focus that have strengthened the portfolios, raised the profile of the franchise and positively impacted the financial results of the business. Under Merck, the commercial and agricultural mortgage portfolios have more than doubled in size and the platforms have expanded internationally. Under Merck’s leadership, MetLife has diversified its real estate equity portfolio, in part through the $5.4 billion sale of Peter Cooper Village / Stuyvesant Town, one of the largest real estate transactions in history.

Merck received a B.B.A. degree from Emory University where he graduated with highest honors and an MBA from Georgia State University.

Merck serves on the Real Estate Advisory Boards of the Emory Goizueta Business School and the NYU Schack Real Estate Institute. He is also the Real Estate Chair for the New York Blood Center Volunteer Leadership Campaign. In this capacity, Merck oversees the ‘Skyscrapers for Life’ campaign working with real estate owners and management groups to help save, enrich and protect the lives of millions in the New York metropolitan area.