A veteran real estate executive with a passionate commitment to Los Angeles’s future, Geoffrey P. Wharton has served in numerous roles with the city, including as a senior advisor to Mayor Eric Garcetti who directed the Operation Innovation Team and then the Find Your Future initiative. In addition to his work with L.A., he served as a senior advisor to former Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole regarding the proposed renovation of the Third Street Promenade and the conversion of the Santa Monica Airport to a park following its closing in 2028.
Previously Wharton was the chief operating officer of the Los Angeles Dodgers, overseeing all of the team’s business operations including marketing, sponsorships, ticket sales, stadium operations, finance, communications, legal affairs, and all administrative functions. He was also responsible for the Next 50 project, which was designed to ensure Dodger Stadium’s place as the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the next 50 years. His other executive leadership roles have including serving as a senior managing director of the international real estate developer, Tishman Speyer, as the firm’s partner in charge of the ventures that redeveloped, leased, and managed Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler Building in New York City and as a member of the working group that envisioned the development of the new Yankee Stadium.
After Tishman Speyer, Wharton went on to serve as managing director of the Silverstein Properties venture that controlled the World Trade Center office towers; following the 9/11 attacks, he led the venture’s initial master planning effort for Ground Zero and 7 World Trade Center. He served as President and CEO of Douglas Elliman, one of New York City’s largest residential real estate brokerage firms, where he directed the reorganization of the company for its sale and its transition from a subsidiary of a public company to private ownership. He collaborated with and consulted to major real estate owners and developers on the master planning of large-scale urban projects in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, and New Orleans.
Wharton holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Brown University and a Juris Doctor degree from New York University’s School of Law. Currently he serves as a co-president of Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills. He finds time in his busy schedule to work with a number of other organizations, including as a member of the board of directors of the Los Angeles Opera and of the board of governors of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He has served as a trustee of Muhlenberg College and the Parsons School of Design and as an advisor to the president of the California Institute of the Arts. He is past chair of the ethics committee of the Real Estate Board of New York. He is the author of the memoir My Life: From Brooklyn to L.A.
Wharton joined the Board of Trustees of Claremont Graduate University in 2021.