At our 15th Global Real Estate Summit, an all-star line-up of top real estate dealmakers, investors, and innovators shared insights and analysis of the ways in which the real estate industry is being transformed as it reacts to unprecedented technological innovation and disruption, global economic trends, regulatory change, and political uncertainty.
At this year’s Summit, we also introduced RE Live Talks – short, powerful talks in which leading futurists shared their wisdom on how blockchain, mobility, proptech and health and wellness will shape the future of the places and the ways in which we live and work.
Please click on thumbnails below to view bios for our 2019 speakers.
Sam Zell is the Chairman of Equity Group Investments (EGI), the private investment firm he founded more than 40 years ago. The firm's investments span industries and continents and include interests in finance, energy, transportation, communications, health care and real estate. Mr. Zell is recognized as a founding father of today's public real estate industry after creating three of the largest REITs in history.
He is also Founder and Chairman of Equity International, a private investment firm focused on building real estate-related businesses in international emerging markets. Mr. Zell has been particularly active in bringing Equity International's companies to the public markets.
Three of these investments are listed on the New York Stock Exchange: Gafisa, a leading homebuilder in Brazil; Xinyuan, a fast-growing regional homebuilder in China; and Homex, Mexico's leading homebuilder. A fourth, BR Malls, Brazil's largest retail property owner and operator, is listed on the Bovespa.
Zach Aarons
Co-Founder and Partner
MetaProp
Zach Aarons has been working at the intersection of real estate and venture capital for the past decade. Zach is the most active early-stage proptech investor in the United States, having funded more than 60 startups in the space as an individual as well as 40 startups (and counting) through MetaProp NYC's venture capital funds. In addition to early-stage investing, Mr. Aarons has worked on large scale mixed-use development projects in cities like Boston and Los Angeles with Millennium Partners. He has experience with real estate development, commercial asset management, property marketing, and commercial leasing.
Prior to joining Millennium and founding MetaProp NYC, Zach Aarons was a Senior Associate at ENIAC Ventures, a seed stage mobile technology fund, and the founder of Travelgoat, an online and offline walking tour business. He began his career as an analyst at boutique investment bank Peter J. Solomon Company.
Outside of work, Mr. Aarons currently serves on the Board of Trustees of The Tenement Museum. He is an Assistant Adjunct Professor at the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. He serves on the Technology Committee for the Real Estate Board of New York and the Technology and Real Estate Council for the Urban Land Institute. Previously, Mr. Aarons was the Treasurer of the Board of Directors for The Lowline and Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana. He graduated magna cum laude with an A.B. from Brown University in Ancient Studies and earned an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Zach Aarons has been featured in dozens of international publications and media, including The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The Real Deal, Curbed, Commercial Observer, Propmodo, The Information, TechCrunch, Bisnow, Forbes, Real Estate Weekly, Crain's, and Cheddar. He is a frequent speaker at global proptech events including the Urban Land Institute, MIPIM, Realcomm, ARGUS Connect, SuperReturn International, and the Columbia/Goodwin Procter Real Estate Capital Markets Conference.
Peter Barnett leads PwC's US Internal Real Estate Strategy for a portfolio of more than six million square feet in six countries. With more than 20 years of experience in the global commercial and corporate real estate industry, he has served in a wide variety of roles from broker/consultant to landlord and corporate end user. Mr. Barnett brings extensive experience in real estate investment finance together with a deep knowledge of aligning corporate strategy with people and asset strategies. He serves as a trusted advisor to partners leading multiple lines of business, providing them a bridge between business strategy and workplace strategy. He is dedicated to enhancing the employee experience through the workplace, using technology and cutting edge design practices to achieve the optimal people strategies.
Prior to joining PwC in 2009, Peter Barnett served as Vice President of a Tampa-based commercial real estate firm, providing brokerage, property management and consulting services to owners and investors.
Mr. Barnett holds the CCIM designation for investment real estate, and is currently serving on the CCIM Board of Directors nationally. In addition he has served as a Senior Instructor of investment analysis and occupier/investor decisions courses since 2008. He has taught real estate courses in multiple countries across North America, Europe and Asia. He has also served as Chapter President/Chair for the CCIM Florida chapter and Corenet Global Tampa chapter. Peter Barnett earned his B.B.A. at Capella University in Minneapolis, and is a frequent speaker at industry events across the US.
Ambassador Nicholas Burns
Former US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Senior Counselor
The Cohen Group
Ambassador Burns previously served as the US Ambassador to NATO, US Ambassador to Greece and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. He is currently a professor at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and is a regular global affairs commentator on various television networks, including CNN, Fox, and MSNBC. Ambassador Burns serves as Senior Advisor to DLA Piper through DLA Piper's exclusive relationship with The Cohen Group, where he serves as a Senior Counselor.
Debra Cafaro
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Ventas, Inc.
Debra A. Cafaro is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Ventas, Inc., an S&P 500 company and real estate investment trust that owns more than 1,200 healthcare, life science and senior living properties in North America and the United Kingdom and serves as the premier capital provider to leading care providers and research institutions.
A recognized industry leader, Cafaro set and oversaw execution of a long term strategy that has driven Ventas's market capitalization to $26 billion at its peak, from $200 million since her leadership began in 1999. The Company's compound annual total shareholder return (TSR) has exceeded 23 percent since January 1, 2000.
Widely-acclaimed for her strategic vision and enduring business success, Cafaro has received multiple professional recognitions. Cafaro has been twice named one of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women (Forbes Magazine), a list of global political, media, entertainment and business leaders; a Top 100 Best-Performing CEOs in the World, for five consecutive years (Harvard Business Review); and the top female executive in the commercial real estate industry (National Real Estate Investor). She has also been recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare four times (Modern Healthcare); highlighted in The 70 Elite real estate executives who shaped the industry for the past 70 years (Real Estate Forum); and selected multiple times to the Top 25 Women in Healthcare (Modern Healthcare) and the All-America Executive Team (Institutional Investor). Cafaro was named a Top 50 Woman in World Business (Financial Times), one of the Bankable 21 CEOs in Jim Cramer's book Get Rich Carefully and one of nine Game-Changers in commercial real estate since 2000 (GlobeSt.com). To honor her industry contributions, she received the Industry Leadership Award from the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), where she previously served as Chair, and was inducted into the ASHA (American Seniors Housing Association) Senior Living Hall of Fame.
In addition to her work at Ventas, Cafaro is broadly engaged across business, public policy, academic, sports and non-profit sectors. Cafaro is the Chair of The Real Estate Roundtable, a public policy organization that brings together leaders of the nation's top real estate ownership, development, lending and management firms to address key national policy issues relating to real estate. She is also the Chair of the Economic Club of Chicago whose mission is to foster meaningful connections among the city's leaders on important economic and social issues. She is a member of the Business Council, and serves on the Boards of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC), the University of Chicago, Chicago Infrastructure Trust, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Cafaro is an owner and member of the Management Committee of the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins, back to back Stanley Cup Champions in 2016 and 2017.
Prior to joining Ventas, Cafaro was President and a Director of an NYSE-listed multi-family REIT, a practicing lawyer for 13 years and a judicial clerk for the Hon. J. Dickson Phillips, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Cafaro received her J.D. cum laude from the University of Chicago Law School, where she was named its 2011 Distinguished Alumna, and her B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame. She is married and has two children.
Secretary William Cohen
Former US Secretary of Defense
Chairman and CEO
The Cohen Group
Secretary of Defense (1997-2001)
Senator (1979-1997)
Congressman (1973-1979)
From his very first days in Washington, Secretary William Cohen was singled out as a future American leader. In 1974, during his very first term in Congress, TIME magazine named him as one of "America's 200 Future Leaders," and the following year the US Junior Chamber of Commerce named him one of the "Ten Outstanding Young Men in America."
This reflected, in part, the national prominence Secretary Cohen attained as a freshman Republican Congressman who was tasked by the House Judiciary Committee to build, on national television, the evidentiary base for impeachment of President Nixon -- and who then cast one of the critical votes to impeach. But it also reflected the recognition that the intellectual clout, integrity, independence, and public persuasiveness he demonstrated during the Watergate hearings portended a future without bounds on the national scene. Internationally, Secretary Cohen's reputation also took root as, despite the political risk it could entail for a freshman Congressman, he traveled to Thailand in 1974 to reassure a stalwart ally following the US military withdrawal from Vietnam. In the process, Secretary Cohen established relationships that have flourished there and elsewhere around the globe over the quarter century since.
In 1978, he was propelled into the Senate, defeating a highly respected incumbent. During his first weeks in the Senate, he was singled out to be chairman of two powerful subcommittees, the Armed Services Committee's Seapower and Force Projection Subcommittee and the Governmental Affairs Committee's Government Oversight Subcommittee. The former was responsible for tens of billions of acquisition dollars for naval vessels and long-range transport aircraft, as well as US security policy in East Asia, the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. The latter was responsible for reforming the procurement process for the entire Federal Government. As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Aging, Secretary Cohen led efforts to improve the efficiency of Medicare and other health care programs and was a central player in the health care reform debates of the 1990s. Secretary Cohen also was a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence for a decade, serving half that time as Vice Chairman, overseeing a large budget involving some of the Nation's most advanced technology.
His experience and expertise led to his selection to serve on the "Iran-Contra Committee." His sustained leadership on environmental issues gave him the distinction of being the only Republican Senator endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters re-election after re-election, while his efforts on behalf of small business and early leadership in reversing federal deficits won him awards from the National Federation of Independent Businessmen and the National Taxpayers Union.
Secretary Cohen's international expertise was recognized by his selection to the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations from 1989 to 1997, whose Middle East Study Group he chaired. He has chaired and served on numerous other study groups and committees at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the School for Advanced International Studies, and the Brookings Institute. He established and led US delegations to the annual Pacific Dialogue in Kuala Lumpur, as well as the American-Arab Dialogue in Cairo, both regional conferences on economic and security issues. Beginning in 1985, he led the US delegation of senior Executive Branch officials and Members of Congress to the annual Munich Conference on Security Policy, which brings together senior government and industrial officials from throughout Europe and Asia.
Secretary Cohen's service in the House and Senate was marked by electoral success, as well. He was undefeated in six consecutive Maine elections, winning each by wide margins. In 1996, again expected to easily defeat whomever would be nominated to challenge him, Secretary Cohen stunned Maine and Washington by announcing he would not seek re-election. Frustrated with partisan gridlock, Secretary Cohen announced he would return to private life to promote international business and, through his writings and the media, a more thoughtful public discourse on national political issues. He also launched the William S. Cohen Center for International Policy and Commerce at the University of Maine.
President Clinton changed these plans, however, when he asked Secretary Cohen to lead the Department of Defense, the first time in modern US history when a President has chosen an elected official from the other party to be a member of his cabinet. At his January 1997 confirmation hearing, Secretary Cohen set forth his prioritized objectives as Secretary and completed his tenure having accomplished them all. Reversing a steady decline in defense budgets that began in the 1980s, Secretary Cohen succeeded in modernizing the military and maintaining its readiness to fight; reversing recruitment and retention problems by enhancing pay and other benefits; and strengthening security relationships with countries around the world in order to reorient them from the Cold War to the challenges of a new era. Under his leadership, the US military conducted the largest air warfare campaign since World War II, in Serbia and Kosovo, and conducted other military operations on every continent. During his tenure, Secretary Cohen held substantive meetings with foreign leaders in over 60 countries.
A published author of thirteen works of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry; a futurist with degrees in classical Latin and Greek literature; the son of a working-class family who rose to the highest levels in government, it was natural for the Christian Science Monitor to call him "a true Renaissance Man." He is also an accomplished athlete and was named to the Maine all-state high school and college basketball teams, and, while at Bowdoin, he was inducted into the New England All-Star Hall of Fame. In 1987, he was named by the National Association of Basketball Coaches to the Silver Anniversary All Star Team, and in 2001, the NCAA presented him with its Theodore Roosevelt Award. Secretary Cohen is currently a member of the Board of Directors of CBS Corporation. He is also a World Affairs Contributor for Bloomberg Television providing analysis and commentary on major domestic and international news stories.
After 31 years of public service, Secretary Cohen leaves behind a record of unparalleled accomplishment, integrity, and respect, and takes with him unrivaled knowledge, reputation, and relationships, across America and around the globe.
Bob Corker is a successful businessman, a former United States Senator, and was previously named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by TIME Magazine.
Senator Corker represented Tennesseans in the Senate from 2007-2018, where he served as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and was an active member of the Senate Banking Committee and Senate Budget Committee.
He was Tennessee's Commissioner of Finance and Mayor of Chattanooga before being elected to the Senate, although he has spent most of his life in business.
At the age of 25, Mr. Corker started his own construction company with $8,000 in savings, eventually expanding operations to 18 states across the country. He later purchased two of the largest and oldest real estate holding companies in Chattanooga.
It's that results-driven businessman's perspective that allowed him to make a mark during his Senate tenure and become a national and global thought leader on fiscal, financial, and foreign policy issues.
Mr. Corker graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1974 with a degree in Industrial Management. He and his wife of 32 years, Elizabeth, call Chattanooga home.
Shaina Doar
Head of City Operations
Sidewalk Labs
Shaina Doar is Head of City Operations at Sidewalk Labs, an urban innovation company under the Alphabet umbrella. As a founding member, Shaina has been integral in driving the strategic direction of the firm across nearly all domains. Her work has included defining and executing strategies for responsible data use, urban health and wellness, inclusive development, and civic engagement, as well as driving the firm's replication, intellectual property and expansion efforts. Shaina launched Cityblock Health, an urban healthcare company, which has attracted significant external capital and is serving thousands of patients in three markets in only two years of operation.
Prior to Sidewalk Labs, Shaina served as the Chief of Staff to the Mayor's Economic Council under Mayor Rahm Emanuel in Chicago. In this role, she set the city's economic development agenda, managed public private development and infrastructure deals, and managed fiscal policy. Prior to her role in the Mayor's Office, Shaina was the Author and Director of the Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs, Mayor Emanuel's economic development plan for the City of Chicago.
Before working with the City of Chicago, Shaina was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company where she helped start the state and local government practice, focusing on a variety of strategic and reform topics including economic development, higher education, and infrastructure.
Shaina is on the Board of Directors of Accion, a microlending non-profit in Chicago and recently served on the Zoning Board of Appeals for the City of Chicago. She holds an MBA from Northwestern University and a B.S. from the University of Notre Dame.
Lucy Fletcher
Managing Director, International Portfolio Management
QuadReal Property Group
Lucy Fletcher joined QuadReal as Managing Director, International Portfolio Management in June 2017. As Portfolio Manager for QuadReal’s International Portfolio Lucy is focused on overall portfolio strategy whilst growing a high quality diversified international investment portfolio.
With extensive global advisory and asset management experience, Lucy brings a deep knowledge of market trends and strategy to the QuadReal leadership team, having been directly involved in more than $12 billion worth of global real estate transactions. She was formerly Managing Director of JLL, where she was responsible for facilitating cross border investments and advising institutional clients on international strategies for both debt and equity capital transactions in North America and Asia Pacific. Previously, she held senior asset management positions with Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific) Limited and New Star Asset Management in Asia Pacific.
Lucy holds an M.A. with honors in Architectural Design from University of Edinburgh and a Postgraduate Diploma in Estate Management from South Bank University, London. She is a member of INREV and ULI and has previously served on the RICS board in the Midwest and British Columbia.
Tom Flexner
Vice Chairman
Global Head of Real Estate
Citigroup
Tom Flexner is Citigroup Global Head of Real Estate and Vice Chairman of its Institutional Clients Group. Tom is responsible for directing Citi's worldwide real estate businesses across Corporate and Investment Banking, Commercial Real Estate Lending and Finance, and Real Estate Private Equity, with activities in more than 30 countries. Prior to joining Citi, Tom was Vice Chairman of Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., Chairman of its Global Industries Group, Head of the Real Estate, Gaming and Lodging Groups, Head of the Financial Sponsors Group and on the Board of the firm's broker/dealer subsidiary.
Tom is on the Board and is Treasurer of the Real Estate Roundtable, a Trustee of the International Council of Shopping Centers, was a Founding Governor of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council and is actively involved in other industry organizations. He has also advised a number of university and private endowments on their real estate investing strategies. During the financial crisis Tom worked with various governmental bodies including the Fed, the US Treasury and the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board to provide insight and advice on addressing the state of the US commercial real estate economy. In early 2009 Tom authored the "Federal Loan Extension Plan", which was widely cited in the media and presaged several of the government's subsequent liquidity programs. He is a frequent commentator on CNBC and Bloomberg.
Tom is on the Board of Overseers of the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, a Trustee of the Museum of the City of New York and of the Dutchess Land Conservancy, and a member of the Director's Council of Rockefeller University. He is a graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis and the Amos Tuck School. He lives with his family in New York City.
Greta Guggenheim
Chief Executive Officer
TPG Real Estate Finance Trust
Greta Guggenheim is Chief Executive Officer and President of TPG Real Estate Finance Trust (TRT) and a Firm Partner of TPG. TRT is a NYSE-listed commercial mortgage REIT (TRTX) that originates commercial real estate mortgage loans in major markets throughout the US. Previously, Ms. Guggenheim was Co‐Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Ladder Capital. Ms. Guggenheim’s prior experience includes positions at Dillon Read Capital Management, UBS, Bear Stearns and Credit Suisse. Ms. Guggenheim serves on the ULI Board of Trustees, the Board of Governors of CREFC, and several charitable foundations. Ms. Guggenheim has an M.B.A. from the Wharton School and a B.A. from Swarthmore College.
Pamela Herbst
Managing Director, Head of Direct Investments
AEW Capital Management
Pamela Herbst is a Managing Director at AEW and Head of the Direct Investment Group. As the Head of AEW’s Direct Investment Group, she is responsible for all of the firm’s investment activities on behalf of core and value-added clients. In this capacity, Ms. Herbst oversees the investment activity of $30.1 billion of gross assets as of year end 2018, invested in nearly all property types including new investment transactions totaling $2 billion/year. She is also a member of the firm’s Management Committee, Investment Committee and Risk Management Committee.
Over her 35 year career with AEW, Ms. Herbst has served in a variety of roles encompassing asset management, portfolio management and acquisitions. In addition to holding a number of industry certifications, she is former Chair and Board member of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers (NAREIM), past Treasurer of the Executive Committee and a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Office and Industrial Parks (NAIOP). In addition, she is an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), where she has served as a Trustee, a member on the Awards for Excellence Committee, a Council Chair, and on their Investment Committee.
Pamela Herbst is also active on the Board of Directors of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and the Merrimack Valley, where she serves as the Chair of their Real Estate Committee and is a member of their Investment Committee. She also served as Chair and Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Real Estate Committee for The Home for Little Wanderers, the oldest family service organization in the US. Ms. Herbst is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts (B.A.) and Boston University (M.B.A.).
Laura Hines-Pierce
Managing Director
Hines
Laura Hines-Pierce supports strategic initiatives to ensure Hines is consistently on the leading edge of being the best real estate investor, partner and manager in the world.
In September 2018, Ms. Hines-Pierce was named the firm's Transformation Officer to support the firm's strategic and transformative efforts across the business.
She served as Project Manager for River Point, a 1.1 million-square-foot, 52-story office tower and 1.5-acre park located in Chicago's West Loop submarket. Her responsibilities included zoning and entitlement, relationship management with equity partner Ivanhoé Cambridge, budget and schedule oversight, design and construction coordination, financial analysis, leasing, and marketing. She was instrumental in securing and negotiating leases for more than 900,000 square feet, $30 million in tax increment financing and $300 million in debt financing for the project.
Laura Hines-Pierce serves as a lead advisor for OneHines Women's Network, a company-wide program which seeks to create new opportunities for networking and mentorship, and to increase the volume of female applicants and the percentage of women in leadership in the firm. Additionally, she has served on the firm's Strategy Committee since 2016, helping to direct strategic initiatives and investments.
Ms. Hines-Pierce joined Hines in 2012 and was responsible for project management of land acquisitions and developments in the Midwest and Southeast Regions, including analyzing acquisition and new business opportunities, developing financial and budget models, assessing market research, evaluating mixed-use development opportunities and assisting with institutional fundraising. Since 2017, she has worked in the Office of the Chief Investment Officer, focused on several firm-wide initiatives that have helped to refine investment strategy and acquisition efforts. In September 2018, she was named the firm's Transformation Officer to support the firm's strategic and transformative efforts across the business.
Prior to joining Hines, she worked for Sotheby's in New York, where she helped develop and implement standardized auction processes and oversaw daily management of departmental auctions and client relationships for high net worth clients. She also interned at Eastdil Secured, where she was responsible for underwriting, analysis, market research and the development of offering memorandums for a variety of asset types across geographies.
Laura Hines-Pierce earned an M.B.A. from Harvard University in 2012, and a B.A. in Economics and Art History from Duke University in 2006.
Karen Horstmann
Head of Acquisitions
Allianz Real Estate of America
Karen Horstmann is the Head of Acquisitions for Allianz Real Estate of America. As the world's largest real estate investor, Allianz Real Estate manages a globally diversified portfolio of equity and debt totaling $76.4 billion worldwide with US assets amounting $19.2 billion.
Prior to joining Allianz Real Estate in September 2019, Ms. Horstmann worked for Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) from 2011 to 2019, Norway's $1 trillion Government Pension Fund Global, to build the US real estate platform, the investment team and develop a $22 billion strong portfolio.
Before NBIM, Karen Horstmann worked for Meyer Bergman Capital Partners where she helped co-launch the real estate private equity fund. She started her real estate career in 1999 in London while working for Goldman Sachs' Real Estate Principal Investment Area.
Karen Horstmann is very engaged in the real estate industry as she serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee as Deputy Chair of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE), on the Governing Board of Trustees, Foundation Investment Committee and Urban Development Mixed Use Council Bronze of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), and on the New York Women Executives in Real Estate (WX) Scholarship Committee.
Karen Horstmann holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Terry Howerton is a lifelong entrepreneur, founding his first company in high school. He has spent a career starting and leading ventures, mentoring other entrepreneurs, and building for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Mr. Howerton is the founder and CEO of TechNexus, a Chicago-based firm with a collaborative, joint venture model with leading corporations to drive growth by uniquely engaging the global entrepreneurial ecosystem. After a decade as one of the most successful startup incubators in the country, in recent years TechNexus has emerged as one of the most active venture investors globally.
Mr. Howerton is a member of the Executive Council of TechNet alongside several CEOs of the largest companies in the tech industry. TechNet is the national advocate for important policies to the tech industry, including economic growth, immigration, STEM education and workforce development. Terry Howerton serves as a director or advisor to several private companies. He was the founding chairman of one of the largest technology trade associations in the country, and founder of a (now replicated) inner city public high school to inspire a diverse population toward careers in technology and entrepreneurial thought.
TechNexus is at the forefront of driving innovation between large enterprises and the startup ecosystem. It has grown more than 450 startups that have raised in excess of $650 million in capital and created thousands of jobs. Today, TechNexus curates ecosystems of entrepreneurial activity all over the world, and actively invests into those ecosystems to drive innovation in close to a dozen major industries.
Mark Joseph
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Mobitas Advisors
Mark Joseph is an accomplished business and civic leader. He has more than 30 years of leadership experience in public and private transportation across the US, Canada, UK and Ireland, and South America. Mr. Joseph was CEO of the Americas for Transdev North America until July 2017, at which time he became the new global Chief Commercial Officer for the Transdev Group. He was a member of the Global Executive Committee. His focus was growing the business worldwide, as well as extending growth locally in the 20 countries where Transdev currently operates.
As CEO of North America, Mark Joseph built Transdev into the largest multi-modal transportation company in the US and Canada, operating bus, rail, paratransit, shuttle, and taxi companies under contract to 200 cities, counties, airports, and universities. Transdev – with more than 17,00 employees and 5,000 independent contractors in North America – operates public transportation contracts in many leading cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, Phoenix, Denver, New Orleans, Atlanta, Long Island, New York, and more. Transdev has recently expanded services in the Detroit area, including operating contracts for the M-1 light rail project and DDOT paratransit services.
Under Mr. Joseph’s leadership, revenues increased from $50 million in 2001 to $1.5 billion. This significant growth was generated through organic growth (70 percent from new contracts) and acquisitions (30 percent). Transdev North America won the largest transit contract in the US (Nassau County, NY) and operates the only public-private operating partnerships (PPOPs) in the country – Nassau County and New Orleans. In these PPOPs, Transdev has responsibility for all aspects of budgeting, planning, and operations for the public transit authority, reporting directly to a public board.
An entrepreneur and innovator, Mark Joseph is passionate about improving quality of life and economic growth in cities and communities through well-designed, multi-modal public transportation. As an executive, Mr. Joseph leads his teams with a focus on safety, sustainability, and superior operational performance. He is dedicated to building genuine partnerships with clients, employees, labor unions, and the disabled community.
Mark became President of the family taxi business in the 80s, and transformed Yellow Cab into Yellow Transportation – the leading diversified regional transportation company in Baltimore/Washington, DC, with taxi, bus, trolley, shuttle, private sedan, and paratransit operations. Yellow Transportation was recognized nationally for its efficiency, innovation and customer service, and was a key partner to the Mayor of Baltimore in the historic renewal of the downtown and inner harbor areas. Mr. Joseph developed the first urban retail auto mall in the US during this period.
In 2001, Yellow Transportation was acquired by Connex (Vivendi)/Veolia Transportation, the predecessor company to Transdev. Mr. Joseph was named President and Chief Operating Officer in 2004, and became Vice Chairman and CEO in 2006.
At the end of 2018, he made a career move, leaving Transdev and starting his own company, Mobitas Advisors. He currently serves as an advisor to early and mid-stage companies, including one of Israel’s mobility funds – NextGear Ventures – that has an accelerator program known as DRIVE.
Mark Joseph was President of the leading international trade association for the taxi and paratransit industry (the TLPA) headquartered in Rockville, MD, and founding member and past Chairman of the Washington, DC, chapter of the prestigious Young Presidents’ Organization. He served as Chairman of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Privatization for the State of Maryland, and held a number of gubernatorial appointments, including committees on insurance, tourism, and economic development.
Mark Joseph has served on numerous Boards of Directors of public, private, and nonprofit organizations, including the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School Advisory Board, Digital Dispatch (listed company), Enterprise Wireless Association, the Highline Advisory Board, and Spectrum Access. He currently serves on the Cornell Program Infrastructure Policy Advisory Board, the Ruppert Landscape Board, is a member of the Board of the University of Maryland Medical Center, the Energy Security Leadership Council Board and SAFE Board (Securing America’s Future Energy), the RoadBotics Board, and the Greater Washington Board of Trade. He has lectured several times at the Wharton Business School, as well as Johns Hopkins, Cornell University, and the Kennedy School at Harvard University.
Mark Joseph graduated from American University in Washington, DC, in 1980 with a B.S. in Business and Political Science.
Angelica (Angie) M. Marks joined the University of Chicago as Associate Vice President of Real Estate Operations in September 2018.
In this role, Ms. Marks oversees the strategic planning, procurement, disposition, and management of all University off-campus and privately-developed real estate holdings in the Greater Chicagoland area and around the world.
For the past twenty years, Angie Marks has worked in real estate and community development, taking on a variety of leadership roles in Chicago's nonprofit, government and private sectors. Her central focus has been using real estate to advance both institutional and community priorities – with an emphasis on developing projects, resources, and partnerships to improve the quality of life in South Side communities.
She most recently served as Vice President of Real Estate for Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, leading large-scale real estate projects that resulted in $250 million of new investment in Pullman, Bronzeville and Englewood over eight years. Ms. Marks has worked on a variety of projects involving complex financial structures, ranging from large industrial deals to housing, retail, and institutional development.
Angie Marks is a graduate of the University of Illinois with master's degrees in Urban and Regional Planning and Public Affairs Reporting, and a bachelor's degree in Journalism. She serves as a board member of two nonprofit organizations – Community Investment Corporation (CIC) and Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives (CNI). She also serves on the housing task force for Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly (HOME). She is a member of Lambda Alpha International, a global land economics society.
Sandeep Mathrani
Chief Executive Officer
Brookfield Properties Retail Group
Sandeep Mathrani is CEO of Brookfield Properties Retail Group and Vice Chairman, Brookfield Properties. For nearly eight years, he served as CEO of GGP Inc. and was part of the group that recapitalized GGP in November 2010.
Prior to joining GGP in 2010, Mr. Mathrani was President of Retail for Vornado Realty Trust, where he oversaw the US retail real estate. Before that, he spent nearly a decade as Executive Vice President at Forest City Ratner, responsible for their retail development and leasing in the New York City metropolitan area.
Sandeep Mathrani serves on the Executive Board and the Board of Trustees for the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), Executive Board and 2019 Chair of NAREIT and on the Board of Directors of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc.
He holds a Master of Engineering, Master of Management Science and Bachelor of Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ.
Kathleen McCarthy
Global Co-Head of Real Estate
Blackstone
Kathleen McCarthy is a Senior Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Blackstone Real Estate. Blackstone has the largest real estate platform in the world with $140 billion in investor capital under management. Blackstone Real Estate is the industry leader in opportunistic, core plus and debt investing across the US, Europe and Asia. Ms. McCarthy most recently served as Global Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone Real Estate where she was responsible for its day-to-day operations with a particular focus on its investors, capital raising and business development efforts across new investment products.
Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Ms. McCarthy worked at Goldman Sachs, where she was a Vice President focused on investments for the Real Estate Principal Investment Area. Ms. McCarthy began her career at Goldman Sachs in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group.
Ms. McCarthy received a B.A. with distinction from Yale University. Ms. McCarthy serves on the Boards of City Harvest, the Real Estate Roundtable and the PREA Foundation.
Jodie McLean is Chief Executive Officer of EDENS, one of the nation's leading private owners, operators and developers of retail real estate. With a more than 25-year tenure at EDENS, she has established herself as a key player in the company's growth and expansion to its current marketplace leadership, capitalized by blue chip investors and assets valued at $6.5 billion.
Ms. McLean is responsible for EDENS' strategy to move the portfolio to major urban centers, creating a portfolio of assets that are the center of community life. She was named Chief Investment Officer in 1997, President in 2002 and CEO in 2015. Overall, she has been responsible for the development, redevelopment, acquisition and disposition of more than $12 billion in retail assets.
Ms. McLean passionately believes that retail should evolve beyond a shopping experience, and advocates for connectivity to the communities surrounding the company's retail centers. To ensure this, each EDENS development is crafted to serve as an authentic gathering place, including a unique merchandising mix and welcoming design elements, fostering a sense of engagement with its neighbors.
A native of Chicago, Jodie McLean holds a B.S. in Finance and Management from the Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina and a degree from South Carolina Honors College. Ms. McLean serves as Trustee and Executive Board Member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and Trustee of Urban Land Institute. She serves on the boards of Cushman & Wakefield, The Real Estate Round Table, Wofford College and Extended Stay America, as well as boards of several other institutions and charities. Ms. McLean is a member of the Liberty Fellowship (Aspen Institute) Class of 2009.
Carol Melton is CEO and founder of Adeft Capital LLC, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage companies and other US and international business interests. Ms. Melton launched Adeft following many years in top management at two global media and entertainment companies. At Time Warner, she was EVP for Global Public Policy, overseeing offices in Washington, London, Brussels, Hong Kong and Buenos Aires, and managing a worldwide portfolio for the company's HBO, Warner Bros. and Turner divisions (and, previously during her tenure, Time Warner Cable, Time Inc. and AOL). Ms. Melton previously managed domestic and international government affairs for the then-combined Viacom and CBS, where her responsibilities included Paramount, MTV Networks, Showtime and all CBS interests in television entertainment, news and radio. She is a board member of JBG Smith, as well as the Economic Club of Washington, DC and Halcyon. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Carol Melton has been a moderator and speaker at numerous domestic and international conferences related to trade, technology and innovation.Washingtonian magazine has repeatedly named her among the 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington. She holds a J.D. from American University's Washington College of Law; an M.A. in Communications from the University of Florida; and a B.A. from Wake Forest University.
Christopher Merrill
Co-Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Harrison Street
Christopher Merrill is the Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Harrison Street, a real assets investment management firm he co-founded in 2005 that has completed approximately $24 billion in transactional volume and currently has more than $19 billion in AUM. Mr. Merrill is currently the largest individual shareholder and serves as Chairman of the Board and the Investment and Executive Committees of the Company. The firm was an innovator and early adopter of a focused investment strategy around the education, healthcare and storage segments of the real estate market (launching nine closed-end funds as well as industry leading open-end funds). In 2018, Mr. Merrill sold 75 percent of the firm to the Colliers International Group (CIGI) in order to create long-term stability and an orderly succession of the business to key employees. More than 300 investors ($12 billion) participate in Harrison Street funds including US, European and Asian Pension Funds, Corporate Plans, Insurance Companies, Endowments, Foundations and family offices. The firm has main offices in Chicago and London.
Prior to co-founding Harrison Street, Mr. Merrill was a Partner, owner and Managing Director of a large US pension fund advisory firm where he developed the firm's presence in Europe, creating the first ever real estate funds exclusively targeting the markets of Central Europe. This initial fund was one of the top 10 performing global funds during vintage years 1996-2000, as noted by Preqin.
Mr. Merrill has appeared on television and in numerous real estate journals as well speaking engagements regarding real asset investing. Over the years, National Real Estate Investor Magazine has named him one of the "10 To Watch" leaders in the industry, PERE nominated him as one of the top real estate executives in North America, Real Estate Forum named him one of “Chicago's Real Estate Icons,” and he was included as one of “Crain’s 40 under 40.” In 2018, Mr. Merrill was one of the finalists for PERE’s North American Industry figure of the year.
Mr. Merrill is a member of the NAREIM Board of Directors, Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), The Real Estate Advisory Board of two Chicago based family offices (Gore Creek and Kinship Capital), The Board of the First Tee of Greater Chicago, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (Facilities Committee), Chicago Botanic Garden (Financial Committee), The Economic Club of Chicago, the Chicago Commonwealth Club and the Young Presidents Organization (YPO). Mr. Merrill is also an active angel investor in many early stage companies. Mr. Merrill earned his M.B.A. in the evening from the CASS school of business in London, England.
Mark Myers
Executive Vice President
Head of Commercial Real Estate
Wells Fargo
Mark Myers is an Executive Vice President and heads the Wells Fargo Commercial Real Estate Group. Operating throughout the United States as well as international operations in Toronto and London, Commercial Real Estate delivers a comprehensive platform of banking, financing and servicing solutions for commercial real estate companies inclusive of: balance sheet lending, CMBS origination, distribution and loan servicing, agency financing for multifamily assets, and debt and equity capital for the affordable housing industry.
During Mr. Myers' 30-year affiliation with Wells Fargo, he has held a number of senior leadership positions in the Real Estate, Corporate, Capital Markets and Special Situation Groups. Mr. Myers, based in San Francisco, is a member of Wells Fargo's Management Committee.
Mr. Myers earned his B.S. degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), is a Trustee of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), is a member of the Real Estate Roundtable and is on the Policy Advisory Board Executive Committee of the Fisher Center for Real Estate at the University of California, Berkeley.
Len O'Donnell
President and Chief Executive Officer
USAA Real Estate
Len O'Donnell is President and Chief Executive Officer of USAA Real Estate, the commercial real estate investment and management arm of USAA, overseeing all operations of the company. Mr. O’Donnell came to USAA Real Estate in January 2011 as President and Chief Operating Officer with more than 30 years of experience in real estate. In this capacity, Mr. O’Donnell was responsible for all acquisitions and capital markets activities.
He was previously a Principal and Chief Investment Officer for Crimson Real Estate Fund, a real estate opportunity fund managed by Crimson Real Estate Advisors which specialized in value-added acquisitions and build-to-suit development. Prior to that, he served as President and CEO of Crimson Capital Ltd., a diversified real estate investment company offering investment management services, as well as development, property management and leasing through affiliated companies.
Jonathan Pollack
Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies
Blackstone
Jonathan Pollack is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of the Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies group and is based in New York. Since joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr. Pollack has been responsible for overseeing our real estate debt investment strategy. He is also a member of the firm's real estate investment committee, and serves on the board of Blackstone Mortgage Trust. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Pollack was a Managing Director and Global Head of Commercial Real Estate, as well as Head of Risk for Structured Finance, at Deutsche Bank. Mr. Pollack joined Deutsche Bank in 1999 from Nomura Group. Mr. Pollack received a BA in Economics from Northwestern University. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the East Harlem Tutorial Program.
Stephen Quazzo
Chief Executive Officer
Pearlmark Real Estate
Stephen Quazzo, 59, is Co-Founder and CEO of Pearlmark, a Chicago–based private equity real estate investment firm that pursues domestic, value-added strategies through a series of institutional and high net worth investment vehicles. Since its inception in 1996, the firm has made more than 530 office, industrial, retail, multifamily and mezzanine loan investments nationwide, representing a gross investment of more than $13.2 billion. Currently the firm oversees an approximately $1.5 billion portfolio of US real estate investments.
From 1991 to 1996, Mr. Quazzo served as President of Equity Institutional Investors, Inc., a subsidiary of investor Sam Zell’s private holding company, Equity Group Investments, Inc. Mr. Quazzo was responsible for raising equity capital and performing various portfolio management services in connection with the firm’s real estate investments, including institutional opportunity funds and public REITs. Prior to joining the Zell organization, Mr. Quazzo was in the Real Estate Department of Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he was a Vice President responsible for the firm’s real estate investment banking activities in the Midwest.
Mr. Quazzo holds undergraduate and M.B.A. degrees from Harvard University, where he serves as a member of the Board of Dean’s Advisors for the business school. He is a Trustee of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), Trustee and immediate past Chairman of the ULI Foundation, a member of the Pension Real Estate Association, and a licensed real estate broker in Illinois. Mr. Quazzo is a public company director of Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp. (NYSE: VAC) and Phillips Edison & Company. For 22 years (1994-2016), he also served as a director of Starwood Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: HOT), which in 2016 merged with Marriott International (NYSE: MAR). Mr. Quazzo serves on a number of nonprofit boards, including: Rush University Medical Center, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Endowment, the Chicago Parks Foundation, Deerfield Academy, and City Year Chicago.
Randall Rowe
Chairman
Green Courte Partners
Randy Rowe is Chairman of Green Courte Partners, LLC (GCP), a private equity real estate investment firm focused on niche real estate strategies. GCP currently has three active niche strategies: 1) near airport parking (The Parking Spot); 2) manufactured housing communities; and 3) active adult/independent living properties.
Previously Mr. Rowe was a co-founder and Chairman of Transwestern Investment Company, LLC and Chairman and Director of Transwestern Commercial Services, LLC. Mr. Rowe was also Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hometown America, LLC, a large owner of manufactured housing communities.
Mr. Rowe is a Trustee and former Global Chairman of the Urban Land Institute, an Emeritus Trustee of the Steppenwolf Theatre, and a member and former Chairman of the Real Estate Roundtable.
Mr. Rowe holds a B.A. from Denison University, an M.B.A. from Harvard University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan.
Marcela Sapone is the co-founder and CEO of Hello Alfred. As CEO, Ms. Sapone leads the company in its mission to make help a universal utility in every home and redefine city living. Alongside her co-founder, Jessica Beck, she holds the distinction of presenting the first women-led company to win first prize at the TechCrunch Disrupt SF Startup Battlefield competition. She writes and speaks frequently on principled leadership, human-centered technology, and her commitment to being a steward of good jobs and meaningful work. One of the first founders in the sharing economy to advocate for fairly compensating service workers by hiring them as W-2 employees instead of freelance contractors, she has worked with the US Department of Labor and the White House under the administration of President Barack Obama, as well as The Brookings Institute and The Aspen Institute's Economic Opportunities and Financial Security program. Her writing has appeared in Forbes, Quartz, and Recode, among other publications.
Named one of Goldman Sachs's "most intriguing entrepreneurs," Ms. Sapone has been nominated for the Financial Times' ArcelorMittal Boldness in Business Award, included in Fast Company's Most Creative People list, and featured as the face of Consumer Tech in Forbes 30 Under 30.
Marcela Sapone holds an M.B.A. with distinction from Harvard Business School. Prior to founding Hello Alfred, she began her career as a consultant at McKinsey & Company before working in private equity and co-creating WHITESPACE, a seed-stage venture fund.
Mitchell Schear is Executive Partner at Camber Creek, the longest standing real estate technology (proptech) focused venture capital firm. Together with his partners, he works to identify early-stage, industry-leading portfolio companies to cultivate, invest in and grow to deliver outsized returns to Camber Creek's investors.
With more than 35 years of leadership, technology, innovation, placemaking and development experience, Mr. Schear has led both private and public real estate companies where he developed and enhanced buildings and environments, envisioning and delivering the vibrant neighborhoods we celebrate today across the Washington, DC region. From 2003 until 2017, he was President of Vornado/Charles E. Smith where he directed the strategy, performance and growth of Vornado's extensive 20+ million-square-foot Washington, DC portfolio. In Arlington, VA, his forward-thinking, placemaking vision transformed Crystal City, now National Landing, into a vibrant, creative community that became home to a growing innovation hub and great restaurants/retail concepts.
Ryan Simonetti is the Co-Founder and CEO of Convene. Convene designs and services a network of premium places to work, meet, and host inspiring events. Convene has raised $260 million in equity funding to date, and has been named one of America's 100 Most Promising Companies by Forbes and a Best Workplace by both Inc. and Fortune Magazines. Mr. Simonetti has been recognized for his transformative achievements on Real Estate Forum's 50 Under 40 list, Inc. Magazine's "30 Under 30," a list of America's Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs, was named "Top Entrepreneur" by Crain's New York, and a finalist in Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year® New York Awards.
Susan Swanezy
Partner
Hodes Weill & Associates
Susan Swanezy is a Partner of Hodes Weill, responsible for coverage of institutional investors and consultants in North America. Ms. Swanezy coordinates Hodes Weill's Marketing and Distribution efforts globally and is active in the origination of new business and advising clients. Ms. Swanezy is a member of Hodes Weill's Operating Committee. Ms. Swanezy has over 30 years of real estate experience, originally as real estate finance banker and then turning to real estate investment management in 2001. Previously, Ms. Swanezy was a Managing Director and Head of Distribution for Credit Suisse's Real Estate Investments Group. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, Ms. Swanezy was a Managing Director at Stockbridge Capital Partners, focused on client relations and business development. From 2002 to 2007, Ms. Swanezy was a Partner in Deutsche Bank RREEF's Client Relations Group, where she worked with institutional investors across a variety of real estate investment strategies and vehicles. Until 2001, Ms. Swanezy was an investment banker with Deutsche Bank's real estate investment banking group, the successor entity to BT Alex Brown, providing both public and private debt and equity related products to REITs, private real estate operators and real estate funds. Ms. Swanezy is a current member of PREA, ULI and WX Women Executives in Real Estate where she was the former President and was honored as WX Woman of the Year in 2014. Ms. Swanezy serves on the Board of Directors of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE: AVB). Ms. Swanezy received a BS degree from the School of Foreign Service (SFS), Georgetown University and currently serves on SFS's Board of Advisors.
Tiffany Thurber
Vice President, Investment Banking Division
Goldman Sachs
Tiffany Thurber is a senior Vice President within the Real Estate Financing Group at Goldman Sachs. The Real Estate Financing Group deploys Goldman's balance sheet on mortgage and mezzanine commercial real estate lending opportunities for the firm's new-issue CMBS business and the GS Bank portfolio. Ms. Thurber's primary responsibilities include originating and structuring large complex mortgage and mezzanine financings for sophisticated real estate sponsors. Ms. Thurber earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the College of William & Mary.
Steve Weikal
Head of Industry and Alumni Relations
CRE Tech Lead, MiT REILab
MiT Center for Real Estate
Steve Weikal is Head of Industry Relations at the MiT Center for Real Estate, responsible for managing relationships between the Center and its global network of industry partners and nearly 1,100 alumni of the MiT Master's in Real Estate Development (MSRED) program in 46 countries. He is also a lecturer and researcher, and the CRE Tech lead in the MiT Real Estate Innovation Lab, focused on innovative new technology and business models that disrupt the traditional ways of developing, transacting and managing real estate.
Mr. Weikal was the Founder of MiT Real Disruption, a successful series of conferences discussing the impact of emerging technology on the real estate industry that is now part of the international CREtech conference platform. He is a member of the CREtech Leadership Board and sits on the advisory boards of three real estate technology startups. Steve Weikal has spoken extensively about real estate technology at conferences for AFIRE, ULI, IREM, SIOR, CCIM, CoreNet, ICSC, and BOMA, and has been quoted by numerous media outlets, including BuzzFeed, TechInsider, The Boston Globe, GlobeSt.com, The Real Reporter, Travel Weekly, IPE Real Assets Europe, and Anuario Inmobiliario Latinoamérica.
He holds an M.S.RED and M.CP from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a law degree from Suffolk University Law School. He is a licensed attorney, a licensed real estate broker and a LEED Accredited Professional.
Prior to his position at the MiT Center for Real Estate, Steve Weikal was Vice President of NOW Communities, a Concord, MA-based developer of new residential neighborhoods that merge the best of traditional design with 21st century energy technology. Before graduate school, he was National Media Tour Producer for Martin Scorsese's The Blues for WGBH Boston; was Manager of Partner Acquisition at Curl, a VC-funded tech startup launched to commercialize a new coding language developed at the MiT Lab for Computer Science (LCS); and was a Founding Partner of Sonoma Coast Vineyards, maker of award-winning Pinot Noir from the Extreme Sonoma Coast of California. He began his real estate career restoring and redeveloping historic theaters in Detroit's Fox Center entertainment district.
At Delos Living, Phil Williams directs the confluence of buildings, data and people for "SMARTer and HEALTHier" buildings and communities. The improved performance of people in the workplace, for themselves and for business, is the greatest untapped potential of any initiative present in today's conversation. Mr. Williams has spent 38 years in the commercial design, engineering, construction and development industry. He holds advisory roles with Center for the Built Environment (CBE), Eco-Districts, the Well Living Laboratory (a Delos Living-Mayo Clinic research collaborative), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), FLEXLAB industry advisory council, and is a co-author of The Healthy Work Place NUDGE.
Well-established traditions of developing, transacting and managing real estate are being fundamentally challenged by societal and demographic changes, breakthroughs in technology and new, innovative business models. Steve Weikal from the MiT Center for Real Estate will share some of the emerging trends and opportunities from this unparalleled industry transformation.
Head of Industry and Alumni Relations
CRE Tech Lead, MiT REILab
MiT Center for Real Estate
Society and the global economy are being radically transformed right before our eyes. Changes in business and consumer behavior are altering the investment and development decisions of real estate investors and capital providers. Our panel of leaders will discuss how their firms and the larger industry are addressing this continuously changing and uncertain environment and what we might expect to see in the near future.
This panel will explore the changing paradigms, as well as the merging and cross-pollination, of various real estate product types. Panelists include owners, a user, and a facilitator – each of whom are grappling with similar questions about, and solutions for, highly effective spaces that attract people. The discussion will address the growing role of hospitality and its dynamic intersection with office, residential, hotels, retail and flex spaces. Our industry experts will share what is most important as they design and create forward-looking spaces to maximize flexibility and usability for their consumers.
Economic uncertainty has arisen, yet abundant capital persists. Attractive yields are scarce. Change in consumer and commercial desires surrounds us as industry norms and conventional ways of analyzing new opportunities are upended. This panel will address what investors are seeking now, and what the future holds for equity investments.
As the roller coaster ride of unpredictable times continues in Washington, the domestic and international challenges confronting the United States are among the most intense in modern history. From immigration to international trade, to Brexit, to global hotspots in Iran, North Korea, the Middle East and elsewhere, the Trump Administration and Congress face an overflowing inbox of complex issues every day. With years of experience working with multiple US Presidents, on Capitol Hill, and alongside world leaders of both key US allies and antagonists, our panelists are uniquely situated to share their insights on these challenges.
The real estate finance markets have evolved in response to the Global Financial Crisis, regulatory reforms and emerging trends in the industry. While banks and life companies and CMBS continue to dominate the capital markets, new entrants are also emerging – bringing with them different and disruptive ways of thinking about capital raising, underwriting and loan servicing. Fintech, more robust data and the operational shifts occurring within the larger marketplace are expected to significantly influence the broader corporate finance markets. Real estate finance surely will not go unaffected. This panel will discuss where we have been, where we are going and the long-term future of real estate finance.
The ongoing technological revolution is dramatically changing the real estate industry. Shared spaces, logistics, automation, robotics, blockchain, smart contracts, artificial intelligence and other new technologies are impacting the industry and the larger global real estate economy, which nonetheless remains fundamentally based on dirt, bricks and mortar. Our group of experts working on the latest innovations in the industry will share a range of perspectives on the impacts of technology in real estate and take a deep dive into the intersection of "prop" and "tech."
Engage with us and leading real estate futurists, each of whom will discuss the ideas that are changing the way we live and work.
How are Innovation and Disruption Changing Real Estate?
Large companies and entire industries are being disrupted every day and at risk more than at any time in world economic history (74% of Fortune 1000 companies from 10 years ago don’t make the list today). Terry Howerton, CEO of TechNexus, will describe the evolving best practices for harnessing disruption and collaborative growth that are needed for real estate industry leaders to evolve.
Mobility
From autonomous cars to millennials on scooters, the ways in which we commute, live, work, shop and play are changing. Mark Joseph, CEO of Mobitas Advisors, will take us on a tour of the future of mobility and its impact on real estate development.
Re-Imagining the Built Environment
Health and wellness are influencing the development of office buildings, multifamily properties and hotels, all with an eye to improving the satisfaction and performance of the people in those places. Phil Williams, Executive Vice President, Building and Human Performance, Delos Living, will describe how the WELL building standard and other aspects of change are impacting the future of the spaces in which we live, work and play.
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