Leading Voices In Real Estate

On this episode of Leading Voices, Laura Foote, the Executive Director of YIMBY Action (the national organization for the “Yes in My Back Yard” movement) joins Matt and doesn’t hold back as she shares how we can influence policymakers—especially at the local level—to reduce barriers to building more housing that will address the huge housing shortage in the U.S. YIMBYs are the pro-housing counterpart to the NIMBY’s who so often block density and development. YIMBY Action is a national network in nearly 20 cities that understands the extreme housing shortages in our communities and takes political action to advocate for “abundant, affordable housing and inclusive, sustainable communities”. 

CEO of Boston Properties, Owen Thomas, joins Matt for the first conversation of 2022 on Leading Voices in Real Estate. Boston Properties is the largest office REIT, developing, investing, and managing Class A office buildings in Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C, with a portfolio of 193 properties. Owen exemplifies leadership in our industry with distinct parts of his career. First, he climbed the ladder at Morgan Stanley through a 24 year career, a large part of which was running their real estate state group, then serving as Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Stanley Asia. After his “retirement” from Morgan Stanley, Owen became Boston Properties’ CEO, where he’s served in the organization for close to a decade. Finally, he has made a commitment to the industry in key leadership positions, including serving as the immediate past Global Chair of the Urban Land Institute and his significant contribution to ULI’s Net Zero Imperative Initiative working to reduce our industry’s

Jordan Moss, Founder and CEO of Catalyst Housing Group, joins Matt on this episode of Leading Voices in real estate to discuss his company, Catalyst Housing, which has focused on creating housing opportunities for the “missing middle”. Jordan founded Catalyst Housing Group in just 2015, which now controls or is under contract for 6,000 units, about $2.5 billion of asset value. This housing, which Jordan calls “Essential Housing”, is structured to preserve long term affordability for the essential middle-income workforce including nurses, teachers, and first responders (among others) who earn too much to qualify for traditional affordable housing, but are priced out of the communities where they work. On the podcast, Jordan describes the unique structure of public ownership that he pioneered and the critiques of the model, and his company’s work combining investment, innovation, and impact in our industry.Over the past two decades, Jordan has been actively engaged in the investment, acquisition, development, f

During this episode, we are rebroadcasting a Leading Voices favorite with Lisa Picard, CEO of EQ Office. EQ Office is the vertical of Blackstone that oversees the office assets of one of the world’s leading investment firms and its acquisition of the portfolios of Sam Zell’s Equity Office, CarrAmerica, Trizec, and other office assets. Lisa’s story exemplifies one of the most compelling career trajectories in real estate and passionately articulates the meaning, the ripple effects, and opportunities around innovation in real estate. This is a pre-pandemic discussion of the office business which will be a great background for our conversation right after the New Year with Boston Properties’ Owen Thomas about the current state of the office business.Lisa Picard is a woman with a vision. Thanks to technology, the office development space has evolved from a B2B market to B2C, and she’s on the front lines of in an industry resistant to change.“We’re really not producing products per say; we’re creating ideas. And s

On this episode of Leading Voices, Matt is joined by David Stanford, founder of RealFoundations. RealFoundations is a professional services firm focused on “helping companies that develop, build, own, operate, service, occupy, or invest in real estate make smarter, more profitable decisions. We make real estate run better.” David and Matt discuss the thesis that, as real estate companies become of institutional scale, the “operating platform” of the business can move the needle more than the transactional side of the business. David and Matt dive deep into how strategy, operations, technologies, culture, and training can move the needle with significant NOI swings.David has over 30 years of experience providing strategic financial and operational improvement services to clients in the property and building industries. David leads RealFoundations’ Owner/Operator and Investment Management practices and is responsible for the corporate development activities of the firm. Additionally, he is responsible for imple

Matt is joined by Dan Doctoroff, Chairman and CEO of Sidewalk Labs, an Alphabet/Google subsidiary, dedicated to urban innovation, on this latest episode of Leading Voices. Sidewalk Labs tackles “cities’ greatest challenges by creating products and solutions, investing in new companies, and helping developers build more sustainable, innovative, and equitable places around the world”. Dan is a testament to what it means to be a leader in our industry. While Managing Partner of the private equity investment firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, he founded NYC2012, spearheading an Olympic City bid for NYC which resulted in a vision for urban redevelopment of the city. Under Mayor Bloomberg, he served as Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding, where he helped lead NYC’s resurgence after 9/11 through a comprehensive five-borough economic development strategy. This included plans to redevelop areas that are now high-profile destinations like the High Line, Hudson Yards, and Governor’s Island. Dan shares how

Ned Spieker joins Sam Zell, Gerald Hines, Art Gensler, Ron Terwilliger, and Leonard Wood as part of our industry legends series on Leading Voices in Real Estate. Like many of our guests, Ned came out of the Trammell Crow Company, where he had been then their youngest partner, and established and built their West Coast Division. He spun his team out in 1987, founding Spieker Properties and taking the company public as a REIT in 1993. As one of the most respected CEOs among REITs at the time, Ned led Spieker Properties to aggregate more than 40 million square feet of office and industrial properties in California and the Pacific Northwest. In 2001, Spieker Properties sold to Sam Zell’s Equity Office Properties Trust as a top of the market trade for more than $7 billion. Ned has since gone on to become one of the most active developers and owners of Continuing Care Retirement Communities in California. Ned shares stories from throughout his successful real estate career, including his ongoing focus on the value

On the latest episode of Leading Voices in Real Estate, Matt is joined by Julia Boyd Corso and Marshall Boyd, Co-Presidents of Interstate Equities Corporation. Founded in 1981 by their parents, IEC is a value-add investor and manager of multifamily properties across California and now Seattle, with a niche of acquiring dated apartments and transforming them into attainable, updated, boutique-style assets for the current resident demographic. Julia and Marshall took over the organization in 2007 following the passing of their father when they were 27 and 29 respectively. Some of the themes of this episode surround the challenges of starting in the industry as emerging leaders, the transition of a family company to a private equity business, the benefits of a co-head structure, and climbing the ladder from a syndication model up to a commingled fund business.About JuliaJulia is co-president and chief operating officer responsible for corporate operations, asset management and repositioning of all investments. S

Jodie McLean, CEO of the retail owner, operator, and developer EDENS joins Matt on Leading Voices in Real Estate. Founded over 50 years ago in South Carolina, EDENS, now headquartered in Washington, D.C., has a portfolio of 110 properties consisting of mixed-use, shopping centers, grocery-anchored retail, and unique historic retail redevelopments. Jodie shares her “aha” moment when she moved her perspective and leadership from transactional to purpose and mission, resulting in EDENS’ focus on their “enriching community through human engagement”. EDENS knows that “when people come together, they feel a part of themselves and prosperity follows: economically, socially, culturally and soulfully”. Jodie talks about this approach throughout the business, including through the challenges of COVID and EDENS’ development of the historic Union Market District in D.C., where EDENS offices are located and our conversation was recorded.With a tenure of more than 25 years, Jodie has established herself as a key player in

In Leading Voices’ inaugural “back to school” episode, Matt interviews Sam Chandan, the Larry & Klara Silverstein Chair and Academic Dean of NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate, one of the largest real estate graduate and undergraduate programs globally. In a wide-ranging conversation, Sam shares the value of an education in real estate and how it prepares future leaders for their careers in the multi-disciplinary business of real estate. In the episode, they discuss the complex issues addressing our industry, including climate change, urbanization, social equity, diversity in leadership, and public health issues. Sam provides a framework on how our industry can cultivate the next generation of leaders through educational programs, mentorship, and other opportunities, and how his personal relationship to establishing the Real Estate Pride Council which provides a connective network for professionals in the built environment who identify with the LGBTQ+ community.Beyond his role with NYU, Sam is also fou

In the second part of Leading Voices in Real Estate’s discussion surrounding sustainability in the built environment, Matt is joined by Elena Alschuler, Head of Americas Sustainability for LaSalle Investment Management, and Marta Schantz, head of ULI’s Greenprint Center for Building Performance. While much of the global conversation surrounding carbon emissions centers on transportation issues the built environment is responsible for about 40% of global emissions, while transportation is just 20%. Directly after recording this episode, the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a new report going further than any previous statement indicating that climate change is “a code red for humanity”. While some of these changes are irreversible, this demonstrates the growing importance of climate mitigation and adaptation globally, particularly in the real estate industry. Both Elena and Marta share their perspectives from their respective roles, Elena being with a leading real estat

In the first of our two-part episode series on climate change and the built environment, Greg Smithies, Partner of Fifth Wall where he leads the Climate Technology Investment team, joins Matt to discuss sustainability in the real estate sector. Greg is the second guest on Leading Voices from Fifth Wall as Co-Founder and Managing Partner Brad Greiwe was featured in 2019. Our industry, the built environment, is responsible for about 40% of total global carbon emissions, about 3/4 of which comes from existing buildings and about 1/4 from construction and deconstruction. Addressing our industry’s carbon footprint in addition to finding adaptation strategies to cope with climate change will be a large global investment in real estate over the coming years. Greg provides a high-level global perspective on sustainability and shares how Fifth Wall’s $500M fund focusing on “climate tech” is a start in a burgeoning area of investment.Prior to joining Fifth Wall, Greg was a Partner at BMW i Ventures where he led the Sus

In our 100th episode of Leading Voices in Real Estate, Matt speaks with David Radcliffe, the head of real estate at Google, and the first corporate real estate guest on the podcast. David is responsible for managing all aspects of Google’s global real estate portfolio, industry-leading workplace services, and physical security services that enable the company to thrive. Through his leadership, David and his team create inspiring environments where 130,000+ employees in over 170 cities spanning more than 60 countries can do their best work every day. The conversation revolves around Google’s mentality to create unique, collaborative workspaces for employees to engage daily, corporate residences and communities beyond the workplace environment, and how the global tech giant is bringing personnel back in the office following COVID.In his 15+ years at Google, David has built and led teams that continually scale, evolve, and innovate Google’s dynamic workplace environment and services, promote employee health and

As everyone tries to make sense of the next cycle of the real estate industry post-pandemic, Matt is joined by Richard Barkham, Global Chief Economist & Head of Americas Research at CBRE, to discuss how COVID has affected various sectors of CRE. Richard provides his outlook sector-by-sector, including high-growth for both multi-family and industrial. He shares a balanced view on retail, given the need for various retail products like grocery and entertainment, and discusses the continued uncertainties and transitions in the office sector. Following, Richard shares his career journey in his unique senior-leadership position of real estate research and how his insights provide strategic direction for the largest global commercial real estate services company.Richard is a specialist in macro and real estate economics. He joined CBRE in 2014 as Executive Director and Global Chief Economist. Prior to taking up his position with CBRE, Richard was a Director of Research for the Grosvenor Group an international b

During this week’s episode of Leading Voices in Real Estate, Gunnar Branson, CEO of AFIRE, speaks with Matt about current issues facing the CRE business, including his thoughts on what is driving foreign capital into U.S. real estate right now as we are moving forward from the Covid crisis. As CEO of AFIRE, the Association for International Real Estate Investors, Gunnar leads the trade group with nearly 200 leading global institutional investors, investment managers, and supporting partners from 24 countries representing approximately $3 trillion in real estate assets under management in the U.S. Prior, Gunnar was CEO of NAREIM, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers. Gunnar is also the host of The AFIRE Podcast where he deep dives with business leaders on specific topics, strategies, and issues in the global real estate business.

Long-term colleagues Chaz Mueller, CEO of Progress Residential, and Dana Hamilton, Head of Real Estate of Pretium, jointly speak with Matt on this week’s episode of Leading Voices in Real Estate to talk about the single-family rental business. Progress Residential, a portfolio holding of Pretium, is the country’s largest privately held owner and operator of single-family rental. Dana and Chaz share the dynamics and drivers of the single-family rental business, which has only recently emerged as a significant real estate asset class, institutionalizing a heretofore wholly “mom and pop” business. Dana and Chaz were among the founding leadership team at Archstone, which in the late ’90s, along with the other apartment REITs, were similarly institutionalizing a non-institutional business. They talk about the parallels between the early days at Archstone and this still-emerging business in single-family rentals as a new and permanent institutional asset class.About ChazChaz Mueller is the CEO of Progress Residenti

Neveo Mosser leads a fascinating second generation family business that operates mostly in the multifamily space. His father founded the company in the 1960s; they have owned many of their generational assets now for decades. Mosser specializes in owning and managing rent stabilized apartments in the Bay Area and now also in Southern California. Mosser is one of a handful of sharpshooter companies that operate in this niche in the business.As he will explain, there are two sides of the Mosser business: the owner-operator side and a relatively new business, Mosser Capital, which invests in this asset class for third party capital. Neveo and Matt discuss the dynamics and drivers of his business, how they have fared through COVID in San Francisco, a market that overall saw some of the largest rent drops in the country, and the dynamics of his career path as a second generation business leader.For more than 30 years at Mosser Companies, Neveo has developed a deep expertise in investing and property management in

On Tuesday, May 10, the real estate community lost one of its great thinkers and leaders, Art Gensler, the Founder of Gensler, the world’s leading design firm. This is a re-release of our November 19, 2018 Leading Voices interview with Art Gensler, who founded the eponymous-named design firm in 1965, which has grown to become the largest design firm in the world. For a fuller appreciation of Art’s life and work, visit www.gensler.com/art-gensler-legacy on the Gensler website. This original interview was sponsored by JLL and featured a joint conversation with Art and Riki Nishimura, then a Director with Gensler.This re-release is timely given the current depth of thinking, in which Gensler is one of the world’s thought leaders, around reimagining the workplace and the future of our cities in a post-pandemic world. For a more current discussion on the topic, please also revisit our July, 2020 interview with current co-CEO of Gensler, Andy Cohen.From original release:When Art Gensler started his firm in 1965, Ge

Matt spoke with Jim Risoleo, President and CEO of Host Hotels & Resorts, during this week’s episode of Leading Voices in Real Estate. Host Hotels & Resorts is the largest hospitality REIT with over 46,800 hotel rooms worldwide and the largest owner of high-end hotels in the United States with brands including Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Westin, and Hyatt. Given today’s COVID environment, much of the conversation revolves around the pandemic’s impact on the hospitality sector, how Host Hotels & Resorts has weathered the storm, and his predictions for business resumption coming out of the pandemic. Additionally, Jim shares his insights as a leader within the real estate industry as the chair of NAREIT, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.Jim became President and Chief Executive Officer of Host Hotels & Resorts in January 2017. He joined the company in 1996 as Senior Vice President for Acquisitions, and was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer in 2000.

This week on Leading Voices in Real Estate, Mitchell Silver, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and a global leader in urban planning, joins Matt to discuss his work for the city and his long career in city planning. With his appointed role as Parks Commissioner, Mitchell has been responsible for the management, planning, and operations of nearly 30,000 acres of public space in New York. Matt and Mitchell talk about bringing greater equity to the city’s investment in its parks, particularly in neighborhoods of color, and about the challenges brought by COVID to New York’s public places. Known as one of the thought leaders in planning and someone with great passion for the importance of a planning approach to the growth of our cities, Mitchell is the past president of the American Planning Association (APA) and is currently president of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) . Mitchell also shares many of his successes throughout his career and current role, inclu