Leading Voices In Real Estate

President, CEO, and Founder of Juniper Communities (an owner/operator of seniors housing) Lynne Katzmann joins Matt on this week’s episode of Leading Voices in Real Estate. Lynne founded Juniper Communities over 30 years ago and is the only woman-owned business among the top owners in the assisted living business and has been recognized by various organizations including Crain’s New York as one of the top women-owned businesses in the tri-state area. Lynne has been a leader for other seniors housing owners during COVID, providing transparency at the start of the pandemic in her vulnerable communities to now requiring staff members to be vaccinated. Additionally, she shares what it means to be a female CEO and company founder in a male-dominated industry, the hospitality model of seniors housing, and how she wants to leave the world a better place through her work.Lynne founded Juniper Communities in 1988, an organization that invests in, develops, and operates senior living and long-term care communities. In

This week on Leading Voices in Real Estate, Matt is joined by Jeff Berkes, President and Chief Operating Officer of Federal Realty Investment Trust. Founded in 1962, Federal is one of the oldest US REITs and is focused on the ownership, operation, and development of high-quality retail properties—from grocery-anchored shopping centers to large-scale mixed-use neighborhoods. As a non-mall retail owner, Federal has seen continued stability and success, despite the challenges of COVID and the realignments in the retail real estate sector due to the impact of e-commerce. Jeff shares Federal’s “secret sauce” of building mixed-use projects with retail, office, and residential to help drive the organization’s success and innovations and how Federal has worked with core tenants, including the hard-hit restaurants and retailers, to cope with the challenges of operating during the COVID shutdowns.Jeff is responsible for leading Federal’s day-to-day property operating functions, including leasing, development, asset man

This week, Robin Hughes, President and CEO of Abode Communities, speaks with Matt about her experience and leadership in the affordable housing community. Abode Communities is a nonprofit owner, developer, and designer of affordable housing. Based in Los Angeles, the organization is one of the top 50 affordable housing developers nationally and is the premier provider of environmentally sustainable affordable housing in California. The conversation begins with a discussion on how COVID has impacted Abode’s and other affordable owner’s residents, an important dialogue as the pandemic has disproportionally affected low-income communities. Additionally, Robin shares how growing up in public housing as a young child brings a lived experience into her current role where she not only serves as the President and CEO of Abode but also serves on numerous boards and committees in the affordable housing space including as chair of the Housing Partnership Network. Robin also provides advice on how to bring more people of

Vicki Been, Deputy Mayor of Housing and Economic Development for New York City, joins Matt on this week’s episode of Leading Voices in Real Estate. Vicki oversees 25 agencies responsible for both economic development and housing initiatives for the City, a portfolio in which the issues have deepened and accelerated during COVID. Matt and Vicki discuss her work during COVID, positive changes to the urban fabric that will likely persist post-COVID like outdoor dining and closed-off streets as well as her responsibilities for preparing for future health emergencies. As the former head of the city’s housing agencies, we also discuss the ongoing housing affordability crisis. Furthermore, Vicki shares her career story, which includes growing up in a rural Colorado uranium mining town to her clerkship at the Supreme Court (where she also met her husband) to leading the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, and now her roles in city government.

This week, Matt speaks with real estate leader Walt Rakowich, former CEO of Prologis and author of the new book, Transfluence: How to Lead with Transformative Influence in Today’s Climates of Change. In the interview, Walt tells his career story, interspersed with leadership lessons along the way. Walt’s true crucible as a leader came first when he was President and COO of Prologis and he found himself unaligned with the style and decision making of the CEO, leading to Walt’s resignation from the firm…and then rejoining the firm, just months later, to restructure and rebuild the business after a crash that he had essentially foreseen. In our conversation, Walt discusses these lessons in leadership but we certainly recommend that you take a deep dive into his philosophy and practice of servant leadership in Transfluence.Prologis is a NYSE company and a member of the S&P 500. Prologis is a leading provider of distribution facilities and services with over $50 billion in assets and operations in the Americas

John Helm, Managing Director and Founder of RET Ventures, joins Matt for this week’s episode of Leading Voices in Real Estate. RET Ventures is the first industry-backed early-stage venture fund focused on helping build cutting-edge real estate technology companies for the multifamily and single-family rental industries. John is our third guest from the proptech space (we previously featured Clara Brenner from the Urban Innovation Fund and Brad Greiwe from Fifth Wall). RET Ventures’ business model is differentiated in both its focus on the rental space and that all of their investors are owner-operators, creating a virtuous cycle between clients, customers, and investors. In the episode, John and Matt talk about the impact of technology on the rental housing business, the benefits of tenure and deep relationships in a relationship-oriented business, and John’s fascinating career journey.John also sits on the boards of Smart Rent, GiGstreem, Fernish, Moved, Lexicon, Sight Plan, Funnel and Opiniion. Prior to fou

Today’s conversation is a re-release of the inaugural episode of Leading Voices, a conversation with then Mayor of Tacoma, WA and now, in 2021, a newly elected Congresswoman, Marilyn Strickland (D-WA). In this conversation, from 2017, Matt and then Mayor Strickland discuss the strategies for redevelopment that she used in Takoma, balancing neighborhood economic redevelopment neighborhood with the needs of the existing businesses and residents. We are re-releasing this conversation with Representative Strickland the week after last week’s chaos at the US Capitol, cognizant of the need for constructive leadership from our elected officials. As per the Seattle Times, “business friendly Strickland won…in a closely watched race mirroring a nationwide struggle between progressive and establishment liberals” and is the first African American to represent Washington State and the first Korean-American woman elected to Congress.

In this first episode of 2021, Matt interviews Paul Saffo, Silicon Valley based futurist, about long term trends and their impacts on our cities and workplaces. Paul places COVID-19 in perspective and talks about the trends affecting our global civilization, impacts on the real estate business, and the opportunities for the real estate industry “to become good ancestors” through our work in the built environment. This is a look forward — way forward – with the end of COVID in sight and the beginning of new times following 2020.

For the final episode of 2020, Matt speaks with Nancy Lashine, Managing Partner of Park Madison Partners and host of the podcast series, “Innovations in Real Estate”. Matt and Nancy interview each other about their respective careers, highlights from their podcasts, and current wisdom from their respective businesses. Nancy talks about the current drivers for institutional capital into real estate strategies from her perch as a capital raiser at Park Madison Partners and Matt talks about helping build teams and the need for talent in real estate organizations from his recruiting business at Terra Search Partners. This conversation is being released both on Leading Voices and on Nancy’s podcast, “Innovations in Real Estate”.Nancy is the Founder and Managing Partner of Park Madison Partners, a boutique real asset private equity placement firm. The firm is a leading advisor to investment management firms on their business strategy. Park Madison is headquartered in New York City and is a FINRA regulated broker de

During this episode of Leading Voices in Real Estate, Matt interviews Alan Gold, Executive Chairman of IQHQ, a start-up real estate company serving the life sciences industry. The episode serves as a continued exploration of different niches within the real estate business — serving the biotech/life sciences field requires unique knowledge and relationships and brings a special set of challenges as well as opportunities. Alan is a serial entrepreneur, having been a co-founder of Alexandria Real Estate Equities and then the founder and CEO of BioMed Realty Trust (and its predecessor), which sold to Blackstone in 2016. He is now the Executive Chairman of both IQHQ, started in February of this year, as well as of Innovative Industrial Properties, the only NYSE cannabis REIT. In addition to drilling down on the life sciences real estate business, Matt and Alan talk about the benefits of specialization and of “bringing the band back together” in his companies.Prior to IQHQ, Alan founded Innovative Industrial Prope

MultiGreen made a big splash in early 2020 at the World Economic Forum’s 50th Annual Meeting in Davos, announcing its intention to build 40,000 units of attainable, sustainable, tech-enabled workforce housing apartments over the next ten years. In this episode, Matt talks with MultiGreen Founder and Chairman, Randy Norton, who is leading this new venture towards this audacious and important goal. MultiGreen is backed by 60 of the world’s wealthiest families via its partnership with i(x) investments, an impact investment firm that is bringing long term investment to address major social problems like the housing crisisRandy has more than 20 years of real estate experience, namely Real Estate Development and Construction, Building Information Modeling (BIM), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Smartgrid Cogeneration and Renewable Energy with Intelligent Building IoT. Randy is also a Managing Partner, the Global Head of Real Estate and Alternative Investments at Green Mesa Capital, a single fam

Sheryl Palmer, Chairman and CEO of Taylor Morrison Home Corporation, joins as our second leading voice within the homebuilding industry (after Larry Webb, CEO of the New Home Company). Taylor Morrison is one of the nation’s top-ranked public homebuilders, following the company’s IPO in 2013, which Sheryl oversaw. With her college studies in special education and a career start in the sales and marketing department at McDonald’s, Sheryl shares how she came into the homebuilding business and how these prior, non-real estate experiences have influenced her consumer-first approach to the business. Additionally, we talk about Taylor Morrison and the homebuilding industry’s response to COVID-19 and her prognosis for the sector going forward. Throughout the conversation, Sheryl demonstrates candidness, both as an executive leader in business and in her non-work life, even sharing her personal experience with a life-threatening illness.Sheryl has overseen Taylor Morrison, the Scottsdale, Arizona based homebuilder, si

Today Matt interviews David Schless, the President of the American Seniors Housing Association, to discuss the impact of COVID on seniors housing and his thoughts on the future of this business post-pandemic. The first hot spot for COVID in the US was at a nursing home in Washington State; the seniors housing industry has been at the forefront in responding to the crisis for its vulnerable residents and its workers on the front lines. David discusses the tremendous response of the industry and the future of the seniors housing business, for which the demographic trends continue to suggest significant growth and opportunity.David has served as ASHA’s President since its creation by the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) in 1991. With over 30 years of industry experience, David has an extensive understanding of seniors housing research, policy and regulatory issues, and an intimate knowledge of the seniors housing business. He is currently involved with the Alzheimer’s Association Brain Ball Committee,

In our Leading Voices in Real Estate season five premiere, Matt is rejoined by Tammy Jones, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Basis Investment Group, a real estate investment manager primarily focused on debt and structured equity strategies. Tammy was a participant on the Black Voices in Real Estate episode released in June, where she shared her experience as a Black woman in the real estate industry and the opportunities for change in racial equity in our business. Now four months later, this episode continues with a discussion on whether the Black Lives Matter moment offers a temporary or permanent path towards inclusion in our business. Tammy also shares her experience building a career as a Black woman in the business and starting Basis Investment Group as one of the few certified Minority and Woman-Owned Businesses in real estate investment management. Tammy tells us her career journey, from becoming the first female in her family to attend college to founding her own business.Now at 80+ episode

In honor of John Stewart’s memory, we are rebroadcasting his Leading Voices interview from December 2018. John passed away last week after a two-year battle with cancer. He was the founder of The John Stewart Company, a developer of low and mixed-income housing and the country’s 6th largest manager of affordable housing. John was a personal friend of Matt’s and an inspiration throughout his career. He views John as one of the Bay Area’s leading voices who was a tireless advocate across the range of social justice issues, particularly around low-income housing and the challenges of our current politics. John was a generous mentor to many with an inimitable voice and perspective; we are pleased to share this episode again. John will be sorely missed and deeply remembered.From original release:John Stewart is the Founder and Chair of the John Stewart Company, a San Francisco-based owner, developer, and manager of affordable and mixed-income housing, founded in 1978 with three employees.From Aerospace to Affordab

In honor of Gerald Hines’ legacy, we are rebroadcasting his interview from the spring of 2018. Mr. Hines passed away last week at the age of 95, having inspired generations of leaders in the real estate industry. He founded Hines in 1957 as a developer of office properties and has built some of the most iconic city landscapes in Houston, London, San Francisco, and other major cities around the globe. Hines is renowned for not only creating the highest quality buildings in the market but for partnering with the world’s best architects. Mr. Hines’ leadership within the company and the greater real estate community will be sorely missed.Gerald Hines | Industry Legend, Developer, and VisionaryGerald Hines founded his business in 1957 as a developer of office properties. His namesake company now has a presence in 201 cities and 24 countries, and manages over $110 billion in property. Hines is renowned for not only creating the highest quality buildings in the market, but for partnering with the world’s best archit

In this episode, Matt discusses the retail sector with Ken Bernstein, President and Chief Executive Officer of Acadia Realty Trust. Ken talks about the fundamental reworking of the sector due to what he terms the “Retail Armageddon,” a trend that was taking place well before Covid. They also discuss the long-term trends of retail and the additional impacts Covid may have on the retail sector. Acadia Realty Trust specializes in the acquisition, redevelopment, and management of retail properties with an ownership interest in over 100 properties totaling approximately $4 billion in value.Ken co-founded Acadia in 1998. Acadia is also the manager of a series of discretionary institutional acquisition funds. Acadia is currently investing on behalf its Fund V, which is capitalized to acquire $1.5 billion dollars of retail properties.Along with his responsibilities at Acadia, Ken is a past Trustee of the Board of Trustees of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and served as the 2017/2018 Chairman. Ke

Conor Dougherty is an Economics and Housing Reporter at The New York Times who recently published Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in America. His book explores the housing affordability crisis by weaving stories from the front lines of real estate development, investment, struggling families, government officials, and both NIMBYs and YIMBYs in California. This interview provides the perspective of an outside observer of the real estate industry thinking about the roots of the lack of adequate supply and development, the dynamics of real estate investment, and potential solutions to create more housing. Conor articulates the complexity of the problem, understanding the combination of deep emotions and interests that bring wildly different perspectives around real estate.He has been reporting on business and economics for two decades and previously worked at The Wall Street Journal and San Diego Union-Tribune. Dougherty lives in Oakland with his wife and two children.

Andy Cohen is the Co-CEO of Gensler, the leading global design firm, which includes 6,300+ people networked across 50 offices and serving clients in 120+ countries. He joins Matt for another interview in our series of conversations on leadership in the real estate space amidst the Covid crisis. With his global perspective, Andy shares his thoughts on what the office landscape may look like both in our current constrained return to work and post-vaccine, the future and potential reinvention of cities post-pandemic, and how a senior leader has responded within his company to Covid and issues surrounding equity in the workplace.This episode is the first of Leading Voices in Real Estate that returns to a company as Matt interviewed Art Gensler, Founder of Gensler, in November 2018.

This is a special episode of Leading Voices in Real Estate featuring conversations with six Black real estate leaders, each of whom speaks with Matt about their personal experiences and their thoughts on how our industry can address inequalities and systemic racism in our companies, our work in the built environment, and in the real estate sector broadly.Featured GuestsTammy K. Jones, Co-Founder & CEO | Basis Investment GroupSince 2009, Tammy has served as both Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Basis Investment Group, a multi-strategy commercial real estate investment platform she founded with JEMB Realty Corporation that acquires and originates a variety of senior and subordinated loans, preferred equity and joint venture equity positions on behalf of its investors. Under her leadership, Basis has succeeded in closing nearly $2.7 billion in commercial real estate debt and structured equity-related investments across the United States. Tammy has more than 24 years of experience in the commercial r