36th Annual
Cornell Real Estate Conference

Focus on the Future

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  • 7:30-8:15 AM

    REGISTRATION, BREAKFAST, AND NETWORKING (BREAKFAST AVAILABLE)
    Concurrent: CREC Career Advisory Student Workshop (Room TBD); CREC Regional Leadership Meeting (Room TBD)

  • 8:15-8:30 AM

    WELCOME REMARKS
    Douglas Weill JCB-Hotel ’88, Managing Partner, Hodes Weill & Associates, and Member and Conference Chair

  • 8:30-8:45 AM

    UPDATE ON THE CORNELL REAL ESTATE COUNCIL
    The Cornell Real Estate Council (CREC) is an alumni organization which supports the study of real estate at Cornell. CREC serves the needs of alumni and students who share a common interest in real estate. CREC is proud to represent the many voices of ‘real estate at Cornell’.

    Speakers: Dave Rupert CAS ’79, President, Griffin Capital,and President of CREC; Lynn Zuckerman Gray JD ’75, Founder and CEO, Campus Scout, and CREC Board Member

  • 8:45-9:30 AM

    PANEL 1: THE FUTURE OF THE RETAIL SPACE: HAS THE DEATH OF RETAIL BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED?
    Shopping centers, malls, and high street retail were once the darlings of investors. However, the rise of e-commerce caused a “Retail Apocalypse” that had investors running for cover. The distress is not unwarranted — demand for spaces rapidly decreased as retailers shifted their focus to selling online (i.e., Walmart’s acquisition of Jet.com) or filed for bankruptcy (BROOKSTONE, A&P, NINE WEST, BON-TON, Toys “R” Us). But perhaps the eulogy for retail is premature? There is a growing trend of e-commerce expanding into the world of brick and mortar, exemplified by Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods as well as Landlords becoming more innovative with new customer technology, merchandising, and their role in fulfillment for their tenants. What do these significant changes mean for this rapidly evolving industry? Our panel of prominent retail owners and innovative Retailers will discuss how the online and the offline have found new ways to work and transform together (or compete?).

    Moderator: Alan Riffkin JCB-Hotel ’88, Managing Director, Lazard
    Panelists: Ken Bernstein, President and CEO, Acadia Realty; Terry Brown, Managing Partner, Asana Partners; Philip Krim, CEO, Casper; Liza Landsman CAS ’90 Venture Partner, New Enterprise Associates (former President of Jet.com)

  • 9:30-10:15 AM

    PANEL 2: HOW WE WORK, LIVE, AND PLAY… IN 2028
    Amazon’s HQ2 search is one of the more visible examples of an emerging trend — employers thinking more carefully about locations and communities that are compatible with their own and their employees’ goals well into the future. Alliance Bernstein announced a move to Nashville, GE moved to Boston, and McDonald’s moved to downtown Chicago from its long-time home in Oakbrook.

    CEO Steve Estabrook said about the move, “[This] is another significant step in our journey to build a better McDonald’s. This world-class environment will continue to drive business momentum by getting us even closer to customers, encouraging innovation, and ensuring great talent is excited about where they work.”

    Is the real estate industry prepared for this new paradigm? Our panel of visionaries will examine these trends and help shed light on these shifting goals, values and demographics.

    Moderator: Alan Tantleff JCB-Hotel ’87, Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting

    Panelists: Roee Adler, Chief Product Officer, WeWork; Adam Flatto, President and CEO, the Georgetown Company; Chris Kelly, Co-founder and CIO, Convene; Peter Smith, Director of Global Real Estate, Bloomberg

  • 10:15-10:45 AM

    COFFEE BREAK AND NETWORKING

  • 10:45-11:15 AM

    INSTITUTIONAL CAPITAL FLOWS
    Annual presentation of key findings from the 2018 Institutional Real Estate Allocations Monitor, a preeminent report on global real estate capital flows.

    Speakers: Dustin Jones, Director, Baker Program in Real Estate; Douglas Weill JCB-Hotel ’88, Managing Partner, Hodes Weill & Associates

  • 11:15-12:00 PM

    PANEL 3: VC AND TECH
    Technology is changing investing as we know it, and many investors seem to agree that Tech is the future. But is the market ready to deal with these newfound technologies? what future disruptions are traditional real estate investors likely to encounter? Join our discussion with industry leaders to see how tech will transform the future of real estate.

    Moderator: Clelia Peters, President of Walburg Realty, MetaProp

    Panelists: Meghan Cross Breeden HumEc ’08, Managing Partner, Red Bear Angels; Marshall Cox, Founder and CEO, Radiator Labs; Raffi Holzer, CEO, Avvir Edward Liew MPS ’09, Senior Director, DivcoWest

  • 12:00-12:45 PM

    KEYNOTE SPEAKER – ONE ON ONE DISCUSSION WITH SETH KLARMAN CAS ’79
    CEO and Portfolio Manager, The Baupost Group

    Moderator: David Hodes, Managing Partner, Hodes Weill & Associates

  • 12:45-1:30 PM

    LUNCH

  • 1:30-2:15 PM

    RECIPIENT OF CORNELL REAL ESTATE REVIEW’S 2018 INDUSTRY LEADER AWARD
    Every year since 2007, the editors of the Cornell Real Estate Review have nominated a prominent individual in real estate as the recipient of the prestigious “Industry Leader Award.” The award is given after careful consideration by the Cornell Real Estate Review editors and the Director of the Baker Program in Real Estate. The Review editors consider those who have made a demonstrable impact on the real estate industry at a global scale, as well as a service-minded contribution to society.

    Award presentation followed by One on One Discussion

    Honoree: Kenneth Himmel JCB-Hotel ’70, President and Chief Executive Officer, Related Urban

    Moderator: Richard Baker JCB-Hotel ’88, Governor and Executive Chairman, HBC

  • 2:15-3:00 PM

    PANEL 4: DESIGN… MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER
    As advances in technology continue to disrupt retail, multi-family, industrial, and office real estate, design has become a driving factor in attracting and retaining tenants. How do brick and mortar retailers use intelligent design to build traffic? As millennials look to home buying, what should be expected from residential design? In the face of rapidly escalating demand for warehouse space, how is industrial design evolving? With co-working companies leasing ever greater amounts of office space (e.g. over 600,000 square feet of office space in New York City in the first quarter of 2018 alone) what can/should developers do to evolve their own buildings and designs, for the next generation? Join our discussion with industry leaders to understand how design will shape the future of the industry.

    Moderator: Robert Balder AAP ’89, Director of AAP NY, Cornell University

    Panelists: Kate Bicknell AAP ’99, Vice President, Oxford Properties; Gary Handel AAP ’77, Founder and Managing Partner, Handel Architects; Jerry Zeitner, Chief Operating Officer, The Gettys Group

  • 3:00-3:15 PM

    COFFEE BREAK AND NETWORKING

  • 3:15-4:15 PM

    PANEL 5: WALL STREET AND THE CAPITAL MARKETS
    As monetary policy begins to tighten, how will U.S. real estate investments perform versus the broader equity market? Where will capital for our industry come from in the future? How can investors value distressed retailers’ real estate? Cap and discount rates seem to be at an all-time low; hard asset pricing seems expensive – yet transactions continue. Join our conversation with our representative panelists to learn about what’s on the horizon for the capital markets.

    Moderator: Andy Jonas, Co-Head of Real Estate, Goldman Sachs

    Panelists: Mark Fawer, Partner, Greenspoon Marder LLP; John Kukral, President and Chief Executive Officer, Northwood Investors; Darcy Stacom, Head of NYC Capital Markets, CBRE; Jonathan Pollack, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of the Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies

  • 4:15-5:00 PM

    CLOSING REMARKS
    Paul Rubacha CALS ’72, MBA ‘73, Co-Founder and Principal, Ashley Capital

Keynote Speakers

Speakers

Adam Flatto, Georgetown
Alan Riffkin, Lazard
Alan Tantleff, FTI Consulting
Chris Kelly, Convene
Clelia Peters, Metaprop
Darcy Stacom, CBRE
Dave Rupert, Griffin Capital
David Hodes, Hodes Weill & Associates
David Kramer, Hudson
Doug Sesler, Macys
Doug Weill, Hodes Weill
Dustin Jones, Cornell University
Edward Liew, DivCo
Gary Handel, Handel Architects
Jerry Zeitner, Gettys Group
John Kukral, Northwood
Kate Bicknell, Oxford Properties
Kenneth Bernstein, Acadia Realty
Kenneth Himmel, Related Urban
Liza Landsman, Venture Partner at NEA
Mark Fawer, Greenspoon Marder LLP
Marshall Cox, Radiator Labs
Matthew D’Amore, Cornell University
Meghan Cross Breeden, VC and Tech
Paul Rubacha, Ashley Capital
Peter Smith, Bloomberg
Philip Krim, Casper
Raffi Holzer, Avvir
Richard Baker, Hudson’s Bay Company
Robert Balder, Cornell University
Roee Adler, WeWork
Seth Klarman, Baupost
Terry Brown, Asana
Warren de Haan, Acore Capital

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