Leading Voices in Real Estate

Cedric Bobo is the Co-Founder of Project Destined , a 501c3 that educates both inner city kids and military veterans in financial literacy and community development by their investing, shark tank style, in real real estate deals in their communities. Project Destined brings in the kids and the vets alongside major real estate investment firms like Brookfield in the Bronx and Cortland Partners in A...

In this special edition showcasing a panel discussion from the 2019 National Multifamily Housing Council Meeting, we explore the centerpiece topic of recruiting and managing talent in today’s industry with four leaders in the apartment business: Bill Bayless, CEO of American Campus Communities ; Chris Payne, President of SARES-REGIS Group ; Cindy Scharringhausen, Senior Vice President of Human Res...

You might say that innovation, passion, and real estate are in Lucy Billingsley’s blood. As the only daughter of real estate legend Trammell Crow, Lucy wanted to make her own name for herself and co-founded the Billingsley Company with her husband. The firm has been developing and creating spaces full of dynamic energy in the Dallas area for years.

In today’s round table discussion, Co-head of JLL’s Multifamily Capital Market’s platform, Christine Espenshade; CEO of Holland Partner Group, Clyde Holland; and Executive Director of Up for Growth National Coalition, Mike Kingsella explore the future of the Multifamily Housing Market and the policies shaping its trajectory. The Future While Clyde, Christine, and Mike agree that the outlook is pos...

Bill Stein, CEO of Digital Realty, one of the largest data center real estate companies in the world, entered the data center space just as the cloud was born. “We are fortunately right at the middle of all of this, we are at the heart of this revolution.” Pennsylvania and Princeton Bill grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, where relationships, friendship, family, and sports (specifically football) mattered...

Daryl Carter is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Avanath Capital Management, LLC , a real estate investment firm that acquires, renovates, and operates affordable and workforce housing communities across the US. His dual focus on both investment returns and improving the communities where he invests is rare in this business, and we hear on this episode what drives Daryl to succeed in this balanci...

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. Today, the Company has 1,400 employees in five offices in the state of California, managing 31,000 units with over 2000 units in its development pipeline. From Aerospace to Affordable Housing John grew...

Sam Zell, one of the most storied names in real estate, describes his riveting journey from his parents’ escape from Poland in 1939 as Hitler invaded to how he built his real estate empire at Equity International, created the modern REIT, and lead the industry public. More about Equity Group Investments Forbes Magazine on Sam Zell’s success Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Reb...

Colin Wiel is Co-Founder Chairman, and CTO of Mynd , a full stack, tech-enabled, property management company focused on small residential (single family rentals plus small multi-family buildings). AI and Java Colin grew up in Washington D.C., went to high school in Reno, Nevada, and went to UC Berkeley where he got his BA in mechanical engineering. Straight out of college, he landed a dream job at...

Art Gensler When Art Gensler started his firm in 1965, Gensler solely did interiors. Today, it is not just an interior or a design firm; rather, Gensler thinks of itself as a full-scale, client-focused design firm with a team of 6,000 in 48 offices around the world. He remembers knowing he wanted to be an architect from since he was 5 years old, and credits his ability to visualize things and comm...

Liz Holland is now CEO of her grandfather’s over 77-year-old real estate business, Abbell Associates . She never imagined she would end up there, but she says it was amazing creating a relationship with her grandfather and becoming his colleague for two years before he passed away and continuing his legacy. “It’s such a challenging time in retail real estate because things are transforming so quic...

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 so, … organizations’ access to ideas is really through collaboration, connection, of having really high-quality talent.” Curiosity Li...

Jon Geanakos grew up in Ipswich, Massachusetts, raised mainly by his Greek immigrant grandparents. They gave him a strong sense of ethnicity and hard work, speaking Greek predominantly in their home and running a local grocery store and ice cream parlor. He was recruited to play lacrosse at the University of Lowell and it was there that he found himself embracing leadership. As the captain of his...

Ron Terwilliger’s outstanding career and legacy didn’t end when he retired from Trammell Crow, it only grew. Coming from a low-income family with little expectations of wealth, he wanted to give back and affordable housing seemed to be the most natural place for his philanthropic interest to bloom.    “As I started to get wealthy in my late forties and fifties, I began thinking: what should I do w...

In today’s episode, Ron Terwilliger, a great influencer in the apartment sector and dedicated philanthropist, shares part one of his story: his leadership at Trammell Crow Residential and how he literally spawned the next generation of the business. A Strong Foundation Ron TerwilligerRon Terwilliger grew up in Arlington, Virginia in the late forties and fifties. He played baseball and basketball a...

Chip Conley started one of the country’s first boutique hotel chains, Joie de Vivre, when he was just 26 years old. After selling the company, he joined the startup Airbnb at age 52, despite the fact that the young founders were primed to disrupt his industry. Read more about Chip’s leadership Read more about Chip’s role at Airbnb Pre-order Chip’s newest book, Wisdom @ Work: The Making of a Modern...

Clara Brenner is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of the Urban Innovation Fund , a venture capital firm that provides seed capital and regulatory support to the tech startups addressing the challenges facing urban dwellers. Clara and I had a wide-ranging discussion about her career, business, and the startups and technologies in which her firm has invested. Real Estate and Government Growing up...

Karl Polen did not start out with his sights on real estate. He left his Midwest roots for Nashville at 19, eventually playing with the likes of Charlie Daniels and Johnny Cash. “One of the highlights of my life is that I actually met and chatted with Johnny Cash. He was an incredibly gracious guy.” Karl credits music for shaping his professional career by teaching him the type of discipline and f...

Note from the host- In this episode, you will actually hear me being interviewed, rather than me doing the interview. Jeff Large is the editor of Season 2 of Leading Voices. He interviewed me on his podcast, The Jeff Large Podcast , where he talks about tech, podcasting, and running a business. I get to discuss how this relates to real estate from both a recruiting and leadership standpoint. Enjoy...

Joe Fraiman and Andrew Kitchell, the Co-Founders of Lyric , While it is tempting to compare their startup business to Airbnb, it is actually quite different. Lyric is a highly curated, highly designed, professionally-operated version of rentals where they have total control over the supply, design, and experience of their guests. The Connection: With a background in software and finance, Joe moved...

Ken grew up in Northern California’s Bay Area, eventually receiving his M.B.A. and Ph. D. from Stanford in Business. Simultaneously, he obtained a California Brokers License because he was drawn to real estate. He was aware of the self-storage industry in California, but when he moved out to Boston after college he saw that there was a gap in the market on the East Coast. This piqued his interest...

Jane Graf is the President and CEO of Mercy Housing based in Denver and operating nationally, one of the country’s largest nonprofit affordable housing organizations. Jane’s work in affordable housing began early, as she founded the nonprofit Specialized Housing that built affordable housing for those with disabilities before she was 30. When her husband was relocated to San Francisco for his job,...

John Rahaim grew up in Detroit. His high school day of community service inspired him to understand the city more, and he went on to receive his B.S. in Architecture from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Architecture with an emphasis on Urban Design from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Urban Design program focused on man-environment systems which especially fascinated John. "...

A Technology Foundation Fred Tuomi was born in Minnesota, and went on to attend high school and college in Georgia, receiving a B.A. in Business Information Systems and a Masters in Business Administration from Georgia State University. While working for the Computer Sciences Corporation doing consulting, Fred connected with John Lie-Nelsen of Consolidated Capital and Johnstown Properties. This op...

Gerald 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 architects. The Beginning: Born in Gary, IN in 1925, Hines was the child of pare...