Conversations with the Best Minds in Real Estate

Managing Director Todd LaRue speaks with Convergence Investments’ Founder & Managing Partner, Colby Cox. Cox discusses his unique professional work history, starting the company at age 22 after finishing his undergraduate degree, falling in love with the pace and momentum of real estate dealmaking, and how he balances risk-taking between personal endeavors (such as paragliding and snowboarding) with the professional risk management of real estate development.

RFA CEO Taylor Mammen speaks with Pyramid Hotel Group’s President & CEO, Warren Fields. Fields discusses his career journey, from entering the workforce at Wendy’s, and going to Cornell. He addresses what operators and investors of other property types can learn about running a business from the hotel sector, and how traditional expectations about qualifications needed to succeed are changing throughout the industry.

RCLCO’s Chief Executive Officer, Adam Ducker, speaks with Terwilliger Pappas’ CEO, Peter Pappas. Pappas discusses growing up in Charlotte, South Carolina, starting a real estate career with The Bissell Companies, creating a business vision based on the broad long-term evolution of urban markets, and leading the industry in the shift to focus on the opportunities to take sophisticated mixed-use product to suburban markets.

RCLCO’s Chief Executive Officer, Adam Ducker, speaks with Pellas Development’s Chief Executive Officer, Carlos Hernandez, about the beginnings of Carlos’ career in real estate starting with growing up in Mexico and working as a construction manager, the unique impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic within Central America real estate markets, and the story of the primary housing market performance in the region throughout the most recent real estate cycle.

In this special episode, hear key insights from nine real estate leaders as we look back at how our Best Minds cohort adapts to shifting market dynamics in the past, present, and future. Hosted by Managing Director of Strategic Initiatives, Joshua Boren.

RCLCO Real Estate Advisors, announced today that after leading the firm for 40 years, CEO Gadi Kaufmann has transitioned to the role of Chairman, promoting long-term colleagues and fellow members of the Executive Committee, Taylor Mammen and Adam Ducker to CEOs of RCLCO’s business units.

RCLCO’s Director of Business Development, Joshua A. Boren, speaks with George Smith Partners’ Principal & Co-Founder, Gary E. Mozer, about managing expectations during this period of market uncertainty as transaction volume has slowed; his strategies for successfully balancing work, home, and community life; and the importance of mentoring the next generation of real estate practitioners through ULI and other professional organizations.

How is Avalon Bay changing their business model to respond to the challenges and opportunities of 2020 and beyond? In this episode, RCLCO Managing Director, Charles A. Hewlett, speaks with AvalonBay Communities’ SVP of Strategic Initiatives, Karen Hollinger, about her career journey from overseas consulting to domestic real estate, how automation and PropTech is disrupting the multifamily sector, and the impact of the pandemic on the rental apartment industry. She also describes how technology has made it possible to lower operating costs at AvalonBay’s newest concept community, Kanso Twinbrook. “Given the influx of capital from the venture capital space, and just PropTech in general exploding, there’s a lot of ways you can mimic an institutional player.” – Karen Hollinger About Karen Hollinger & AvalonBay Communities Karen Hollinger is Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives at AvalonBay Communities and is responsible for leading large strategic corporate initiatives. She also is point on innovation initiatives and for venture-capital investment. She is considered an expert in the multifamily industry, especially in matters related to “PropTech” and technology, and has spoken frequently in the industry. AvalonBay Communities, Inc., an equity REIT, has a long-term track record of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing distinctive apartment homes in some of the best U.S. markets, and delivering outsized, risk-adjusted returns to shareholders. With equal parts experience and vision, they’ve established a leadership position rooted in building value for the long term. About Charles A. Hewlett & RCLCO Charles A. Hewlett is a Managing Director based out of the Washington, DC office. He has over 25 years of real estate consulting experience and has advised on commercial and residential properties in most major metropolitan regions. His areas of specialization include corporate, portfolio, and asset-level strategic planning; economic, market, financial feasibility and metropolitan development trend analyses; as well as litigation consulting. Charles has written articles published in the Corridor Real Estate Journal, UrbanLand, and publications of the National Multi Housing Council. He is the author of Strategy Planning for Real Estate Companies. RCLCO is proud to be the “first call” for real estate developers, investors, the public sector, and non-real estate organizations seeking strategic and tactical advice regarding property investment, planning, and development. RCLCO leverages quantitative analytics and a strategic planning framework to provide end-to-end business planning and implementation solutions at an entity, portfolio, or project level. Topics in this episode include: How the AvalonBay family is faring during COVID-19 The biggest challenges of the pandemic and the surprising upsides The lasting impacts of this pandemic on the rental apartment industry and what the post-COVID “new normal” will look like What AvalonBay is doing to change the business model to respond to these challenges and opportunities The impact of technology on real estate over the course of Karen’s career and predicted future impacts How AvalonBay is automating the sales and leasing process, including their new concept community, Kanso Twinbrook How AvalonBay thinks about data as a strategic edge to think about development decisions How the influx of venture capital funds in the “Proptech” space impacts multifamily operations beyond the largest institutional competitors The impact of newer leading-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence and robotics, could impact real estate The people and resources that have been most valuable over Karen’s career BROWSE MORE PODCAST EPISODES

In this episode, RCLCO Managing Director, Todd LaRue, speaks with Legacy International CEO, Philip Jalufka, about the process of selecting the right developers and projects to work with; the strategy behind creating a vertically-integrated capital deployment arm of the business; and how Legacy International has responded to COVID-19 through enhanced communication and a full embrace of the digital transformationthat is fundamentally changing the business world.

RCLCO Fund Advisors Managing Director, Cyndi Thomas, speaks with East West Partners Managing Partner, Amy Cara, about migrating to real estate after studying finance and accounting; the balancing act of maintaining stewardship of the land, investors, and the community-at-large; and how to determine alignment for potential partnerships.