National Forums Groups

Open to members actively involved in buying or selling, lending or borrowing for commercial real estate properties. More than 50 percent of members will be developers, owners or investors.

Capital Markets I Forum

Peter Brockelman (Chair)
Bar Harbor Bank & Trust – Princeton, Massachusetts

William Flynn (Vice Chair)
Net Lease Capital Advisors – Nashua, New Hampshire

Capital Markets II Forum

Jeff Dillon (Chair)
Van Trust Real Estate, LLC – Columbus, Ohio

Capital Markets III Forum

Michael J. Wurtsbaugh (Chair)
Portman Holdings, LLC – Atlanta, Georgia

Brian C. Richards (Vice Chair)
Beacon Partners – Charlotte, North Carolina

Capital Markets IV Forum

Britton Burdette (Chair)
JLL Capital Markets – Atlanta, Georgia

Carrington Brown (Vice Chair)
USAA Real Estate Company – Dallas, Texas

Capital Markets V Forum

Ryan M. Collins (Chair)
East Group Properties – Los Angeles, California

Drawing from both a diverse geographical and product type expertise, members bring experience in all aspects of real estate investment from research, architecture, development, construction, leasing, debt & equity capital markets, investment sales, and investment management. Both open and led discussions focus on changes and challenges encountered in the marketplace by members, best practices, professional and personal development, and specialized education related to distinct sectors of the industry.

Rivka Altman (Co-chair)
Invesco Real Estate– Dallas, Texas

David Grissom (Co-chair)
Vertex Investments – Lakewood, Colorado

Open to members actively involved in the development, design and operation of new generation retail distribution facilities. (More than 50 percent of members will be developers, owners or investors).

E-commerce I Forum

Adam Herrin (Chair)
Urban Logistics Realty – Dallas, Texas

E-commerce II Forum

Matt Laraway (Chair)
Chesapeake Real Estate Group, LLC – Hanover, Maryland

E-commerce III Forum

Geoffrey Kasselman (Co-Chair)
CRG – Chicago, Illinois

Jay Todisco (Co-chair)
Ware Malcomb – Irvine, California

Comprised primarily of developers and owners of office, industrial, retail, and mixed-use real estate properties with portfolios from 1 to 50 million square feet. Through case analysis and discussion, members share and develop strategies to identify new opportunities, mitigate risk, and overcome organizational challenges. All market sizes are represented with a number of members having extensive experience in secondary and tertiary markets. The Forum is diverse in terms of age with membership ranging from mid-career professionals to seasoned industry veterans. The different age demographics in this group creates a dynamic environment where each generation brings different skills and talents to the table.

Steve Chaky (Chair)
SC Consulting – San Clemente, California

National Industrial Perspectives I Forum

Karen Guthrie (Co-chair)
BentallGreenOak – San Francisco, California

Dustin Voltz (Co-chair)
JLL – Dallas, Texas

National Industrial Perspectives II Forum

Evan Lippow (Chair)
CenterPoint Properties – Saddle Brook, New Jersey

National Industrial Perspectives III Forum

Christiaan Coetzee (Chair)
CT Realty Investors – Newport Beach, California

Drew Richardson (Chair)
Primera Companies – Dallas, Texas

Members come from markets across the country and represent a variety of commercial real estate disciplines, including: development; investment management; acquisitions; debt and equity capital markets; brokerage; and construction. Group focus leans toward the industrial sector, but a number of members also work in office and retail. Both open and led discussions focus on identifying market opportunities, challenges faced by members, best practices, and professional and personal development. Emphasis is placed on experiential learning during meetings through interactive project tours and exclusive presentations by experts in the markets in which meetings are held. Forum membership is currently under 40 years old, but the group is open to all ages.

John Drachman (Chair)
Waterford Property Company – Newport Beach, California

Kelsey Perrin (Co-Chair)
Heitman – Chicago, Illinois

Bryan Rosenberg (Co-Chair)
Eastdil Secured, LLC – Newport Beach, California

The United States is witnessing a resurgence in the redevelopment of single use properties into mixed-use, pedestrian friendly developments fueled by demographic trends indicating demand for dense, walkable communities. This forum focuses on opportunities and challenges surrounding redevelopment in both urban and suburban environments. The majority of members consist of developers, owners, and investors, with the balance made up of other professionals typically engaged in this type of complex commercial development.

Thomas Reiter (Chair)
CREDE – Irvine, California

Gregory Rooney (Vice Chair)
The Bernstein Companies – Washington, D.C.

The Technology in the Built Environment Forum will be open to owners and other professionals who play a strategic role in the selection, integration and adoption of CRE related technology. The goal of the Forum will be to establish best practices in: utilizing technology; becoming an effective adopter; managing risk; and overcoming obstacles to replacing underperforming CRE technology solutions. Specific areas of focus for the Forum will be related to software and technology for: construction; building operations analysis; managing the tenant relationship; financial analysis; automation of CRE back office operations; and the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in utilizing data. Members will also address the impact that emerging trends such as AI/machine learning and drone technologies will have on the future of the industry.

Open to a diverse group of real estate professionals who wish to focus on industry trends such as technology, sustainability, workplace, leasing and developing commercial real estate.

Trends in Real Estate Development I Forum

Megan Lantz (Chair)
HITT Contracting, Inc. – Falls Church, Virginia

Nazir Khalfe (Vice Chair)
Partner Engineering & Science, Inc.– Torrance, California

Trends in Real Estate Development II Forum

Colleen Wevodau (Chair)
Baker Tilly Virchow Krause – Vienna, Virginia

Trends in Real Estate Development IV Forum

Misty Ponce (Chair)
Partner Engineering & Science, Inc. – Torrance, California

Limited to Principal Members actively involved in developing in the mixed-use environment of the traditional park concept.

Richard E. Myers (Chair)
Thomas & Mack Development Group – Las Vegas, Nevada

Comprised primarily of developers, investors, and owners of office, industrial, retail, multi-family, senior living, and mixed-use real estate properties, with widely varying portfolio size and geographic coverage . Members are located throughout the US. Through confidential deal specific case analysis and discussion, members share and discuss strategies to overcome current market challenges, mitigate risk, and manage organizational challenges. All market sizes are represented with a number of members having extensive experience in primary and secondary markets.

Dean Barber (Chair)
Confluent Development – Denver, Colorado

Limited to Principal Members who are family members or professional managers of family-owned real estate companies.

Family Owned Business I Forum

Dean Kiriluk (Chair)
Kirco Development – Troy, Michigan

Family Owned Business II Forum

Paul Knapp (Chair)
Saint Paul Properties – St. Paul, Minnesota

Open to Principal and Associate members who have a leading role in providing counsel to and within commercial real estate firms. The Forum focuses on the issues that corporate counsel face within commercial real estate companies and practices and on such transactions as acquisitions, dispositions, leases, finance transactions, joint ventures, and mergers, among others.

Daniel J. Hemmer (Chair)
Bridge Development Partners LLC – Itasca, Illinois

Limited to Principal members with a leading role in the acquisition of industrial properties. This Forum focuses on the issues facing investors and owners in this process.

Industrial Acquisitions I Forum

Greg Ryan (Co-chair)
Dermody Properties – Atlanta, Georgia

Nancy Shultz (Co-chair)
Duke Realty Corporation – Irvine, California

Industrial Acquisitions II Forum

Matt Goode (Co-chair)
Venture One Real Estate, LLC – Rosemont, Illinois

Matt Breaux (Co-chair)
Black Creek Group – Atlanta, Georgia

Industrial Acquisitions III Forum

Thomas Herter (Chair)
Brookfield Asset Management – Dallas, Texas

Industrial Acquisitions IV Forum

Robert Stephens (Chair)
IDI Logistics – Cincinnati, Ohio

Industrial Acquisitions V Forum

Gary E. Mozer (Chair)
George Smith Partners, Inc. – Los Angeles, California

Mark Reinikka (Vice Chair)
BentallGreenOak – Seattle, Washington

Limited to Principal Members actively involved in industrial property development, ownership and investment.

Industrial Development I Forum

Cary Hutchings (Chair)
BNSF Railway – Fort Worth, Texas

Industrial Development II Forum

Ryan Stoller (Chair)
Venture One Real Estate, LLC – Rosemont, Illinois

William Kittredge (Vice Chair)
Prologis – Atlanta, Georgia

Industrial Development III Forum

Mike Powers (Chair)
Molto Properties LLC – Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois

Industrial Development IV Forum

John Eyster (Chair)
Watermark Property Group, LLC – Decatur, Alabama

Industrial Development V Forum

Paul Licausi (Chair)
LS Commercial Real Estate – Overland, Kansas

James P. Lighthizer (Vice Chair)
Chesapeake Real Estate Group, LLC – Hanover, Maryland

Industrial Development VI Forum

Christopher Stanley (Co-chair)
MDH Partners, LLC – Atlanta, Georgia

Peter Billipp (Co-chair)
Skyhawk Partners – Houston, Texas

Industrial Development VII Forum

Whitaker Levering (Co-chair)
Merritt Properties, LLC – Baltimore, Maryland

Carmon Hicks (Co-chair)
JLL – Denver, Colorado

Limited to Principal Members actively involved as owners, developers or investors in investment properties and related real estate acquisitions and disposition transactions, including representatives of financial institutions, insurance companies, pension funds, public employee retirement systems and private investment groups.

Investment Management I Forum

Elena Walsh (Chair)
Barings – Chicago, Illinois

Andrew Van Horn (Vice Chair)
Dweck Properties – Washington, D.C.

Investment Management II Forum

Lauren Young (Chair)
PCCP, LLC – San Francisco, Illinois

Doug Irmscher (Vice Chair)
Beacon Partners – Charlotte, North Carolina

Investment Management III Forum

Gardner Ellner (Co-chair)
Exeter Property Group – Los Angeles, California

Brian Seaman (Co-chair)
NYL Investors – San Francisco, California

Limited to Principal Members who have a leading role department heads and vice presidents) in a developer's or owner's marketing, property sales or leasing areas. This Forum will focus on issues facing these functions from owner, investor and developer points of view as they relate to office and industrial properties.

Andrew Moss (Chair)
Forsgate Industrial Partners – Teterboro, New Jersey

Mark J. Ray (Vice Chair)
Ray Fogg Corporate Properties, LLC – Cleveland, Ohio

Limited to Principal Members actively involved in mixed-use property development, ownership and investment.

Jeff Thompson (Co-chair)
Freehold – Seattle, Washington

Deron Benvenuti (Co-chair)
Heller Pacific, LLC – Sacramento, California

Limited to Principal Members actively involved in office building development, ownership and investment.

Office Development I Forum

Eric Sporre (Chair)
PacTrust – Portland, Oregon

Office Development II Forum

Joe Polito (Chair)
Touchstone – Seattle, Washington

Tom Rupprecht (Vice Chair)
R&R Realty Group – West Des Moines, Iowa

Limited to Principal members with a leading role in the acquisition of office properties. This Forum focuses on the issues facing investors and owners in this process.

Paul R. Bennett (Chair)
Granite Properties, Inc. – Plano, Texas