Friday, December 1, 2017

Industry Legend: Peter Hobbs / Monday, Dec 4 - Steve's Pre-Holiday Pizza / Drink Thing

Here's the 2nd in my series of interviews with people who have made a significant contribution to the global commercial real estate industry - to me, they are all legendary.  

Peter Hobbs

Peter is Managing Director at London-based bfinance. With nearly 30 years of real asset experience, he is a leading expert in the private asset classes, covering all stages of the investment process including valuation, portfolio management and investment strategy. Peter also has significant experience in real asset research, risk management, as well as organizational growth and change for companies.

Peter is a regular contributor to industry events and initiatives. In 2015 he was shortlisted for Outstanding Industry Contribution at the IPE Real Estate Global Awards, and in 2017 he chaired the PERE European Conference. He has a PhD from the University of Reading and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MIRCS).

I met Peter when he was with PPR (Property & Portfolio Research), which was founded by the truly legendary Susan Hudson-Wilson who passed away a few years ago.  As I started spending more time in Europe he saw each other more frequently and became friends.

One experience we shared was at an industry event in the U.K. I was asked to ‘moderate’ a session. The session was Peter presenting meaningful data to an audience of about 200 people.  It was the first time that Peter and I had ‘worked’ together on stage and he didn’t know what to expect.  In my typical ‘engage the audience’ style (which, was different than what European audiences were used to) Peter and I had a lot of fun – and got really good feedback from the group.

Peter has made a difference in the global commercial real estate industry and I’m proud to call him my friend.

I asked Peter to respond to three questions the answers to which I feel will be helpful to younger people in our industry:

1.    Q. Tell me about how you got started in the commercial real estate industry.

A. I started in the mid 1980’s by taking a PhD on Real Estate cycles rather than joining the throng in the run up to that particular cyclical boom!  That learning and the desire to use such insights to advise others set me in good stead for the next 30 years! 

2.    Q.  What one piece of advice do you have for people just starting out or early in their commercial real estate career?

A.  Take it slowly but keep it moving. Keep exploring options to find what is best for you and to broaden your experience. Don’t rush to find the ideal but don’t stay in any specific area too long.  

3.    Q.  Is there anything you wish you had done differently in your career? If so, what?

A.  Some of my ventures, such as PPR into DMGI/CoStar or IPD into MSCI, didn’t work as well as I’d hoped but I’ve had a fantastic time with some wonderful people and wouldn’t change the journey - I’ve been very lucky!

Peter Hobbs
**
Steve's Pre-Holiday Pizza / Drink Thing
When:   Monday, December 4
Where: Joe G's Restaurant, 244 W. 56th St (bet. B'way & 8th and downstairs from the Da Vinci Hotel)
Time:     6 - 9pm
Who:     A diverse group of commercial real estate industry folks
The deal?  You buy your own drink - I supply the famous Joe G pizza!

Hope you can drop by on Monday evening!
Steve




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