Wednesday, January 31, 2018

A friend who has made a difference in the commercial real estate industry: Chris Merrill


Chris Merrill is the Co-Founder, President and CEO of Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, LLC, a real estate private equity firm he co-founded in 2005 that has completed over $19 billion in transactional volume and currently has over $13.7 billion in AUM.  He is also a Member of the firm’s Board of Directors and Chairman of the Investment & Management Committees.
The firm was an innovator and early adopter of a focused investment strategy around the Education, Healthcare and Storage segments of the real estate market. Investments have been made through a series of discretionary, commingled real estate funds, including an opportunistic closed end fund series (Funds I-VI), and an open-end real estate fund that collectively have raised over $10 billion in discretionary equity capital.  The firm’s global investors include U.S., European and Asian Pension Funds, Corporate Plans, Insurance Companies, Endowments, Foundations and family offices. Other firm platforms include two value-added funds targeting the European Student Housing market as well as a Real Estate Securities practice, which is developing a long/short strategy.  The firm has offices in Chicago and London.
Prior to co-founding Harrison Street, Mr. Merrill was a partner, owner and Managing Director of Heitman, a large U.S. Pension Fund Advisory firm where he developed the firm's presence in Europe, creating the first ever real estate funds exclusively targeting the markets of Central Europe.
Throughout his career, Chris has led the creation of a series of differentiated real estate products, which have acquired and/or developed over $23 billion of real estate in both the U.S. and Europe. Since 2000, he has led the launch and oversight of numerous distinct, discretionary real estate funds throughout the U.S. and Europe, raising over $14 billion in equity commitments. Chris has been active in many segments of the property markets, and has established and implemented over 100 joint ventures with real estate operating partners across the U.S. and Europe.
Chris has appeared in numerous real estate journals and speaking engagements regarding investing in the U.S. and Europe.  In recent years, National Real Estate Investor Magazine has named him one of the "10 To Watch" leaders in the industry, PERE nominated him as one of the top real estate executives in North America and Real Estate Forum named him one of “Chicago's Real Estate Icons.” Mr. Merrill was also featured in the 2016 Forbes Investment Guide.
Mr. Merrill is a member of the NAREIM Board of Directors, Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), The Real Estate Advisory Board of two Chicago based family offices (Gore Creek and Kinship Capital), The First Tee of Greater Chicago Board, The Economic Club of Chicago, the Chicago Commonwealth Club and the Young Presidents Organization (YPO).   Mr. Merrill earned his MBA in the evening from the CASS school of business in London, England.
When I was working on launching IREI’s business in Europe, starting in 2004, I began attending a number of European real estate events.  As some of you know, MIPIM is the largest such event held annually in Cannes, France.  Having known some Heitman people from the U.S., I was invited to stop by their ‘stand’ (aka ‘booth’).  Lewis Ingall, one of Heitman’s partners introduced me to Chris and we hit it off right away – he’s that kind of guy! He was the individual that built Heitman’s business in Europe and we have maintained contact ever since.  Chris is one of the deepest and most creative thinkers I know in the industry – it’s his DNA – as is evidenced by the success Harrison Street has enjoyed.

Q.  How did you get your start in commercial real estate?

A.  I began my real estate career when I was 18 years old.  I was given a summer internship from Norman Perlmutter, who was the founder and Chairman of Heitman.  During college, I spent each summer working in a different division within the firm.  The first summer was in property management and leasing. Then I spent a summer in construction and engineering and finally a summer in the acquisitions business, where I was ultimately hired.  Norman gave me a shot and during that internship really allowed my fellow interns and myself to spend a lot of time participating in company-wide meetings.  It was a very hands-on internship. 

Q.  What advice would you give someone who has been in the industry for a short time, or a student looking to get his or her start?

A. I spend a lot of time with the younger people at Harrison Street as well as others interested in a real estate career. The first and most foremost piece of advice is to be patient.  This is a business that requires experience; it requires you to do things over and over again.  Patience can contribute to a tremendous career. In contrast to other sectors such as technology where their peers may work, where things may be happening a little bit quicker.  It is also important to differentiate yourself within an organization.  Do you have international experience, a strong understanding of other asset classes, ideas related to new processes or other skills/ideas that make you unique?

Q.  As you look back on your career, is there anything you wish you had done differently?  If so, what?

A. First of all, I recognize that I have been extremely lucky. There are so many people that have helped me, and our firm, get to where it is today.  It is hard to think of anything I would have done differently. We hope to continue to build a unique platform by attracting strong talent and giving back to an industry, which had done so much for me, my team and our stakeholders.

Q.  Who have been major influences on your career and how/why?

A.  The fellow that immediately comes to mind, and I’m fortunate to be working with him today, is Chris Galvin.  Chris was the Chairman and CEO of Motorola, the business that his grandfather founded. He’s been my mentor since I was a teenager. He really helped shape how I think about business, how I think about values, and how I think about company culture. We created Harrison Street together. It’s been an honor to work with Chris, and understandably, it is very difficult to put my appreciation in words.      
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