Friday, November 28, 2014

Do It Now! / Women's Leadership Workshop - Chicago / A New Real Estate Textbook / Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade


Do It Now!
Recently I was having coffee with a relatively new industry friend Dan Elman who, since 1999, has been delivering communications and marketing services to finance, capital markets and real estate firms.

Our animated conversation went on many tangents.  One related to the series of full-page ads that were run years ago in the Wall Street Journal by aerospace giant, United Technologies (UT) …coincidentally Dan worked for UT in those days.  While cleaning out some old briefcases this week, I found a binder where I had saved a number of these pieces.  I’d like to share this particular one with you, and remind myself at the same time about it’s importance.

Do It Now
  • If you’re putting off something you’ve been meaning to do, what are you waiting for? 
  • Always wanted to play the banjo?  Start taking lessons.
  • Dreamt about visiting the Greek Islands?  Call a travel agent. 
  • Hate your bathroom wallpaper?  Scrape it off and paint. 
  • Feel better if you exercised?  Start jogging.
  • Love the taste of homegrown tomatoes?  Plant your own. 
  • Angry about the potholes in your street?  Go to your town meetings. 
  • Whatever you’ve been putting off, do it now. 
  • Tomorrow may be too late.

While I have subscribed-and sometimes been successful in implementing this philosophy-I have put several important things off…I’ve started to change that:  This past week I got my New York City Recreation Department membership card and tomorrow morning will be making my first to the facility nearest where I live.  There are exercise machines, a gym (for basketball), Olympic-sized swimming pool and, last but not least, ping pong tables (I love ping pong)! 

I have committed to going back to writing for 30-minutes early every morning.  The 2015 goal? Publish my semi-autobiographical / semi self-help book called ‘Driving With Your Knees’, which has been in the works for almost 20 years.  Accepting the suggestion of a number of friends, the book will include some of the pieces from this column that have resonated with many of you since I first started publishing in 1999. 

Lastly, I have started to form a band that, in 2015, will perform the material off my two CD’s of original music.  Much of this music has never been played in public.  The first band member?  My son Kevin who co-wrote two of the songs on that second CD, Wait For Me.

I know these goals are achievable and recently discovered a great message on a greeting card:  Proceed as if success inevitable.  It’s my new mantra!!

Women’s Leadership Workshop - Chicago
This coming Wednesday, December 3, my partner Liz Weiner and I will be facilitating a Women’s Leadership Workshop in Chicago.  The price for the 4-hour session is $279 – there are still a few seats remaining.

Women from the following forward-thinking real estate companies will be attending:
•  Bentall Kennedy
•  GEM Realty Capital
•  Harrison St.
•  Heitman
•  INVESCO
•  L&B Realty Advisors
•  National Real Estate Advisors
•  Origin Capital
•  Principal Global Investors

This dynamic, interactive session is open to women at all levels in the commercial real estate industry. Attendees will acquire presentation, communication and leadership skills to take them to the next level in their career – and beyond.

Here is the registration link.  

We’d really appreciate you forwarding this on to someone you know who may be interested.


New Book:  Indirect Real Estate Investments

My good friend Prof. Dr. John C. Davidson, Asset Management Board Member of Deutsche Finance Group,  from Zurich, Switzerland recently published a new book to complement “Private Equity Real Estate," which he published in 2011.

The aim of “Indirect Real Estate Investments” is to outline the potential of indirect real estate as an asset class from the perspective of professional investors. The following list of supporters of, and contributors to, this academic work are evidence of the high esteem in which John Davidson is held by the industry: Aberdeen, Amstar, Avenida Capital, Cordea Savills, ANREV, Composition Capital, CBRE Global Investors, Grainger, Caerus, Deutsche Finance Group, Dieners Syz, INREV, Invesco, Jamestown, KRE, Mercer, Partners Group, Patrizia, Revcap, Southern Bridge Capital, PREA, UBS.

You can learn more about the book or purchase here.


All the best with this one Dr. John!

Macy’sThanksgiving Day Parade
For those in the U.S. (and expats around the world) I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Mine was something special:  Watching the 88th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from a building right on the parade route.  The location was my daughter-in-law’s office where she, my son and their 3-year old twins and I had a great time.  In person, the parade is much more of an awesome spectacle than on TV - even with the cold, snow-showery day - the energy was something to behold.  For those who have never seen this parade, it’s huge, just like New York City. There are numerous high school and college bands that make a special, perhaps once-in-a-lifetime, trip to Manhattan to participate.  Here are a couple of photos I took…feel free to share them with younger people who will appreciate the characters (and know them!).





On the Road...

Dec. 3:  Women's Leadership Workshop, Felix / Weiner Consulting Group, Chicago, IL Learn more and register here.

Dec. 3 - 4:  NAREIM Capital Raising and Investor Relations Meeting, Chicago, IL. Learn more and register here.

Jan. 15 -16, 2015:  NAREIM Asset Management and Acquisitions Meeting, San Francisco, CA. Learn more and register here.

Jan. 21-22:  Introduction to Capital Raising Course offered by Steve Felix and Liz Weiner in partnership with IMN running alongside their Opportunity and Private Fund Investing conference, Laguna Beach, CA. Learn more and register here.

Jan. 21 - 23:  IMN's Winter Forum on Real Estate Opportunity and Private Fund Investing, Laguna Beach, CA. Learn more and register here. 

Feb. 17 – 18:  NAREIM Research & Investment Management Meeting, Chicago, IL. Learn more and register here.

Feb. 19 - 20:  University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Real Estate Challenge (I've been invited to be a judge!), Chapel Hill, NC. Learn more here 

Mar.3 - 5: NCREIF (National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries) Winter Conference, Phoenix, AZ.  Learn more and register here. 

Mar. 10 - 11:  National Association of Real Estate Research Professionals (ARERP) meeting, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

Mar. 17 - 18:  NAREIM Executive Officers Spring Meeting, Miami, FL. Learn more and register here.











Disclaimer 

All content in this blog is created for informational purposes only. Content, which includes all text, photos, video and graphics is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company or individual.  Steve Felix makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or other information as a result of following any featured link to or from this site.  The intention of this blog is to do no harm in regards to injury, defamation or libel. What is written or shown is not to be taken as fact or absolute.  Steve Felix will hold himself harmless for any errors or omissions in this blog’s information; including but not limited to external link information, translation or interpretation of content or incorrect grammar or punctuation. 

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Ray Torto / NYC Pizza Drink Thing / Between the Bricks / Women's Leadership Workshop - Chicago



Dr. Ray Torto:  The end of an era

In Boston this week, CBRE hosted a retirement dinner for an industry legend - Ray Torto - most recently the Global Chief Economist at CBRE.

Ray and I first met around 1998 when he became a client of mine in another life.  Over the years we got to know each other better and had opportunities to be on stage together several times.  One experience that I fondly remember was at MIPIM (the global commercial real estate show in Cannes).  I was the host of one of only two live TV shows that MIPIM produced.  That first year, the panel consisted of Ray, Jeff Jacobson (Global CEO at LaSalle Investment Management), Bill Krauch (Senior Advisor to Bentall Kennedy) and Johann von der Ende (former head of real estate investing at the huge Dutch pension fund, PGGM).  One of Ray’s trademarks is his thick Boston accent; In the prep for the show, I mentioned that given the international studio and viewing audience (@20,000 people), it may be a good idea to try to speak American vs. Boston!  We had a good laugh about that – and he did a great job. 

Another time, at a CBRE Americas Summit in Las Vegas, Ray, Geof Dohrmann (CEO of IREI) and I were on a panel moderated by Asieh Mansour (Senior advisor with The Townsend Group).  Asieh had her hands full with us – each having a lot to say – about anything and everything!  But Asieh got us to behave – for the most part – and we, and the audience, had a lot of fun – debating a topic that I simply can’t remember.

When I was going through a particularly difficult period in my life, Ray invited me to spend the weekend with he and his family.  As some of you know, Ray is an avid sailor and one of the treats of the weekend was going out on the bay in his sailboat.  He lent me his guestroom and his ear at a time when I needed a friend. And for that I will always be grateful.

When you see Ray at an industry event, he’s always got a big smile on his face, whether he knows you or is meeting you for the first time.  He’s been a supporter of and mentor to younger people in the industry.

Torto Wheaton Research - which Ray and Bill Wheaton founded in 1982 and was later acquired by CBRE - was chock full of bright people, many of whom moved onward and upward:  Bryan Grad, Executive Vice President at RCA (Real Capital Analytics); Rick Brace, Director at AEW Capital Management; Cate Polleys, Principal at Hewitt EnnisKunpp; Ken O’Brien, Executive Director at IPD; Jim Costello, an industry consultant; Ward Caswell, Product Manager at Argus Software and many others at key positions around the global institutional real estate world. 

You can read about Ray online on many sites – he has had a major impact on the institutional real estate industry in a career that spanned more than 30 years.  But the word ‘retire’ is not in Ray’s nature.  He is currently a Lecturer at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him appear on Boards and Advisory Committees in the near future.

All the best Ray.  You have truly made a difference in our industry.  I have greatly appreciated your friendship and support over the years.

MIPIM TV Show (L-R: Steve Felix, Jeff Jacobson, Ray Torto, Bill Krauch, Johann von der Ende)

Pizza / Drink Thing

On Tuesday night I hosted one of my Almost Annual Pre-Holiday Pizza / Drink Things in New York City.  It was a great night – around 40 people – from all across the commercial real estate industry.  As you probably know by now, one of my favorite things to do is introduce people.  On Tuesday, there were also a few ‘reunions’ of sorts where industry people who hadn’t seen each other in a while got to catch up.  It was a truly cross-generational crowd. 

Pension funds, investment managers, investment sales brokers, retail leasing brokers, RCA (Real Capital Analytics), capital raising pros, lenders, an Internet start-up, other real estate technology companies, analysts, an executive recruiter…and a few people who had originally met at one of these events previously were there.

We, the commercial / institutional real estate community are pretty fortunate – there are so many really nice people who have chosen this industry. 

The scene at Joe G's Restaurant on Tuesday
Between the Bricks

My good friend Lois Weiss publishes a weekly column in the New York Post called “Between the Bricks.”  Lois writes about New York City commercial real estate as only a trusted insider can.  If you’re interested in reading about who’s doing what to whom in the greatest real estate city in the world, I encourage you to check it out.

Women’s Leadership Workshop – Chicago, December 3, 2014

Many commercial real estate firms are investing in the career development of women.  It’s about time! 

Felix / Weiner Consulting Group is excited to announce that our next Commercial Real Estate Women’s Leadership Workshop will be in Chicago on December 3, 2014.

Please click here to learn more.

Thanks.
Liz Weiner and Steve Felix


On the Road...

Nov. 14:  James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate / Wisconsin School of Business Global Real Estate Markets Conference, New York, NY

Dec. 3:  Women's Leadership Workshop, Felix / Weiner Consulting Group, Chicago, IL

Dec. 3 - 4:  NAREIM Capital Raising and Investor Relations Meeting, Chicago, IL

Jan. 14:  Women’s Leadership Workshop – Felix / Weiner Consulting Group, San Francisco, CA

Jan. 15 -16, 2015:  NAREIM Asset Management and Acquisitions Meeting, San Francisco, CA

Jan. 21 - 23:  IMN's Winter Forum on Real Estate Opportunity and Private Fund Investing, Laguna Beach, CA (Special announcement about this event coming soon)

Jan. 26:  Women’s Leadership Workshop – Felix / Weiner Consulting Group, Los Angeles, CA

Feb. 2015 (Date TBD):  Women’s Leadership Workshop – Felix / Weiner Consulting Group, London, UK

Feb. 17 – 18:  NAREIM Research & Investment Management Meeting, Chicago, IL

Feb. 19 - 20:  University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Real Estate Challenge, Chapel Hill, NC

Mar. 2015 (Date TBD):  Women’s Leadership Workshop – Felix / Weiner Consulting Group, Washington, DC
 
Mar. 10 - 11:  National Association of Real Estate Research Professionals (ARERP) meeting, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

Mar. 17 - 18, 2015:  NAREIM Executive Officers Spring Meeting, Miami, FL

Apr. 2015 (Date TBD):  Women’s Leadership Workshop – Felix / Weiner Consulting Group, New York, NY

May 2015 (Date TBD):  Women’s Leadership Workshop – Felix / Weiner Consulting Group, Boston, MA

June 2015 (Date TBD):  Women’s Leadership Workshop – Felix / Weiner Consulting Group, Dallas, TX








Disclaimer 

All content in this blog is created for informational purposes only. Content, which includes all text, photos, video and graphics is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company or individual.  Steve Felix makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or other information as a result of following any featured link to or from this site.  The intention of this blog is to do no harm in regards to injury, defamation or libel. What is written or shown is not to be taken as fact or absolute.  Steve Felix will hold himself harmless for any errors or omissions in this blog’s information; including but not limited to external link information, translation or interpretation of content or incorrect grammar or punctuation. 





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