| Thursday, October 02, 2008 |
 |
Real Estate Society New York City Field Trip
On Wednesday September 17th, 38 students and 4 faculty and staff traveled to New York City to visit 8 firms in the real estate industry.The day started with a luncheon presentation at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). ICSC is the preeminent global trade association of the shopping center industry. Sarah Ritchie, Jay Starr, Edmund Mander, Susan Pistilli and Gregg McCort elaborated on how ICSC is structured and what their responsibilities are for each of their departments. The presenters enlightened students on the many programs and opportuntities offered by ICSC; more specifically,they explained how to access their many books, publications, and benefits of being a member. We want to thank our alumni and the participating companies for allowing the students to receive a first hand account of the New York real estate industry. We could not possibly do all that we do without the generous time and contributions from these companies. |
|
CB Richard Ellis
CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) is the world's premier, full-service real estate services company. Operating globally, the firm holds a leadership position in virtually all of the world's key business centres. With more than 300 offices in over 50 countries, CB Richard Ellis is the world’s largest real estate adviser. The wide range of services CBRE provides for its clients range from brokering rental and purchase transactions to valuations and market research.  Jared Thal (UConn '04), a consultant for Global Corporate Services, greeted students and began the informal presentation. Jared spoke to students about his career path and accomplishments since graduation from UConn. He brought in two other speakers, C-J Ford, a research supervisor for the research services group, and Sean White. Both C-J and Sean spoke in depth on how CBRE operates, current market conditions, and how their business is being affected. |
|
GE Real Estate
GE Real Estate is a unit of GE Commercial Finance and one of the world's leading resources for commercial real estate. GE Commercial Finance is labeled one of General Electric's "growth engines." The business offers lending products, growth capital, revolving lines of credit, equipment leasing of every kind, cash flow programs, and asset financing in over 35 countries.  Vasilios Diakogeorgiou (UConn MBA '07) greeted and spoke with the students on behalf of GE. One topic discussed was GE's Financial Management Program; the program rotates an employee around different areas of the company to broaden their financial knowledge. In addition, employees talked about their global expansion into China and Mexico, where they are the number one commercial lender. Peter Shosho and Aaron Milazzo also spoke on behalf of GE. |
|
ING Clarion
ING Clarion is the U.S. investment management and development arm of ING Real Estate, assembling and managing portfolios of real estate assets for institutional and individual investors. ING Real Estate is a global organization with offices in 22 countries and expertise in the development, finance, and investment management of quality real estate.  Kate Giordano (UConn MBA '05) hosted a group of students on behalf of ING Clarion. The other presenters included Gary Rufrano, Rick Schaupp, Bohdy Hedgcock, and Tiffany Youngker. Each person spoke about their educational background, career history, current projects, global initiatives, and how their departments are structured and operate. |
|
Northmarq Capital
NorthMarq Capital is a leading real estate investment banking firm, with 28 regional offices coast-to-coast. With an annual production volume of over $12 billion and a loan servicing portfolio of nearly $36 billion for more than 50 institutional investors, NorthMarq is one of the largest commercial real estate investment banking firms worldwide.  Ernie DesRochers (UConn '80, MBA '81), Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Northmarq Capital in New York City, was responsible for hosting and giving a presentation to a group of our students. Ernie and his colleague Deanna Polizzo, Vice President and Senior Producer, spoke about current market situations, Northmarq's market position, and the mortgage banking career path. |
PricewaterhouseCoopers
 PricewaterhouseCoopers' real estate department assists various real estate companies in managing risk, planning, and decision making. Some services they help provide are developing real estate strategies, evaluating acquisitions, and exploring finance options.  Mike Bogdan (UConn '07) organized the presentation for students by bringng in current employees, Kaitlin Sousa (UConn '06), Kristen Peterson (UConn '08), John Testin (UConn '06), Ed Turner, Carrie Greenbaum, and founding partner, Mitch Roshelle. |
|
Tishman Construction Corporation
Tishman Construction is one of the nation's leading construction management firms, headquartered in New York City with operating subsidiaries located across the United States. They provide a wide range of construction and construction-related services for projects of varying scope, budget, schedule, and complexity. Their projects cover various sectors including arts and culture, commercial, convention centers, education, gaming, government, healthcare, hospitality, residential, retail, sports and leisure, technology, and transportation. 
Joe Ross, (UConn '70) Executive Vice President of Tishman Construction, led a group of 8 students on a tour of the new Bank of America Tower in mid-town Manhattan. It was an exciting day as the students rode the exterior construction elevator to the 50th floor of the 54 story building. The building is touted as environmentally friendly with state of the art technology maximizing the natural benefits of sunlight and heat. It is the first building to receive a LEED (leadership in energy efficient design) platinum certification. Though the ground breaking took place in 2004, the vision for this project started more than 48 years ago with it's first land acquisition. The building is on schedule to be completed in early 2009. Thank you Mr. Ross for the great tour and spending your valuable time with us. Click here to see more pictures from the tour. |
|
UBS
UBS is a leading global wealth manager, a leading global investment banking and securities firm, and one of the largest global asset managers. UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in over 50 countries and is headquarted in Switzerland. Geoffrey Silverstein, (UConn '85) Director of Credit Risk Control for Real Estate at UBS, greeted students and talked about current business conditions, mortgage backed securities (MBS) markets, and examples of large deals in the past 2 years. |
New York City Alumni & Friends Reception at John Barry's Restaurant & Bar
 The annual NYC Alumni and Friends Reception was held on Wednesday, September 17th at John Barry's Restaurant & Bar. The evening reception was sponsored by the Real Estate Center Council. Approximately 90 attendees enjoyed appetizers, cocktails and conversation among students and professionals. To view pictures from this year's trip click here. |
|
Fall 2008 Schedule of Activities
Listed below are the Fall 2008 events and activities. For more information on any of the scheduled events, please contact Debbie at 860 486-3227 or email: Debbie Philips. 1. “Specialized” MBA Fieldtrip. Stamford/GE trip, date to be determined, most likely late October or early November. 2. Real Estate Capital Markets Presentation. Co-sponsored by Real Estate Finance Association, Friday, October 24. Presentations by leading industry representatives. The format will be the following: Catered luncheon to be held at the Downtown Graduate Learning Center at 11:30am followed by the presentation by Jim Clayton at 12:30, ending at approximately 1:30pm. 3. Alumni Football/Reception Event – Saturday, October 25, 2008. UConn/ Cincinnati Football game/BBQ at Rentschler Field, East Hartford with pre-game reception 2 hours prior to the start of the game. See Debbie for tickets. We expect 150-200 people to attend. 4. 18th Annual Commercial Real Estate Conference. Thursday, November 13 at the Farmington Marriott Hotel, 11:45 – 5:00 pm. Format will be as in the past with lunch at 11:45, 1:00 p.m. keynote TBD followed by the Connecticut economic update and updates on major commercial markets in Connecticut. Students are invited to attend beginning at 1:00 (after lunch). As usual we expect 250-300 attendees. 5. MBA Student Activities Breakfast networking events scheduled every other week in FNCE Conference room 463 at 7:30am, September – November 2008. Faculty are invited to use these events to share information with the MBA students on job opportunities, course information, etc. In addition MBA students will participate in case presentations from outside firms during the semester. Watch for dates. 6. Real Estate Society Events. The Real Estate Society will hold several social/networking events throughout the semester. Watch the Student Newsletter for updates on these events. The Professional Speakers in Classroom events are currently being scheduled. Watch for these dates and encourage students to attend. |
|
School of Business University of Connecticut 2100 Hillside Road Unit 1041RE Storrs, Ct 06269-1041 Tel: (860) 486-3227 Fax: (860) 486-0349 email: recenter@business.uconn.edu For More information, visit www.business.uconn.edu/realestate |
|
Real Estate Center Links
Conference presentations UConn Real Estate Center Council Scholarship and Award Winners Student Activities Summary |