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Annual Convention - October 17-20, 2010 - Four Seasons Hotel - Philadelphia, PA

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FEATURED PROGRAMS

Additional session topics and speakers are still being added, please check back often.

Economic Outlook: Jobs, Housing and The Consumer

Mark Zandi, Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics

Mark Zandi, Ph.D., Chief Economist of Moody’s Analytics, has been quoted in the business press as saying the recession is over. To many, it doesn’t feel like it is. Zandi has advised high-level government and business figures and is prominent in the news – often quoted and seen in major media such as The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fortune, Forbes, and multiple network and cable television news programs. Now he brings his views and rationale directly to Counselors in his General Session at the 2010 Annual Convention. He has authored two insightful books – the updated Financial Shock: Global Panic and Government Bailouts--How We Got Here and What Must Be Done to Fix It (2009) and the soon to be released Paying the Price: The New Economic Mess We Have Created and How to Get Out of It.

Uncensored, straightforward and outspoken, Dr. Zandi is one of the most prominent voices in economics today. His appearance before The Counselors’ audience is an opportunity for attendees to hear his analysis and conclusions firsthand and interact directly with him. His Economic Outlook general session will focus on unemployment, housing issues and consumer spending (or lack thereof) as key measures that will affect the timing of the recovery.


Mark Zandi, Ph.D.

Dialogue with The Fed -- Commercial Market Conditions, Lending, Financial Regulatory Reform and Other Pressing Issues

K.C. Conway, CRE, Risk Specialty Officer, The Federal Reserve (Atlanta)
Bill Chalker, Director, Risk Management and Analytics, The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Sunil Gangwani, Senior Trader, Capital Markets Group, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Steven Harter, Credit Risk Manager, Supervision and Regulation, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
John Shackelford, Vice President and Exam Coordinator, Shared National Credits, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

As the economy recovers, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank is at the forefront. K.C. Conway, CRE, brings together a panel of his colleagues and experts to provide Counselors the most up-to-date views, concerns and industry outlook from the Federal Reserve System. This unique session opens a dialogue between attending Counselors and key figures in the economic recovery.

We have reserved ample time in the schedule for presentations, panel interaction and dialogue with attendees – panel participants will answer questions from the audience and lead discussion. This is an unprecedented opportunity for access to high-level Federal Reserve officials.


K.C. Conway, CRE


Bill Chalker


Steven Harter


John Shackelford

The REIT Industry C – Suite Roundtable

William P. Hankowsky, Chairman, President and CEO, Liberty Property Trust
George F. Rubin, Vice Chairman, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT)
Matthew Greenberger, Director, Real Estate Investment Banking, Citigroup Global Markets
Jay L. White, CRE, Apex Realty Advisory (Moderator)

In the midst of difficult times for real estate investment and asset management, what measures have REITs taken to maintain investor and lender confidence in the short term, and to enhance their prospects for growth in the long term? A stumbling economy, high levels of unemployment, and reduced consumer spending have all created high anxiety and impacted property fundamentals in each sector of real estate. This distinguished panel will address the rebound in REIT stock prices and the implications for the private market, given that the REIT market often leads the rest of the market. C-Suite panelists with specialties in the office/industrial, retail and apartment sectors will provide an overview, discuss trends and challenges and explore opportunities for both the REIT as a form of ownership and for each real estate sector.


William P. Hankowsky


George F. Rubin


Matthew Greenberger


Jay L. White, CRE

Valuing Real Property in Distressed Markets

Edward A. Glickman, President and Chief Operating Officer, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT)
Peter F. Korpacz, CRE, President, Korpacz Realty Advisors
Richard Marchitelli, CRE, Executive Managing Director and National Practice Leader, Dispute Analysis and Litigation Support, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.
Michael Sklaroff, Esq., CRE, Chair, Real Estate Department, Ballard Spahr, LLP (Moderator)

Cap rates underlie almost every decision regarding acquisition, disposition, and financing of commercial real estate. The dramatic decline in real estate transactions since the middle of 2007 and the more recent rise of distressed sales creates an enormous pricing problem not only for investors and lenders but also for Counselors whose work includes significant valuation issues. How do you derive cap rates when there is so little market evidence from arms' length transactions and sales possibly tainted by distressed sellers? The panel, will discuss how investors are making deals, and how Counselors and appraisers are developing and supporting cap rates for valuation estimates.


Edward A. Glickman


Peter F. Korpacz, CRE


Richard Marchitelli, CRE

Michael Sklaroff, Esq., CRE

Embassy Row: Relocating Embassy London

Marcus Hebert, Director, Project Development and Coordination, U.S. State Department [bio]
Richard Maimon, Principal, KieranTimberlake
Keith Wilkie, Managing Director of Planning and Real Estate, U.S. State Department [bio]
Jay Hicks, CRE, Managing Director of Planning and Real Estate, U.S. State Department (Moderator) [bio]

The U.S. State Department faced a long-standing dilemma – one of its most important embassies was functionally obsolete and in dire need of a comprehensive renovation costing hundreds of millions of dollars -- without any prospects for adequate funding. The combination of market dynamics, exchange rates, valuable property assets, an exhaustive site search and creative deal structures provided a unique opportunity. The stars aligned, producing the possibility of a self-funded relocation of Embassy London using proceeds from the sale of a recently vacated annex and the still-occupied existing embassy in Grosvenor Square. The panel will discuss how the opportunity was developed, how real estate and planning challenges encountered were resolved, an extraordinary design competition and the winning design for the New London Embassy.


Marcus Hebert


James Timberlake


Keith Wilkie


Jay Hicks, CRE

The Gaming Industry: Real Estate Opportunities and Challenges

Jim Baum, Senior Vice President, Penn National Gaming, Inc.
Marc Brookman, Partner, Duane Morris LLP
Anthony S. Graziano, CRE, Managing Director, Integra Realty Resources, Coastal New Jersey
Al Luciani, Special Counsel, Duane Morris LLP

The gaming industry can be called exciting, mysterious, glamorous, profitable (for some but not all) and a hot topic both in the Northeast and nationally. A distinguished panel of gaming industry executives and real estate experts will discuss a variety of concerns related to the development of gaming facilities and properties. In addition to a general industry overview and discussion of projects currently underway or proposed for development in the Northeastern U.S., the panel will address trends and challenges presented by the development of gaming projects. They will discuss who benefits from these projects, how the nature of local permitting and entitlement regulations relating to gaming can make or break a project’s viability; unique issues in the valuation of gaming properties; and how regional gaming projects face unique challenges that Las Vegas will never experience.


Jim Baum


Marc Brookman


Anthony S. Graziano, CRE


Al Luciani



New This Year - Breakout Sessions

Hugh Kelly, CRE, Clinical Professor of Real Estate, New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate
Martha O’Mara, CRE, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Corporate Portfolio Analytics

In addition to all the General Sessions, two new Breakout Sessions have just been added to the Convention schedule.

Real Estate Ethics -- Ethical questions are supremely practical, as they concern what persons and groups of persons actually do rather than just what they might think. Moderator Hugh F. Kelly, CRE, Clinical Professor of Real Estate, New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate and a panel of practitioners including Jonathan J. Miller, CRE, President/CEO, Miller and Samuel, Inc., and Martha Heric, CRE, Vice President Wells Fargo Bank, explore how real estate decision-makers deal with ethical values vis-a-vis their own firm members, counterparties in the marketplace, regulators, and contractors. The pivotal question about ethics as the pursuit of high standards versus ethics as merely satisfying minimum requirements serves as the touchstone to the conversation.

Corporate Real Estate -- This session will explore how fundamental changes in the American economy and society are shaping current and future demand for commercial real estate. Martha O’Mara, CRE will present information and research findings from a wide variety of sources including the Federal government, Corporate Portfolio Analytics and other respected companies to explain changing demographics, preferences and needs of companies large and small. She also will address management and employees’ changing preferences as to how and where they work.


Hugh Kelly, CRE


Martha O'Mara, CRE

Social Media – Identifying the Opportunities

Robert Pliska, CRE, Managing Director, Sperry Van Ness/Property Investment Advisors, LLC

An informal and informative discussion of how to use social media such as The Counselors’ Linked-In Group and other new media such as Facebook and Twitter to the business advantage of members. No presentations; just a discussion with Robert Pliska, CRE, Managing Director, Sperry Van Ness/Property Investment Advisors, LLC, who will explain how you and your business can benefit from these new Internet platforms.

Welcome Luncheon

Karen D. Buchholz, Vice President of Administration, Comcast Corporation

The 58-story Comcast Center building in Philadelphia is the tallest building in the city and the 15th-tallest in the U.S. The largest tenant is telecom giant Comcast, which chose to locate its corporate headquarters there (utilizing over one million square feet of space). It is the tallest LEED-certified building in America.

Business Issues Forums

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