The Baker Program in Real Estate is pleased to welcome NAREIM President and CEO Gunnar Branson to campus. NAREIM, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers provides a forum for US-based managers to discuss and refine their strategies and best practices through a comprehensive set of conferences, meetings, publications, and various events. Branson will be sharing his experience and thoughts on real estate trends with graduate students in the weekly Distinguished Speaker Series.
Branson brings a unique perspective to the real estate investment conversation. He is known to question the status quo thinking of the industry, such as the fear of tenant shrinkage and space utilization as in “Moore’s Law of Real Estate,” and the idea that renting space is primarily renting square footage, when in fact, from the standpoint of customers, it may primarily be for other reasons: the specific location, access to nearby amenities, the ease in which the space can be utilized for their purpose, etc.
As space becomes better utilized and transformed through technology, evolving preferences, and simply demand, the value of that space grows. Real estate managers and investors must be able to identify how their space is being used differently over time, and ultimately, those that employ strategies to take advantage of these changes will benefit the most. Branson’s forward-looking viewpoints are a refreshing break from the traditional approach to real estate.
Before joining NAREIM in 2011, Branson worked for over 25 years in commercial real estate, professional services sales, product innovation and marketing. In addition to holding leadership roles at companies such as GE Capital Real Estate and Heller Financial, as a consultant he worked with companies such as Jones Lang LaSalle, Wells Fargo and Fidelity to develop new markets and new products including sustainability and energy conservation services. His consulting practice centered on change acceleration and practical innovation.
Branson last visited the Baker Program in early 2013, and the recording has been made available here online:
