Leading Voices in Real Estate

In this episode, Joe Muratore and Ryan Swehla reveal how they’re unlocking opportunities in secondary and tertiary real estate markets—areas often underestimated yet rich with potential. They push back against the misconception that only primary markets deliver results, showing how overlooked regions can provide strong, sustainable returns with the right strategy. The conversation also highlights the critical role of partnerships. Rather than chasing every deal, they carefully align with partners who share their vision and values. This intentional approach leverages diverse expertise while maintaining unity of purpose, allowing them to navigate challenges and capitalize on opportunities where others might hesitate. For investors ready to think differently, this episode is a roadmap to uncovering new frontiers.

Join us for an insightful conversation with Luke Petherbridge, CEO, and Nick Pell, President & Chief Investment Officer, of LINK Logistics, Blackstone's U.S. industrial platform. Discover their unique perspectives on the logistics industry, investment strategies, and the future of industrial platforms. Whether you're an industry insider or just curious about the logistics world, this episode offers valuable insights and thought-provoking discussions.

Join us as we dive into the career journey of Debra Cafaro, the Chairman and CEO of Ventas. From her humble beginnings in Pittsburgh to leading one of the largest REITs, Debbie shares her insights on leadership, innovation, and the strategic decisions that have propelled Ventas to the forefront of the real estate industry.

Dave Reiss, Co-Founder & CEO Wunder Capital, explores the profound impact of the energy transition on the commercial real estate sector and the global shifts towards sustainable energy solutions with commercial properties being at the forefront of this transformation.

Pete Gaynor, former FEMA Administrator and President of Bright Harbor, discusses the preparedness, systems and infrastructure our country and our industry needs to effectively respond to disasters. In our previous episode with Lew Horne and David Waite, we talked about our industry's response to the January Los Angeles fire disaster and, more generally, the real estate industry’s role in preparedness, immediate response, and rebuilding in these disasters.

Lew Horne, President for Advisory Services for CBRE in Greater Los Angeles, and David Waite, Partner at Cox, Castle, & Nicholson LLP discuss Project Recovery, Rebuilding Los Angeles after the January 2025 Wildfires. This report was created by the real estate industry as a roadmap for disaster recovery and rebuilding efforts.

In this revisit of our conversation from 2023, Brett White, the outgoing Executive Chair of Cushman & Wakefield and prior CEO of CBRE, tells the story of the growth and evolution of these now giant global real estate service firms. In this rebroadcast episode, Brett discusses the evolution of today’s giant global real estate service platforms from essentially brokerage shops to the full-service firms that they are today.

Tyler Christiansen, CEO of Funnel, a multifamily prop tech company, discusses how Funnel fundamentally changes the owner-renter relationship and how that facilitates change in the operating platform in the apartment business, opening the door to greater centralization, the use of AI, and a changed workforce. This conversation follows up on our prior LVRE episode with David Stanford and Chris Shaida of RealFoundations, where we established the importance and meaning of “operating platform” in the real estate business.

David Stanford and Chris Shaida, Co-CEOs of RealFoundations, give a masterclass on how information technology and AI are impacting the real estate industry. This episode is Part 1 of our two-part series on the influence of information technology and artificial intelligence on the real estate business.

At the firm's 60th anniversary, the next generation co-CEOs of Lincoln Property Company, Clay Duvall and David Binswanger, discuss the company’s new business model, succession, leadership, legacy, and approach to the challenges and opportunities of today's business. As Lincoln celebrates its 60th anniversary, this conversation takes place at their newly delivered headquarters office in Dallas.

Ben Miller, CEO and Co-Founder of Fundrise, talks with Matt about Fundrise and his vision for disrupting the real estate industry with his online, direct-to-consumer, low-fee real estate (and now also venture capital) investment funds. Recorded live at Ben’s office on Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. on April 23, this conversation is a fascinating exploration of what it means to pioneer a new thesis and challenge the orthodoxy around traditional thinking in the real estate business.

Brad Korman and Lea Anne Welsh of Korman Communities share the meaning and tradition that drive their high-touch, fifth-generation family apartment business to success. This conversation with Brad and Lea Anne took place live at an AVE by Korman property in King of Prussia, PA.

Michael Levy, CEO of Crow Holdings, discusses the history of the Trammell Crow real estate businesses and how that legacy guides the business of Crow Holdings today. This conversation with Michael was recorded on March 28th at the Crow Holdings headquarters office in Dallas at the Old Parkland Hospital campus.

Shannon Loew, Amazon’s Vice President of Global Workforce Solutions, elaborates on his global role and the company’s return to office policy. Recorded on March 12 at Amazon’s South Lake Union campus in Seattle, this conversation with Shannon is only the second Leading Voices episode with a corporate real estate leader.

Owen Thomas, Chairman and CEO of Boston Properties, discusses the state of back-to-office and outlines the threats and opportunities arising in the current market. This is my second conversation on Leading Voices in Real Estate with Owen Thomas, Chairman and CEO of Boston Properties, the largest office REIT in the business.

Don Kuemmeler, Co-Founder and Senior Managing Partner, and Bryan Thornton, Managing Partner, of PCCP, discuss the market, their business, and the values and partnerships within the real estate industry that have fueled their success. PCCP LLC, Pacific Coast Capital Partners, is a commercial real estate investment management company that now has about $25 billion in AUM.

Jeff Giller, Partner and Head of StepStone Real Estate, and Margaret McKnight, Partner and Head of Portfolio Solutions, talk about guiding real estate strategies for institutional investors, providing capital to fund managers and their broad view of where, how and when to invest in the real estate market. Recorded on January 16 at the StepStone offices in Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, this episode with Jeff and Margaret is a goldmine of insight as they share how they think about the real estate universe.

Neil Slater, CEO of Redevco an Amsterdam retail and mixed-use vertically integrated developer, operator and fund manager, talks about his new(ish) role at Redevco, opportunities for the company and shares his broad perspective on investing in real assets across the globe. In honor of ZRG's expansion of our real estate search practice into Europe with the addition of Jamie Griffiths-Mead and Rob Johnston in London, this month we've had two guests from across the pond, the last episode with Gilda Perez-Alvarado from Accor Hotels and today’s interview with Neil.

Gilda Perez-Alvarado, Chief Strategy Officer of Accor Hotels and President of Accor’s Orient Express luxury brand, returns as a guest on Leading Voices to talk about the hospitality business generally and starting up a luxury hotel and leisure brand. We first spoke in 2019 when she was CEO of JLL's Hotels and Hospitality Group.

Jeff DeBoer, Founding President and CEO of The Real Estate Roundtable, provides an insider’s view of what to expect for the real estate industry going into the new Trump Administration. Jeff and I sat down in his office, across the street from the White House, to record this conversation on December 4, 2024.