NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate’s 29th Annual REIT Symposium Takes Place on April 9

One-on-One Conversations with Brian Kingston of Real Estate Brookfield, Marc C. Ganzio of Digital Bridge, and Hamid R. Moghadam of Prologis Headline This Year’s Symposium

New York, March 24, 2025—Industry experts and professionals are showing an increased long-term “blue sky” optimism about commercial real estate (CRE) markets and real estate investment trust (REIT) performance in 2025 than in the previous several years, despite current market dynamics and conditions.

At the 29th Annual REIT Symposium, hosted by the New York University School of Professional Studies (NYU SPS) Schack Institute of Real Estate, industry experts, trailblazers, and visionaries will share their insights and analyses on the latest macroeconomic outlook and trends, technology’s impact on the industry, market conditions, and opportunities for CRE and REIT investment in 2025. This year’s REIT Symposium will be held at The Pierre Hotel in New York City on Wednesday, April 9th.

"At this year’s REIT Symposium, a distinguished group of industry leaders will be taking the stage to share their perspectives that will undoubtedly shape conversations and strategies to help drive the market forward,” said Marc Norman, Larry & Klara Silverstein Chair and Associate Dean, NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate, and Symposium Co-Host. “More than 500 senior industry professionals attend the NYU SPS REIT Symposium each year and participate in the day’s lively discussions and dates, as well as the invaluable networking opportunities.”

The 29th Annual REIT Symposium will feature several high-level one-on-one conversations with industry experts, including discussions with:

• Brian Kingston, Chief Executive Officer, Real Estate Brookfield
• Marc C. Ganzio, Chief Executive Officer, Digital Bridge
• Hamid R. Moghadam, Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, Prologis

These conversations complement an outstanding roster of panel discussions with the sector’s leading CEOs, bankers, lawyers, analysts, and investors. Session topics include:

• Market Dynamics— Blue Skies Ahead?
• Repositioning REITs for Growth
• Opportunities in a Volatile Interest Rate Environment
• Investor Roundtable
• Innovation, Prop–Tech, & AI in the REITverse
• M&A and Strategy—Offense, Defense, Growth

The NYU SPS Schack Student-Managed REIT Investment Fund:
Pioneering Career-Connected, Real-World Learning
In its second year, the NYU SPS Schack REIT Investment Fund continues to redefine real estate education. Built on NYU SPS’s heritage of bringing applied, career-connected, real-world learning experiences into the classroom, the program provides Schack students with invaluable hands-on experience in real estate securities investment and management.

Since its inception in 2023, Schack students have been part of the REIT Investment Fund and have the opportunity to apply and integrate real estate institute teachings in the pursuit of investment management experience and results.

At the 29th Annual REIT Symposium, current Schack REIT Investment Fund students will close out the event by presenting the Fund’s latest performance and celebrating the milestone anniversary of this unique learning experience.

NYU SPS Schack REIT Symposium Committee
In addition to Norman, the REIT Symposium committee includes:

• Scott Robinson, Adjunct Associate Professor, Director of the Schack REIT Center, and Symposium Co-Host
• Adam O. Emmerich, Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and Symposium Co-Chair
• Robin Panovka, Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and Symposium Co-Chair
• Mary Hogan Preusse, Senior Advisor, Fifth Wall, and Chair of the Symposium’s Investor Roundtable

Register for the 29th Annual REIT Symposium and view the latest Symposium agenda.  If you are a member of the media who would like to report on the event, please contact Michael DeMeo at michael.demeo@nyu.edu.

Current Agenda, as of March 24, 2025:

Opening Remarks

• Marc Norman, Larry & Klara Silverstein Chair and Associate Dean, NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate, and Symposium Co-Host
• Robin Panovka, Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and Symposium Co-Chair
• Scott Robinson, Adjunct Associate Professor, Director of the Schack REIT Center, and Symposium Co-Host

Session #1: Market Dynamics—Blue Skies Ahead?

• Seth Weintrob, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley (Moderator)
• Debra A. Cafaro, Chairman and CEO, Ventas
• Leslie Hale, President and CEO, RLJ Lodging Trust
• Ronald Havner, Chairman of the Board, Public Storage
• Mark J. Parrell, President and CEO, Equity Residential
• Owen D. Thomas, BXP

Session #2: A Conversation with Brian Kingston, CEO of Real Estate Brookfield

• Marc Norman, Larry & Klara Silverstein Chair and Associate Dean, NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate, and Symposium Co-Host (Moderator)
• Brian Kingston, CEO, Real Estate Brookfield

Session #3: Repositioning REITs for Growth

• Thomas A. Grier, Managing Director and Global Head of Real Estate, Gaming, and Lodging Investment, JP Morgan Securities LLC (Moderator)
• Scott Brinker, President and CEO, Healthpeak Properties, Inc.
• Christina Chiu, President, Empire State Realty Trust
• Kristin Gannon, Managing Director, Eastdil Secured
• Adam Portnoy, President and CEO, The RMR Group
• Stephen Yalof, President and CEO, Tanger

Session #4: Opportunities in a Volatile Interest Rate Environment

• Jeffrey Horowitz, Global Head of Real Estate, Gaming, & Lodging Investment Banking (Moderator)
• Kenneth F. Bernstein, President and CEO, Acadia Realty Trust
• Colin Connolly, President and CEO, Cousins Properties
• Rob Harper, President, Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust and Head of Real Estate Asset Management Americas, Blackstone
• Tammy K. Jones, Co-Founder and CEO, Basis Investment Group
• Samuel Landy, President and CEO, UMH Properties, Inc.
• Dana Petitto, Chief Operating Officer and Portfolio Manager, Brookfield REIT

Session #5: Investor Roundtable

• Mary Hogan Preusse, Senior Advisor, Fifth Wall (Moderator)
• Brian Jones, Managing Director, Neuberger Berman
• Nick Joseph, Managing Director and Head of the Real Estate and Lodging, Citi
• Mathew Kirschner, Senior Vice President, Portfolio Manager, Cohen & Steers
• Cedrik Lachance, Director of Research, Green Street
• Suzanne Sorkin, Senior Vice President, Adelante Capital Management

Session #6: A Conversation with Marc C. Ganzi, CEO of Digital Bridge

• Marc C. Ganzi, CEO, Digital Bridge
• Robin Panovka, Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and Symposium Co-Chair (Moderator)

Session #7: Innovation, Prop–Tech & AI in the REITverse

• Sherry L. Rexroad, CFO, Piedmont Office Realty Trust (Moderator)
• Conor Flynn, CEO, Kimco Realty Corp.
• Andrea Olshan, President and CEO, Seritage Growth Properties
• Andy Power, President and CEO, Digital Realty
• Dallas Tanner, Chief Executive Officer, Invitation Homes
• Brendan Wallace, CEO and Chief Investment Officer, Fifth Wall

Session #8: A Conversation with Hamid Moghadam, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Prologis

• Adam O. Emmerich, Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and Symposium Co-Chair (Moderator)
• Hamid R. Moghadam, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO, Prologis

Session #9: Keynote M&A and Strategy Panel—Offense, Defense, Growth

• Mike Graziano, Co-Head of Global Real Estate Investment Banking, Goldman Sachs & Co. (Moderator)
• Jackson Hsieh, President and CEO, Macerich
• Matthew Lustig, Chairman of Investment Banking, North America and Head of Real Estate & Lodging, Lazard
• Edward Pitoniak, CEO, VICI Properties
• Sumit Roy, President and CEO, Realty Income Corporation
• Benjamin W. Schall, Chief Executive Officer and President, AvalonBay Communities, Inc.

Session #10: NYU SPS Schack Institute Student-Run REIT Securities Fund

• Scott Robinson, Professor and Director of the REIT Center, NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate (Moderator)
   

About the NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate
The NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate was founded in 1967 at the initiative of prominent New York City real estate community members, who encouraged NYU to establish an academic center that would provide a world-class education for industry professionals. More than 50 years later, the Schack Institute is at the forefront of real estate education, recognized globally as one of the world’s leading centers of real estate research and practical, real-world learning experiences.

The Institute’s graduate degree programs—notably the MS in Real Estate and the MS in Real Estate Development—and a rapidly expanding undergraduate degree program have grown enrollment to more than 1,000 full—and part-time students from across the United States and nearly 50 countries. In addition to its flagship degree programs, thousands of working professionals enroll each year in the Schack Institute’s executive education, certificate, and career advancement programs.

An anchor of real estate academia’s engagement with industry, the Institute is home to the REIT Center, the Center for the Sustainable Built Environment, the CREFC Center for Real Estate Finance, and the Urban Lab. In addition to the REIT Symposium, the Institute hosts many other national industry events, including annual conferences on real estate capital markets and its Women in Real Estate Symposium. Under the direction of Schack’s industry-experienced faculty, ongoing applied research at the Institute spans an exceptional range of issues in real estate development and investment, urban economics, and market structure and regulation.

About the NYU School of Professional Studies
Established in 1934, NYU SPS is an internationally recognized university that offers diverse students access and opportunity to practical, real-world preparation to thrive in their careers while building the next generation of industry leaders ready to embrace tomorrow’s innovations and challenges and lead change in global workplaces.

The NYU SPS global community is made up of industry professionals, doers, and trailblazers shaping the future of industries, positioning the School as an idea incubator center for various fields, including real estate, hospitality, global affairs, sports business, integrated marketing, HR, professional writing, and more.

Today, NYU SPS offers one of the most diverse portfolios of educational offerings at NYU, including graduate degrees, bachelor’s degrees for traditional and degree completion students, associate degrees, continuing education courses, and certificate programs.

NYU SPS hosts some of the largest and most in-demand industry conferences in the world, including the Schack Institute of Real Estate’s Capital Markets Conference, REIT Symposium, and National Symposium of Women in Real Estate; the Jonathan M. Tisch Center’s International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference; the Annual NYU Tax Conferences; and the NYU Coaching and Technology Summit. The School’s invaluable connections to industry leaders are a distinguishing factor in the education it provides.