2009 Events

The Education Committee of CoreNet Global’s New York City Chapter recently presented a workshop, titled “Basics of Debt Financing: Making Sense of Today’s Market,” that was aimed at explaining to attendees the core concepts of real estate financing. The event was held at Kaplan and more than 30 members attended the lecture... READ MORE

As part of CoreNet Global NYC’s Community Reinvestment Challenge, a team of Young Leaders recently volunteered their time and painting skills at New York Cares Day.  The group joined more than 8,000 New Yorkers in a day of service to revitalize and improve public schools throughout all five boroughs. The Young Leaders were assigned to I.S 145Q in Queens where they designed and painted a “Student of the Month” mural to recognize students’ academic achievements...READ MORE

The SIG Media Group recently gathered for lunch and an informal roundtable discussion at Hearst Tower, where members shared ideas about current trends and issues facing corporate real estate executives in the media industry. Attendees also enjoyed extraordinary views of Central Park from Hearst’s executive conference room on the 44th floor.

The luncheon conversation focused primarily on space consolidation and the paradigm shift into open plan for big media. While open plans have been accepted for Internet companies in Silicon Valley and are increasingly popular in New York, the media industry, as a whole, has seen pushback on open plans from top brass. Protecting the “talent” that drives the television and print portions of their businesses is one of their main concerns. Attendees shared various approaches to space consolidation, new workplace formats and other hurdles they face at their respective companies, and those who have seen success offered sage advice to their peers.

Attendees included:
Barry Appleman, Reed Elsevier, VP, R.E. Purchasing & Administration
Christian Bryan, IAC / InterActive Corp, Director Administration
Jonathan Coun, Interpublic Group of Companies, Associate Director, Corporate Real Estate
James King, Sony
Gerald Lifrieri, InterPublic Group of Cojmpanies, Manager, Real Estate (NA Portfolio)
Victor Liu, The Hearst Corporation, Project Manager, RE & Facilities Planning
Frank Morano, NBC Universal, Director, Corporate Real Estate
Lou Nowikas, The Hearst Corporation, Director of Operations
Abbye Suskin, Time Inc., Director, Real Estate
William Vornehm, WPP Group USA Inc. Senior Director, Real Estate
Hussain Ali-Khan, CoreNet Global NYC Chapter, Membership Board Member
Barry Alton, CoreNet Global NYC Chapter, SIG Board Member

In July, the New York City Chapter of CoreNet Global held a luncheon-learning program entitled, “CEO to CRE – What's Our Plan Now."

The expert panel, comprised of an end-user, service provider and consultants involved in all aspects of corporate real estate strategy, outlined the top 10 ways to optimize a real estate portfolio in today’s constantly changing market.

Panelists included Karen Kalina, director of strategy, development and portfolio analysis for Siemens Real Estate; Martha O'Mara, founder and managing director of CPAnalytics; and Gregory Fischer, vice president of strategy for CresaPartners. Marcus Rayner, the chapter's programs committee chair and principal at CresaPartners, served as moderator.

The panel compared CRE priorities with those of the C-suite and advised the audience of corporate real estate executives how to use appropriate language and the right approach when presenting new plans and ideas to senior leadership. For example, CREs focus on “space utilization,” while CEOs simply want to know real estate’s impact on earnings.

“CEOs want to hear how real estate assets align with the direction of their operation,” Fischer added. “He or she may have a personal interest in reducing the company’s ‘carbon footprint,’ but will be much more willing to hear about a new sustainability initiative if you can effectively show how it will help retain employees and drive revenue.”

Ms. O’Mara stressed the importance of really selling CRE ideas to the C-suite with a rich story that’s easy to understand and is supported by sufficient data. “What’s your headline? A spreadsheet of data is not enough,” she said.

Ms. O’Mara said that she’s also seeing many companies focused on centralization. “Today the C-suite is listening and wants to save expenses in areas where they wouldn’t have looked before the economy tanked,” she said. “We’re also helping companies look beyond individual transactions to evaluate the occupancy cost per employee rather than just cost per square foot. A much lower number can fully support employees.”

At Siemens, Ms. Kalina is also looking at consolidation. “In many areas, there is money lying on the table and we’re constantly evaluating how to get it,” she said. “The C-suite has to face the employees, however, and they recognize that space is very personal.” Ms. Kalina also discussed Siemens’ growth through acquisitions and how merging companies, cultures and real estate has been extremely challenging. Mr. Fischer noted that, in his experience, quick integration of merged companies has led to more long-term success.

The panel also debated cost reduction through portfolio reduction, how to take advantage of “buyer power” prior to the market’s expected bottom in 2011, and the importance of investing in surveys to measure productivity.

The chapter’s next luncheon-learning program will be the annual market update and a look at the New York City economy and its impact on corporate real estate, to be held Friday, September 25, 2009 from 11:30 a.m.– 2:00 p.m.