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The rising stars of today's industry have learned the ropes during a time of enormous technological change and economic upheaval and recovery. The have differing backgrounds and areas of expertise, but they share a certain energy, drive and optimistic enthusiasm about what lies ahead for commercial real estate.

The editors of Real Estate Forum gathered information on some of the best and brightest young professionals in commercial real estate today and narrowed the list down to the cream of the crop. This year's selection process was especially difficult, as more than 550 qualified individuals were nominated. So difficult, in fact, that we had to grow the list from 40 individuals to 50. Read on to find out who made the cut.

Kase Abusharkh, 32
Chief Investment Officer
American Realty Capital - Retail Centers of America
New York City
For eight consecutive years, Abusharkh was a top-producing advisor for Sperry Van Ness, one of the largest brokerage firms in the country with nearly 1,000 representatives. In August, he was appointed as chief investment officer of American Realty Capital–Retail Centers of America, where he applies his skills in the retail asset class for one of most active owners and operators of real estate in the country. He has transacted over $2 billion of net leased real estate sales nationwide. In his current position, Abusharkh recommends investments and is responsible for the overall strategy of the fund, ensuring proper deployment of capital, managing the portfolio and capitalizing investments. 

Pauline Alimchandani, 31
Chief Financial Officer
Dream Unlimited Corp.
Toronto
Having joined Dream Unlimited in March 2013 as VP of corporate strategy, Alimchandani was appointed CFO in less than a year, becoming one of the youngest CFOs in the Canadian real estate industry, also for a public company of such size and scope. The firm has $15 billion of assets under management. Alimchandani, however, says she is not alone, noting that there are plenty of youthful professionals in the company and in the industry in senior roles. “The caliber of the executives in real estate are only going to get better and tougher to compete with, which will be great for our industry and the economy as a whole,” she contends. In her first eight months in the role as CFO, Alimchandani has also been responsible for leading the creation of the Dream Hard Asset Alternatives Trust, a $1-billion newly formed publicly listed trust, managed by Dream. This transaction is expected to increase Dream's asset management business by over 30%.

Ravi Anand, 37
Senior Director, Institutional Accounts
GE Capital Real Estate
New York City
The detour of the 2002 tech sector bust and a book about real estate by a Harvard business professor led Anand into the field of commercial real estate capital. As a top executive at GE Capital, he has closed deals with Blackstone, Brookfield, Angelo Gordon, Rockwood, Garrison, Sterling Equities and Alliance Bernstein, among others. Anand's 10-member team is known for strong analytics, expertise in structuring and speed performing due diligence. Since joining GE, he has been directly responsible for originating more than $5 billion in loans, and has won a number of GE internal awards based on his contribution. Anand says he wants to remain in real estate for the long term and enjoys being what he terms a “deal guy.”

Bethany Bailey, 35
Executive Vice President
CBRE Group Inc.
Newport Beach, CA
In 2007, Bethany Bailey was named CBRE's Southern California Regional Rookie of the Year for debt & equity finance. Just seven years later, at the age of 35, she has ranked among the top 2% of professionals nationwide, named in CBRE's prestigious Coldwell Colbert Circle. Bailey specializes in multifamily loan originations. Along with her partner, Troy Tegeler, she currently executes an average of 70 deals per year and has completed more than 400 transactions since 2007. Over the course of her career, Bailey has focused on agency executions and management of the loan process. She is responsible for coordinating the borrower, lender, council, third party vendors and all of the deliveries, from initial loan sizing to closing.

Matthew Baron, 39
President
Simon Baron Development
New York City
At age 39, Baron heads one of the fastest growing development firms in New York City. Baron develops, owns and manages a diverse portfolio of residential, hotel and retail assets in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and surrounding areas. The firm, which he joined in 2006, has acquired $1.4 billion of properties and has over $800 million of active projects in various stages of development. Baron says he is seeing a lot of focus on technology and the younger generation is certainly more apt to use this in their business. “Real Estate historically has been a bit of an old boy's club . . . but the younger people coming in are really starting to change that paradigm,” Baron says. Baron and his team completed two major transactions in February worth about $160 million.

Matthew Beverly, 39
Vice President and Director of Investments, East Region
Retail Properties of America Inc.
Oak Brook, IL
As the first outside hire in Retail Properties of America's investment group, Beverly has hit the ground running. In less than six months, he has executed approximately $40 million worth of investment activity, with more than $100 million under contract and several additional transactions under evaluation. He was also elected as an officer at the company in March 2014 and has brought a wealth of experience and insight to RPAI's Investment team, helping to define the strategic direction of RPAI's acquisition and disposition strategy moving into 2015. Retail Properties of America Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust focused on the acquisition, development and management of strategically located retail assets. It is one of the largest owners and operators of shopping centers in the US. Prior to joining RPAI, Beverly served as vice president of investments for General Growth Properties Inc., where he closed more than $3 billion of investment activity.

Nitin Bhasin, 38
Managing Director
Kroll Bond Rating Agency
New York City
Bhasin's creative abilities inspired him to study architecture and practice as a licensed architect very early in his career. His analytical abilities and personal interests subsequently guided him toward a career in commercial real estate finance. Bhasin was the key architect in the development of KBRA's multi-borrower model as well as its non-performing loan methodology. As a result, KBRA has rated a total of 132 deals since June 2011. Within the CMBS space, KBRA has ranked third amongst the six rating agencies in 2012, 2013 and the first half of 2014 in rating CMBS transactions despite being created only in 2011. As managing director, Bhasin's responsibilities include leading methodology development for all types of CRE securitizations, overseeing all transaction analytics and ratings assignments, chairing ratings committees, and acting as deal lead for the more complex transactions.

Steve Blazejewski, 39
Principal
Prudential Real Estate Investors
Atlanta
Upon joining PREI, Blazejewski was faced with the task of assuming the leadership role and responsibilities of a retiring industry stalwart. PREI says the transition was managed seamlessly in all regards and is evidenced by the successful investment of PREI's latest dedicated senior housing fund, and his continued involvement in current and future PREI initiatives. “The continued aging of the population and demographic shift will have a profound effect on real estate investment,” he says. “Senior housing will cease to be a niche subsector and will become more mainstream, much like self-storage and student housing have in recent years.” As head of transactions for the senior housing fund series, Blazejewski oversees two closed-ended, discretionary senior housing funds consisting of over $900 million of deployed equity. As head of asset management for the senior housing fund series, he leads a team of investment professionals providing investment oversight for a national, continually changing portfolio of up to 40 investments.

Jacob Bobek, 36
Principal
Avison Young
Los Angeles
Bobek joined Avison Young two years ago after spending eight years with Cushman & Wakefield in Los Angeles as senior director. AY describes him as an outstanding young leader in the commercial real estate industry, pointing to his transaction volume. In 2013 Bobek completed 715,000 square feet in transactions. Year-to-date, he has already exceeded his 2013 number with 800,000 square feet in transactions. Like many young pros, Bobek sees opportunity through technology. “The Internet has certainly affected the new generation in commercial real estate as it has many other businesses,” he says. “Brokers today can do 10 to 20 times the volume of work from years past; thanks to technology.”

Zachary Bornstein, 35
Managing Director
Olshan Properties
New York City
As managing director of capital markets, Bornstein oversees in excess of 29 million square feet. He joined Olshan Properties three years ago as vice president of capital markets. In the 12 years since he entered the field of commercial real estate, Bornstein has distinguished himself by developing winning strategies for both debt and equity financing. Having worked extensively in investment banking, Bornstein's financial acumen has enabled him to arrange billions of dollars' worth of transactions in the US and abroad. When asked about the current market, he says that given pent up demand on behalf of institutional investors, CRE prices will continue to rise. “There will be a price correction after the Central Bank changes course, which could drive up interest rates substantially,” Bornstein adds. 

Kathleen Cullinan Brill, 34
Vice President and Director of Leasing
Cullinan Properties Ltd.
Burr Ridge, IL
Cullinan is said to be very passionate about commercial real estate. Since joining Cullinan Properties in 2006, she has successfully completed more than one million square feet of transactions, including big box and junior anchor retailers, such as Target, Costco, Gordmans and Hy-Vee, as well as numerous national and regional small shop tenants and restaurants. Working in the Chicago market, she's seen major changes in the past few years in grocery retail. “Specialty smaller grocers seem to be capitalizing on the vacancies that could be created by the larger stores like Jewel, Kroger, etc.,” she notes. “Clearly the smaller specialty groceries like Aldi, Fresh Thyme, Lucky's Market, Plum Market, Fresh Market, etc., are working to capitalize on these opportunities.”

Robert Bronstein, 40
President and Co-Founder
Scion Group LLC
Chicago
Bronstein has been recognized by Real Estate Forum, GlobeSt. and others as one of the pioneers of the student housing industry. Over the past 14 years, he has built Scion from three employees to its current position as the second-largest privately owned student housing firm in the US, with 315 employees and over $80 million in annual revenue. “Younger executives bring an informality and energy that allows them to get their hands dirty in all facets of the real estate business,” Bronstein says. “In a sector such as student housing, that means being very close to the actual on-the-ground operations.” Scion currently owns and operates a 14,000-bedroom portfolio of student housing on 17 campuses in 11 states. The firm hopes to reach 25,000 bedrooms, $1.25 billion of assets under management, by 2016, at which point the firm will consider recapitalization options, including a potential public offering.

Chad Christensen, 40
Partner and SVP
Washington Holdings
Los Angeles
With more than 18 years of industry experience under his belt, Christensen has seen nearly
ll aspects of the real estate private equity business. With Washington Holdings, a privately held investment firm headquartered in Seattle whom Christensen has been with since 2006, he is directly responsible for the firm's structured finance practice which controls $1 billion of equity capital for principal investment. “I'm very proud of the success of our firm has seen since its inception in 2002, and the exceptional returns we've been able to create for our partners over the years.  More importantly, I'm honored to be associated with such a talented group thoughtful and ethical colleagues who've made it all possible.” Working from Los Angeles, he is specifically charged with pursuing investment opportunities on behalf of the platform, including preferred equity, first and second mortgages, participating interests and mezzanine loans secured by office, industrial, multifamily, hospitality and land assets.

Scott Crowe, 37
Global Portfolio Manager
Resource Real Estate
New York City
While serving as head of global real estate at UBS, Crowe created what's said to be the world's first global real estate securities investment research and valuation process. He was heavily involved in the first Hong Kong REIT IPO. Currently, he is a principal overseeing the Resource Real Estate Diversified Income Fund. Resource Real Estate is a fully owned subsidiary of Resource America, a $17-billion-AUM global alternatives investment manager focused on real estate and credit investment. Among his career goals, Crowe aims to “democratize global real estate investment by providing access to institutional real estate for mainstream investors.” Before entering real estate Crowe initially studied to be a professor. While working toward a PhD, he was approached by UBS and, consequently, worked for the company full time while still in school.

Kevin Donner, 38
Managing Director
Eastdil Secured
New York City
Donner joined Eastdil Secured as a 29-year-old analyst in 2005. He was promoted to managing director in 2013. He played an integral role in major building sales including Time Warner, at $1.3 billion; 550 Madison at $1.1 billion; and 7 Times Square, at $1.5 billion. Donner was also involved in more than $20 billion in asset sales in 2013. Those who work with him say hard work and sacrifice are signature elements of Donner's character. Donner says he hopes to become a senior member at Eastdil Secured and help to be part of the next generation of leadership. He identifies globalization, and the growth of institutional business as harbingers of the future of CRE.

Jeffrey Erxleben, 37
SVP and Managing Director
NorthMarq Capital
Dallas
Erxleben is a managing director for NorthMarq Capital, overseeing the debt/equity originations and servicing for the company's Dallas office. He has completed the capitalization of a broad range of properties including office, multifamily, retail and hotels. A four-time member of NorthMarq's producers counsel, Erxleben is an active mentor in the firm's associate producer mentor program. His transaction experiences have included structuring and implementing conventional permanent financing, mezzanine debt and joint ventures. “We have already seen how marketing to the Millennial generation can transform the actual real estate industry itself,” Erxleben relates. “Marketing to this generation has transformed student housing from the standard of small no-frills dorms to amenity packed luxury complexes.” Prior to joining NorthMarq Capital, Erxleben worked in PriceWaterhouseCoopers' real estate consulting practice.

James Flynn, 37
Senior Managing Director
Hunt Mortgage Group
New York City
Under Flynn's leadership, a 14,000-unit REO portfolio—with $700 million in debt and $350 million in equity—was repositioned to improve NOI by more than 40%. He also led the restructuring of two portfolios with total capitalization of more than $650 million. In 2012, Flynn was named to the company's credit and investment committees and in 2013 to its executive committee. This year he was promoted to senior managing director. During his time at Columbia Law School, Flynn focused his studies on real estate and finance law. He joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's real estate department in both his summer and permanent positions with the firm where he represented lenders, real estate funds, developers and institutional and non-institutional investors in structuring acquisitions and financings for all commercial real estate classes and advising in the formation of fund partnerships and joint ventures. Before joining GDC, Flynn was an investment banker at Lehman Brothers.

David Gerstenhaber, 37
VP, National Accounts
Brixmor Property Group
New York City
Since joining Brixmor Property Group in 2013, Gerstenhaber has been one of the firm's top producers. According to company officials, his enthusiasm for the real estate business and attitude to perform at a high level make him a professional that both retailers and colleagues like to work with. In his current role, Gerstenhaber is part of the team that serves as the primary liaison between Brixmor and national retailers across the firm's entire US portfolio. He says his love for negotiating deals and learning new retailer concepts make him love the real estate business and he knows he will always be a part of it. He aims to grow his knowledge, to understand more about construction, operations, accounting, finance and other facets of real estate, with a long-term goal of becoming a CEO.

Todd Gladis, 38
SVP, Commercial Operations
Auction.com
Irvine, CA
One of the Auction.com's top young operational leaders, Gladis supports the development of new platforms for clients in markets where one did not exist and has been directly involved in transforming the traditional retail transactional method into a fast-paced, technology-driven online experience. In his five years with the company, Gladis has served as a mentor for new executives and staff members, and serves as Auction.com's chief of staff to the CEO. His primary industry expertise lies in operations, sales, compliance, communications, business development and marketing. Currently he heads the commercial operations division he helped create four-and-a-half years ago, ensuring that each real estate asset designated for auction is set up for success.

Christy Hockmeyer, 34
Vice President and Director, National Sales
Fidelity National Title Group
Atlanta
Hockmeyer has been recognized by her company with its Million-Dollar Club award every year since 2004. Her team did $18 billion in deals in 2013 alone. In 2002, Hockmeyer co-founded a non-profit organization for young real estate professionals to help them build a network within the industry. At its height the Association of Young Real Estate Professionals had 19 affiliated chapters across the country and was the preeminent organization for its target member base. Hockmeyer got her start in commercial real estate by attempting to put together a partnership to purchase the apartment complex she was living in during her senior year of college. In her current role, she is responsible for identifying clients with national-based transaction closing needs and acting as point person for all client relationship matters.

Adam Hooper, 33
Founder and CEO
RealCrowd Inc.
Palo Alto, CA
As CEO of RealCrowd, Hooper's job responsibilities include day-to-day operational and strategic growth plans, partnership opportunities, developing the overall product roadmap, and directing company growth. Additionally, he focuses on building the strongest team in the industry, which is a unique challenge since RealCrowd bridges the real estate investment and technology worlds. As the co-founder of RealCrowd, an online-based syndication/crowdfunding platform, Hooper is helping investors gain access to commercial real estate investment through the Internet. To create RealCrowd, he successfully leveraged his past experience with two major firms, including creating a joint venture equity placement team where he implemented best practices and established operating procedures for a group that worked on nearly $1 billion in joint venture opportunities.

Helen Hwang, 38
Executive Vice President
Cushman & Wakefield
New York City
Investment sales is arguably one of the toughest, most competitive businesses in real estate. This is especially true in New York City. However, in just two years of taking the leadership role in December 2010, Hwang, alongside her partners, Nat Rockett, Karen Wiedenmann and Steven Kohn, pushed C&W's NY investment sales team to among the top three in the industry and won the industry's highest achievement, the Real Estate Board of New York's Most Ingenious Sales Deal of the Year award. “I don't believe in short-term goals,” she says. “Everything I do is for long-term. Anyone who's worked with our team knows that I am extremely competitive, determined and fair.” Hwang has been with C&W for more than 15 years and has executed over 70 institutional sale and recap transactions exceeding $20 billion in value.

Patrick Kelly, 36
Vice President
First Potomac Realty Trust
Bethesda, MD
As head of First Potomac's acquisitions department, Kelly has helped transform the firm from mostly a suburban flex and industrial company into a new urban office company. He has represented third-party clients in over $600 billion in sales, including the trade of the HGSI world headquarters for $450 million in one of the largest transactions to ever occur in Maryland. He has completed in excess of $1.4 billion in deals during his five-year tenure at First Potomac, making him one of the more prolific acquirers in the Washington, DC area. One of Kelly's short-term goals is to effectively implement the new portfolio management initiative for First Potomac in order to drive portfolio occupancy and improve overall operating metrics. 

Eric Lind, 39
Senior Vice President
Trimont Real Estate Advisors
Atlanta
Lind leads a team that manages a $2-billion market value multifamily equity fund and a $2-billion portfolio of construction loans. He stands out in his knowledge of capital markets, trends and upcoming changes that may influence the viability of a real estate investment from a long term perspective. In 2000 after earning an M.B.A. from Auburn University, Lind began as a financial analyst at Trimont—formerly Hatfield Philips—working on Lehman Brothers real estate equity transactions. When Lehman Brothers launched its first equity opportunity fund (LBREP) the following year, Lind worked extensively with management to establish processes and procedures. Today he ensures that everyone on his team takes the time to research and stay ahead of market changes that can impact the economic performance of Trimont's assets under management.

Patrick Luther, 26
Managing Director
Faris Lee Investments
Irvine, CA
At just 26 years old, Luther is currently managing a listed inventory of more than 50 individual and portfolio shopping center and single-tenant net-leased investment offerings in more than 10 different states with an aggregate value of approximately $380 million. Colleagues say he shows an outstanding tenacity in the brokerage community. “Whether it's jumping on a conference call at 5:00 a.m. to service East Coast clients or traveling weeks on end to tour client projects, Patrick delivers,” one of them noted. Prior to joining Faris Lee Investments in 2011, Luther was at Grubb & Ellis, working as a leasing agent for anchored and non-anchored retail centers, tenant representation, and acquisitions and dispositions for institutional and private clients and lenders.

Alvin Mansour, 31
Senior Vice President, Investments
Marcus & Millichap | The Mansour Group
San Diego
Mansour says he considers real estate both a hobby and a vocation, and it seems he has chosen a lucrative hobby. At just 31, he has been the top Listing Agent, Marcus & Millichap Nationwide three times—in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Mansour has completed commercial real estate investment transactions valued at over $2 billion. In the last two years he has closed on over 175 deals. He leads a team of highly qualified professionals specializing in single-tenant, multi-tenant and net-leased investment sales, sale-leaseback transactions and portfolio dispositions nationwide. At any given time Mansour is balancing between 75 and 100 deals in various stages of the process. “It's very exciting to be on the cutting edge of the brokerage world right now,” he says.

Jason Mattox, 39
Executive Vice President and COO
Behringer
Addison, TX
Mattox began working at Behringer's predecessor while still in college. He has touched every facet of the company's operations during his 18-year career and has led acquisition teams and served on investment committees as an acquisitions officer and asset manager. “I first met Jason in 1995 as a student of mine at SMU's Cox School of Business,” says Charles Dannis, president of Crosson Dannis Inc. “I now sit with him on the board of directors of a $2.8-billion public real estate company. I look to Jason for seasoned insight, experienced judgment and balanced opinions.” Mattox has had increasingly responsible leadership roles as the company raised $6 billion and invested it into multi-sector real estate assets. Recently, he was instrumental in the brand evolution of Behringer. Mattox helped lead two large REITs from their initial capital-raising and investment efforts through their transition to separate entities: TIER REIT Inc. and Monogram Residential Trust.

Greg Matus, 36
South Florida Regional Managing Partner
Franklin Street
Miami
In his early 30s, just six years after entering the CRE business, Matus was asked to manage the Ft. Lauderdale office for Marcus & Millichap—an outfit boasting millions in annual revenue. Under his guidance, the office tripled its revenue and profits, increased market share in all service lines from 10 to 40%, and raised the number of agents making six-figure incomes to 80% of his sales team. As the South Florida regional managing partner, Matus leads Franklin Street's efforts to build the company's presence in South Florida. While it has much to offer the industry, Matus says the next generation must not rely too heavily on technology, and “instead find ways to communicate and build relationships with clients and prospects one-on-one.”

Charlie Mentzer, 33
Vice President, Originations
Capital One
Johns Creek, GA
Mentzer is responsible for originating multifamily and commercial real estate debt financing nationwide, while also managing Capital One's Atlanta office. He has closed on more than $1 billion in loan volume since 2008, and in he executed the fastest Fannie Mae deal in 2012, which closes in seven business days. Mentzer's short- and long-term career goals are clear and direct: to continue to provide clients with the best service and executions possible, while expanding his book of business and product offerings. His career goal is $5 billion in loan volume. He is optimistic about current market conditions. “Cap rates are trending down, while sale prices, occupancies, and rent growth are moving up,” he says. “At the same time, interest rates remain flat at historic lows. We expect to see these conditions continue for quite some time, as the competition in the market keeps pace with capacity growth and the economy continues its slow recovery.”

Ryan Miller, 34
Executive Vice President
NAI Global
Pittsburgh
Miller is currently responsible for driving business to and with the NAI member firms, predominantly in the eastern region of North America. The 12-year CRE veteran also identifies and develops new member firm offices across North America. He has inked hundreds of transactions totaling over $500 million, and is said to have a unique ability to identify and implement initiatives that bring value to the entire organization. Miller started his career with CBRE in 2003 as a retail broker in Pittsburgh. He transitioned to the McLean, VA office in 2004 to focus on office leasing in suburban Washington, DC. Over the next 10 years he held various positions of increased responsibility, and completed more than 230 transactions totaling over $550 million in aggregate deal value. He is somewhat philosophical in describing long-term career goals that involve “affecting meaningful and positive change.” For the short term? “Be honest and dependable; take responsibility.” 

Sanjeev Misra, 38
Founder and Senior Managing Director
Paramount Lodging Advisors
Atira Hotels
Chicago
Misra is the founder of both Atira Hotels (2005) and Paramount Lodging Advisors (2007). Starting at the age of 29, he has successfully created two ground-up companies that are leaders in their respective businesses. Atira Hotels is an owner, operator and developer of top-branded hotels in the US and has been ranked as a top hotel management company by trade publications. Atira owns and/or operates Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Wyndham and InterContinental Hotel Group branded hotels. Paramount Lodging Advisors is a premier Hotel Advisory Firm specializing in hotel brokerage and consulting with 12 offices across North America. “It is a humbling experience to look back to 2009 and my thoughts at the time that the companies would not survive in 2010 given the economic recessions and now, in 2014, to see both companies thriving,” Misra says. “Without going through the hardest times in our business, I do not think I could appreciate the tremendous success both companies have now without reflecting on how hard it was to survive challenging times.”

Jonathan Morgan, 29
Managing Director and President
Morgan Properties JV Management LLC
King of Prussia, PA
As president of Morgan Properties JV Management, Morgan has focused on sourcing new acquisition opportunities and capital relationships with joint venture partners. Over the past two years, the firm has closed 10 transactions with seven new joint venture equity partners to acquire over $850 million in assets. Morgan Properties owns and operates a multifamily portfolio of over 30,000 units in 10 states. The firm was named to the “2014 Best Places to Work in Philadelphia” and has achieved eight “Property Management of the Year” titles from the New Jersey Apartment Association, Central Pennsylvania Apartment Association, Delaware Apartment Association and the Maryland Multi-Housing Association. Morgan says he was “born with real estate in his blood and gene pool.” His father, Mitchell Morgan, built the business from the ground up in 1985 when he purchased three assets of 4,200 units.

Rich Murphy, 38
Managing Director
Calkain Cos.
Reston, VA
Murphy is a veteran of the US Marine Corps, a CCIM and, at Calkain, an accomplished real estate broker and asset manager. He oversees the company's asset management division, the only asset management division specifically created and catering to the net-lease real estate asset class, a service Murphy co-founded. He holds an undergraduate degree in accounting and finance from Merrimack College and a Masters in real estate finance from Georgetown University. Murphy joined Calkain in 2010, and under his leadership, Calkain's Asset Management Division has grown to over $110 million. Murphy is also the author of the Zero-Cash Flow chapter in the The Little Book of Triple Net Lease Investing (Createspace 2012.) Murphy's plans at Calkain include boosting the assets under management to $250 million and increasing his real estate brokerage capacity.

James Nelson, 39
Partner
Massey Knakal Realty Services
New York City
Among Nelson's most significant recent transactions was 435 10th Ave., a 1.2-million-square-foot Hudson Yards development site. He implemented a strategic and detailed marketing campaign, which resulted in an offer well over the $200-million dollar asking price and the deal closed within 90 days. As a partner at Massey Knakal, Nelson serves as a sounding board for all major decision-making, such as the creation and launching of new business lines and geographic areas. He works closely with all Massey Knakal departments ranging from IT to marketing. Nelson also serves on the Massey Knakal editorial board, which helps present the company's Property Sales Report. Furthermore, he is a general partner in the company's private equity fund, MKRO I, which he envisioned and spearheaded its development. Nelson says believes that social media is the future of the commercial real estate business, and in order to stay competitive, especially with the younger generation, one has to get online.

Max Newland, 38
Managing Director
Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors
Boca Raton, FL
The majority of Newland's 15-year career has been spent as a principal investor, which enables him to apply his direct knowledge of the ups and downs of the CRE industry to his role at KAREA. He has been an integral part of growing the firm's expertise in healthcare real estate, helping grow the firm's portfolio to an excess of $1 billion of transaction value since joining in 2013. “What's interesting about the current vintage of young real estate professionals under 40 is that a meaningful part of our career was spent working through the aftermath of the recent economic downturn in the US,” Newland says. “As a result, my peers have a deeper understanding of downside risk than prior waves of professionals.” He plans to continue executing Kayne's business plan to make value-add and opportunistic investments in the medical office and senior housing sectors. The firm's 12-month investment pipeline includes approximately two million square feet of medical office space and some 2,000 senior housing units.

Alex O'Brien, 35
President
Cardinal Group Management
Denver
When asked for a forecast, multifamily expert, O'Brien says “we believe there will continue to be strong demand for urban renters and a transition to smaller/micro units that fit this growing demand.” O'Brien served in the military as a Marine Officer and continued his leadership with formal training at the University of Chicago. His leadership and management skills allowed Cardinal Group to grow from a five-person team to a 200-person organization through planning, strategy and leadership in under five years. From 2009 to 2014, O'Brien was involved with the due diligence and management transition of more than 7,000 student housing beds and 1,500 conventional units. This portfolio consisted of over 22 apartment communities in nine states. In 2014, O'Brien helped launch Cardinal Group's third-party management platform, which has added over 3,500 student housing beds in the last eight months. He was also the driving force behind Cardinal's Leadership Principals Training and the Executive Presence Course.

Joey Odom, 34
Regional Director
Stan Johnson Co.
Atlanta
Starting with Stan Johnson Co. as an analyst, Odom quickly rose through the ranks and became a top producer within the company. He has participated in closing more than $1 billion of net lease transactions in the past three years. Currently, Odom manages Stan Johnson's Southeast Region and is charged with recruiting of new brokers, managing existing broker teams within the region and also growing his own team's production. For the short term, he is focused on building a sustainable infrastructure for Stan Johnson Co.'s southeast operations. Concurrently, he has a perpetual goal to remain a top producer in the net lease industry. In the long term, Odom's aim is to see the infrastructure he is building in Atlanta built out and become a model for sustainable growth. He seeks to grow the teams in Atlanta to industry-leading producers in net lease and help the company expand its operations across the entire country.

Brett Owens, 39
Managing Director
Transwestern
Dallas
In his first 14 years in the industry, Owens completed more than $250 million worth of real estate transactions. He's been named to Transwestern Central Region “Champions Club” (2011) and to Black's Guide's “Top Guns Under 35” (2005, 2008). Those who work with him say Owens has the personality and the innate ability to “raise the game” of everyone on his team. His entrance to the commercial real estate business was in 2001, taking a position as an associate broker specializing in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport and Greater Southwest industrial submarkets for Henry S. Miller's industrial division. “The business has evolved so much in my 14 years,” he says. “The next generation of successful commercial real estate professionals will be the ones able to combine the time-tested, roll-up-your-sleeves approach to the business, with the competitive edge available via the use of technology, new practices, etc.”

Jason Pendergist, 39
SVP and Chief Lending Officer
Luther Burbank Savings
Manhattan Beach, CA
With a passion for finance and architecture, Pendergist wanted a career that married the two. He entered the industry in forensic accounting/litigation support working on construction defect and patent infringement cases. This led to an internal consulting assignment in the commercial banking division at Washington Mutual (now JP Morgan Chase), which in turn led to the creation of a 10-year strategic plan for the Commercial Term Lending business. After more than a dozen years with WaMu/Chase, first running its California commercial real estate business and then moving over to restart its East Coast business, Pendergist has returned to his home state of California, joining Luther Burbank as its chief lending officer. In this new role, he's responsible for all consumer and commercial lending and his focus will be on expanding the CRE business through new product development and market expansion while also furthering the bank's launch of the Luther Burbank Mortgage platform. “Banks are back lending, and with appropriate credit discipline,” he says. “I believe the lessons learned in the last cycle were strong enough to keep irrational exuberance at bay . . . at least for now.”

Kelly Reenders, 37
Executive Director, Community Development Agency
City of Santa Ana
Santa Ana, CA
As executive director for the Santa Ana Community Development Agency, Reenders oversees a budget of $65.5 million and an agency with 59 full-time professional, technical and support level employees. In her previous position as Economic Development Agency Administrator for the County of San Bernardino, Reenders facilitated the successful renewal of existing commercial real estate leases and has provided services to assist in expanding or relocating 152 businesses, resulting in an estimated 4,038 jobs retained. Her business development efforts generated more than $9.6 million in local sales and use tax over the past three fiscal years. Reenders notes that it is important that experienced real estate professionals also take the role of mentorship in order to pass along the fundamentals and business of the commercial real estate field. “Real estate organizations such as CoreNet and NAIOP are doing that successfully, and young professionals learn so much by taking advantage of those opportunities,” she tells Forum. 

Daniel Rosenberg, 35
Partner and Managing Director
Cohen Financial
Chicago
Originally from the Cleveland area, Rosenberg made Chicago his home in 2001. He had a successful start to his career at AT&T Business, growing the company's revenues and client base while averaging 150% year-over-year growth. He came in as the firm's top salesperson nationally at the mere age of 24. At Cohen Financial, Rosenberg is currently responsible for the origination and placement of debt and equity structures for development, acquisition and permanent financing throughout the United States. Since joining the company, Rosenberg has originated more than $1 billion worth of debt and equity placements. His most notable assignments include the $60-million refinance of a Portland, OR midrise office property for a private Chicago-based investor in 2014, and before that, a $40-million refinance of multi-property grocery-anchored retail portfolio in the Mid-Atlantic region for a Midwestern commercial real estate investor in 2102.

Robert Schiffer, 38
Managing Director
SL Green Realty Corp.
New York City
Co-managing SL Green's team of investment professionals, Schiffer is responsible for the development of One Vanderbilt, the much-publicized project adjacent to Grand Central Terminal. He is also responsible for SL Green's political outreach initiatives, origination of new investments for its structured finance platform and new investments for the company's residential platform as well as other corporate initiatives. Colleagues say Schiffer has a strong combination of analytical, interpersonal and communication skills. In the short term, Schiffer's goal is to complete the development of One Vanderbilt, one of the city's most anticipated office developments, while maintaining his transaction volume in direct real estate and structured finance. As for his long term goal? To create a lasting impact on the New York City skyline.

Greg Schuster, 36
Senior Managing Director and Principal
Cassidy Turley
St. Louis, MO
Schuster became one of the youngest principals in the company's history in 2008. In his 15 years at Cassidy Turley, Schuster has consistently assumed new leadership roles and responsibilities across diverse geography, service lines and client business sectors. During the past five years, he has developed industry leading, collaborative account teams in business sectors including banking and financial services, professional services, defense contracting and retail/consumer based businesses. In his current role as occupier services leader for the North-Central region, Schuster is responsible for the growth and development of transaction management, lease administration and project and facilities management services.

Karel Smerak, 36
Transaction Manager
Immofinanz
Vienna
Smerak is a frequent speaker at industry and he lectures on matters of real estate finance and law at the University of Economics in Prague. He covers property sales and acquisitions of Immofinanz AG, Austria's largest real estate investor active in Central and Eastern Europe and in Germany. Over the past five years, he has transacted more than $1 billion worth of real estate properties throughout Central-Eastern Europe and Germany, including the disposal to ECE of Unibail-Rodamco's stakes in Arkad Budapest, Hungary, and Allee-Center Magdeburg, Germany—one of the top three transactions of the year in Germany. Smerak has worked for some of the world's leading real estate companies including GE Real Estate, Citigroup and Unibail-Rodamco.

Andy Smith, 34
Managing Director
Hines
London
A team player who approaches every new deal with the same level of enthusiasm, Smith has been involved in the acquisition of over $2.5 billion worth of office, retail and mixed-use space since 2010. Among those deals are the Sony Center in Berlin, Tour Sequana in Paris and Liffey Valley Shopping Center in Ireland. In his current position, Smith is responsible for overseeing all European acquistions activity and asset management. He works with the country teams to review investment opportunities and is responsible for ensuring the quality of the underwriting before presentation to investors. Among his long-term goals, Smith reveals that he hopes to apply global best practices to emerging market opportunities, particularly in Africa, either through development-focused NGOs, private investment or by attracting Hines and its investors to the opportunity.

Jay Sternberg, 34
Executive Vice President, Occupier Services
Colliers International
San Francisco
“Firms hire brokers to craft strategy and provide clear advocacy in complex, challenging and high-profile situations,” Sternberg says, and it seems he has done a lot of that in 12 years. His work has made him one of the top five producers in the San Francisco office for six years in a row. In 2010, Sternberg was the San Francisco firm's top producer, and currently he is No. 2 in the US for all of Colliers. Sternberg has made Colliers a player in the Bay Area by closing high-profile deals with tech industry giants. In 2010, he secured 270,000 square feet of headquarters space for Zynga, at the time the largest lease in the city in five years. Sternberg followed this by brokering Zynga's acquisition of its headquarters (670,000 square feet) for $228 million in 2012. In March of 2014, Sternberg represented LinkedIn in its 450,000-square-foot lease at 222 Second St., the fourth-largest office lease in the history of San Francisco. Sternberg also sits on the board of directors for Colliers' occupier services platform.

Beau Tucker, 26
Commercial Land & Investment Specialist
Coldwell Banker Commercial Rick Canup Realtors
Lubbock, TX
To say that Tucker is fast out of the blocks would be an understatement. In 2013, when he was just 25 years old, Tucker racked up more than $39 million in sales volume, finishing as the top agent in Texas in Coldwell Banker Commercial, and the No. 5 agent internationally. He has been recognized several times in publications including the Wall Street Journal, as well as Coldwell Banker's own publications. This year, Tucker is on the course to rack up more than $70 million in investment sales volume. Co-workers say Tucker continues to demonstrate to other agents that the desire for great things, work ethic and drive, with the proper balance and ethics, can bring great achievements. For his own goals, Tucker says he hopes to become a major commercial property owner and developer, with transaction volume goals upwards of $100 million per year.

Zeke Turner, 37
Founder and CEO
Mainstreet
Carmel, IN
Turner ran his first enterprise, a successful summer fireworks stand, from age eight through his school years. He made his first stock investment at 13; his two picks earned 600% and 3,500%, respectively. As a college junior, he drove all night to Omaha to knock on Warren Buffett's door and plead for an internship. He didn't get the position but did receive a free pass to Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting that next year. Turner is the founder and chief executive officer of Mainstreet, reportedly the largest, most innovative developer of skilled nursing properties in North America. In mid-August 2014 Mainstreet and Health Care REIT Inc. announced an agreement to form a $2.3-billion partnership, creating the leading short-stay rehabilitation and therapy development partnership in the US. Turner spent his early career on Wall Street with Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking. His work included mergers and acquisitions advisory, financial strategy, valuation analysis and equity and debt offering structures.

Adam Weers, 37
Principal
Trammell Crow Co.
Washington, DC
Weers manages retail, medical office, residential and office projects throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. He is the lead on the Shops at Dakota Crossing project, a 430,000-square-foot shopping center located in Washington, DC, as well as the McMillan Healthcare Campus, a 1.1-million-square-foot component of the multi-phased, mixed-use redevelopment. Weers manages the company's New Market Tax Credit platform, which has received seven NMTC allocations from the CDFI Fund since 2004 totaling $555 million, and has placed nearly $539 million of these tax credits into projects across the country. After obtaining his MBA from Harvard Business School, Weers worked with multiple nonprofits and community building organizations before moving into commercial real estate. Colleagues say Weers focuses not only on the building, but truly cares about the development's impact on the community that surrounds it. In discussing the current industry makeup, Weers says commercial real estate's younger leaders are tired of hearing that “that's not how we do things” and are now injecting a dose of adrenaline into the way deals are done.

Eric Wohl, 34
President
HIG NNN - A Division of Hanley Investment Group
Irvine, CA
Wohl has closed more than $700 million in retail transactions nationwide over the past 12 years. He has closed 15 deals to date in 2014, valued at over $124 million. He says single-tenant net-leased properties continue to be one of the most desirable product types available today for commercial real estate investors. “Net lease retail capitalization rates remain at historically low levels with new records being set every day,” Wohl notes. “Due to their hassle-free lease structure, we are starting to see many investors crossing over from apartments, office, or multi-tenant retail to retail net-lease investments.” Ask his co-workers and they will say that Wohl's expertise, commitment and unwavering focus of putting his client's needs first sets him apart from his competitors. He has achieved record prices for his clients through his extensive market knowledge, comprehensive property analysis, aggressive marketing strategies and excellent industry relationships, they say.