HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA—With change happening at such a rapid pace in the market and in the world around us, the commercial real estate industry needs leaders with fresh ideas who are innovative, think differently and have strategic clarity, NAIOP SoCal's Young Professionals Group chair and managing director of Savills Studley Brad Schmitt tells GlobeSt.com. On April 25, the YPG will hold its first-ever Leadership Summit designed as a “seminal industry event for the next generation commercial real estate professional.” The event will provide attendees with keynote and panel presentations focused on leadership, innovation, and personal development and features a keynote address by big-wave surfer and entrepreneur Laird Hamilton.

According to Schmitt, “There has never been a local event targeting the young professional that provides real-world information on leadership, personal and professional development and how to elevate and transform your career. It's also an opportunity to leverage the success of the YPG program, which now counts more than 400 alumni, to a whole new level by delivering an event tailored to what matters most to the up-and-coming real estate professional.”

The Leadership Summit, to be held at Pacific City here, will start at 2 p.m. Along with Hamilton's keynote, the event will feature a panel of YPG entrepreneurs who will share candid stories and lessons learned on launching their own real estate firms, a TED-style talk by Shaheen Sadeghi, president and CEO, LAB Holding LLC, and a panel on innovative leadership featuring Wing Lam, founder of Wahoo's Fish Taco, and Tom Davin, CEO of 5.11 Tactical.

We spoke with Schmitt about the importance of this summit, why leadership matters now more than ever in CRE and the essential elements of successful CRE leaders today.

GlobeSt.com: Why is this leadership summit important?

Schmitt: The YPG Leadership Summit is important because it's bringing something new and exciting to the marketplace: an event tailored to the young and mid-career real estate professional and demographic. As leaders of the NAIOP SoCal YPG Program, we recognized a gap in the market. Whereas the traditional real estate event focuses heavily on market talk, the Summit offers attendees a program focused on leadership, innovation, personal development and taking the next step in your career. These are the foundations of the NAIOP Young Professionals Program. We will deliver a unique and outside-the-box event. That is evident with Laird Hamilton as our keynote and the other panelists who will be speaking.

GlobeSt.com: Why is leadership more important now than ever in commercial real estate?

Schmitt: With change happening at such a rapid pace in the market and the world around us, the industry needs leaders with fresh ideas who are innovative, think differently and have strategic clarity. To that end, I believe that progressive commercial real estate companies should place a premium on leadership development to ensure long-term success and sustainability.

GlobeSt.com: What do you believe are the essential elements of successful leaders in CRE today?

Schmitt: Essential elements of a successful leader in CRE include unwavering confidence, continuous innovation, decisiveness and the ability to build and inspire a team. All of the highly successful leaders in the marketplace who inspire me have these attributes in spades.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about this leadership summit?

Schmitt: The theme of the event is “Elevate. Transform. Lead.” We invite all real estate professionals to join us at the Summit to do just that. Laird Hamilton is speaking on innovation, branding and overcoming your fears. He will be followed by a young entrepreneur panel with Kevin Hayes, founder of Pendulum Partners; Joon Choi, founder of Harbor Capital; and Bridgette Herdman, founder of Herdman Architecture + Design. We also have a TED-style talk on branding and culture by Shaheen Sadeghi, CEO/developer of the Lab Anti Mall. Finally, we are featuring an innovative-leadership panel with Wing Lam, founder of Wahoos, and Tom Davin, CEO of 5.11 Tactical. Come join us to be inspired by these highly-successful leaders, get ideas on how you can transform your career, and then go and be a leader in your organization and the marketplace.

We spoke with Schmitt about the importance of this summit, why leadership matters now more than ever in CRE and the essential elements of successful CRE leaders today.

GlobeSt.com: Why is this leadership summit important?

GlobeSt.com: Why is leadership more important now than ever in commercial real estate?

GlobeSt.com: What do you believe are the essential elements of successful leaders in CRE today?

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about this leadership summit?

Instant Insights /

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