Its logo may incorporate the Rock of Gibraltar, but PrudentialFinancial Inc. operates in a global economy that has displayednothing like that sense of permanence and stability in recentyears. Yet Newark-based Pru’s two commercial real estate equity anddebt businesses, Prudential Real Estate Investors and PrudentialMortgage Capital Co., have not only withstood the pounding ofchoppy seas, but have also proven more adaptable to changing marketconditions than you might expect of a monolithic limestonepromontory. As of June 30, PREI and PMCC had $48.1 billion and $68billion globally of assets under management, respectively.

Rather than geology, key executives at both PREI and PMCC usefootball analogies to describe how their businesses have movedforward since the capital markets crisis of late 2008. “One partdefense, three parts offense” is how CEO Allen Smith describesPREI’s response to the downturn, while at PMCC, senior managingdirector David Durning speaks of his business “moving from defenseto offense.” Smith cites investing in talent, launching strategiesand ramping up PREI’s global infrastructure as the parts of thatoffense. His counterpart on the debt side, PMCC president DavidTwardock, has similarly led the business into new initiatives afterfirst reducing the risks of its existing portfolio…

...To read the rest of the story, visit the October 2011issue of Real Estate Forum.