It's interesting to note that, while Elie sees the importance of raising the membership numbers--a focus for virtually all trade groups--he states that larger numbers are an outgrowth of the programs an organization offers. "We can grow the membership," he says. "But I'm more interested in expanding the educational content. We do that and the members will come."

One important part of the educational push is to roll out on a local basis the CoreNet Communities of Learning that debuted in Toronto. "We're fostering gatherings of different sectors of the industry to focus on issues that are important to them," the chairman explains. "Healthcare, financial, industrial--each has its own niche, and these communities provide the opportunity to meet in small, intimate groups to discuss what's important to them. We'll publish papers based on the results of those gatherings to share with the membership." The program is already getting local-chapter exposure, and the new chairman cites New York City chapter president Suzanne Heidelberger of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, who has already established a lawyer community here.

Forwarding the initiative of the Applied Research Center, which also debuted in Toronto, is another key to Elie, who is also vice president of global real estate and facilities for New York City-based Kaplan Inc. Headed by Dr. Bruce Ellis, ARC is an extension of CoreNet's research arm charged with focusing on such issues as capital markets, portfolio optimization, as well as social responsibility and workplace strategy. "We want to make ARC the knowledge repository for corporate real estate," Elie says. Three international research councils will be created over the next few weeks to support that effort.

The third plank in the educational platform will be a continuation of the association's Discovery Platforms, a series of forums held around the world for industry leaders to discuss best practices, which currently number 18. "We'll continue to develop white papers from them and share those with our members in an effort to help them increase their skill sets," Elie says.

New ideas from previously untapped sources are key to all of the initiatives, says the new chairman. He tells GlobeSt.com that new board members from a broader range of disciplines—including industrial and the C-suite--will accelerate this diversity. Newly named members of the expanded 15-person board are: Mark Golan of Cisco Systems; David Harris of Sun Microsystems; Peter Holland of the Hartford Co.; Ron Zappile of United Technologies Realty; Mike Napier of Shell International and Andy Bessette of St. Paul Travelers. Golan will take over as chairman when the group holds its Philadelphia Global Summit next year.