Collectively, these industry titans oversee office portfolios totaling hundreds of millions of square feet, some of which they developed and some of which they acquired. Whether they lead private equity firms or REITS, the two dozen individuals profiled here each have distinguished themselves as legends in this sector. Meet eight of them below, and come back tomorrow for the next batch.—With reporting by Paul Bubny, Rayna Katz, Miriam Lamey, Antoinette Martin, Carrie Rossenfeld and Amy Wolff Sorter
Thomas August
Thomas August was named chairman of Equity Office Properties Trust in 2009. In 2010 he expanded his role to include president and CEO, where he oversees the entire real estate operations of the company, which controls 59 million square feet nationally. A seasoned real estate executive, August was previously CEO of Behringer Harvard REIT 1. Prior to this, he was president, CEO and a trustee with Prentiss Properties Trust. In addition, August served as Prentiss' president and COO since the company's initial public offering in October 1996. Other jobs he's held include president and COO of Prentiss Properties Ltd. Inc. (a Prentiss affiliate); executive positions with Cadillac Fairview Urban Development Inc.; EVP and CFO of Prentiss' predecessor company; SVP of finance with Oxford Properties Inc. and a vice president at Citibank.
Albert P. Behler
German-born Albert Behler has been president and CEO of Paramount Group Inc. since 1991, overseeing all of the acquisitions and dispositions that produced the company's current portfolio. That $11-billion slate is comprised of trophy office assets in New York City and other gateway markets that now run to 14.3 million square feet. Behler spent his early career with Thyssen Handelsunion AG, coming to the US in 1985 as president of Thyssen Rheinstahl in Atlanta. Outside the office, Behler has been a mainstay of leading industry organizations, ranging from the Association of Foreign Investors in US Real Estate to the Greenprint Foundation, of which he is a founding member.
Peter M. Bren
As chairman, president and co-founder of KBS Realty Advisors and its affiliate KBS Capital Advisors—both nationally recognized real estate investment advisory firms with transactional volume of approximately $30 billion—Peter Bren has been involved exclusively in real estate development, management, acquisition, disposition and financing for more than 40 years. Along with his partner and CEO, Chuck Schreiber, Bren oversees all KBS operations including the acquisition and management of individual investments and portfolios of income-producing real estate assets. Bren is also president of KBS REIT, KBS REIT II and KBS REIT III, all public, non-listed REITs. Additionally, he is involved with the management of two additional REITs: KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT, which targets opportunistic investments, and KBS Legacy Partners Apartment REIT. A member of the Real Estate Roundtable in Washington, DC, Bren is on the UCLA Anderson Board of Visitors and is a founding member of the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he has also created and funded the Peter Bren Real Estate Entrepreneurship Studies Initiative.
Daniel Burrell
Since his appointment as chief executive officer of Rosemont Realty in 2010, Burrell has increased the company's portfolio with the addition of 17 class A commercial office properties in prime submarket locations across the country, representing more than 6.5 million square feet with a value exceeding $1 billion. Before joining Rosemont, Burrell was president of DCB Private Equity, a boutique firm specializing in real estate debt and equity financing, and was a vice president at Brentwood Capital Partners, a Los Angeles-based real estate opportunity fund. He also held positions in the Domestic Policy Council of the White House during the Clinton Administration and as an advisor to Sen. John Kerry during his 2004 presidential campaign.
Richard Clark
Ric Clark is a senior managing partner and global head of real estate at Brookfield Asset Management and CEO of Brookfield Property Partners. He serves on several Brookfield affiliate boards, as chairman of Brookfield Office Properties, Rouse Properties and board member of General Growth Properties and Verde Realty. Prior to the formation of Brookfield Property Partners, Clark was CEO of Brookfield Office Properties. He led a repositioning into a global office business with the acquisition of 18 class A office properties in Australia in 2010 and the divestiture of the company's residential development division in 2011. Brookfield added over 35 million feet with the purchase of Trizec Properties and the acquisition of O&Y Properties/O&Y REIT. Clark also initiated the firm's development division, with projects totaling four million square feet and has a 16 million-square-foot pipeline. He sits on the Real Estate Roundtable's executive committee.
Joaquin de Monet
Outgoing president and CEO of Arden Realty, Joaquin de Monet is a seasoned builder of growth businesses. He guided Arden through $6 billion of investments, transforming it from a regional office REIT into a national office and industrial landlord with 27 million square feet. As parent GE Capital shifts its focus to become a debt provider, de Monet plans to step down July 1. Over his career to date, he has arranged and managed over $10 billion additional investments in the US and Mexico. De Monet developed Arden's portfolio optimization strategy and was instrumental in creating parent GE's Global Leasing and Operations Center of Excellence. Previously, de Monet was managing director of GE Real Estate's Mexico division, leading the acquisition of a $450- million industrial portfolio that was the largest transaction of its kind in Latin America at the time.
Edward J. Fritsch
Ed Fritsch joined Highwoods in 1982; he was a partner with the predecessor firm that launched its IPO in 1994. In 2004, he assumed the role of Highwoods' CEO. The REIT operates in nine states with a portfolio of office, industrial and retail properties encompassing some 34.6 million square feet, including 28.7 million square feet of office. Highwoods was named NAIOP's 2009 Developer of the Year, and its $129-million development pipeline totals 501,000 square feet and 215 units. Fritsch is on the board of governors and executive committee of NAREIT. In connection with his alma mater, Fritsch is a member of the Foundation Board of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, director of UNC's real estate holdings and member of UNC Kenan-Flagler's Business School board of visitors. He also is director and audit committee member of Capital Associated Industries Inc. and member of Wells Fargo's central regional advisory board.
Stephen L. Green
Stephen Green launched his career in commercial real estate in 1980 by purchasing older, underperforming loft buildings. He created new value in these properties by injecting fresh capital into them. That set in motion a modus operandi that underpins his company's operations today, although the properties are considerably larger and the acquisition prices are higher. What was founded as SL Green Properties Corp. went public in 1997 as SL Green Realty Corp., when Green formed the first public REIT to focus solely on New York City. Today, with Green serving as chairman of the board, it's Manhattan's largest owner of office buildings, holding interests in more than 85 properties totaling nearly 41 million square feet.
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