Technology, a Necessary Topic of Coverage

LOS ANGELES—“I wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon purchasing a company like Whole Foods doesn’t portend the future, but one of the greatest innovations in retail is going to come through technology that allows the bricks and mortar retailers to more efficiently and effectively merge the shopper’s physical shopping experience with their online habits.”

Those thoughts were according to Josh Poag, President & CEO of Poag Shopping Centers, who exclusively chatted with GlobeSt.com at ICSC’s Las Vegas RECon event earlier this summer. At the time, Poag was just talk tech and retail—as were the hundreds of others we chatted with at the event. How no matter the commercial real estate space, tech is on everyone’s mind and business plan for the future.

For example, in the multifamily space, CGI Strategies has recently made a big technology investment in its latest project KODO, a furnished luxury apartment community in Koreatown and included personalized tablets in each unit, allowing tenants to utilize a host of services and operate smart technology inside the units.

You’ve probably also noticed that GlobeSt.com has recently made a few changes designed to enhance its readers’ experience with a broader scope of coverage. Among those is the new Tech Center, a channel dedicated to CRE technology that’s designed to help readers stay up to date with the latest developments in this innovative sector, from news and trends to coverage of the products, services and platforms necessary for running a successful operation.

ALM’s other leading platform, RealShare, which is devoted to CRE news and events, added a technology-focus to its upcoming RealShare APARTMENTS Conference on October 30^th in Los Angeles. As GlobeSt.com previously reported, entitled, “APARTMENTStech”, the collaboration will feature Michael Beckerman, CEO, CREtech who will lead a panel of the leading Landlords investing and adopting technology in the multifamily sector.

On October 29-30, more than 1,000 multifamily executives will gather for the RealShare APARTMENTS Conference at The Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles. Like past conferences there will be the usual wealth of speakers and networking opportunities. This year, however, additional programming and networking opportunities has been added to the event per the request of past attendees.

“As we entered 2018, we listened to our attendee feedback and added components to make this year’s event more engaging and productive than ever before,” said Scott Thompson, Vice President of ALM’s Real Estate Division, Events. “The 2018 RealShare APARTMENTS Conference will offer a unique mix of new speakers, session topics that reflect market trends that are of interest to our audience, and a dedicated networking app to help attendees identify their future business partners and pre-arrange meetings while at the event.”

In addition, there will also be two interactive sessions co-produced by media partner CREtech and aptly titled APARTMENTSTech, which will focus on multifamily landlords that are sourcing, investing and integrating technology and the emerging tech in VR/AR, data and analytics, IOT/Smart Homes, and deal management platforms. Thompson added, “These sessions are carefully crafted to provide practical guidance that is specific to our audience of CRE executives, dealmakers and investors.”

The Landlords panel to be held on October 30th at 3:00pm and will be one of two parts of the APARTMENTStech session. The APARTMENTtech sessions will be interactive and entertaining panels featuring an energetic collection of technology innovators and top adopters in the MultiFamily industry, providing takeaways for end-users (i.e. brokers, investors and commercial real estate executives/leaders).

With CRETech CEO Michael Beckerman moderating the discussion, the panelists will consist of: Peter Chmielewski, SVP of Development at LMC; David Seiler, Executive VP at Trinity Property Consultants; Louis Schotsky, Vice President at Equity Residential; and Scott Wesson, Senior Vice President & CIO at UDR.

In addition to the Landlord panel, the session will also include a TechTank panel, led by GlobeSt.com, which will give leading multifamily technology companies the opportunity to pitch our panel of expert investors, developers, or venture capitalists. Attendees will also get the chance to participate and engage with the tech companies.

“I am thrilled to be participating in one of the largest events devoted to the multifamily real estate sector and to be collaborating with RealShare on this important discussion on how technology is impacting the industry,” says Beckerman, CEO, CREtech.com. “The panelists were each selected for their leadership in the CREtech sector and I am honored to play a role in helping RealShare encourage the adoption of technology to their audience and throughout the industry.”

This year’s RealShare APARTMENTS conference features two keynote addresses, which will be presented by Hessam Nadji, president and CEO of Marcus & Millichap, and Ethan Penner, managing partner at Mosaic Real Estate Investors LLC.

All told, there will be more than 45 speakers participating in the two-day event in such forums as interactive panel discussions and structured networking opportunities. There will also be a dedicated exhibit area.