“As alternative investments including the stock market have experienced recent volatility, net lease assets perceived as the safest and most secure are still commanding historically low cap rates,” the Boulder Group report says.

So, while investor demand for the net lease assets seems to remain strong and the market is expected to remain active in 2019, Real Estate Forum wanted to highlight some of the many professionals and organizations who have made an indelible impact on the business. Whether through contributions to the industry via extensive deals and projects, or through best practices and introduced innovations to the net lease space, they have all helped to shape their field and where it is headed. Turn the page to read about some of the most notable names in net lease real estate.

RICHARD H. ADER

Richard H. Ader has been in the corporate real estate net lease industry since 1968. He founded U.S. Realty Advisors LLC in 1989 and currently serves as chairman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager of the company.

Ader is known as a pioneer and leading authority in the field of corporate sale-leasebacks, delivering innovative and revolutionary net lease structures including the sandwich lease, stepped rents and accrual leases. He has overseen the acquisition and management of over $20 billion of net lease real estate.

Ader has also acquired and operated more than 20 million square feet of office, retail and industrial property, as well as 36,000 residential units and 5,000 hotel rooms, throughout the US during his career. Prior to forming U.S. Realty Advisors, he served as chairman and CEO of American Real Estate Partners, a NYSE-listed master limited partnership consisting of net lease real estate investments.

BRYAN BENDER

There are many segments within the net lease sector, and Bryan Bender could start or lead change in each by the sheer quantity of transactions he completes each year. During the past five years, he has facilitated the sale of more than 800 dollar stores (Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar) annually, and has sold more than 100 dollar stores every year for the past six years (a total of 777 Dollar Generals sold, or one of every 20 total). His reputation as one of the top dollar store brokers has developers calling Bender to discuss pricing before even getting a site approved by a tenant.

Bender is partner and managing director of Fortis Net Lease, the Farmington Hills, MI-based firm he founded in 2010 with his brother, Robert Bender, and business partner Doug Passon. With more than $1 billion in personal net investment career sales, Bender facilitated more than 130 transactions valued in excess of $197 million in 2018 alone.

RANDY BLANKSTEIN

As president and founder of Wilmette, IL-based Boulder Group, Blankstein has more than 26 years of experience in net lease real estate investment. And according to industry benchmarks determined by CoStar and Real Capital Analytics, the level of annual, single-tenant transaction volume consistently ranks the firm among the top 10 companies nationally. He regularly ranks among the top five individuals nationally, having closed more than $5 billion in transactions throughout his career.

In addition to advising clients on the acquisition and disposition of net lease properties across all subsectors, Blankstein is charged with guiding the overall operations of the Boulder Group. One of his significant tasks is mentoring the next generation of leaders both at the company and the broader industry. He also launched and manages the firm's co-investment program, which has acquired $173 million in STNL assets.

G. JOSEPH COSENZA

G. Joseph Cosenza is one of the four original principals of the Inland Real Estate Group LLC, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018. The vice chairman and director, who has held his broker's license since Inland incorporated in 1968, supervises a staff engaged in property acquisitions and due diligence. Also a consultant to other real estate entities and lending institutions, he has overseen and/or negotiated the purchase of $46 billion of income-producing real estate in more than 3,600 individual deals.

Initially a teacher and assistant principal, Cosenza has also held prominent roles in the banking industry. These include serving as a director of Continental Bank, and chairman of American National Bank of DuPage, then as chairman and director of Inland Bank & Trust. He was also a board director of Inland Bancorp.

Cosenza was recently inducted into the Chicago Association of Realtors Hall of Fame. The Inland Real Estate Group of Cos. Inc. was also the first inductee into CAR's Corporate Hall of Fame.

RALPH CRAM

Ralph Cram is president of Envoy Net Lease Partners LLC in Northbrook, IL. Throughout his 25-year career, he has underwritten, acquired or financed $1.5 billion of assets across all product types and geographic markets. He co-founded Envoy in 2011 to fill a void in the market: providing equity and gap financing to developers of built-to-suit or redeveloped single-tenant net lease properties.

A widely regarded expert on net lease financing and investment, Cram has spoken at virtually every major national and regional industry conference. He has also made presentations on US net lease investment to the Singapore and Shanghai CFA societies. In 2009, he was awarded membership into the Counselor of Real Estate Association for his work on advising investors in alternative real estate strategies. Cram, who earned his CFA designation in 1995, is an active member of the Chartered Financial Analyst Society of Chicago and the CFA Institute.

W. KYLE GORE

In the past 26 years, Kyle Gore has structured and closed more than $17 billion in debt and equity financing for net lease assets across all property sectors, involving 50-plus corporate and government tenants. He currently serves as a managing director and principal with CGA Capital LLC, CGA Securities and CGA Mortgage Capital.

In addition to investing for its own account, CGA provides debt financing and equity investment services to institutional and high-net worth investors and developers. Affiliates of CGA Capital have acquired and have interests in some $1.3 billion of net-leased US real estate.

In connection with his activities at CGA, Gore served as a managing director with RBS Greenwich Capital and Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc. He is also on the board of directors for Family Tree Inc.

STAN JOHNSON

Stan Johnson forged new paths in single-tenant net lease with the creation of his namesake company in 1985, focusing solely on the sale, sale-leaseback and exchange of single-tenant net-leased properties. As president and CEO, Johnson encourages a team approach combined with an entrepreneurial spirit that delivers productivity, efficiency and customer satisfaction.

With $3 billion in transaction volume annually, Stan Johnson Co. is one of the nation's leading CRE brokerage and advisory firms focusing exclusively on the net lease sector. The firm provides acquisition, disposition, capital markets and advisory services for US institutions, developers, investment funds and private investors.

JONATHAN W. HIPP

Since entering the real estate industry more than 25 years ago, Jonathan Hipp's “make it happen” mentality has earned him a reputation in net lease and established him as a thought leader in the field today. He closed more than $3 billion in transactions as an SVP with Grubb & Ellis in Tysons Corner, VA, where he was honored with the No. 1 producer award for three consecutive years. He also ranked among the firm's top 10 producers nationwide.

Since launching Calkain Cos. in 2005, Hipp has grown it into one of the nation's leading net-lease companies, with more than $12 billion in transaction volume. Hipp also expanded the Herndon, VA-based firm's services to include brokerage, advisory, asset management, research and capital markets (with the NetCMG division).

JAMES G. KOMAN

James Koman, founder and managing principal of St. Louis, MO-based private equity real estate firm ElmTree Funds, has been in the business for nearly 40 years. Since launching ElmTree in 2011, he's grown it into one of the premier investment platforms focusing on net lease, sale-leaseback and build-to-suit transactions, attracting capital commitments from domestic and international institutional investors alike.

In 2018, Koman led the acquisition of eight single-tenant industrial, healthcare and office properties across six states, representing a weighted average credit rating of A-. These investments, worth $400 million, advanced ElmTree's strategy of acquiring undervalued and operationally significant assets leased long term to, or guaranteed by, investment-grade and high-credit quality tenants.

That venture is examplary of the complex transactions, led primarily by Koman, that are commonplace for ElmTree. Since its inception, the company has acquired, developed or financed roughly 300 properties valued at approximately $6 billion.

GLEN D. KUNOFSKY

A pivotal influencers in the field, Glen Kunofsky was instrumental in establishing the private and direct-to-consumer buyer pool for sale-leasebacks. He's also been responsible for many of the largest SLB portfolio trades in the institutional space in the past two decades.

Based in New York City, Kunofsky is an executive managing director of investments for Marcus & Millichap. He closed in excess of $1.8 billion in sales on 400 properties in 2018 alone, double the amount of any other broker at his firm. Kunofsky, who has orchestrated transactions on some 5,000 properties valued at about $13 billion so far in his career, has been named Marcus & Millichap's top investment professional for the past four years, as well as its top net-lease investment agent for more than a decade.

Kunofsky is also the founder of the NNN Pro Group, a net-lease-focused company which has expanded to more than 45 investment professionals. The exclusive buy-side team is currently working with more than $700 million of exchange capital.

CHAD KURZ

Chad Kurz's passion for, and dedication to, CRE have inspired many professionals within his firm, Matthews Real Estate Investment Services. Not only has his mentorship helped to produce several of the company's up-and-coming leaders, but the SVP also takes time to host training sessions for younger agents. He is also a frequent speaker at national events aimed at engaging college students and recent graduates.

The national director of single-tenant net lease division has been involved in more transactions than any other agent at Matthews REIS and set multiple cap rate records across the country. He received the Matthews Circle of Excellence award in 2016, 2017 and 2018, and has completed more than 300 transactions, totaling more than $587 million in sales alone.

Prior to opening Matthews' Dallas office, Kurz visited the Children's Hospital Los Angeles several times throughout the year to hand-deliver toys and visit with children. He also dedicates time to Meals on Wheels.

SHELBY E. L. PRUETT

Shelby E. L. Pruett has been an integral part of the net lease industry, contributing to its growth and recognition as an institutional asset class. He is a go-to resource for private equity firms executing operating company buyouts looking for sale-leaseback capital, developers seeking partners on build-to-suits, and institutions seeking operating partners.

As chairman and CEO of Capri-EGM LLC, Pruett also sits on the firm's management and investment committees. The Chicago-based company and its predecessor organizations have acquired, originated and managed more than $10 billion in CRE investments directly and through entity-level investments. Recently Capri was brought on as a capital partner in a development partnership with Starwood Capital Group on the $74.2-million global headquarters for Syneos, a $3.7-billion publicly traded organization.

Pruett is a founding member of the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board as well as a past board member of the International Advisory Board of the Harvard Real Estate Academic Initiative.

CAMILLE RENSHAW

Camille Renshaw, co-founder and CEO of B+E, has revolutionized the net lease services field. Last December, the firm launched 1031 Trade, the first online platform for real estate exchanges, allowing participants to sweep the market for all available net lease properties, both on and off market. The platform uses AI criteria to match properties with buyers. The venture joins the existing B+E triple-net lease trading platform, which offers the first end-to-end solution for buyers and sellers to conduct entire NNN transactions online. In May 2018, the New York City-based firm announced an exclusive partnership with Inland Real Estate and RCX Capital Group.

Previously head of sales for Ten-X, Renshaw also founded Stan Johnson Co.'s New York office, where she led its sales team as top producer for five years, and was director of Colliers' US capital markets division and a top 40 worldwide producer. She is an executive-in-residence at the NYU Stern School of Business, an advisor to DreamIt's UrbanTech Accelerator and is on the Rutgers Big Data advisory board. Renshaw is a strong proponent of diversity and advancing women's roles in business.

CHRISTOPHER H. VOLK

For more than 30 years, Chris Volk has been engaged in the direction of companies that have provided mortgage and lease solutions. Collectively, those firms have supplied more than $15 billion in financing to the chain restaurant, education, fitness and convenience store industries, among others.

Volk, who co-founded STORE Capital in 2011, is known for leading the largest-ever real estate limited partnership rollup transaction of its time in 1994. In 2005, he led the creation of the first real estate master trust debt issuance in the US designed to finance net-leased assets. He also developed V Formula, a revolutionary equation for analyzing business models and the benefits of asset investments to grow shareholder wealth.

For more than 16 years, he's served in numerous capacities with Franchise Finance Corp. of America and its successor, GE Franchise Finance, as president and COO and a member of FFCA's board of directors. In August 2003, he co-founded Spirit Finance Corp., taking the REIT public on the NYSE the following year. He led the company as its CEO, president and board member until 2010.

GORDON WHITING

A seasoned net lease executive with more than 20 years of experience under his belt, Gordon Whiting joined Angelo Gordon in 2004. Founder and portfolio manager of the firm's net lease real estate strategy, the managing director also serves on the New York City-based company's executive committee.

Earlier in his career, Whiting served as an executive director with W. P. Carey. He was also the president and portfolio manager of Corporate Property Associates 14 Inc., one of W. P. Carey's publicly held non-traded real estate investment trusts (with more than $1.3 billion in assets) that invest in net-leased commercial and industrial properties.

From 2002 to 2010, Whiting was a member of the five-person Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, a position to which he was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the US Senate. This board oversees more than $290 billion of 401(k) type retirement accounts for most federal employees and military personnel.

ARCTRUST

Robert J. Ambrosi

ARCTRUST is a private REIT that focuses on intrinsic investments through protected appreciation vehicles for real estate. The PAVR program combines the cash flow features of a corporate bond with the appreciation potential inherent in real estate and includes investments such as net-leased properties, preferred equity interests and participating loans secured by direct interests in real estate.

During the past 35 years, ARCTRUST and its affiliates have been responsible for more than 500 transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $3 billion. Its portfolio of over 165 net lease assets is worth more than $700 million. Spearheading the Clifton, NJ-based firm's strategy is a seasoned executive team that includes chairman Robert J. Ambrosi; James Steuterman, president and CEO; vice chairman Gary Baumann; Michael Ambrosi, chief operating officer; Jason Kessler, chief investment officer; and Marc Perel, president of development.

James Steuterman

ARCTRUST, which currently represents numerous tenants in expansion programs and has an active joint venture program with preferred developers. has received numerous industry awards for its work. Among them are the ICSC Adaptive Reuse Award, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Best Mixed-Use Development from the New Jersey Builders Association, Best Urban Residential Project from the City of Philadelphia and the Environmental Protection Agency's National Phoenix Award for the redevelopment of contaminated sites. It also received the first brownfields grant and the first economic recovery grant from the State of New Jersey.