The announcements earlier this spring that both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be getting new CEOs provided welcome news in view of the talent exodus that has beset both GSEs since going into conservatorship in September 2008. The promotion of Timothy J. Mayopoulos to president and CEO of Fannie, and the hiring of former E*Trade Financial Corp. chief Donald Layton as Freddie's new chief, followed Fannie CEO Michael J. Williams' resignation in January and Charles E. Haldeman's announcement last October that he would step down from the top spot at Freddie.

Global transaction volume was down around 28% over the year, cutting across most property types and markets, particularly in EMEA and Asia Pacific. However, the US and Hong Kong posted strong gains. Cross-border investment also increased. In terms of top markets, London, Tokyo, New York, Hong Kong and Paris ranked among the top five.

It was largely middle-market borrowers who got hit when their commercial banks went south. Some are now finding Wall Street lenders offering solutions that fit their needs and market space.

SOME 230 SENIOR-LEVEL EXECUTIVES GATHERED AT THE Boulders Resort in Carefree, AZ last month for Ernst & Young's 2012 REIT CFO Roundtable. The three-day event featured presentations and frank talk from analysts and REIT executives on the state of, and prospects for, public companies in a still-tough market. The next few pages feature excerpts from three of the event's sessions.

As one chairman (Boyd R. Zoccola) prepares to leave office and another (Joseph W. Markling) begins his term, it seemed an appropriate time to ask them to reflect and project.

ILENE ALLEN

A highlight of this year's Every Building Conference & Expo, presented by BOMA International in Seattle June 24-26, will be a session on the coming shape of the office environment. Moderated by BETTER BUILDINGS content director John Salustri, the session is entitled Real Estate 2020, the Shape of Things to Come. It will bring together leaders in real estate, architecture and technology to explore how the changes in the economy, emerging technology, sustainability and quality-of-life factors will impact the shape of our office environments in the years ahead. The panelists will discuss the evolution of workplaces; how the needs of corporate end-users are changing; how ongoing technological advancements impact—for better or worse—the interaction of people and places; what will define high-performance space; and in a post-terrorist world, what is the outlook for protection of our people and our places. The panelists are: Ronald W. Cook, AVP, Support and International Real Estate, for AT&T in Dallas; Gordon Feller, director, Urban Innovations Internet Business Solutions Group for Cisco in San Jose, CA; Andrew R. Friedman, managing director, Capital Transactions for Shorenstein in San Francisco; and Karen H. Thomas, managing director for Gensler in Seattle. BOMA president and COO Henry H. Chamberlain will follow up with the State of the Industry address. For a complete roster of events, please click: http://www.boma.org/events

Lee & Associates NYC, the result of Los Angeles-based Lee & Associates' recent partnership with Sierra Realty, has started to digest what it bit off in terms of its new hires and new digs. In March, the company revealed it was taking on 22,665 square feet on the 26th floor of 600 Madison Ave. in Manhattan. The team, which recently hired 15 new workers, will take the next few months to settle in, "assimilate" the new recruits and then keep growing, says president James Wacht. Lee & Associates, which also opened new offices in Charleston, SC and Ft. Myers, FL, isn't slowing down anytime soon. REAL ESTATE FORUM's West Coast editor, Natalie Dolce, sat down with Lee CEO Edward Indvik for a 10-minute chat about the firm's future and what some have called an "unusual business model.