Leading Voices in Real Estate

Jim was born and raised in the Detroit suburbs. He has positive memories of the dynamic neighborhood full of families raising their kids and a strong public school environment. Also clear in his memory is a downtown visited on special occasions or to shop at Hudson’s, once America’s largest department store.Transit:Jim attributes Detroit’s early lack of public transportation to the fact that it was the hub for automotive companies, making car ownership king. He wonders how different things might have been, had public transportation been implemented.Many companies have maintained their presence in downtown Detroit through thick and thin, however, during this time of new investment, attracting and retaining top talent is the priority. Bedrock’s success has sparked competition and investment by others in downtown Detroit, helping bring young people and new businesses to the Central Business District.Roots:Jim went to Michigan State College of Law and laughs about how many of his work colleagues now, were old neighbors and classmates of his when he was younger. Specifically, his friend Dan Gilbert, Founder and Chairman of Quicken Loans.As Quicken Loans grew, Jim and Dan deepened discussions about moving the mortgage lender’s headquarters downtown from its suburban location in Livonia, MI. From there, they began to lay the foundation for major change.Transition:Although Jim shares that he was not quite sure what the future held, he also wasn’t afraid of failure. He believed that as long as they never had a plan B and only focused on plan A, this was something that could be successful.By the end of 2010, Jim and Dan had formed their company, and by January 2011, they had their first acquisition.Just seven years later, Bedrock’s portfolio includes more than 100 properties, mostly concentrated within Detroit’s Central Business District and downtown Cleveland.Now, downtown Detroit is home to tenants like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Microsoft. Jim shares proudly that the residential, retail, restaurant, transportation, and arts scene have all been growing steadily.If a developer calls me up and says I’m interested in Detroit, I’m like ‘Great, let me tour you through everything we’ve done, let me teach you what we know, and let me help you to acquire something and compete with me.’ …The more you help people, the better it is.Advice:Jim’s parting advice is that it’s okay to fail because that’s how we all learn and get better.

Creating and Building:Born in McComb, MS, Keith says he could have written the book “Hillbilly Elegy,” about his own life. Since his parents weren’t really in the picture, his grandmother raised him from a young age in Pasadena, TX. He went on to graduate from the University of Texas, receiving his MBA with a concentration in real estate shortly thereafter.“I was just intrigued always with the idea of creating and building things.”After working as a management consultant at Deloitte, he interviewed at Century Development and joined the team. This is where he met Ric Campo, who became his long-time business partner.During that time, they realized that considering Houston’s economic recovery status, short-term leases were going to do the best, so they focused their business on apartments.From there, Keith and Ric began buying apartments in Houston and working with investors, until the RTC came along and the one-off asset game didn’t work anymore. They struck a deal with investor Louis Ranieri, which allowed them to play the RTC game, and their portfolio grew to 7,000 apartments. When Ranieri wanted to sell, Ric and Keith didn’t want to give up this company they had created. They crafted a plan and kept the business, taking the company public in 1993.Camden MilestonesKeith has several highlights that he says were “Watershed” moments for Camden’s trajectory.When they went from private to public, this became a huge watershed moment because they weren’t spending time raising capital. Keith says that raising capital is now less than 5% of his time.They went through three public-to-public mergers, which grew the geography of their company beyond Texas.They created the first revenue management system for the multi-family business with the software firm, RealPage. This solved the problem of pricing apartment rents in real time.The first year they made it on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For was in 2007, and they’ve been on it for 11 consecutive years now. He says it’s the benchmark, not just for Camden, but of how far the apartment industry has come.Keith and Ric, as President and CEO respectively, continue as partners and collaborators to this day, essentially as co-heads of the business. This type of collaboration is unique in the REIT industry.Creating Company CultureDuring a facilitator meeting where they discussed the importance of taking a stand, everyone in the meeting had to stand up and pitch their goal for the company. Keith stood up and said that in five years, Camden Property Trust will be recognized as one of the best companies to work for in this country. Two years later, they made Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For.This company culture wasn’t born in that meeting however, it was there from the beginning.“It’s just setting up an environment where people can do their best work, where they’re rewarded for it both financially and emotionally… and then just being unyielding in terms of good and bad behavior.”IndustryKeith says Camden’s company culture is not a spectator sport, but an inclusive, respectful, integrity-driven environment.Keith’s Advice:Make it your mission to improve people’s lives, and you measure your success by that.Videos:Camden’s Gotta Feeling!Website:Camden Living

Sam Zell, one of the most storied names in real estate, describes his riveting journey from his parents’ escape from Poland in 1939 as Hitler invaded to how he built his real estate empire at Equity International, created the modern REIT, and lead the industry public.More about Equity Group InvestmentsForbes Magazine on Sam Zell’s successAm I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

A-P Hurd was not planning on going into the real estate industry. After working in journalism and on the trading floor, she then landed a leadership role at Touchstone. Her unique perspective on business encourages people to use their skillsets to allow them to do their best work.Executive Q+A: A-P Hurd’s Urban ExpressionRead more about AP’s book The Carbon Efficient City

After growing up in Israel and serving in the army, Gadi Kaufmann came to the U.S. on a scholarship to Brigham Young University. His drive led him to an interview with RCLCO during college; and now, after 38 years and four careers at RCLCO, he has transitioned to the current managing director and CEO.Read Gadi’s biography

Ellen Winkler became an accidental developer when she moved her video production firm to Denver and failed to find a fun, yet collaborative work environment. Now she is creating coworking spaces all around the city.Read more about Ellen’s backgroundRead more about Drumbeat

Jonathan Rose left his family’s multigenerational real estate company to start his own for-profit mission-driven development firm. His passion for creating communities of opportunity is strengthened through the belief that we all share a compassion that makes the world a better place.More information on the Rose CompaniesMore information on the Well Tempered City

Leaving a legacy is easy for Phil Freelon, who founded one of the largest African American–owned architecture firms. With numerous cultural institutions under his belt, including the newest Smithsonian museum, he is motivated to design places where the public can convene.Phil Freelon’s bioRead more about the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and CultureRead more about Phil Freelon

Mary Ann Tighe didn’t know what commercial real estate was until she was 36 years old. With a successful career in the Carter/Mondale White House before launching the A&E network, she recognized her knack for deal-making and is now one of the country’s most prolific brokers.Read Mary Ann Tighe’s bioRead more about Mary Ann’s career

Chip Conley started one of the country’s first boutique hotel chains, Joie de Vivre, when he was just 26 years old. After selling the company, he joined the startup Airbnb at age 52, despite the fact that the young founders were primed to disrupt his industry.Read more about Chip’s leadershipRead more about Chip’s role at AirbnbPre-order Chip’s newest book, Wisdom @ Work: The Making of a Modern ElderLearn more about Chip’s other books*This is a rebroadcast of our previous interview with Chip Conley.