MIT/CRE Meet the Visionaries

In this episode, we welcome the dynamic and inspiring Nicholas Edelman, CEO and Founder of surf park development company Aventuur. Aventuur is on a mission is to create exceptional surfing destinations and experiences that generate meaningful social and economic value. To do this, the company's secured the rights to the world’s leading wave-generating technology – the Wavegarden Cove – in markets across North America, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Fiji. They currently have three projects in active development.In our conversation, we dig deep into the business case for surf parks, including the unit economics, demand drivers, and secular trends that make it one of the hottest niches in commercial real estate right now. Nick also shares his personal journey - one filled with a love of sport, nature, and personal connection - and how he came to found Aventuur with a friend from graduate school and the backing of some heavy-hitting investors.Listeners will surely want to stay till the end to hear Nick provide an incredible anecdote about the early days of the company. From the beginning, though, this conversation is truly a masterclass in humble leadership, passion, and commercial real estate fundamentals.Interview by: Robby Mulcahy / MSRED Candidate 2025Director: Denise DeLoreyProduction by: Robby MulcahyMusic from ⁠⁠⁠#Uppbeat⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠https://uppbeat.io/track/mark-july/dance-with-me?rt=uc-referral⁠⁠License code: KQAWWN4CWQXDF01E

In the final episode of season two, we meet with Gregory Dewerpe, the Founder and Partner of NOA (formerly A/O), Europe's leading venture capital firm pioneering the transformation of the real estate and construction industries. Driven by a critical mission to decarbonize the built world and enhance its sustainability, Gregory brings a visionary and investment-focused perspective to identifying and scaling the innovative technologies essential for this transition. Sam Jakshtis (current MSRED student) and Gregory discuss how NOA's strategic investments are not just funding companies, but actively shaping a more efficient, resilient, and healthier future for how we build, live, and interact with our physical environment.Interview by Sam Jakshtis | MSRED 2025Director:  Denise DeLoreyProduction by: Lacey CochranMusic from ⁠⁠#Uppbeat⁠⁠License code: KQAWWN4CWQXDF01Ehttps://cre.mit.edu/

Dave Burt, Founder and CEO of DeltaTerra Capital, leads the charge in addressing climate risks in real estate. With a strong background in managing macro portfolios, he offers sharp insights on how climate change is reshaping property values and investment strategies. Burt discusses the critical need for updated risk models, especially in light of increasing weather disruptions. He also sheds light on misconceptions in mortgage markets, highlighting disparities between commercial and residential properties. Adaptation to these challenges is vital for the future of real estate.

In this episode, we're incredibly excited to welcome Brad Hargreaves and Paul Stanton of Thesis Driven.Thesis Driven's flagship online newsletter is widely considered one of the more thought-provoking and well-written real estate publications today, diving deep into emerging real estate themes, technologies, and funding models. The brand has grown in the past few years to include a podcast, an online and in-person learning platform, and a developer database that inventories hundreds of qualified, active real estate developers and owners. In this conversation, we discuss how Brad & Paul came together to form Thesis Driven, the platform's evolution, and what they see at the frontier of innovation in commercial real estate. Co-hosted by MIT graduate students Robby Mulcahy and Dean Firouzian, this conversation is a fun, free-flowing round table, full of thoughtful insights and fascinating anecdotes. Paul and Brad share a wealth of knowledge and years of experience founding, operating, and exiting successful real estate ventures, and their insider perspective is second-to-none.Interview by: Robby Mulcahy / MSRED Candidate 2025, Dean Firouzian / MSRED Candidate 2025Director:  Denise DeLoreyProduction by: Robby Mulcahy, Soala AjienkaMusic from ⁠⁠⁠⁠#Uppbeat⁠⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠https://uppbeat.io/track/mark-july/dance-with-me?rt=uc-referral⁠⁠⁠License code: KQAWWN4CWQXDF01Ehttps://cre.mit.edu/

In this episode, we're honored to host one of the preeminent voices in commercial real estate today, Willy Walker.Willy is Chairman and CEO of Walker & Dunlop. Under his leadership, Walker & Dunlop has grown from a small, family-owned business to become one of the largest commercial real estate finance and advisory firms in the United States and internationally. Walker & Dunlop is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and in its first ten years as a public company, its shares have appreciated more than 800%. The firm was also #17 on Fortune’s 2017 list of “Fastest Growing Public Companies” and has been named a Best Workplace for eight of the last eleven years by the Great Place to Work® Institute. Mr. Walker received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2011, was named “Financier of the Year” in 2017 and 2020 by Commercial Property Executive and was selected as a Most Admired CEO by the Denver Business Journal in 2024.Willy shares the story of how he came to helm Walker & Dunlop, his early vision for the company, and how he's grown it from a modest, local real estate firm to one of the most recognized international real estate advisory companies in the world. He discusses the origin of his incredibly successful podcast, the Walker Webcast, as well as his approach to social media and brand building. We dive into Willy's thoughts on the state of the commercial real estate market today, and then end with a fun lightning round of questions in which Willy offers some great insight. Throughout, Willy provides heaps of advice for students, and young and mid-career professionals alike. His experience, deep understanding of capital markets, and quick wit make this episode a truly delightful and informative listen. Interview by: Robby Mulcahy / MSRED Candidate 2025Director:  Denise DeLoreyProduction by: Robby Mulcahy, Soala AjienkaMusic from ⁠⁠⁠#Uppbeat⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠https://uppbeat.io/track/mark-july/dance-with-me?rt=uc-referral⁠⁠License code: KQAWWN4CWQXDF01Ehttps://cre.mit.edu/

Greg MacKinnon, Director of Research at the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) and a long time collaborator of the MIT Center for Real Estate, joins us on this episode of the Meet the Visionaries Podcast. Drawing on PREA’s deep industry reach and rigorous consensus forecasting, Greg offers a panoramic view of how shifts in capital markets, technology, and investor behavior are reshaping real estate.As head of research, Greg’s vantage point cuts across market cycles and geographic boundaries, giving him clear insight into how institutions are broadening their horizons, innovating through new construction methods, and even democratizing real estate for retail investors. He also expands on how rising insurance costs and climate events are making resilience a top priority for portfolios.  Tune in to discover how Greg’s bird’s-eye view at PREA illuminates the forces shaping a more inclusive, agile, and forward-thinking real estate landscape. Papers: MultifamilyRisk ExposureInterview by Soala Ajienka | MArch, MSRED 2025Director:  Denise DeLoreyProduction by: Soala AjienkaMusic from ⁠⁠⁠#Uppbeat⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠https://uppbeat.io/track/mark-july/dance-with-me?rt=uc-referral⁠⁠License code: KQAWWN4CWQXDF01Ehttps://cre.mit.edu/

In this episode, we sit down with Elena Alschuler, Head of Sustainability for the Americas at LaSalle. She acts as a central leader for sustainability and climate risk initiatives across all asset classes and investment products, collaborating closely with Portfolio Management, Transactions and Asset Management. Elena shares the business case behind sustainable real estate—how robust data, energy efficiency, and proactive climate-risk planning can enhance both asset value and environmental resilience. Listen in to learn about the evolving industry benchmarks that guide sustainability strategies, plus tangible ways investors can future-proof properties against climate shocks. Whether you’re new to real estate or a seasoned industry professional, this episode offers fresh perspectives on balancing profitability with sustainability.Papers: LaSalle, The Value of Green 2023JLL, Demand for Sustainable Buildings 2023Interview by Soala Ajienka | MArch, MSRED 2025Director:  Denise DeLoreyProduction by: Soala AjienkaMusic from ⁠⁠#Uppbeat⁠⁠: ⁠https://uppbeat.io/track/mark-july/dance-with-me?rt=uc-referral⁠License code: KQAWWN4CWQXDF01Ehttps://cre.mit.edu/

In this episode, we welcome Kabir Seth, Principal at San Francisco-based Presidio Bay Ventures, a vertically-integrated developer of commercial real estate for private and public sector tenants across the U.S. Presidio Bay Ventures' portfolio consists of mid- to large-scale office, life science and R&D spaces, mixed-use, urban infill multifamily communities, industrial distribution centers and other special-use facilities, with an emphasis on bespoke strategy and tailored design for each end-user. Kabir shares his own career journey, from growing up in Dubai to his studies at UC Berkeley, an early career in investment banking, and eventually partnering with PBV Managing Partner Cyrus Sanandaji to work first with public sector tenants and then strategically enter private development for a variety of uses.  He reflects on the state of the San Francisco real estate market, particularly in the context of the "doom-loop" narrative of the past few years, and why he thinks the city remains an excellent geography for investors and developers willing to adapt. We dive into several of Presidio Bay Ventures' most recent office projects, including Springline, the firm's "office resort" concept that's proved to be a smashing success.  Kabir's insights and candor make this episode a truly inspiring and thoughtful listen. Tune in for another great conversation with the visionary Kabir Seth. Interview by Robby Mulcahy | MSRED 2025Director:  Denise DeLoreyProduction by: Robby Mulcahy, Soala AjienkaMusic from ⁠#Uppbeat⁠: https://uppbeat.io/track/mark-july/dance-with-me?rt=uc-referralLicense code: KQAWWN4CWQXDF01Ehttps://cre.mit.edu/

In this episode, we welcome AJ Jackson, President of LEO Impact Capital, a subsidiary of JBG Smith focused on acquiring, financing, and operating workforce housing using an Impact Framework. AJ serves on numerous boards and advisory councils, including the Fannie Mae Affordable Housing Advisory Council, NMHC’s Workforce Housing Committee, and is Chair of the Advisory Board at the Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate at ULI. AJ shares his fundamental understanding of macroeconomic conditions impacting the demand for affordable and workforce housing in gateway and growing cities, navigating public policy to establish competitive solutions to reducing housing prices for cost-burdened renters, and LEO’s unique organizational structure in solving for the “missing middle.” With inflation and capital constraints impacting the public and private markets, housing remains at the forefront of national conversations. AJ offers listeners an abundance of knowledge on ways operators can leverage policy, public benefits, and technology to level the playing field. Tune in to learn how the private markets are paving the way for a future in workforce housing. Interview by: Dean Firouzian / MSRED Candidate 2025 Produced by: Lacey Cochran Music: #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/mark-july/dance-with-me License code: KQAWWN4CWQXDF01E

In this episode, we welcome Joe Azelby, former NFL linebacker and current Head of Real Estate and Private Markets for UBS Asset Management. With a career spanning from professional sports to managing real estate, infrastructure, and private equity investments. Joe brings perspective to leadership, strategy, and the evolving real estate landscape. Hosted by Dean Firouzian, a student at the MIT Center for Real Estate, this episode delves into the current state of the real estate market and Joe’s role in navigating its complexities. He shares insights about investments in data centers and energy storage infrastructure, as well as strategies for transforming struggling office markets through public-private partnerships and incentive programs to achieve their highest and best use. Interview by: Dean Firouzian / MSRED Candidate 2025 Music from #Uppbeat License code: KQAWWN4CWQXDF01E