Eisenberg Foundation Career Day

CHICAGO, IL – More than 100 Midwest college students from 11 universities interested in the field of commercial real estate participated in the third annualHarold E. Eisenberg Foundation Career Day on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 22-23, 2009. The event was unique in the commercial real estate industry by offering forward looking perspectives on critical issues from a broad range of topics. These topics include many conventional subjects such as real estate finance, real estate investments, and property operations, as well as unique perspectives on the important role of real estate trade organizations and universities in the industry. The event, planned jointly by the Foundation and student leaders of real estate clubs at Marquette University and University of Illinois, gave college students from across the Midwest the opportunity to learn more about the commercial real estate business through exclusive exposure to high-level executives and educators through panel discussions and roundtable sessions. Broadcasts of the panel sessions will be provided online next week at RealCorner.com, courtesy of Columbia College in Chicago, which provided a film crew for the event.

The program began Thursday afternoon at The Standard Club Chicago with a session on real estate trade organization resources that featured Mary Ludgin ofPREA and Margaret Schwab of ICSC. This was followed by a real estate finance panel discussion which featured David Friedman of Wrightwood Capital, William Barry of Draper & Kramer, Joel Simmons of Grubb & Ellis, and Larry Silberman of Fifth Third Bank. The day was capped by a Young Guns Panel Dinner, featuring five young rising stars in the real estate field discussing their backgrounds and experiences in the industry.

Friday featured a session on transactions and investments with David Rubin of BMO Capital Markets, George Pandaleon of Inland Institutional Capital Partners, Brad Foss of M3 Capital Partners, and John Petrovski of The Picerne Group. This was followed by a session on development, redevelopment and property operations with Michael Mullen, CEO of Centerpoint Properties, Rand Diamond of Glenstar Properties, Greg Karczewski of Mesirow Financial Real Estate, and Alan Pollack of Providence Management Company. Lunch featured roundtable discussions between the students and industry leaders on topics ranging from brokerage and urban planning to legal issues and international commercial real estate. The roundtables were chaired by executives from the following companies: Baum Realty, Becker Gurian, BremnerDuke, CBRE, City of Chicago, Clark Street Development, The Greeby Companies, Iconic Development, Imperial Realty, Joseph Freed and Associates, L3 Capital, NAI Hiffman, North American Real Estate, Pine Tree Commercial Realty, Red Seal Homes, Schain, Burney, Ross & Citron, Shiner Group, Transwestern, US Bank, US Equities, Village of Barrington, and Weis Builders.

The real estate education panel rounded out the day with Charles Wurtzebach of DePaul University, Mark Eppli of Marquette University, David Hutchison ofNotre Dame University, and Roger Cannaday of University of Illinois – Urbana.

Students participating in the program were from DePaul University, Indiana University, John Marshall Law School, Marquette University, Northwestern University, Notre Dame University, Southern Illinois University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois – Chicago, University of Illinois – Urbana, andUniversity of Kentucky.

The Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation Career Day was co-sponsored by Pine Tree Commercial Realty LLC, and H.J. Martin and Son, Inc., with additional contributions from the Marquette University Center for Real Estate, the College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Notre Dame University, and alumni donations from the University of Illinois’ Real Estate Alumni Forum and the University of Illinois Council of Presidents.

The Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation, based in Chicago, is dedicated to raising funds for gastrointestinal cancer research at Northwestern University, providing scholarships for college students at the University of Illinois and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), and offering unique mentoring and educational opportunities within the commercial real estate industry.

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WEB LINKS:

Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation: www.eisenbergfoundation.org

RealCorner www.RealCorner.com

PRESS CONTACTS

DODIER & COMPANY (pro bono contribution of event release, initial press contact)
Jonelle Kearney

jonelle@dodier.com

-OR –

Kasia Yuska

kyuska@dodier.com

(800) 970-7392 or (520) 299-1000

EISENBERG FOUNDATION