14th Annual Cornell International Real Estate Case Competition

Convene
1 Liberty Plaza
New York, New York

Center for Real Estate and Finance

Focusing on research and teaching in finance, asset management, and commercial real estate, including the hospitality industry, the center provides information relevant to the daily operation of the real estate industry, as well as experiential-learning opportunities for students, including direct access to industry leaders. For more information visit CREF.CORNELL.EDU

Friday, November 11, 2022

8:00 – 9:00 a.m. Breakfast Welcome and Opening Remarks / North Gallery 2

9:00 – 11:40 a.m. Presentations / Breakout Rooms
9:00, 9:30, Break, 10:10, 10:40, 11:10

11:40 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Judges’ Deliberation / Breakout Rooms

12:00 – 12:50 p.m. Judges’ Feedback / Breakout Rooms

11:30 – 2:00 p.m. Lunch / North Gallery 2

1:00 – 1:15 p.m. Announcement of Finalists / North Gallery 2

2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Final Presentations / The Forum
2:00, 2:30, 3:00, & 3:30

4:00 – 4:25 p.m. Judge’s Final Deliberation / The Forum

4:25 – 4:45 p.m. Case Presentation / The Forum

4:50 – 5:05 p.m. Presentation of Winners / The Forum

I am honored to welcome you to the fourteenth annual Cornell International Real Estate Case Competition. It’s hard to believe that it’s been fourteen years since we started this competition. Thanks to the participation of you, the competitors, judges, and sponsors, this competition has become the world’s foremost event of its kind.

From the beginning, this event has had remarkable support from our student competitors, our expert judges, and our industry sponsors—all for the purpose of advancing the students’ real estate education.

This event aims to connect students with industry leaders by providing an authentic experience for the students. There is no substitute for the direct contribution this event has on building the students’ real estate knowledge—and their ability to apply the lessons of this competition throughout their careers. Good luck to all teams, you have already created a record of accomplishment.

I would like to thank our judges and sponsors for contributing their time and expertise to this competition. While the judges are tasked to select the winning team, their main purpose is to provide the students with the opportunity to learn from industry executives. I am extremely grateful to our judges who are so willing to share their knowledge and coach the students.

Congratulations and best wishes for success to all participating teams. Whether you have traveled from near or far, we are proud to be able to share this opportunity with you.

Amy S. Applebaum heads up the NY real estate lending team and spearheads CRA Real Estate Lending for Bank of China. Prior to joining BOC in 2019, she spent nearly 15 years with JPMorgan Chase in the commercial real estate group. Ms. Applebaum has over 30 years of experience in real estate banking, subscription lending and economic development. Ms. Applebaum provides a wide range of real estate financing products to real estate developers including construction and permanent loans, bond purchase agreements, tax credit transactions and letters of credit. Her past experience includes working at the New York City Economic Development Corporation selling and leasing city-owned land for economic development, where she focused on the redevelopment of Times Square. In addition to her work in real estate, Ms. Applebaum spends time mentoring and working with junior real estate professionals both through the WX Scholarship and mentoring groups. Ms. Applebaum served on the Board of Directors for WX as Treasurer and Secretary and is a past president of the Association of Real Estate Women (now CREWNY), and is on the board of Cents-Ability (a NFP that provides financial education to at-risk youth). She graduated from Cornell University and received an MBA in Finance from NYU Stern School of Management.

Kenneth M. Blatt, is currently a Principal and Managing Partner of Dorado Beach Resort and CPG Real Estate. CPG had been an active investor in the Caribbean and Central America and now, other than Dorado Beach, is focused more on unique hospitality GP and residential development opportunities in the US. Dorado Beach is an iconic 1900 integrated community in Puerto Rico where Mr. Blatt serves on its Board of Directors and oversees the executives that run all of Dorado Beach’s hotel, golf, membership and sales operations.

Kenny has over 30 years of experiences as an entrepreneur and angel investor in the US, Caribbean, Central America and Central and Eastern Europe. From 1992-2000, he lived in Romania and Bulgaria and created the leading service businesses in advertising and outdoor and print media. Mr. Blatt is also a founding partner in Gemini Homes, a Southeast US residential real estate developer and investor, an advisor and investor in ID Funds, an alternative investment platform for accredited investors and was co-founder and director of HeyHolidays, an alternative accommodation online marketplace based in Bangalore, India. He is an active investor in both the hospitality and digital asset space.

Mr. Blatt is a graduate of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, Emory Law School and Owner-Director Certificate Program at INSEAD. He is an active Board member of Cornell’s PIHE and CREF, serves as a member of the Cornell University Council, former Chair of the Core Club House Committee in NYC and Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Advancement Committee at Saint Andrews School in Boca Raton, Florida.

Brian Collins is Executive Vice President and Director of Development where he oversees the development projects across the firm’s portfolio.

Previously, Mr. Collins was the Head of Acquisitions and Development at Fisher Brothers. Most recently, he oversaw over $1.5 billion in development of residential properties in New York City and Washington, DC, including 111 Murray, 225 East 39th Street, 101 West 87th Street, 37 Warren Street and 701 2nd Street NE on Capitol Hill.

Prior to joining Fisher Brothers, Brian was President of Intrawest, one of the largest resort owner/operators and real estate development companies in North America. As President, Brian oversaw all real estate activities worldwide. Before Intrawest, Brian was the founder of Colgate Development, a development company which specialized in the development of luxury hotels and condominiums. Under Brian’s leadership, Colgate developed several hotels and residential properties including The Ritz-Carlton in Charlotte, NC and the Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia.

Brian started his career in real estate development as a principal and COO of Millennium Partners. Overseeing the commercial components of Millennium’s projects, Brian was responsible for the development of The Ritz-Carlton hotels in New York, Boston and Washington and the Four Seasons hotels in San Francisco and Miami as well as five Sport Club/LA facilities, office space, movies theatres and parking garages. Brian is an active member of the Urban Land Institute where he serves as vice chairman for ULI New York. He is also active in numerous New York real estate groups and councils.

Mr. Collins holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Colgate University and a Masters in Accounting from NYU. He and his wife have two children and live in Fairfield CT.

Adriana de Alcantara joined Hines in January 2020 as Senior Managing Director, Fund Manager for Hines US Property Partners (HUSPP), Hines’ Flagship Core Plus Open-End Fund. She Is responsible for developing and executing the investment strategy for HUSPP.

Adriana brings more than 20 years of global experience in the real estate industry across all asset classes including, office, multifamily, retail and industrial. Before joining the firm, she served as Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager at Nuveen Real Estate based in New York, where she was the lead Portfolio Manager for the TIAA-CREF Real Property Fund LP, a core open-end fund focusing on institutional CRE across the U.S. in diverse asset types and geographies. Prior to that since 2009, she served in a variety of lead roles at TIAA in both London and New York overseeing Asset Management and Separate Accounts. Her background also includes significant roles at Lehman Brothers Global Real Estate Group (Luxembourg and London), O’Connor Capital Partners (Luxembourg and London).

Adriana holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (in Barcelona) is a Certified European Financial Analyst (CEFA) and a Certified Financial Planner professional (CFP®). She serves as Co-Chair of the DC Affinity Group at PREA (Pension Real Estate Association) and is an active member of the Programming Committee at WX New York Women Executives in Real Estate. She is also fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German and French.

Paul Fine (New York) joined KKR in 2015 and is a Managing Director on the Real Estate team. He is responsible for sourcing and executing debt investments across KKR’s real estate credit strategies. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Fine was a Director at Cantor Fitzgerald where he helped to set up the real estate finance platform and was responsible for loan originations. He began his career at Credit Suisse in the real estate finance group. Mr. Fine graduated from Cornell University, magna cum laude, with a B.S. in Applied Economics and Management.

Daniel Gliksman joined QuadReal in March 2018 and helped establish the company’s New York office, its first location in the US. He oversees investments for the Eastern US, focusing on real estate investments across asset classes, including residential, logistics, and office.

Daniel previously served as Vice President at AEW Capital Management, a Boston-based institutional real estate advisor, where he spent 13 years investing in office, industrial, multifamily and retail properties throughout the United States and Canada. He began his career at UBS in 2001 and subsequently worked in the US Equities Group at IG Investment Management.

Daniel holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from McGill University and a Master of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University. He is a CFA charterholder.

At Three Wall Capital, Alan Kanders ‘87 successfully completed six hospitality equity and debt investments totaling over $200 million in invested capital, on behalf of institutional and individual investors. These transactions include the 30-room Five Diamond/Five Star Mayflower Inn & Spa in Washington, CT, which TWC operates, and the 200-room Buckingham Hotel redevelopment at 57th Street and 6th Avenue, NY, NY.

From 1997 to 2008, Kanders was managing director in the Global Real Estate Group at Lehman Brothers, where he originated approximately $8 billion of hospitality equity and debt transactions in a principal capacity on behalf of Lehman Brothers. He has worked with leading hospitality sponsors, operators, and franchisors including Marriott International, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Gencom Group, Hampshire Hotels & Resorts, and Highgate Holdings in various transaction types including acquisition, new construction, recapitalization, redevelopment, and brand development. In 2007, Kanders led the restructuring and sale of Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts, one of the largest-ever hotel restructurings to date.

Prior to joining Lehman Brothers in 1997, Kanders was vice president of development for Wingate Inns, a limited-service hotel chain, where he developed over 100 hotels. Before joining Wingate Inns in 1992, Kanders developed a gaming facility in Barbados and was a member of the team that sought to develop Hard Rock Cafes in the former Soviet Union. Prior to that, he was vice president of development for North America and the Caribbean for Rank Plc, a leading European gaming company.

Kanders graduated with a BS in hotel administration from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.

Bruce Kimmelman is Macklowe’s executive vice president of capital markets and acquisitions. His responsibilities include sourcing and closing debt facilities plus negotiating joint venture capital raises with Macklowe’s partners. In addition, Mr. Kimmelman is responsible for identifying, negotiating, and closing acquisition opportunities for Macklowe.

Throughout his career, Mr. Kimmelman has been involved in approximately $10 billion worth of transactions as both a principal and lender. Before joining Macklowe, he was involved in merchant banking activities with a major Wall Street investment bank. Previously, Mr. Kimmelman was a senior originator with an international real estate banking organization, responsible for closing over $6 billion of originations. Earlier in his career, Mr. Kimmelman spent five years with Macklowe as the company’s vice president of finance and acquisitions.

Mr. Kimmelman earned an executive MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

Fabiana Lotito is Program Director for the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF). Her primary responsibilities are managing and executing content for NCREIF conferences and educational programs. Additionally, she oversees industry initiatives taking place within the NCREIF standing and technical committees and task forces.

Fabiana has been in the institutional real estate industry for twenty-five years, and previously was a Senior Director on TIAA’s Global Real Estate portfolio team, working on the TIAA Real Estate Account. Her primary responsibilities were to oversee activity for the account’s investments in the Northeast and Midwest. She developed performance metrics, managed portfolio diversification efforts, and handled cash management for the Account.

Previously, Ms. Lotito was part of the organization’s Strategy & Research group. In that capacity, her focus was managing strategic real estate portfolio research where she participated in both top-down and bottom-up research, specializing in portfolio analytics and strategic asset allocation modeling. She was involved in the publication of several research white papers. Ms. Lotito was part of TIAA’s corporate data governance initiative, and a member of its technology and middle office operating committees.

Ms. Lotito holds a B.S. in finance and statistics from New York University. She is a designated Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). Prior to being on the NCREIF staff, Ms. Lotito served multiple terms as chairperson of NCREIF’s Research Committee followed by serving as a Director on the NCREIF Board.

Michael Nash is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies. Mr. Nash is a member of the Real Estate Investment Committee for both Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies and Blackstone Real Estate Advisors, and he is also Executive Chairman of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, a NYSE listed REIT. Additionally, in 2021, Mr. Nash became Chairman of Blackstone’s GP Stakes business, focusing on the acquisition of minority ownership interests in private equity and other private-market alternative asset management firms.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Nash was with Merrill Lynch from 1997 to 2007 where he led the firm’s Real Estate Principal Investment Group – Americas. Prior to 1997, Mr. Nash held various positions with Barclays Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia and Deloitte Haskins & Sells.

Mr. Nash received a B.S. in Accounting from State University of New York at Albany, as well as an M.B.A. in Finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Francisco (Paco) Ramirez is the Chief Operating Officer and an Executive Vice President for Tishman Realty. Prior to joining Tishman in 2007, he was a partner at McConnell Valdes LLC, one of the largest Hispanic owned law firms in Latin America, and has over 20 years’ experience in all aspects of real estate development and finance. Mr. Ramirez is a member of the New York State and Puerto Rico Bar Associations. He holds a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business, and a JD from Columbia Law School, where he was recognized as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.

Brad Walker is a Managing Director on the Investments Team at Mavik Capital Management, a manager of US real estate special situations investments. Prior to Mavik, Brad was a Vice President at Mount Kellett Capital Management, a special situations investment firm with $8 billion in peak AUM, and an Analyst at Brookfield Asset Management. Brad currently serves as a Member of the Advisory Board for the Cornell University Center for Real Estate Finance and a Board Member for the New York Private Equity Network for Real Estate, the largest private equity real estate networking group in the US. Brad has co-authored more than 15 case studies for intercollegiate real estate finance case competitions. Brad received his BS degree from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.

13^th Annual Cornell International Real Estate Case Competition

The 13^th Annual Cornell International Real Estate Case Competition was held virtually on Friday, November 12, 2021. Thirteen teams from around the world competed for a total of $10,000 in prize money.

Blue Water Advisors representing Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia (UBC) took first place. Second place went to KS Capital representing the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and third place to Sonic the Hedgefund of Cornell University. The competition was held online and the finals were Livestreamed with the help of eCornell.

CREF BusinessFeed (April 20, 2022): 13th Annual Cornell International Real Estate Case Competition Challenges Global Teams

Use these time stamps to find a specific team:

• Team Blue Water Advisors:
  2 minute, 44 seconds
• Team Sonic the Hedgefund:
  39 minutes, 07 seconds
• Team KS Capital:
  1 hour, 10 minute
• Awards:
  2 hour, 15 minutes, 30 seconds

Watch the 2021 CIRECC Finals

12th Annual Cornell International Real Estate Case Competition

The WEBS Group, representing Cornell University, took first place at the 12th Annual Cornell International Real Estate Case Competition on November 6, 2020. Second place went to Summit Capital, representing the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, and third place to Perpetuum Partners, representing Indiana University. The competition was held online and the finals were Livestreamed with the help of eCornell.

Watch the full 2020 CIRECC recording

2020 CIRECC recording

Use these time stamps to find a specific team:

• Team WEBS:
  1 minute, 46 seconds
• Team Perpetuum Partners:
  30 minutes, 35 seconds
• Team Summit Capital:
  1 hour, 1 minute, 15 seconds
• Awards:
  1 hour, 29 minutes, 30 seconds

Participating Universities:

• Cornell University
• Indiana University
• Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at North Carolina
• KTH Royal Institute of Technology
• Sauder School of Business, UBC
• Southern Methodist University
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong
• The University of Texas at Austin
• University of Colorado Boulder
• University of Connecticut
• University of Michigan
• University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Villanova University
• Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

Industry judges include:

• Jackie Soffer P ’20, Chairman and CEO, Turnberry Associaates
• Jay Mantz P ’21, President, Rialto Capital
• John Ryan, CEO, Metro Development
• Fabiana Lotito, Personal Sponsor
• Adam Falk, Managing Director, Criterion Real Estate Capital
• Saul Goldstein ’92, CEO and CIO, ActivumSG Capital Management
• Bonnie Ko, Director, ActivumSG Capital Management
• Mathew Shore ’00, CIO, DRA Advisors

A special thank you to our sponsors:

The 11^th Annual Cornell International Real Estate Case Competition was not held in 2019. The event was put on hiatus for one year and resumed in 2020

10th Annual Cornell International Real Estate Case Competition

November 12-13, 2018
Convene, 32 Old Slip, New York City

Congratulations to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

…for taking first place at the 10th Annual Cornell International Real Estate Case Competition in New York City on November 13, 2018. Second place went to University of Michigan, third to Villanova University, fourth and fifth place to Indiana University and University of Connecticut, respectively.  Closing out the top 6 teams was Georgetown University. Twenty-seven undergraduate teams competed for over $20,000 in prize money. The competition was held at Convene in the Financial District.

Cornell University was represented by: Max Feng ’19, Linda Cao ’19, Amanda Cheng ’19, Karen Ding ’20, Mark Rittiboon ’19 and Becca Wang ’20.

The event, developed by Cornell School of Hotel Administration professor Daniel Quan, attracts a global array of students and tasks the teams with analyzing an actual commercial real estate transaction, rendering a recommendation, and providing a presentation of their analysis and proposal. The competition itself is the culmination of an intensive five-day analysis preparation by the students and a full day of presentations. The teams are judged on their investment recommendations, approach to the problems, and presentation skills. Judges in the competition are real estate executives representing top companies in the industry.

November 13-14, 2017
Convene – Financial District, 32 Old Slip, New York City, New York

Congratulations to the Wharton School

…for taking first place in the 9th Annual Cornell International Real Estate Case Competition! The University of Guelph took second place, Cornell University came in

third, the University of Wisconsin at Madison came in fourth, and the University of British Columbia and the University of Colorado came in fifth and sixth, respectively.

2017 Competition Program  2017 Competition Photo Album

The 8th Annual Cornell International Real Estate Case Competition took place in New York City on Tuesday, November 15.

With 20 teams competing this year, the stakes were high.

Congratulations to the Chinese University of Hong Kong for taking home first place in the competition.

We are proud of all of the competing teams for their hard work and dedication, including the Cornell team of Grant Behnke ’17, Giovanna Cavagnaro ’17, Teddy DeVico ’17, DJ Fan ’17, Jack Henry Kapp ’17, and Jessica Zhang ’17. The time and effort that all students put into preparing for this competition was very apparent in the thoroughness of their analysis and the impressive presentations.

The University of Wisconsin at Madison and the University of Sydney tied for second place, the University of Queensland took fourth place, and Brandeis University, fifth place.

2016 Competition Photo Album  2016 Competition Program

Videos of the top-placing teams’ presentations:

FIRST PLACE: The Chinese University of Hong Kong DS Capital

SECOND PLACE (TIE): University of Sydney Midas Capital

SECOND PLACE (TIE): University of Sydney Midas Capital

FOURTH PLACE: University of Queensland Peak Capital

FIFTH PLACE: Brandeis University Surreal Estate

Judges

• Amy Applebaum, CALS ’86 – Executive Director, JP Morgan
• Marty Burger, P ’17 – Chief Executive Officer, Silverstein Properties, Inc.
• Merrie Frankel – Managing Partner, Andover Associates
• Max Friedman – Director, Goulston & Storrs
• Jonathan Geanakos – President, Americas, JLL Capital Markets
• Jeff Horwitz, CHE ’86 – Partner, Head of Lodging and Gaming Group and Private Equity Real Estate, Proskauer
• Bruce Kimmelman ’91 – Executive Vice President of Capital Markets and Acquisitions, Macklowe Properties
• Michael Lehrman, P ’18 – Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Cantor Fitzgerald
• Fabiana Lotito – Director, Global Real Estate Strategy and Research, TIAA
• Jay Mantz – President, Rialto Capital
• Allyson Martin – Strategic Real Estate Advisor, HUB International Northeast Limited
• Joanna Mulford – Managing Director & PRISA Portfolio Manager/Chief Financial Officer, PGIM Real Estate
• Mike Nash – Senior Managing Director, Blackstone
• Anthony Orso – Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Cantor Fitzgerald
• Peter Peterson ’93 – Vice President, Related Urban
• Alex Popov ’98 – Managing Director, HPS Investment Partners
• Ralph Rose, MBA ’84 – Managing Director, Global Chief Operating Officer of Real Estate, Citigroup
• Chuck Rosenzweig, ’85, JD ’88 – Managing Partner, Criterion Real Estate Capital
• Neil Rubler, A&S ’92 – Founder & President, Candlebrook Properties

More Information

The competition is funded in part by the Marjorie Boas Levins and Jack Levins/F.H.T. Rhodes Real Estate Case Competition Fund.

Platinum Sponsors

• Robert D. Kline ’84, The Chartres Lodging Group, LLC

Official Hotel Sponsor

• Yotel

Sponsors

Blackstone

Cantor Fitzgerald

Citi

Criterion Real Estate Capital

Goulston & Stor

The student team from the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) has won the fourth annual Cornell International Real Estate Case Competition.

Hosted by the Cornell Center for Real Estate and Finance and held November 15 at the TIAA-CREF headquarters in New York City. Members of the winning team are Christian Hung, Jason Morgan, Matthew Sherman, Sharon Wang, Eric Wright, and Jay Yang. Runners-up were University of Connecticut and Indiana University. Fifteen Universities were represented, making the Cornell event the largest of its kind in the world. Spirits for the event were high, in spite of an atmosphere dampened by the effects of the recent Hurricane Sandy. Cornell is represented by Amy Yao ’13, Shirley Ye Gu ’13, Colby Heiman ’13, Nazario Paragano ’13, Richard Levins ’13, and Kai Tan ’13, with alternates Tejvir Basra, David Martin, Cicily Zhou, Jeremy Wai, and Jay Edwards. Visiting Senior Lecturer Daniel Lebret coached the team and Professor Daniel Quan organized the competition with the assistance of event planners Melissa Carlisle and Erica Heim. In addition to Cornell, teams from the following schools were given the assignment of analyzing an actual real estate deal: Chinese University of Hong Kong, Indiana University, Maastricht University, New York University, Pennsylvania State University, Renmin University of China, University of Cambridge, University of Connecticut, University of Guelph, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, University of Pennsylvania, University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Villanova University. The competition is made possible by the following sponsors: Archon Hospitality / Goldman Sachs, AREA Property Partners, BlackRock, Clarion Partners, CreXus Investment Corporation, GTIS , National Realty & Development Corporation, New York Women Executives in Real Estate, Prudential Real Estate Investors, Sawyer Realty Holdings, TIAA-CREF, Tishman, and Westbrook Partners. Thanks to the sponsors’ generosity, the prize money now totals $16,000.

The team consisted of:

• Christian Hung
• Jason Morgan
• Matthew Sherman
• Sharon Wang
• Eric Wright
• Jay Yang

Runners up were University of Connecticut and the University of Indiana.

Judges

• John Beaman, AREA Partners
• Greg Fay, Archon
• Sally Gordon, BlackRock
• Obaid Khan, Tishman Realty Corporation
• Joanna Mulford, Prudential Real Estate Investors
• John Orrico, NRDC
• Thad Paul, Carlyle Group
• Michael Profenius, Grove International Partners
• Kevin Riordan, CreXus Investment Corp
• Paula Schaefer, New York Women Executives in Real Estate
• Sush Torgalkar, Westbrook Partners
• Robert Vahradian, GTIS
• Tim Wang, Clarion Partners
• Shannon Wright, TIAA-CREF

Participating Universities

• Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)
  Center for Hospitality and Real Estate Research
  School of Hotel and Tourism Management
• Cornell University
  Center for Real Estate and Finance
  School of Hotel Administration
• Indiana University
  Benecki Center for Real Estate Studies
  Kelley School of Business
• Maastricht University
  European Property Research Institute
  School of Business and Economics
• New York University
  Leonard N. Stern
  School of Business
• Pennsylvania State University
  Smeal College of Business
• Renmin University of China
• University of Cambridge
  Department of Land Economy
• University of Connecticut
  Center for Real Estate
  School of Business
• University of Guelph
  College of Management & Economics
• University of Michigan
• University of North Carolina
  Kenan-Flager Business School
• University of Pennsylvania
  The Wharton School
• University of Wisconsin at Madison
  James A. Graaskamp
  Center for Real Estate
  School of Business
• Villanova University
  Daniel M. DiLella
  Center for Real Estate
  School of Business

Sponsors

Cornell Team Wins Real Estate Case Competition

Ithaca, NY, November 23, 2009

Each team had four days to analyze a case developed by Peng-Wei Tan, a private equity analyst for AREA Property Partners. The assignment was to present a strategy to salvage a cash-strapped portfolio of debt-ridden investments. The 20-minute presentations were followed by 20 minutes of sometimes withering questioning from the judges, all seasoned performers with prominent commercial real estate firms. The teams competed as fictional advisory firms in order to keep the judging blind.

“I think that this competition is great,” said Gindy while awaiting the judges’ decision between rounds, “because it utilizes all of the skills that we’ve learned in the classroom and outside of the classroom. Finance, accounting, real estate, managerial communication, marketing—it encompasses everything. But the biggest thing is teamwork.”

Judges for the competition were: Todd Giannoble ’95, president, Archon Hospitality; Sally Gordon, managing director, BlackRock; Jeffrey Hertz, director, the Praedium Group; David Lynn, MRP ’88, managing director, ING Clarion Partners; Catherine Marcus, managing director, Prudential Real Estate Investors; Martha Peyton, managing director, TIAA-CREF; Francis Tansey, co-founder and president, DRA Advisors; Steve Vittorio, managing director, Prudential Real Estate Investors; Steven Wolf, associate and head of U.S. portfolio management, AREA Property Partners; and Martin Kandrac, managing director, The Blackstone Group.

This first annual competition was organized by the Center for Real Estate Finance at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. David and Jill Korr, parents of Jonathan Korr ’09, were principal sponsors of the event. Other sponsors were Archon/Goldman Sachs, AREA Property Partners, BlackRock, ING Clarion, National Realty & Development Corp., Prudential, and TIAA-CREF.

Prize Money

The winning team will receive $4000 and the runner‐up will receive $2000.

Judges

• Todd Giannoble, Archon Hospitality
• Sally Gordon, BlackRock
• Jeffrey Hertz, The Praedium Group
• Martin Kandrac, Real Estate Group, The Blackstone Group
• David Lynn, ING Clarion Partners
• Martha S. Peyton, TIAA-CREF
• Francis X. Tansey, DRA Advisors LLC.
• Steve Vittorio, Prudential Real Estate Investors
• Steven Wolf, AREA Property Partners

Participating Universities

American University

Finance and Real Estate Department
Kogod School of Business

Participants

Daniel Bakst, Alexander Luik, Dung Nguyen, Alexej Wesnofske, Ian Wittkoff, Lauren Keating

Faculty

Peter Chinloy and Priscilla Rawlins

Cornell University

Center for Real Estate Finance
School of Hotel Administration

Participants

Amy Shyr, Taylor Quan, Andrew Gindy, Li Zhang, Zied Sanhaji, Christopher Marshall, Josh Barvin

Faculty

Judi Brownell, Daniel Lebret, and Daniel Quan

Indiana University

Benecki Center for Real Estate Studies
Kelley School of Business

Participants

Stephen Schnelker, Akshay Mehrotra, James Crowder, Radly Alcantara, Matthew Gorman, Adam Steuerwald

Faculty

Doug McCoy

New York University

Leonard N. Stern School of Business

Participants

Ardon Wiener, Bretton Taylor, Daniel Pessar, Diana Berger, Jameel Merali, Jeremy Salzberg

Faculty

Walter Boudry

University of Connecticut

Center for Real Estate
School of Business

Participants

John DesRochers, James Ierro, Benjamin Hochran, Jessica Pollack

Faculty

John Clapp and Caleb Manchester

University of Texas at Austin

The Real Estate Finance and Investment Center
McCombs School of Business

Participants

Aneal Tenjarla, Farah Ahmed, Yafen Liu, Scott Parks

Pennsylvania State University

Smeal College of Business

Participants

Courtney Bedrin, Shawna English, Daniel Ruppert, Jason Kleinwaks, Steven Iwanczuk

Faculty

Brent Ambrose and Richard Button

Sponsors