Rising Optimism at
NAREIT Honors Coppola, Robinson
At REITWorld 2009, NAREIT honored Macerich (NYSE:
MAC) Chairman and CEO Arthur Coppola and Tom Robinson, senior advisor at Stifel, Nicolaus for their service to the
REIT industry.
Coppola received the NAREIT Industry Leadership Award,
which is presented annually to a REIT executive who has made
significant and lasting contributions to the growth and betterment of the REIT industry. Coppola served as NAREIT chair
in 2007, and he has been a strong supporter of NAREIT’s policy
initiatives and its political action committee, REITPAC.
“We have to remember that REITs are an act of legislation, and,
as part of that, protecting our legislative status is an extremely important part of the function of NAREIT,” Coppola said.
Robinson received the NAREIT Industry Achievement Award,
which is presented annually to an industry professional whose acumen and integrity have helped build awareness and understanding
for the value of REI Ts and publicly traded real estate. Robinson has
helped raise capital for many NAREIT members, In addition, Robinson was NAREIT’s general counsel through most of the 1980s
when legislation was created enabling
REITs to be internally managed.
“For all the difficulties and challenges that all of us in real estate are
going to face in the coming years,
one thing I am sure of is that those of
us associated with REITs are going
to have a lot to look forward to,”
Robinson said.
Both awards are presented in
memory of past NAREIT Chair E.
Lawrence Miller.
REITWorld 2009
Top (l to r): NAREIT Chair Debra Cafaro presents Tom
Robinson with the NAREIT Industry Achievement Award;
Eastdil Secured CEO Roy March and AMB Property
Corporation Chairman & CEO Hamid Moghadam speak at
a panel on the re-equitization of REITs; James Thomas
and Diana Laing of Thomas Properties Group with NAREIT
Executive Vice President of Finance & Operations Sheldon
Groner after the Leader in the Light awards presentations;
Steven LeBlanc of the Teacher Retirement System and
Alfred Otero of European Investors discuss the real estate
investment proposition. Right: Macerich Chairman &
CEO Arthur Coppola spoke on a panel after receiving the
Industry Leadership Award.
Cautious optimism was the pervasive tone during REITWorld 2009: NAREIT’s Annual Convention For All Things REIT, held Nov. 11–13 in Phoenix. REITWorld 2009, attended by 1,000 REIT executives, investors and industry professionals, showcased how far the REIT industry has come in the past 12 months and
explored how much room there remains for improvement.
Overcoming the challenges caused by the credit crisis and
economic recession further validated the REIT approach to real
estate investment. “The REIT model has held up incredibly well,”
said Ric Campo, chairman and CEO of Camden Property Trust
(NYSE: CPT). “I think it validates the REIT model in a big way.”
During the REITWorld sessions, REIT CEOs, economists
and analysts shared perspectives on the state of the economy and
the commercial real estate marketplace. In addition, panelists
looked at the roots of the credit crisis; discussed views on what it
will take to jump-start the stalled CMBS market; and explored
the opportunities that the dysfunction in the asset-backed securities markets may create for investors. Panelists also discussed
the re-equitization of the REIT market and the opportunities
that will exist for companies with recapitalized balance sheets.
If you were unable to attend REITWorld 2009, or if you
just want to review something you saw there, you may watch
Webcasts of the conference on REIT.com ( http://www.industry
stream.net/reitworld2009).
