65th
Some individuals are born leaders.
But it takes a special kind of talent to
become a legend. Here’s a look at some
people who are headed in that direction.
Three years ago, the $78.3-mil-
lion Pegasus refinancing in a
newly formed partnership
with the Kor Group typified
the shift toward concentrating
on the investment side of
Buchanan’s business. The firm
closed the loop on Pegasus
earlier this year, selling the
converted office building to Equity Residential for $100 million.
Co-founder and chairman as well as CEO of Buchanan, Brunswick
also chairs its investment and executive-management committees.
Marc Brutten, Westcore Properties >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Among the real estate industry’s most prolific investors, Westcore
Properties founder and chairman Marc Brutten has facilitated more
than $3 billion in property acquisitions totaling over 25 million
square feet in the span of three decades. Brutten has overseen the
San Diego-based Westcore’s strategic investment in office, retail and
industrial properties in key markets around the world since founding the company in 2000, building its portfolio to 12 million square
feet and $1.2 billion in total asset value. He similarly grew the industrial portfolio of Shidler West Inc., of which he was president before
founding Westcore, from $20 million to $800 million. In 2010
Westcore’s acquisition volume quadrupled to $284.5 million from
$71.2 million a year earlier. The current year has been equally active,
topped by the acquisition of a portfolio of 78 bank branches for $90
million through Westcore’s affiliate, Radnor Holdings Co.
Mark Burkhart, Cassidy Turley >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Eight former affiliates of Colliers International, NAI Global and
Grubb & Ellis banded together in early 2010 under the leadership of
CEO Mark Burkhart. He had risen through the ranks to lead Colliers
Turley Martin Tucker, then the largest commercial real estate service
firm in St. Louis, and reportedly helped orchestrate the deal that
created Cassidy Turley. Burkhart joined what was then Turley Martin
Co. in 1973 as an assistant property manager and became its presi-
dent 20 years later, by which time it had joined the Colliers network.
By the end of 2010, Cassidy Turley completed transactions valued at
over $17 billion. With 3,200 employees in 60 cities nationwide, it
manages over 430 million square feet on behalf of private, institu-
tional and corporate clients and supports over 25,000 domestic cor-
porate services locations. Outside the US, it’s affiliated with the GVA
Worldwide network. Domestically, too, it’s continuing to expand;
early in September, it acquired the brokerage and property manage-
ment businesses of Carter, growing its footprint in the Southeast.
By the end of 2010, Cassidy Turley completed transactions valued at
s
Debra Cafaro, Ventas Inc. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
While not known as a corporate turnaround specialist, Debra Cafaro
brought Ventas Inc. back from the brink in 1999. Under her leadership, the company has gone from a struggling healthcare REIT with
a single tenant—and a tenant on the verge of declaring bankruptcy,
at that—into the 800-lb. gorilla of its sector, with nearly $23 billion in
enterprise value. Part of that success has come from being in the
right place at the right time: “Our sector serves one of the fastest-growing segments of the US economy, healthcare, which is expected
to reach 20% of GDP later this
decade,” said Cafaro during a
conference call in February
announcing that Ventas would
buy smaller rival Nationwide
Health Properties for $7.4 billion, its seventh major deal in
as many years. Much of the
credit, though, goes to Cafaro’s
shrewd decision-making, ranging from her hiring of senior
management a decade ago to
her strategy of diversifying
Ventas’ portfolio through
acquisitions such as NHP and
Atria Senior Living.
