18th Annual Symposium
Presented annually by the Real Estate Circle at the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate, the Columbia Business School Real Estate Symposium brings together alumni, faculty, students, and industry leaders for a day of thought leadership, timely industry discussion, and networking. The program features perspectives from leading practitioners and Columbia Business School faculty on the issues shaping the future of real estate, along with opportunities to connect across the School’s real estate community.
The 18th Annual Symposium welcomed more than 200 alumni representing 45 graduation years, along with current students, to campus, with additional attendees participating via livestream. View the event recap on Columbia Business School’s YouTube Channel.
2025 Alumni Steering Committee
The Real Estate Symposium is shaped by a rotating steering committee of Real Estate Circle leaders whose industry expertise, diverse perspectives, and deep engagement with the Columbia real estate community help define the Symposium each year.
The 2025 Steering Committee was led by Co-Chairs Ed Gormbley ’09 of Workforce Partners and Ines Leung ’07 of EQT Group. They were joined by fellow Real Estate Circle members representing a broad range of sectors, disciplines, and experiences across the real estate industry.
Meaningful Conversations
Together, the committee identified timely topics, cultivated meaningful conversations, and created a program that brought together alumni, faculty, students, and industry leaders for thoughtful dialogue on the issues shaping the future of real estate.
Co-Chairs:
- Ed Gormbley '09, Workforce Partners
- Ines Leung '07, EQT Group
Committee Members:
- Julie Brenton '89, Partner, Head of Investor Relations, Dune Real Estate Partners
- Christopher Chang '07, Partner, Menlo Equities
- David Gillespie '04, Senior Vice President of Development, AvalonBay Communities
- Steve Grant '92, Managing Principal, MCRE Partners
- Tim Mackey '00, Chief Investment Officer, LoanCore Capital
Symposium Agenda
Guided Speed Networking
Business School Campus Tour
Keynote: Fireside Chat
with Raj Agrawal, Global Head of Real Assets, KKR, moderated by Christopher Chang '07, Partner, Menlo Equities
Short Take: From Sky to Site: How Drones Are Reshaping Real Estate
featuring Chris Kenney, Vice President, Zipline, and Guy Grivas, Retail, Hillwood
Powering Innovation Panel: Data Centers at the Heart of AI and Cloud Growth
Featuring:
- Brian Feldman '17, Compass Data Centers
- Nicholas Hoover, CoreWeave
- Mike Ryan '09GSAPP, Ryan Companies
- Moderator: Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, Earle W. Kazis and Benjamin Schore Professor of Real Estate, Co-Director of the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate, Columbia Business School
Keynote: Economic Briefing
with Glenn Hubbard, Dean Emeritus, Columbia Business School, and Abby Joseph Cohen, Professor, Columbia Business School; Former Chief Investment Strategist, Goldman Sachs
Navigating the Capital Stack Panel: Real Estate Capital Markets in Transition
Featuring:
- Cia Buckley Marakovits '93, Dune Real Estate Partners
- David O'Reilly '01, Howard Hughes Holdings
- Geoffrey Souter, '93GSAPP, CPP Investments
- Moderator: Gideon Gil '00, Cushman & Wakefield
Network Reception
Explore Annual Center Report
It is with great pleasure that we present this annual report, highlighting the 2025-2026 academic year at the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate. This report captures the depth and diversity of activity, thought leadership, and specialized expertise that define our work and reflect the ongoing dynamism of the real estate industry. See more from the report below.