Podcast: Leading Voices with ULI

The Leading Voices with ULI podcast series finds inspiration from professionals around the globe who are passionate about improving the places where we live, work, and play. The podcasts feature innovative leaders in the real estate, land use, and policy space, and explore the compelling personal stories that fuel their work. Interviews tap into the successes, failures, and pivot points in the guests’ lives to reveal the leadership lessons learned along the way.

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Featured Podcasts

SAM ZELL
CHAIRMAN, EQUITY GROUP INVESTMENTS

Sam Zell has always had an entrepreneurial mind-set, attributing his real estate success to it. After getting his start managing student apartments in college, he grew his businesses and was later instrumental in establishing the modern REIT industry.

A-P HURD
GUEST, LEADING VOICES PODCAST

A-P Hurd was not planning on going into the real estate industry. After working in journalism and on the trading floor, she then landed a leadership role at Touchstone. Her unique perspective on business encourages people to use their skillsets to allow them to do their best work.

GADI KAUFMANN
CO-FOUNDER,MANAGING DIRECTOR & CEO, RCLCO

After growing up in Israel and serving in the army, Gadi Kaufmann came to the U.S. on a scholarship to Brigham Young University. His drive led him to an interview with RCLCO during college; and now, after 38 years and four careers at RCLCO, he has transitioned to the current managing director and CEO.

ELLEN WINKLER
CO-FOUNDER, OWNER, AND LEAD DESIGNER, INDUSTRY DENVER

Ellen Winkler became an accidental developer when she moved her video production firm to Denver and failed to find a fun, yet collaborative work environment. Now she is creating coworking spaces all around the city.

JONATHAN ROSE
PRESIDENT, JONATHAN ROSE COMPANIES

Jonathan Rose left his family’s multigenerational real estate company to start his own for-profit mission-driven development firm. His passion for creating communities of opportunity is strengthened through the belief that we all share a compassion that makes the world a better place.

PHIL FREELON
MANAGING DIRECTOR, DESIGN DIRECTOR, PERKINS + WILL

Leaving a legacy is easy for Phil Freelon, who founded one of the largest African American–owned architecture firms. With numerous cultural institutions under his belt, including the newest Smithsonian museum, he is motivated to design places where the public can convene.

MARY ANN TIGHE
CEO, NEW YORK TRI-STATE REGION, CBRE

Mary Ann Tighe didn’t know what commercial real estate was until she was 36 years old. With a successful career in the Carter/Mondale White House before launching the A&E network, she recognized her knack for deal making and is now one of the country’s most prolific brokers.

CHIP CONLEY
STRATEGIC ADVISOR FOR HOSPITALITY AND LEADERSHIP, AIRBNB

Chip Conley started one of the country’s first boutique hotel chains, Joie de Vivre, when he was just 26 years old. After selling the company, he joined the startup Airbnb at age 52, despite the fact that the young founders were primed to disrupt his industry.

TOM GEDDES
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PLANK INDUSTRIES

A chance meeting on a playground led Kevin Plank, Under Armour’s founder, to ask Tom Geddes to oversee his private investments. Tom’s leadership is enhancing Baltimore’s waterfront and how the public experiences the city.

JANET MARIE SMITH
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT – PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Janet Marie Smith had a homerun vision for Camden Yards, the first baseball stadium in 70 years that was built within the existing urban fabric of any U.S. city. With stadium work in Boston and Atlanta also under her belt, she is now enhancing 55-year-old Dodger Stadium.

ANDRÉS DUANY
PARTNER, DUANY PLATER-ZYBERK & COMPANY

Following the advice of his grandfather, Andrés Duany knows he can either be popular or indispensable, and he’s chosen the latter. Made famous by his traditional neighborhood design of Seaside, Florida, Duany has led the charge in creating new urbanist communities.

SCOTT COWEN
PRESIDENT EMERITUS, TULANE UNIVERSITY

How does one prepare for an unexpected crisis? Scott Cowen managed to lead Tulane University through Hurricane Katrina, strengthening the student body and city of New Orleans in the process by strategically integrating the two.

MARYANNE GILMARTIN
PRESIDENT & CEO, FOREST CITY RATNER COMPANIES

MaryAnne Gilmartin defies many conventions in the real estate world. She wears high heels to construction sites of major New York City projects and has achieved the top leadership position in a family business where she has no relation.

TOBY BOZZUTO
PRESIDENT & CEO,BOZZUTO GROUP

Growing up, Toby Bozzuto did not want to work in the family business—yet now he is the CEO. Toby began his career in the music industry but was drawn into the real estate world because of the foundational values his father set for the Bozzuto Group.

ALEX GILLIAM
DIRECTOR, PUBLIC WORKSHOP

Teens using power tools? That’s the foundation for Alex Gilliam’s two nonprofits. He brings together youth to physically build amenities in their struggling neighborhoods. These students learn how to engage civically while changing the urban landscape.

KIMBER LANNING
FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LOCAL FIRST ARIZONA

Kimber Lanning has operated an independent record store in downtown Phoenix for 30 years. Her experience as a small business owner led her to start Local First Arizona, advocating for self-reliant, unique downtowns that can support the little guy.

STEVE LEEPER
PRESIDENT AND CEO, CINCINNATI CENTER CITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (3CDC)

Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood was one of the most blighted in the country, impeding on the city’s economic development. Leveraging creative financing as well as civic and corporate partnerships, Steve Leeper has led 3CDC in the transformation of this historic neighborhood.

ALICIA GLEN
DEPUTY MAYOR FOR HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, CITY OF NEW YORK

A lifelong New Yorker, Alicia Glen serves as the city’s deputy mayor for housing and economic development. Why did she leave the private sector for public service, and what are the challenges for New York given one of its own is entering the White House?

EGBERT PERRY
CHAIRMAN AND CEO,THE INTEGRAL GROUP

Egbert Perry of the Integral Group developed the national model for mixed-income housing. He has since been changing the notion of which industry sectors people of color are accepted, and successfully forging into market-rate commercial projects.

STEVE WILSON
CO-FOUNDER, 2C MUSEUM HOTELS

Steve Wilson founded 21c Museum Hotels, a boutique brand in midsized cities that brings contemporary art to the masses. His desire to curb suburban sprawl prompted his purchase of a downtown Louisville building for the first of his many hotels.

HONORABLE MARILYN STRICKLAND

MAYOR, THE CITY OF TACOMA

As the first African American, first Asian American, and second woman elected to Tacoma, Washington’s highest office, Mayor Marilyn Strickland challenges notions of what makes a strong leader. She talks about the journey from business school to the corporate marketing world that has led her to earning the top post of this international port city.

Meet the Host

Matt Slepin founded Terra Search Partners in 2006 to provide a highly consultative and both a client- and candidate-centric approach to the real estate search. He is a Governor of the Urban Land Institute Foundation, a member of the board of ULI’s San Francisco District Council, and a member of the Urban Development and Mixed-Use Council. Learn more about Matt here.

CONTACT US

Questions about the Leading Voices podcast, or want to recommend a future guest? Contact us at leadingvoices@uli.org.