PERE’s Rising Stars

From time to time, Private Equity Real Estate has taken upon itself a rather difficult task: quantifying the unquantifiable. In issues past, for example, we have published features listing the 20 “landmark” transactions in the industry’s history or profiling the 30 most “influential” practitioners of all time.

Those were difficult lists to put together—everyone, it seems, has an opinion on which deal or individual has had a lasting influence on the asset class. But at the very least, there was a historical record to analyze, dissect and offer an opinion on.

In compiling this month’s list—a list of 20 “rising stars” in private equity real estate—we faced an even more arduous task: attempting to predict which individuals will have an impact on the future of the asset class. And the historical record, if you will, is relatively slim.

In compiling our short list, our journalists canvassed a wide variety of sources around the globe in an effort to identify those individuals who had gained recognition at a relatively early point in their (hopefully long) careers. Some of these people you may have heard of; others may be relatively unknown. But our primary considerations were not just professional achievement and age—though those were clearly important factors. Rather, we also looked for those individuals who we felt could have a significant impact on the future evolution of the industry. That is one reason, for example, why a significant number of our selections come from Europe (6) and Asia (5), two regions of the world where the asset class is still at a relatively nascent stage of development. (By comparison, a majority of the candidates in our list of the 30 most influential people came from the US.)

A few caveats. First, age—all the candidates, to the best of our research, are under 40 years old. While we hate to be accused of ageism, we had to make a subjective cut-off. Second, stature—we deliberately left off certain individuals who we felt could not necessarily be classified as a “rising” star in the sense that they had already achieved a certain level of stature and influence (which is why someone like Jonathan Gray at The Blackstone Group or Mike Shannon at KSL Capital Partners did not make our list). Third, ranking—the candidates are listed in alphabetical order; there is no number one. Fourth, scope—we limited ourselves to those in the GP and LP community to the exclusion of those in the banking, legal and consulting professions.

And finally, and most importantly, intent—what you are reading is not a definitive list, but rather a subjectively assembled group of individuals, chosen by the journalists at PERE after months of deliberation and discussion with a variety of seasoned industry practitioners. There are certainly many people not on this list who will have an extraordinary impact on the future direction of the private equity real estate industry.

Lists, by their very nature, are imperfect, subjective and imprecise—which is why they are also so much fun. So let our hard work and research be your reward. And keep your eyes on the individuals listed here.

This article originally appeared in the June 2007 issue of Private Equity Real Estate. To subscribe to the magazine and read the entire article, click here.