Real Estate Executive Seminar
Capital Markets, Project Finance, and Business Strategy
With new opportunities emerging across the real estate supply chain, business leaders must have the financial capabilities, analytical tools, and strategic skills to ensure the long-term profitability of their development projects and portfolios. This multidisciplinary leadership development program enables participants to go beyond dealmaking to navigate global real estate markets, manage complexity, and position their organizations for strategic advantage.
What You Can Expect
By providing real estate professionals with new skills and the latest thinking and research from multiple vantage points, this leadership development program enables participants to analyze a range of development and investment opportunities in an era of new challenges.
Your Course of Study
Participants broaden and deepen their industry expertise by delving into critical topics, such as innovative capital structures and portfolio management, business strategy, and the macro economic underpinnings of resource scarcity.
Who Is Right for the Program
The program is primarily designed for senior executives with substantial long-term experience in real estate organizations, including real estate owners, lenders and investors, REIT officers, fund managers and advisers, and private real estate developers. The program also benefits financial analysts, lawyers, architects, and brokers.
Harvard University Real Estate Academic Initiative
Read more about the Real Estate Academic Initiative, an interfaculty, interdisciplinary effort to raise the profile of real estate research and education across the University.
What You Can Expect
Broadening Your Organization’s Perspective
The Real Estate Executive Seminar brings global business leaders together with world-renowned academics and real estate practitioners to consider scenarios, risks, and opportunities in a time of great challenges for the built environment. By exploring critical industry issues from all angles, this intensive leadership development program equips participants with new skills and the latest research to ensure the durability of their real estate projects and investments. Your firm will enhance its ability to:
- Evaluate risks and rewards across a range of financing and investment options, improving capital allocation and portfolio management
- Consider the long-term viability of mixed-use developments, including infrastructure needs
- Analyze and evaluate opportunity funds, including those backed by private equity and private debt
- Consider the past—and future—of securitizing real property
- Negotiate profitable deal structures for complex projects
Improving Your Effectiveness as a Real Estate Leader
Most real estate practitioners know how to improve risk-adjusted returns by managing operating costs and keeping tenants happy. But to succeed in today’s dynamic marketplace, leaders must be more forward thinking, collaborative, and flexible in financing, designing, and building structures. You will learn to:
- Manage and lead change at all levels of the organization
- Define corporate direction and manage resources more effectively through the business cycle
- Incorporate scenario planning when the business environment is becoming less certain
- Think through the potential long-term impacts of resource scarcity and infrastructure planning on your real estate projects and investments
"The program’s value went far beyond expanding my knowledge of topics such as construction and branding. I learned how to approach the field with greater professionalism and how to manage ideas from great minds so that everyone can learn from one another. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life."
Mark Gadeloff [Owner], Grande Realty & Development, Panama
Your Course of Study
Through case studies, interactive classroom exercises, intensive small group discussions, and exposure to the latest research, the Real Estate Executive Seminar prepares seasoned real estate developers, investors, and their service providers to navigate capital markets; analyze political, governance, and environmental constraints; and identify and select profitable development and investment alternatives. In addition to the concentrated learning that takes place in peer groups, faculty from multiple disciplines with diverse viewpoints add to an enriching and engrossing educational experience.
Capital Markets, Project Finance, and Business Strategy
- Evaluate funding options, including project versus corporate funding, public capital markets, seller financing, foreign equity, construction loans, and refinancing of existing properties and portfolios
- Negotiate and structure complex deals, including innovative contract designs, capital structures, and risk sharing
- Assess risk and opportunity in international development
- Evaluate which financing, recapitalization, and refinancing structures best mesh with your development strategy
- Explore energy efficiency financing
Strategy and Leadership
- Lead your organization through periods of change
- Consider how various global economic and capital market scenarios may impact your business strategy
- Explore ways to lead during periods of uncertainty, stress, and downsizing—and to manage teams through a more robust recovery
- Examine whether to restructure for long-term business success following the resolution of the credit crisis
- Address conflicts with business partners, with shareholders, and in personal relationships
Sustainability and Resource Productivity
- Anticipate the ways in which population growth and resource cost and scarcity will be the primary drivers of the economics of large-scale real estate development for the next century
- Explore ways to protect asset values and cash flows by incorporating long-range infrastructure investments, transit and water into projects
- Learn the most effective settings for successful public-private partnerships in real estate and infrastructure markets
"The most valuable part of the program was meeting a great group of very accomplished people—and learning from them both inside and outside the classroom. At HBS, you learn to consider your business from different angles and hear different perspectives, so the diversity of the participants was priceless. During case discussions, facilitators asked open-ended questions that brought out each person’s stories. If I heard something intriguing, then during a break I could say, 'I am working on something similar. Please tell me more.' Now, when I run across a new challenge, I can pick up the phone, talk with someone who has been there before, and feel more confident in the actions I take."
Tony Hicks [President], Hicks Real Estate Consulting, U.S.
Who Is Right for the Program
This program is designed for executives with substantial, long-term experience in real estate—including real estate owners, lending officers, and private real estate developers—and for real estate industry service providers, such as financial analysts, lawyers, architects, urban planners, and brokers.
Typical participant titles may include:
- Chief executive officer
- Managing director/Managing partner
- President
- Chief operating officer
- Chief financial officer
- Senior vice president
- Principal
- Chief counsel
- General manager
Past Participants Represented:
| Sales Volume | Nationalities | ||||
| 6% | less than $1 million | 5% | Asia/Pacific | ||
| 33% | $1–29.9 million | 28% | Europe | ||
| 19% | $30–99.9 million | 25% | Latin America | ||
| 11% | $100-499.9 million | 42% | North America | ||
| 9% | $500–999.9 million | ||||
| 6% | $1–2.49 billion | ||||
| 3% | $5-9.99 billion | ||||
| 13% | $10+ billion | ||||
"The high expectations of my HBS instructors and fellow classmates, as well as the overall level of discourse, were truly inspiring. I had the opportunity to serve as discussion leader for my group, which significantly strengthened my leadership ability. I found I could direct the conversation in ways that empowered my team, even when the topics were new to me. When the program ended, I felt more confident that I could lead effectively in any setting. For me, this program was a life-enhancing experience."
Matt Bear [Manager, White Knight Capital, LLC] U.S.
Meet the Program Faculty
Harvard Business School Executive Education programs are developed and taught by a core faculty of HBS professors who are skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors in many disciplines. Faculty leverage their business expertise and field-based research to create new knowledge and enduring concepts that shape the practice of management. The result is a teaching team that exposes participants to multiple perspectives, challenging their thinking on many levels. For more detailed biographies, click on each faculty name.
Michel Anteby, Associate Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Organizational Behavior Unit.
Christopher M. Gordon, Senior Lecturer of Business Administration. Member of the Finance Unit; and faculty chair of "Leading Complex Capital Projects."
John D. Macomber, Senior Lecturer of Business Administration. Member of the Finance Unit; CEO, BuildingVision, Inc.; faculty chair of "Develop India: Real Estate Strategies for Successful Organizations"; and faculty cochair of the "Real Estate Executive Seminar" and the "Real Estate Management Program."
Edward H. Marchant, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School.
Anthony Mayo, Thomas S. Murphy Senior Lecturer of Business Administration. Director of the Leadership Initiative. Member of the Organizational Behavior Unit.
André F. Perold, George Gund Professor of Finance and Banking. Member of the Finance Unit.
Arthur I. Segel, Poorvu Family Professor of Management Practice. Member of the Finance and the Entrepreneurial Management Units; faculty cochair of the "Real Estate Executive Seminar," and the "Real Estate Management Program."
Admissions
Because a diverse participant mix is an important part of every HBS Executive Education program, we look for candidates who reflect a broad range of industries, functions, countries, and backgrounds to enrich the learning experience.
Fees, Payments, and Cancellations
The program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and most meals.
No payment is necessary until you have been accepted into an HBS Executive Education program. After admission notification, we will send you an invoice via email; payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date. If admission is within 30 days prior to the start of the program, payment is due upon receipt of the invoice. Payment is required prior to the program start date. We accept payment by company check, bank wire transfer, or credit card (American Express, MasterCard, Visa). Details are included on the program invoice.
If you need to cancel or defer participation, you must submit your request in writing more than 30 days before the start of the program to receive a full refund. Due to program demand and the volume of preprogram preparation, cancellations or deferrals received 14 to 30 days prior to the start of the program are subject to a fee of one-half of the program fee. Requests received within 14 days are subject to full payment.
Requirements
Although there are no formal educational requirements, admission is a selective process based on professional achievement and organizational responsibility. We look for professionals who have demonstrated business talent and leadership potential.
HBS Executive Education programs enrich both participants and their sponsoring organizations, and require full commitment from each party. While participants devote time and intellect to the learning experience, sponsoring organizations agree to relieve individuals of their work responsibilities during the program.
Language Proficiency
We deliberately design our programs to encourage individual growth and to foster productive interaction among participants. For that reason, proficiency in written and spoken English is essential. If English is your second language, or if you have less than one year's experience working in an English-speaking environment, HBS requires a brief statement documenting proficiency in English-language skills, both conversational and written. This may include a list of the English-language certification programs that you have completed; the degrees you have earned at English-speaking colleges and universities; or the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam. The Admissions Committee also may request a telephone interview.
Application Process
Program participants must be nominated and sponsored by their current employer. HBS must receive your application and all required documents in order to prepare the application for review by the Admissions Committee.
To apply, you may use our online form or download an application. You also may request a brochure by mail.
If you submit your application online, we will promptly acknowledge receipt of your submission via email. In the unlikely event that an email acknowledgment is not received, please contact the Admissions Committee by email: exed_admissions@hbs.edu, phone: +1-617-495-6226, or fax: +1-617-496-1731.
If you choose to submit a printed application, be sure to type or print legibly and sign your application. Send the application to the address or fax number listed on the form. Mailed or faxed applications are processed and acknowledged promptly upon receipt via email.
Complete Your Application
Please answer all questions thoroughly—the Admissions Committee will only consider completed applications. After reviewing your application and making the necessary edits or corrections, print or copy the application for your records.
Meet the Deadlines
We request applications at least four weeks in advance of the program start date. Early application does not guarantee admission. Programs often fill to capacity, so early application is recommended.
Notification of Acceptance
We acknowledge receipt of all applications and maintain all application information in strict confidentiality.
To optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, the Admissions Committee selects a class that balances each participant's experience, the scope of his or her current responsibilities, and the type of organization.
The Admissions Committee begins reviewing applications four months before the start date, and qualified candidates are admitted on a rolling, space-available basis. Once the review process has begun, applicants are notified within three weeks via email regarding Admissions Committee decisions. If your application is received within three weeks of the program's start date, the Admissions Committee will notify you of their decision as soon as possible.
Need help?
For further assistance, contact our client service specialists at: 1-800-427-5577 (outside the U.S., dial +1-617-495-6555).