Joel Kotkin Source: www.joelkotkin.com

If you like to learn through conversations and group discussions, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Professional Forum has two outstanding interactive programs to serve your needs. First, Peer to Peer is an IAMC staple where Active members, economic developers and real estate service providers are assigned to tables of 8-10 participants each. A moderator at each table guides the discussion on corporate real estate and other important business issues. The second interactive offering, Get Some Help, features moderator Jim Harbaugh of Bristol-Myers Squibb, who asks probing CRE questions and invites individuals in the audience to answer out loud. The give and take is always stimulating and can be surprising.

The economy is on our minds! This Forum provides four different, but integrated, looks into the business-future crystal ball. Tom Winninger gives the keynote address about recent changes in the process of value creation and, in particular, how this affects corporate real estate. Next, at the Monday luncheon program, automobile industry expert Glenn Mercer tells about the federal bailout of the GM and Chrysler and what this portends for the future of American car manufacturing and the U.S. economy. The Tuesday luncheon program features urban development scholar Joel Kotkin. After recovering from the business flu, the banking industry has become the economy’s star performer. To give us the scoop on this industry and where the economy in general is headed, Dr. Scott Anderson, senior economist for Well Fargo Bank, will speak to the Wednesday morning closing session.

Patricia Fripp Source: www.fripp.com

IAMC offers several invitation-only programs at Professional Forums to serve special needs of member groups. Research Roundtable on Sunday morning is exclusively for Active members and addresses the topic “Corporate Real Estate Department Reports – Content, Purposes and Impact within the Company.” Corporate attendees will hear from three presenters about their departments’ reports.  Immediately following Research Roundtable, IAMC’s three Industry Groups, also exclusively for Active members, will meet separately to discuss and work on their research projects. In addition, there will be a meeting at this time of Actives interested in participating in an industry group, but who are not yet assigned to one.  This will assess which group each member should join and if there’s a need for new industry groups. Industry Group research will be reported on for all attendees at the Monday M1 workshop. Next on Sunday, IAMC’s Leadership Development Seminar (invitation only) will feature Patricia Fripp, who presents the program “Advanced Leadership Presentation Skills.” An IAMC favorite known for her high-energy style, Fripp will discuss the topics “number-1 secret of being persuasive” and “four advanced presentation techniques you don’t know,” among others.

The Professional Forum’s nine Monday and Tuesday workshops deliver most of the conference’s corporate real estate content.  M1, mentioned earlier, is a forum for hearing about and discussing Industry Group research.  M2, entitled “Ten Leasing Issues You Can’t Afford Not to Know,” will tell about opportunities for making better leases and the consequences of getting them wrong.  M3, entitled “FASB’s Proposed Lease Accounting Changes and the Impact on the Corporate Balance Sheet,” will update attendees on issues first broached at the Oklahoma City Professional Forum that caught many off guard. 

The Tuesday opening session is entitled “Corporate Case Study: Urban Land Redevelopment.” Featuring Doyle Shea, senior real estate specialist with 3M, and Monte Hilleman, vice president, redevelopment, with the St. Paul Port Authority, this will tell the success story of how a 48-acre corporate site was sold for future development.  The T1 workshop, “An Economic Development Update,” will report on important new trends and changes in this vital area of governmental service.  “Global Location Trends in Times of Economic Uncertainty,” the T2 workshop, will tell about the countries and cities around the world that attract the most greenfield investment projects from overseas.  The presenters are Roel Spee, global leader, IBM PLI-Global Location Strategies, and Patsy van Hove, Asia Pacific location selection specialist for IBM PLI-Global Location Strategies.

The T3 workshop, “IAMC and Social Media: How You Can Benefit,” will help you better understand LinkedIn and Twitter and the part they play in IAMC professional networking. IAMC Executive Director Ron Starner and Accounting Assistant Amber White will present.  The T4 program, “Asset Disposition Strategies,” will describe and discuss alternative asset disposition strategies in use by companies to generate cash and eliminate holding costs.  Last but definitely not least is T5, “Get Some Help!,” which is usually rated among the top three programs by attendees; Jim Harbaugh of Bristol-Myers Squibb moderates the Minneapolis-St. Paul edition.