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working today at leading industrial manufacturing companies with insights
and intelligence their counterparts elsewhere are doing without. I am
referring to those executives who participated in the Industrial Asset
Management Council’s (IAMC) Fall 2004 Professional Forum in late September.
From BASF to Boise Cascade, Philips Electronics to Pfizer, directors
of real estate and property asset managers gathered at the landmark
Peabody Hotel in
Memphis, Tenn., for four days of learning and networking from which
they will benefit indefinitely.
Initial feedback on the conference programming
was telling. “One of the best sessions at any conference I’ve ever
attended,” wrote a participant in a session on Memphis’ emergence
as a “biologistics” industry hub. Another evaluator wrote, “Good analysis
of site selection criteria for the biotech industry.” And another:
“Good insights into a niche business and its real estate requirements.”
Similarly, a session on making the corporate real
estate organization Sarbanes-Oxley compliant drew this feedback: “Critical
issue, knowledgeable presenters” and “Very pertinent.”
In keeping with the Forum’s theme, “Corporate
Real Estate in a Changing World Economy,” speakers presented sessions
on such topics as “Global Outsourcing: the State of Foreign Direct
Investment” and “Global Portfolio Management and Offshore Outsourcing.”
These presentations earned such feedback as “Excellent information
with informed speakers” and “Good discussion of an important topic.”
This feedback is obviously important to those
of us involved in delivering IAMC Professional Forum content. But
it should also indicate to the marketplace the premium placed on the
relevance and take-home value of the Forum experience. More to that
point, IAMC Professional Forums are unique in their inclusion of opportunities
for corporate executives to interact with each other in settings conducive
to learning and camaraderie. Aside from the regular programming, three
such opportunities in Memphis were the leadership development seminar,
peer-to-peer sessions and a Research Roundtable event reserved specifically
for corporate participants.
Coverage of conference sessions appears in the
“IAMC Insider” section of this issue, in the monthly “IAMC Dispatch”
e-newsletter and on IAMC’s newly re-designed Web site, www. iamc.org.
Future articles in Site Selection will
expand on topics and issues discussed at the Forum. But in order to
get the most from a Professional Forum — for yourself and your organization
— plan on participating in the next one, March 19-23, 2005, in Charleston,
S.C.
Till next time,
