Roundtable Rounds
Up Security Issues
      IAMC's fifth Research Roundtable, sponsored by DADCO Consulting, focused on real estate's role in business continuity planning for terrorism and other security-related incidents. The program was moderated by Wayne Young of Sprint. Security experts Mitch Albinski of Pfizer, Inc., Global Research and Development, and Pete Hayse of Frito Lay North America briefed the attendees on the status of security efforts at their companies and industry in general.

A full lineup of corporate real estate practitioners attended the Research Roundtable to close out the Professional Forum in Charleston.

      Hayes noted that food industry security is interconnected so that a compromise at one company causes consumer concerns regarding every other company in the industry. Albinski oversees security programs to protect physical assets, people, intellectual property, information and the company's reputation. He said Pfizer must be vigilant against animal rights advocates, anti-globalization protesters, competitors, criminals, disgruntled employees and terrorists.
      Although physical security happens in real estate, many have found that the two functions sometimes don't have much dialogue at the management level. Albinski noted that security and CRE need to collaborate early in site development to create security that benefits rather than impedes business.
      Good security begins with facility site selection. Many attendees reported using the "CAP Index" (www.cap index.com) to evaluate local crime levels and to anticipate how these might change. According to its Web site, "By combining surrounding social characteristics, survey information and other databases with known indicators of crime, CAP data provides precise scores indicating a site's risk of crime in comparison to national, state and county averages."

Peer-to-Peer
Furthers the Conversation
     Corporate end users gathered on Monday afternoon in Charleston for peer-to-peer discussions on the topic of managing a global real estate portfolio. From Sarbanes-Oxley compliance to choosing a lease administration system, the participants found answers and insights to a wide range of issues.
      Discussion participants found in much in common, naturally, but they also differ in some important ways, such as to whom they report in their organization. At one table, one manager indicated he reports to the manufacturing division. Another reports to the corporate treasurer, another to a vice president of energy and materials, and still another to the corporate counsel. In all cases, the managers oversee hundreds of properties in multiple countries, relying on service providers to varying degrees to resolve local matters.
      Service providers and economic developers also held peer-to-peer discussions, only their topic was the impact of the Cuno v. DaimlerChrysler decision on state policy and dealmaking. The session featured insights from economic developers, service providers and state officials in Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, and Kentucky, all within the Sixth Circuit jurisdiction.
      Ohio is looking for tax reform to essentially render the court decision irrelevant by eliminating the tax on which the exemption in question was offered. In Tennessee, said Matt Kisber, Commissioner for the State of Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, while the general consensus is that the court decision does not invalidate state incentives, action has been taken to modify certain incentives if the court were to disagree, by taking steps like modifying the "look-back" clause from three years to six months.
      Site selection consultant Mark Sweeney noted that Cuno is now raised with every project, introducing considerable uncertainty into searches, especially over the "scary" prospect of retroactivity.
      Corporate end users and service providers convened to end the peer-to-peer sessions by addressing the challenges inherent in formulating and issuing a corporate facility RFP.

Help is On the Way
      The inaugural "Get Some Help!" session in Charleston, moderated by Rick Little of Weyerhaeuser, offered a rapid-fire discussion among a high-caliber group of corporate end users and service providers on 17 questions submitted by corporate end users."What software do you use?" "In-house or service providers?" "How is the own-or-lease decision made within your company?" "How is corporate finance influencing your strategy for larger facilities?" "Have you seen a drop in service level when your headquarters facility services are outsourced?" "What is your perspective on re-zoning of company property for residential use?"
      The questions received direct and thoughtful answers from company executives at Boeing, Honeywell, GE, Alcoa, Air Products, Holcim, Merck, Federal Mogul and others.Follow-up on many of the above topics will ensue in Regions meetings, conference calls, publications, upcoming Forums and the forthcoming "IAMC Interactive" area on the association's Web site, at www.iamc.org. Be part of the conversation.

- Joel Parker, Mark Arend and Adam Bruns