Icon Insights is a podcast produced by the University of Colorado Real Estate Center, based in the Leeds School of Business. The show features young alumni interviewing some of the most accomplished leaders in the real estate industry. Designed as an educational tool for anyone interested in real estate, Icon Insights offers candid conversations and essential information only available from the University of Colorado.
In this episode of Icon Insights, ‘12 University of Colorado graduate Mo Gillie (https://sararch.com/person/mo-gillie/) speaks with Chris Shears, a principal at Shears Adkins Rockmore, an architecture, interior design and planning firm in Dever. Shears has directed the design efforts for many of Denver’s more substantial new projects, representing a construction value of over $1.5 billion. He also serves on the University of Colorado Design Review Board as well as the Board of Directors for the Downtown Denver Partnership, and he is a Studio Instructor at the University of Colorado Denver, College of Architecture and Planning.
Gillie and Shears discuss a variety of topics in this episode, including the development of the Academy University Hill retirement community in Boulder, the state of the real estate and architecture industries, how Shears deals with criticism and setbacks, and the time he hosted Jeff Bezos for dinner in his parents’ family dining room in his hometown of Hutchinson, Kansas.
10 Jun 2025
Willy Walker: Lessons In Authentic Leadership
Commercial real estate CEO Willy Walker shares authentic leadership lessons from his tenure at Walker & Dunlop in an interview with Crowd Street Co-Founder Darren Powderly.
21 Jan 2025
Kim Koehn: Lessons in Leadership
In this episode of Icon Insights, ‘23 Leeds School of Business graduate Ezra McPhail speaks with Kim Koehn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-koehn-1872b314/), the owner of K2Ventures, an investment and development entity looking to develop, acquire, and/or redevelop small-to-midsize properties in the Denver and Colorado Front Range areas. Kim has held executive positions at national developers Opus Corporation, Corporex Companies, and Fifield Realty. He is also an adjunct professor within the CU Real Estate Center at the Leeds School of Business.
Koehn discusses a variety of subjects from his decades in the real estate industry, including settling in Colorado after growing up in the Midwest, his introduction to real estate and what drew him to the industry, his thoughts on the current economic climate for commercial real estate, and how young professionals can develop into leaders in the industry.
31 Jul 2024
Danny Prosky: The Future of Healthcare Real Estate
In this episode of Icon Insights, ’20 Leeds School of Business graduate Brandon Strickland speaks with Danny Prosky, the president and chief executive officer of American Healthcare REIT, Inc. American Healthcare REIT is one of the largest healthcare-focused real estate investment trusts in the word, and Prosky has spent more than 25 years of his professional career in the specialized field of healthcare real estate investment, where he has been responsible for more than $10 billion in transactions.
Prosky discusses how he first became involved in healthcare real estate, the challenges of navigating a changing healthcare industry, what’s next for the industry as it accommodates the aging baby boomer population, and why it’s so important to ask questions and continue to learn as your real estate career evolves. Prosky graduated from the University of Colorado in 1987 and is currently a member of the CU Real Estate Center National Advisory Board.
31 May 2024
Craig Ferraro: Developing In Ski Resort Communities
In this episode of Icon Insights, ’23 Leeds School of Business graduate Luke Burns speaks with longtime Colorado developer Craig Ferraro about how he carved out a career working in ski resort communities, the philanthropic work that has kept him connected to those mountain resort communities, and the risks and rewards of working on projects high in the Rocky Mountains.
Ferraro is the former Managing Partner and Chief Financial Officer at East/West Partners, a Denver-based real estate development company. He's also an Adjunct Professor in Real Estate at CU-Boulder.
1 Mar 2024
Kevin Knapp: A Career in Affordable Housing
In this episode of Icon Insights, ‘22 Leeds School of Business graduate Cliff Dinwiddie IV goes in-depth on the past, present and future of affordable housing with Denver-based developer Kevin Knapp, who boasts more than 15 years of working in the industry. Knapp discusses how he became involved in affordable housing, the differences between affordable and market-rate housing, his thoughts on rent control, his advice for students looking to start a career in affordable housing, and much more.
Knapp is currently the Vice President of Development at Ulysses Development Group, which develops best-in-class affordable communities nationwide. Knapp obtained an MBA from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he’s also an adjunct instructor and frequent guest lecturer in the real estate program. He also volunteers as a Commissioner on two City of Boulder advisory boards and is on the Board of Directors of Flatirons Habitat for Humanity.
24 Jan 2024
Bill Reynolds: Commitment to Community
In this episode of Icon Insights, ‘23 Leeds School of Business graduate Brendan Mulcahy dives deep into the career highlights of Boulder-based developer Bill Reynolds (https://wwreynolds.com/details/bill-reynolds/), the founder of W.W. Reynolds Companies. Reynolds reflects on how he got his start in the real estate industry, his role in founding the CU Real Estate Center (CUREC), the work of the W.W. Reynolds Foundation, and how he thinks about his legacy in real estate in Colorado.
A Boulder native who graduated from the University of Colorado in 1960, Reynolds founded Reynolds and Company in 1966. Currently the Reynolds properties in Downtown Boulder total 600,000 square feet, and their management portfolio contains 3 million square feet and 440 tenants. He has served as the President of the CU Real Estate Center as well as the first president of the University of Colorado Real Estate Foundation, and he was recently honored with NAIOP’s Lifetime Achievement President’s Award.
20 Nov 2023
Rick Woodruff: The Power of Mentorship
In this episode of Icon Insights, ‘12 Leeds School of Business graduate Jordan Swisher interviews longtime commercial real estate consultant Rick Woodruff (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-woodruff-320b1773/) about the the do’s and don’ts of mentorship. Woodruff discusses why he first began mentoring aspiring real estate professionals, how a mentor should approach the relationship and what skills make for a good mentor, and why mentees should never buy the beer during a conversation about careers.
Woodruff has a long history in real estate along Colorado’s front range, including a stint as the Director of Real Estate for grocery chain King Soopers and 26 years serving as the CFO at Boulder-based commercial real estate developer W.W. Reynolds Companies. He has also served as the CFO at both the Urban Land Conservancy and Boulder Creek Builders, and he graduated from the University of Colorado in 1986.
12 Oct 2023
Dan Ivanoff: Forging Your Own Path
In this episode of Icon Insights, 18’ Leeds School of Business graduate Jack Korosec interviews Dan Ivanoff, a Denver and Seattle-based office and apartment developer. During the podcast Ivanoff shares stories of forging his own path, being his own boss, a discussion about the office market during various economic cycles, and his opinion of whether an MBA is needed for a career in commercial real estate.
Ivanoff the Founding Owner and Managing Member of Schnitzer West, a real estate investment and development firm that has developed more than 12.5 million square feet of property in Colorado and Washington. He earned his MBA in Finance, Marketing and Real Estate and M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder with an emphasis in construction management.
14 Aug 2023
Randy Nichols: The Perfect Project, The Perfect Time
In this episode of Icon Insights, ’19 Leeds School of Business graduate Brinete Chavez examines some standout projects from the career of Randy Nichols (https://nicholspartnership.com/randy-nichols/), an acclaimed Denver-area commercial and multi-family real estate developer and the President and Founder of The Nichols Partnership, Inc.
Nichols has been a mainstay on the Colorado real estate scene for more than three decades, and The Nichols Partnership has developed over three million square feet of office, multi-family, hotel, and retail, including such prominent urban Denver/Boulder projects as One Platte, Clayton Lane, SPIRE, 1899 Wynkoop, Galvanize, Turntable, and PearlWest. The company also owns Stanly Ranch Resort Napa and Immortal Estate Vineyard in California.
28 Jun 2023
Christina Hill: Asset Management and Sustainability
In this episode of Icon Insights, ‘21 Leeds School of Business graduate Lily Colley Ferguson speaks with California-based real estate veteran Christina Hill about the connection between asset management and sustainability, the challenges facing downtowns and certain sectors in a post-COVID world, and the lessons she’s learned after more than two decades as an innovative leader and respected mentor in real estate.
Hill is the Head of Americas Asset Management & Global Head of ESG at PGIM Real Estate in Hermosa Beach, Calif. She is responsible for representing the Asset Management function as part of the Americas leadership team and partners with the U.S. and Latin America portfolio teams to lead and implement PGIM Real Estate’s asset management strategy for all our investments in the region. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado.
30 May 2023
Karen Klerman: Finding the Perfect Job
In this episode of Icon Insights, Alexandra McPherson, a 2019 Leeds School of Business graduate, interviews Karen Klerman, a Senior Director of Community Banking and Commercial Real Estate at FNBO. The two of them discuss strategies to navigate the early part of your career with the goal of moving toward an “ideal/perfect job." The examples are based on Karen’s background in real estate finance and illustrate how connections, skills, industry, and work environment influence your career path.
Karen has been a commercial real estate lender for several decades. Employers include FNBO, Wells Fargo, US Bank. Citibank, Heller Financial, and Sears Roebuck and Company. She is also very active in her community serving on many Boards including CU Real Estate’s International Advisory Board, Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, and Boulder Housing Partners (The Housing Authority for the City of Boulder).
24 Apr 2023
Bahman Shafa: Resilience and Adaptability
In this episode of Icon Insights, ‘17 Leeds School of Business graduate Lucas Michieli speaks with versatile Denver-based developer Bahman Shafa about how he built his real estate empire after getting his start in the city selling sports apparel as a street vendor. The two also discuss how Shafa has endured various economic crises using resilience and adaptability, and Shafa weighs in on the current economic climate for real estate developers.
Shafa is the CEO of Focus Property Group, a Denver-based investor and developer of high-quality office, retail, residential, hospitality, and mixed-use property in Denver and across the United States. Focus Property Group’s assets include Enterprise Coworking in Denver’s RiNo district as well as Greenbox Self Storage, which has four facilities across the Greater Denver Area supplying the community with cost-effective ‘green’ storage solutions. Shafa founded Focus Property Group in 1987, and has also served as a Leeds Mentor for the CU Leeds School of Business since 2021.
27 Mar 2023
Fiona Arnold: Dare To Be Different
In this episode of Icon Insights, ’21 Leeds School of Business graduate Paula Chavarria speaks with acclaimed Denver-area developer Fiona Arnold about her varied accomplishments and how her methodology of doing things backwards has brought her success and driven different Denver communities forward.
Arnold is the President of MAINSPRING Developers, a Colorado company engaged in commercial and residential real estate development and retail business operations. She has served in the role for MAINSPRING since 2014, and in 2015-16 she served on Governor Hickenlooper’s cabinet as Executive Director of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade for the State of Colorado. She also served as executive vice president and general counsel for Vail Resorts from 2006-13.
27 Feb 2023
Kevin Kelley: Building Your Network
In this episode of Icon Insights, ’16 Leeds School of Business graduate Megan Kranichfeld focuses on the subjects of collaboration, building connections, and the importance of relying on your network with Kevin Kelley (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-kelley-71508b4/), the former Executive Vice President for real estate development firm United Properties.
Kelley opened the Denver office of United Properties in 2005, and prior to retiring in 2021 was associated with the development of roughly 15 million square feet of retail, office and industrial product. He was also involved with the CU Real Estate Center’s International Advisory Board, the Urban Land Institute (ULI), and served as the president for the Colorado chapter of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association.
25 Jan 2023
Ann Sperling: The Essentials of Leadership
In the debut episode of Icon Insights, ’21 Leeds School of Business graduate Erika Vette (https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikavette/) goes in-depth on the topic of leadership with Ann Sperling, a Senior Director in the Denver Business Unit at Trammell Crow Company, national leaders in real estate development, investment, and property management.
Sperling has also served in executive roles for real estate and investment management firm Jones Lang LaSalle, currently sits on the International Advisory Board of the University of Colorado Real Estate Center, and received the 2008 Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Denver's Women of Influence Award.
Podcast Authority Score: 31 / 100
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