I am honored to serve as Nareit’s 2020 chair and follow in the footsteps of so many real estate industry icons. Let me begin by applauding the efforts of my immediate predecessor, Sandeep Mathrani, and the foresight and leadership he has shown as Nareit’s 2019 chair.
Over the years, Nareit has earned a reputation as a well-respected voice for the REIT and publicly traded real estate industry with policymakers and regulators, the global investment community, and the financial media. Under the guidance of the current and past board and executive committees, along with CEO Steve Wechsler and his team, Nareit has effectively advocated on the industry’s behalf as it has grown into an increasingly important asset class with an equity market capitalization in excess of $1 trillion.
Nareit is working on the industry’s behalf each and every day. These efforts include educating policymakers on Capitol Hill about the important roles that REITs and REIT investment play in job creation, economic growth, and helping to shape communities across the nation. Nareit actively promotes and explains the enduring benefits of real estate investment through U.S. REITs to investors around the globe and to the financial media.
In short, Nareit serves as our collective voice. One of my goals as chair is to ensure that all Nareit corporate members recognize the value they receive from their financial support of Nareit. The ability to have such a strong and effective advocate like Nareit, with nearly 60 years of experience, working for us as an industry benefits us collectively, and all our companies individually.
2020 Nareit Chair
CEO, Digital Realty
In addition to the importance of your Nareit membership, I encourage the entire REIT community to learn more about REITPAC and how it represents our interests. REITPAC supports the political process to ensure the collective voice of the REIT and publicly traded real estate industry is heard by lawmakers as they consider policies that will affect our business in the future. For more information, please visit REITPAC.org.
The work of Nareit’s Policy & Politics team will be especially important in the coming year as all eyes turn toward the 2020 election. It is essential that Nareit and its representatives remain engaged in ongoing dialogue with current and future policymakers to ensure the REIT and publicly traded real estate industry’s voice is heard regarding policies that may affect our business in the future.
Finally, our industry has an impressive track record of growth. As I look across the vast REIT property type landscape, I believe we are entering the new year from a position of strength. I am grateful for the opportunity over this coming year to do my part in helping to steer Nareit and the broader REIT community to continued success.