CRE Risks and Rewards: Sweet Home Chicago and Beyond

With over 19 years of experience in investment management of real estate private equity, private debt, and listed securities, Laura leads the global sustainable investment strategy and climate risk team. She started as a financial analyst performing DCF analysis and grew to build climate risk management and sustainable operational performance programs at two large investment managers with a combined AUM of over $100 billion. Her expertise lies in identifying innovative solutions to address forward-looking investment risks and opportunities, and in establishing and integrating systematic approaches to incorporate these factors into investment decision-making. 

Since 2018, Laura has partnered with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to produce and publish five public reports focused on Climate Risk Investment Decision-Making. From 2017 to 2023, she served as the co-chair of the Innovation Affinity Group for the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA). 

Kent Born is a senior managing director and head of commercial real estate at PPM America, Inc. (PPM). In this role, he oversees all aspects of the group’s investment activities and operations including strategic planning and direction, origination of new loans and real estate equity investments, CMBS portfolio management, REIT credit analysis and closing and servicing of all commercial real estate investments. Prior to his appointment as head of the team in 2018, he was responsible for various functions, including serving as co-head of the team since 2013, all CMBS investments and credit analysis for REITS. Prior to joining PPM in 1995, Kent held various commercial real estate positions with Fitch Ratings, The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York and Travelers Realty Investment Company. Kent earned a master’s degree in business administration with concentrations in finance and marketing from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern University. 

As CoStar’s Senior Director of Market Analytics for Chicago, Rhea Stephen oversees the production of all analytic content for Chicago’s commercial real estate (CRE) market, including the overall market and submarket-level reports, analytic updates, new stories, and digital content. Prior to her role at CoStar, Rhea was the Director of Research for Bradford Allen, a mid-sized firm specializing in office and industrial landlord and tenant representation, asset management, investment, and capital lending. However, her CRE roots were first planted in multifamily back in 1997, as a leasing director for collectively 300 units along the northern portions of Chicago’s Red and Brown ‘L’ mass transit lines. 

Reagan Pratt is a seasoned rea​l estate and capital markets professional. He has experience in all major aspects of real estate investment management and is well versed in public and private real estate markets, both debt and equity. Pratt has extensive background in product design, marketing, direct property investing, REIT investing, client service, quantitative modeling, investment research, risk modeling, development, and economic forecasting. He is a proven team builder and an excellent communicator. 

Dan Brown leads the US AIRB Team at CIBC US, supporting the use of advanced commercial credit risk ratings. Dan has spent most of his career in financial services risk management roles, with prior banking experience at Northern Trust and First Union (later Wachovia, then Wells Fargo). Dan has a BA (Economics) and MBA from the University of Chicago and is a CFA charterholder. Dan currently serves as co-director of the GARP Chicago chapter.