TIME TO DECIDE: BACK TO THE OFFICE OR STAY AT HOME (13th July 2021)

A FUTURE OF FINANCE WEBINAR WITH PROPERTY EXPERTS, HR ADVISERS, REAL ESTATE COMPANIES, PROPERTY INVESTORS AND LENDERS, AND DATA EXPERTS

Tuesday July 13 2021, 14.00 – 15.00 UK time

The Goldman Sachs CEO has described remote working as an aberration and wants everybody back in the office as soon as possible. J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon expects normal working from September or October. Yet other firms have embraced remote working. As long ago as August last year Schroders announced it had permanently embraced “flexible working,” as the key to productivity and attracting talent. HSBC has said it wants to shed two fifths of its office space. Salesforce has adopted a “work from anywhere” policy. More than four out of five of the largest employers in the United Kingdom told the BBC they expected staff to work from home two to three days a week. In short, there is a variety of responses by large corporations to the problems and opportunities created by home-working during the Covid 19 Pandemic, which will play out over the next 12 to 18 months. The potential implications, for real estate costs, rent rolls, real estate investing and lending, payroll costs, productivity, technology resources and expenditure, security, training and re-training and the shape, lay-out and nature of the physical office are profound. One recent study found two US workers out of three uncomfortable about returning to the office, and the CEO of a major real estate company has accepted that “you’re not going to go to the office unless it’s energising, it’s engaging, an experience.” Meeting that challenge is a formidable task. Which is why this Future of Finance webinar will not only explore how the Pandemic has re-shaped the expectations of employers, employees, landlords, lenders and investors but ask where and how technology and data can help companies manage the risks and exploit the opportunities remote working has created.

Questions to be addressed at this event are:
1. Which employees should return to the office first?
2. Which employees should never return to the office (e. g. they can be highly productive while working remotely)?
3. Which employees should be re-located?
4. Are employees willing to be paid less for being allowed to work remotely?
5. Did the Pandemic expose shortcomings in the digital skills of employees (e. g. is training required to upgrade skills)?
6. Did the Pandemic expose shortcomings in remote working technology?
7. Did the Pandemic expose shortcomings in cyber-security?
8. What are real estate landlords and developers doing to make the office a more attractive place for employees to work from (e. g. food and drink, technology support, meeting rooms)?
9. Where should the office be (e. g. satellite offices)?
10. How can employees be reassured about the future of their job?
11. How can employees be reassured that it is safe to return to the office (e. g. temperature checks, no-touch tech, socially distanced workspaces, automated cleaning, sanitation measures)?
12. Which parts of the real estate industry have benefited from the Pandemic (e. g. regional or low-cost locations, logistics sites, local retail)?
13. Is the migration from city centre office blocks likely to prove permanent?
14. Has remote working strengthened the case for outsourcing?
15. Is data from “smart” buildings changing how real estate assets are managed (and, indeed, priced)?
16. What does the data tell us about upcoming real estate investment opportunities?
17. What impact has the Pandemic had on real estate as an investment asset class?
18. How are asset managers using (digital) data to inform ESG-driven investment decisions about real estate investing?
19. What impact has the Pandemic had on real estate financing markets?
20. What impact is tokenisation and fractionalisation having on real estate investment and ownership?

Panellists:

Brian Bartaby, Founder and CEO at Proplend https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianbartaby/

Proplend is the leading technology platform for investor funded commercial property loans. We match commercial property investor demand for loans with investor demand for income. Proplend has completed over £130m of loans to date.

Sam Hocking, Co-Founder at Vertis.ai https://www.linkedin.com/in/samhocking/

Vertis.ai is a data and predictive analytics SaaS firm specialising in real estate. He is also CEO of SMH analytics which specialises in large scale AI and Machine Learning projects in commercial real estate.

Frank Spadafora Strategic Advisor CRETech https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-spadafora/

Frank is a former head of investor services technology at Cushman and Wakefield who now provides strategic advisory on digital transformation, emerging technologies, and product development to participants across the global CRE community.

Shravan Sood, CEO at Global Alpha https://www.linkedin.com/in/shravan-sood-3305906/

Shravan has been a property investor for 28 years. His professional background is in global financial services. Formerly Managing Director, Broker-Dealer Services, at Bank of New York Mellon. He previously worked at JP Morgan and Citi. Shravan resides in the UK, but he has lived in five countries. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Penslyvania.

Moderated by: Dominic Hobson Co-Founder at Future of Finance https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-hobson-49b8222…

If you would like to participate as a panellist please contact Wendy Gallagher at wendy.gallagher@futureoffinance.biz
If you would like to participate in the audience please let us know below or contact Wendy Gallagher on the email above
If you would like to participate as a sponsor please contact Valerie Bassigny on valerie.bassigny@futureoffinance.biz