Icon Insights

Chris Shears: Keeping Up With Change

In this episode of Icon Insights, '12 University of Colorado graduate Mo Gillie [https://sararch.com/person/mo-gillie/] speaks with Chris Shears [https://sararch.com/person/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.

Willy Walker: Lessons In Authentic Leadership

In this special episode of Icon Insights taken from the recent Klump Annual Real Estate Forum in Denver, commercial real estate industry leader Willy Walker [https://www.walkerdunlop.com/about/people/willy-walker] discusses lessons learned from more than two decades with Walker & Dunlop, one of the largest commercial real estate finance and advisory firms in the United States and internationally. Walker is the company's chairman and CEO, he was named "Financier of the Year" in 2017 and 2020 by Commercial Property Executive, and he was named the Most Admired CEO by the Denver Business Journal in 2024. Interviewing Walker is Darren Powderly [https://www.crowdstreet.com/about/teams/darren-powderly], the Co-Founder and Chief Business Development Officer of Crowd Street, a direct-access private market investment platform dedicated to helping members reach their financial ambitions. Powderly graduated from the University of Colorado in 1997, and also serves on the Klump Center Advisory Board.

Kim Koehn: Lessons in Leadership

In this episode of Icon Insights, '23 Leeds School of Business graduate Ezra McPhail [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ezramcphail/] 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.

Danny Prosky: The Future of Healthcare Real Estate

In this episode of Icon Insights, '20 Leeds School of Business graduate Brandon Strickland [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonstrickland2020/] speaks with Danny Prosky [https://www.americanhealthcarereit.com/dvteam/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.

Craig Ferraro: Developing In Ski Resort Communities

In this episode of Icon Insights, '23 Leeds School of Business graduate Luke Burns [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucasburns/] speaks with longtime Colorado developer Craig Ferraro [https://www.colorado.edu/business/leeds-directory/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.