Connect Media’s second annual Next Generation Awards in 2018 shone the spotlight on some of commercial real estate’s most talented young pros. We’re preparing to do it again, this time with even more honorees in mind, and we welcome your input.

Earlier this month, we launched daily coverage in four new markets: Atlanta, Boston, Florida and Seattle. We intend to find rising stars in these markets, along with those where we have previously established a presence.

As you get ready to submit a nomination, or a few nominations, for the third annual Next Generation Awards, here’s a look back at some of last year’s honorees for a sense of the caliber of talent we’ll be spotlighting. We’re presenting three of them here and will be spotlighting others over the next two weeks.

CBRE’s Aron Will became CBRE’s youngest vice chairman to date, with a practice he founded: senior housing finance. The Houston-based Will launched the practice within CBRE Capital Markets in 2009. Today, it’s one of the country’s top two of its kind by loan volume.

Another forward thinker is RedSky Capital’s founder, Ben Bernstein. In his early 20s, Bernstein began assembling what is now a $1-billion portfolio in Brooklyn before Millennials thought about leaving Manhattan. And when he began buying, on the heels of the Great Recession, long-term investment in commercial real estate looked like a dicey proposition.

For Ra’eesa Motala, the challenge of building a portfolio of customers and prospects as an up-and-coming broker is just her day job. Beyond her success with Lee & Associates’ Minneapolis-St. Paul office, Motala also evinces an entrepreneurial drive to enact change in the community through leadership.

Just as we’re looking for Next Generation nominees from across the country, we’re also looking for candidates from across the CRE spectrum. Last year’s winners included rising stars in development, finance, ownership, technology and real estate law, to name a few of the disciplines that were represented.

After considering your recommendations, we’ll choose this year’s honorees. We’ll begin announcing them in August.

Candidates must be 35 or younger on Dec. 31, 2019.

Please return your nomination by July 1, 2019.

Submit Your Nominations

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bubny