A who's who of property and asset managers recently headed to the St. Francis Yacht Club to chat about how demographics of the user base is driving how they operate. The Asset & Property Management Symposium, sponsored by IREM’s San Francisco Bay Area Chapter 21, included an afternoon "fireside chat” between Chris Coleman of The Office Team!! at Dropbox (right) and Woods Bagot global consulting leader Steve Hargis. The two discussed the growing competition for top talent and the need to “design for experience” by creating spaces and services to optimize creativity.

The day kicked off with opening remarks by IREM 2014 president-elect, Lori Burger, and included a morning keynote presentation by The John Stewart Company chairman John Stewart, who discussed the importance of having a diverse multifamily portfolio. He noted the changing roles of the asset and property manager, stating the need to hire a “renaissance person” for a management position. Additional sessions throughout the day highlighted the importance of energy benchmarking, the rise in digital marketing for office space and healthy buildings built with the occupant in mind.