COVID-19 and the CRE space: CoStar CEO, Andy Florance, and Management Leadership for Tomorrow CEO, John Rice

On June 3, Walker & Dunlop's CEO, Willy Walker, hosted another installment of the Walker Webcast with two featured guests: CoStar CEO, Andy Florance, and Management Leadership for Tomorrow CEO, John Rice.

Willy, John, and Andy provided insight into numerous topics, including:

How leaders should approach the current unrest by understanding the underlying problems, communicating with courage, and taking rigorous approach to change

• The history of CoStar and how the company has digitized real estate
• An analysis of asset classes, including office, multifamily, and hospitality
• The shift towards consumers looking for real estate virtually
• An update on rent collections with projections and forecasts for the future of rents 

A bit about each speaker:

Willy Walker is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Walker & Dunlop. Under Mr. Walker’s leadership, Walker & Dunlop has grown from a small, family-owned business to become one of the largest commercial real estate finance companies in the United States. With a $32B transaction volume in 2019, Walker & Dunlop is ranked top three with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD.

Andy Florance founded CoStar Group, Inc., in 1987, fundamentally changing the way commercial real estate professionals access, use and share information. Through CoStar, Mr. Florance pioneered the concept of commercial real estate firms outsourcing research functions to a third-party information provider, combining the operational efficiencies of a computer-based information system with the more complete, standardized and higher quality property information produced by the industry’s first independent research organization. Mr. Florance’s enduring commitment to innovation was recently recognized by Forbes magazine, which named CoStar among the 100 Most Innovative Growth Companies in the world, placing it among the top 10 companies within the Software & Services category in its most recent annual list.

John Rice is the Founder and CEO of Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), a national non-profit organization that is transforming the leadership pipelines of our most influential organizations by driving breakthrough results for individuals and institutions. MLT prepares men and women of color for high-trajectory, post-college jobs that deliver economic mobility for their families. Through MLT, our Rising Leaders tap into the social capital they need to become senior leaders who can transform our vulnerable communities. MLT also provides a comprehensive solution for corporate and social sector organizations that combines best-in-class recruitment, retention and diversity strategy offerings.