The fast-changing real estate industry requires insiders to stay ahead of the trends. So when Glenn Kindred wanted to refresh his academic view of the real estate industry, he turned to the Hollo School of Real Estate and its Master of Science in International Real Estate (MSIRE) program.
A specialist in national net lease retail properties, Kindred is executive vice president-restaurants division at VEREIT (NYSE: VER), a Phoenix-based real estate investment trust. He graduated from FIU’s MSIRE in 2013, when the market was still recovering from the great recession.
“I enrolled the program as a mid-career enhancement to stay up to date with the changing industry,” said Kindred. “The landscape has changed dramatically since I started in 1991. Data is available, which was not previously there, making the market more liquid and giving portfolio managers the ability to make better decisions by measuring investments against the broader market.”
Kindred credits the MSIRE curriculum and faculty with providing context for the changes in markets and the metrics that new technology and data deliver, all of them still relevant and important when managing a real estate investment.
He joined VEREIT in late 2013, shortly after finishing MSIRE. The company currently owns and actively manages a diversified portfolio of 4,400 retail, restaurant, office and industrial real estate assets across the U.S.
“Real estate has matured as an asset class over the last few decades, whereas before it was very fragmented,” said Kindred. “Single-tenant net lease real estate is an investment sector of growing importance which is expected to continue its growth for the foreseeable future.”
A decade of lessons and triumphs
Ten years ago, FIU’s College of Business established the MSIRE program with a clear mission: to provide graduates with the vision and skills to become leaders in an increasingly global real estate market. The program has grown into national prominence and is shaping the next generation of real estate leaders.
FIU’s MSIRE program counts 91 current students and 322 alumni. The Hollo School is ranked #1 in the U.S. and #2 globally for real estate research by the Journal of Real Estate Literature.
As MSIRE celebrates its 10th anniversary, Kindred reflected on what made it the right fit for continued success in his career.
“The program is very flexible, and you can tailor projects and assignments based on your area of interest,” he added. “For what I do, I was able to tie it in very closely; if I had been a broker, my focus would have been different.”
Another plus within the MSIRE program was networking, which led to various business collaborations. He currently does business with Miami-based Orion Real Estate Group, whose vice president, Kevin Sanz, is an FIU alumnus.
Kindred previously served as executive vice president of American Realty Capital Properties’ – now VEREIT – restaurants division. Earlier in his career, he was managing director of GE Capital’s Franchise Real Estate Equity Division and Senior Vice President of the CNL Financial Group.
“The growth the market has seen in the last few years has made it a great time to be in the industry,” Kindred added.
