Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) recently hosted a symposium on the revolution of technology and labor in Chicago real estate. Held on April 25th, the event took place at 151 N. Franklin Street in Chicago, where NKF serves as leasing agent for the property.
The event was unique and selective for NKF’s current clients, and focused on how the change in technology and labor is shaping the real estate market. NKF executive vice president, global workplace strategy and human experience, Roy Abernathy, presented the keynote to the group on how the fourth industrial revolution is impacting real estate.
Abernathy then moderated a panel of NKF’s Chicago leaders, which included vice chairman Bob Chodos, SIOR, vice chairman and managing broker Debbie Corson, executive managing director Ben Greazel, executive managing director Geoffrey Kasselman, SIOR, LEED AP, senior managing director Brad Lindquist and executive managing director Bill Rolander. The panel discussed topics such as shifts in labor and workforce training and the impact of AI (artificial intelligence), AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) on the industry.
“It was great to invite our clients to join us in discussing our ever-evolving industry,” said Abernathy. “CRE has transformed to involve even more automation, mobile computing, the Cloud, AI and machine learning, and it’s important to discuss how these changes are affecting us now, while also looking ahead to the future.”
