Jodie McLean | Chief Executive Officer of EDENS

09/20/21 • 0 min

Jodie McLean, CEO of the retail owner, operator, and developer EDENS, joins Matt on Leading Voices in Real Estate. Founded over 50 years ago in South Carolina, EDENS, now headquartered in Washington, D.C., has a portfolio of 110 properties consisting of mixed-use,
shopping centers, grocery-anchored retail, and unique historic retail redevelopments.

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Sam Chandan | Silverstein Chair and Academic Dean of NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate

In Leading Voices’ inaugural “back to school” episode, Matt interviews Sam Chandan, the Larry & Klara Silverstein Chair and Academic Dean of NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate, one of the largest real estate graduate and undergraduate programs globally. In a wide-ranging conversation, Sam shares the value of an education in real estate and how it prepares future leaders for their careers in the multi-disciplinary business of real estate. In the episode, they discuss the complex issues addressing our industry, including climate change, urbanization, social equity, diversity in leadership, and public health issues. Sam provides a framework on how our industry can cultivate the next generation of leaders through educational programs, mentorship, and other opportunities, and how his personal relationship to establishing the Real Estate Pride Council which provides a connective network for professionals in the built environment who identify with the LGBTQ+ community.

Beyond his role with NYU, Sam is also founder of Chandan Economics, an economic advisory and data science firm serving the institutional real estate industry, editor of Urban Epidemiology, a contributor to Forbes, and host of the Urban Lab Podcast. Sam is also chair of the Real Estate Pride Council, an association of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender professionals in the global commercial real estate industry.

Sam is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS), the Royal Society for Public Health (FRSPH), and the Real Estate Research Institute (RERI), and an Associate Member of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). His interdisciplinary research explores the urban epidemiology of microbial diseases and the preparedness of global cities and other systemically important urban areas in managing novel public health threats.

Sam’s commentary on commercial and residential real estate markets and the broader economy has been featured regularly in national and global press, including the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, CNBC, and Bloomberg. Among his recent publications, he was the lead investigator for Regulatory Design and Real Outcomes, a major study on the regulation of commercial real estate lending commissioned by the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC).

Sam’s real estate industry-specific research focuses on commercial real estate capital markets and risk analytics, as well as long term changes in space use patterns. He presents regular updates on commercial real estate lending trends to US and global regulators, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). He holds an honorary appointment as the Economist Laureate of the Real Estate Lenders Association and has served on the real estate advisory council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Sam received his PhD in Applied Economics from the Wharton School and was a Doctoral Scholar in the Economics Department at Princeton University. In addition to his doctorate, he holds graduate degrees in economics and engineering and an undergraduate degree in economics, finance, and public policy. He served previously on the faculties of the Wharton School and Dartmouth College. Prior to founding Chandan Economics, Sam was Global Chief Economist and Executive Vice President at Real Capital Analytics (RCA). During his tenure as Chief Economist and Senior Vice President at Reis, he was part of the executive team that took the company public.

Sam resides between New York City, Montréal, and Upstate New York, where he is a volunteer firefighter and a member of his town’s emergency medical services corps.

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Jodie McLean | Chief Executive Officer of EDENS

Jodie McLean, CEO of the retail owner, operator, and developer EDENS joins Matt on Leading Voices in Real Estate. Founded over 50 years ago in South Carolina, EDENS, now headquartered in Washington, D.C., has a portfolio of 110 properties consisting of mixed-use, shopping centers, grocery-anchored retail, and unique historic retail redevelopments. Jodie shares her “aha” moment when she moved her perspective and leadership from transactional to purpose and mission, resulting in EDENS’ focus on their “enriching community through human engagement”. EDENS knows that “when people come together, they feel a part of themselves and prosperity follows: economically, socially, culturally and soulfully”. Jodie talks about this approach throughout the business, including through the challenges of COVID and EDENS’ development of the historic Union Market District in D.C., where EDENS offices are located and our conversation was recorded.

With a tenure of more than 25 years, Jodie has established herself as a key player in EDENS’ growth and expansion to its current marketplace leadership, capitalized by blue chip investors and assets valued at $6.5 billion.

Jodie is responsible for EDENS’ strategy to move the portfolio to major urban centers, creating a portfolio of assets that are the center of community life. She was named Chief Investment Officer in 1997, President in 2002 and CEO in 2015. Overall, she has been responsible for the development, redevelopment, acquisition, and disposition of more than $15 billion in retail assets.

Jodie passionately believes that retail should evolve beyond a shopping experience, and advocates for connectivity to the communities surrounding the company’s retail centers. To ensure this, each EDENS development is crafted to serve as an authentic gathering place, including a unique merchandising mix and welcoming design elements, fostering a sense of engagement with its neighbors.

Jodie serves on several boards including Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK), the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, and Milhaus. She is also a Trustee of Innovating Commerce Serving Communities (ICSC), the Urban Land Institute (ULI), and The Real Estate Round Table. Jodie is a member of the Liberty Fellowship (Aspen Institute), Class of 2009.

A native of Chicago, IL, Jodie holds a B.S. in Finance and Management from the Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, and a degree from South Carolina Honors College.

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