WHILE technology is progressing at a rapid sometimes even reckless rate—empowering people, determining roles, and shaping both opportunities and risks—its role in business is expanding at an equally fast pace.
This ongoing technological disruption has been redefining the way people do business, providing new platforms and new services that make the business landscape infinitely more exciting.
In the real-estate industry alone, investment in technology is at an all-time high. For buyers, sellers and everyone who’s part of the real-estate industry, this means more options, more solutions, more products and more tools that can make everything from buying, selling and investing to fixing or renting, easier and more lucrative.
As the global real-estate industry expands with incredible speed, the Philippine property landscape is itself making its own impressive shift. Now, we see local property companies using big data and analytics in their marketing and sales strategies to give buyers a fuller experience at all touchpoints, among other things.
At the forefront of this technological transformation in real estate is the Urban Land Institute (ULI), bringing together industry leaders with a common commitment to improving professional standards, seeking the best use of land and following excellent practices.
This coming April 4, ULI brings together the movers and game changers in the industry for the ULI Philippines Conference 2019, dubbed “The FUTU/RE SUMMIT: Real Estate Technology and Innovation.”
I am honored to be included in the roster of experts and thought leaders from the real estate, technology, finance and transportation sectors as we talk about our respective roles in the changing landscape of real estate in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.
Movers and game changers
Although the industry experts and thought leaders who will share their insights during the conference come from diverse fields, they will put their minds together and discuss how the Philippine real-estate industry is faring in the global technological transformation of the industry and the exciting possibilities that await the country in the real-estate technology space.
Among the prominent speakers in the conference are the following:
n Nigel Barnes. IWG senior partner since 2007, Nigel has led the network development activities of IWG Plc. and its various brands across Asia Pacific, not limited to Regus and Spaces. In the Philippines, this has grown to 30 locations in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao and Clark.
Jordan Kostelac. Jordan is a director at JLL. He focuses on solving challenges in real estate at JLL through the creation and deployment of property technology (PropTech) platforms for the Asia-Pacific region. He works with both internal and external teams in the organization, and guides the exploration of how technology can positively disrupt built environments.
Angeline Tham. Angeline is no stranger to the tech industry. She is a serial entrepreneur who launched one of the top online auction outfits in Singapore called Sold.sg. She founded Angkas in 2017, and it is now the most popular ride-hailing and delivery-service app for motorcycles in the country with over 27,000 biker partners and over 1.5 million app downloads.
Sec. Raul Lambino. Secretary Raul L. Lambino was appointed member of the Cabinet by President Duterte in 2017 and is the present administrator and chief executive officer of Cagayan Economic Zone Authority.
Julian Kwan. Julian is the founder and CEO of InvestaCrowd, an online real-estate capital marketplace. Based in Singapore, he is a massive proponent of alternative and online investing, specifically for real estate.
Enrique Gonzalez. Enrique is the founder and CEO of IPVG, a publicly listed, multimillion-peso company that focuses on three areas: communications, content and business-process outsourcing.
Jack Fitzgerald. Senior development manager and regional innovation lead at Lendlease Singapore, Jack is currently working on Paya Lebar Quarter, Lendlease’s $3-billion mixed-used urban regeneration where he is responsible for retail delivery and technology.
Bhavna Suresh. Bhavna has professional experience across five countries in entrepreneurship, business strategy, digital marketing and general management. Currently, she is the CEO of Lamudi Philippines, the number one real-estate portal in the country that has changed the landscape of the industry by bringing together stakeholders from both public and private institutions for the benefit of the property seeker.
Kristina Bautista. Kristina currently heads OLX, the world’s leading classifieds platform, which provides local communities in high-growth markets with vibrant online marketplaces. OLX connects local people to buy, sell or exchange used goods and services by making it fast and easy for anyone to post a listing through their mobile phone or on the Web.
Other panelists include Nicholas Brooke of Professional Property Services Group; Mario Berta of Flyspaces; Jean Jacquelyn Nathania de Castro of ESCA International; Mark Gorriceta of Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra; Peter Hyland of Cistri; Phil Kim of Jerde Partnership; Dustin Jefferson Onghanseng of uHoo; Stephen Pimbley of SPARK; and Neva Talladen of Swoop PH.
Shaping, inspiring, innovating, leading
As Asia continues to adapt with the rest of the world in urban development and land management, the Philippines is also leading the way among the countries in the region to more sustainable, greener and modern spaces in its cities. ULI as an organization continues to shape, inspire, innovate and lead in urban development and nation-building.