A View From the Top: Self-Storage Leaders Discuss Operational Challenges in 2012
Wednesday, March 14
8-8:50 a.m.
A View From the Top: Self-Storage Leaders Discuss Operational Challenges in 2012
Moderator: Jim Chiswell, President, Chiswell & Associates LLC
Panelists:
Cris Burnam, President and Chief Operating Officer, StorageMart
Daniel "Skip" Elefante, President, Platinum Storage Group and Storage Direct
Jack Rogers, Vice President of Business Development, Sovran Self Storage Inc.
Carol Shipley, Vice President of Third-Party Management, CubeSmart
Jim Stevens, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Strategic Partnerships, Extra Space Storage
It's not often that your average self-storage facility operator gets the opportunity to gain live, up-to-the-minute business insight from top leaders in the field. In this illuminating session, representatives from some of the industry's largest and most successful companies will share perspectives on the operational challenges faced by all industry operators, large and small. Representing more than 100 million square feet of storage space and approximately 995,000 rental units, our panelists will talk about what to expect in 2012 and how to prepare for the future. They'll also address the status of the industry's pricing power, the trend toward Internet lead-generation, industry consolidation and more. If you operate a self-storage facility of any size, you don't want to miss this hard-hitting panel that will help you identify and circumvent challenges in the year ahead.
You will learn to:
- The operational challenges shared by the industry's large and small operators
- Where we are now and where the industry is headed
- Have we regained pricing power with new and current tenants?
- Internet lead-generation: myth or truth?
- Industry consolidation and the decade ahead
Jim Chiswell
Jim Chiswell, president of Chiswell & Associates LLC, has been involved in the self storage industry for 27 years. He launched his consulting firm in 1990. A speaker at Inside Self-Storage World Expos since their inception, Jim is a member of Inside Self-Storage Editorial Advisory Board, an instructor of the Self-Storage Training Institute and a moderator on Self-Storage Talk, the industry’s largest online community. He’s considered one of the top self-storage consultants in the nation.
@MisterJim444
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Cris Burnam
Cris Burnam is president of StorageMart, which owns and operates 132 stores across the United States and Canada. In 2008, Cris led the company in its successful $416 million dollar takeover of InStorage REIT, a publically traded real estate investment trust on the Toronto Stock Exchange. In 2002, he launched PhoneSmart as a wholly owned subsidiary of StorageMart. Today, PhoneSmart provides call-center services to more than 800 independently owned storage facilities. Over the course of his career, Cris has completed more than $2 billion in self-storage sales transactions.
Daniel "Skip" Elefante
As president and CEO of Platinum Storage Group, Daniel "Skip" Elefante manages more than $450 million in self-storage assets and invests in his personal real estate portfolio through developments and acquisitions. Driven by market changes in the last few years, Skip actively engages institutional investors and private equity partners to form joint ventures for the purchase of self storage facilities. During the same period, he launched the Storage Direct brand to take advantage of economies of scale and ensure every facility meets the highest standards of service and quality.
Jack Rogers
Jack Rogers is vice president of business development for Sovran Self Storage Inc., which operates under the Uncle Bob’s Self Storage brand. Sovran is the fifth largest self-storage company in the nation. Jack is currently leading the company’s third-party management initiative as well as its solar installation projects. Since joining the company in 1993, he has been instrumental in Sovran’s growth, assisting in property acquisitions and management, and special projects including the Uncle Bob’s rental-truck program.
Carol Shipley
Carol Shipley is vice president of third-party management for CubeSmart, a self-storage real estate investment trust. Carol has extensive experience in real estate development and management with a focus on self-storage. From 2000 to 2010, she was president of United Stor-All Management LLC, which operated more than 90 facilities for a variety of third-party owners. She also served as senior vice president of Storage USA, leading a variety departments including marketing, franchise development, training and investor relations.
Jim Stevens
Jim Stevens joined Extra Space Storage in January 2001 after working in the self-storage industry for 18 years. He also oversaw seven pick-up and delivery locations, opened a test call center and performed site acquisitions. Jim served as divisional vice president for Extra Space Storage until November 2006 when he became senior vice president of acquisitions and business development. Since that time, he has overseen more than $650 million in acquisitions and the transition of more than 125 sites to the Extra Space Management program, ManagementPlus.
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