In March, a group of Illinois REALTORS® attended MIPIM, the world’s largest international real estate conference in Cannes, France. Drawing thousands of attendees from around the world, MIPIM offers REALTORS® a chance to build business relationships and promote Illinois to a global audience.

Commercial REALTOR® Alex Ruggieri, of North Star Equities Inc, in Savoy, attended again this year and he spoke to others in the Illinois contingent about the benefits of attending, what keeps people coming back each year, how Illinois REALTORS® stipends help make the trip possible and what MIPIM means in broader terms for business.

The members who attended MIPIM this year were

• Moses Hall, MoHall Commercial and Urban Development, Chicago
• Noah Ruggieri, North Star Equities Inc., Savoy
• Theresa Mueller, Trelleum LLC, Naperville
• Andy Velkme, Caton Commercial Real Estate Group, Naperville
• Marsha Collins-Mroz , HomeSmart Connect LLC, Chicago
• Betty Milam, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago, Chicago

Moses: MIPIM is an excellent opportunity to meet and network with real estate professionals from around the world, including developers, investors, architects and urban planners. The conference features a wide range of educational sessions and keynote speakers, covering topics such as real estate trends, investment strategies and urban development. Attending these sessions can provide valuable insights and knowledge that can be applied to your own work. MIPIM is known for facilitating real estate deals and transactions, with many attendees coming specifically to do business. The conference provides a platform for showcasing properties, pitching projects, and making connections with potential investors or partners.

Noah: I think it’s brought more global awareness to the central part of the states. Most foreign entities invest on the coastlines. Our presence lets them know they can find as good or better returns when they venture inland.

Theresa: Attending MIPIM Conference is an excellent opportunity for all of us to participate in the global marketplace. Also, it gives us an opportunity to highlight our region and why business and investment are worthy.

Andy: By far the obvious benefit for myself has been meeting and maintaining global relationships in the commercial real estate space. An equally important benefit is getting a pulse on both the current state of the industry as well as future plans as well. And this understanding is not simply from an American-centric view, but a global view. Every year I attend, I try to understand the global challenges faced by the industry because challenges and chaos breed opportunity.

Marsha: Attending MIPIM has allowed me to reach out and connect with developers, real estate associations, government officials, and service and product providers from all around the world in one place.

Betty: MIPIM allows us opportunities to network at an unparalleled level through a variety of social and business events. Additionally, MIPIM gives us access to an online database for networking all year long. This year, the MIPIM program was exceptional, and, in many aspects, it was better than in previous years. This year’s event has propelled me to start thinking about expanding my global business at a higher level; furthermore, it has piqued my interest in advancing my involvement in Illinois REALTORS® and NAR’s global outreach initiatives.

Moses: Participating in MIPIM can increase your visibility within the industry and help establish your brand. The conference attracts a lot of media attention, and being present can generate publicity and media coverage for your company or project.

Noah: The idea that nobody, in any culture, wants to put the time and expense into coming for a one and done experience/deal.  Everyone understands the importance of continued relationships.  To get that, you have to keep coming year over year.

Theresa: This year the most immediate benefit was a couple attendees that I met attended my birthday party while in London.

Andy: I think the combination of meeting new contacts, strengthening previous relationships, being exposed to the global vision of the attendees all while experiencing the beauty of Cannes and the joie de vivre of the French hosts.

Marsha: By returning year after year, MIPIM affords us the opportunity to reconnect and elevate our relationships with prior contacts, experience cutting edge technology, and new developments around the world.

Betty: Speaking from a personal perspective, I keep going back to MIPIM because I get real estate insights that help me boost my business. I believe people keep coming back to MIPIM because of the ability to participate in a variety of workshops, panels, attend conferences, record keynotes and to exchange experiences while getting inspired. Moreover, we get to meet some of the most influential contenders from all sectors of the international real estate industry.

Moses: The Illinois REALTORS® stipend can be a valuable resource for real estate professionals who are interested in attending MIPIM. The stipend is designed to help cover some of the costs associated with attending the conference, including registration fees, travel expenses, and accommodation. By providing financial assistance, the stipend can make it more feasible for real estate professionals who might not otherwise be able to attend MIPIM due to budget constraints.

In addition to the financial support, the Illinois REALTORS® stipend can also help to introduce MIPIM to more people in the Illinois real estate industry. By promoting the stipend and encouraging more real estate professionals to attend the conference, the Illinois REALTORS® can help to raise awareness of the event and increase participation. This, in turn, can help to expand the network of real estate professionals who attend MIPIM and facilitate more deal-making and collaboration among industry leaders.

Noah: The stipend for me has been a huge blessing in that I can get into the conference and to the country without much expense at all.  It allows me to not even think twice about the investment I’m making in my global business and the returns my state and myself will see from those investments.

Theresa: Thankful for the stipend program to events like MIPIM and C5 because not only are we stepping away from our work, but the cost of conference, travel and accommodations are very costly.  Might not have gone had the stipend not been available.

Andy: Travel to the south of France is expensive and devoting a week to the endeavor is a commitment. With those points in mind a stipend offsets some of the costs and makes it easier for Illinois REALTORS® to make the decision to go.

Marsha: This is not an inexpensive endeavor to be sure.  The Illinois REALTORS® stipend helps offset the costs and, for many of us in this year’s group, made it possible for us to understand and appreciate the opportunities that exist at MIPIM.

Betty: The state of Illinois has an unmatched infrastructure that offers the best access to global markets of any other state in the union. Great capitalization rates, a talented workforce, the low cost of doing business and its central location all make the state the perfect place to start or expand a business on a global scale. Factually, Illinois’ relevance is bolstered by having America’s most dominant city for economic development performance, Chicago.

Because of these facts, I am glad Illinois was presented to a global audience. I feel honored to have had the opportunity to represent our state at MIPIM and I hope my participation will attract corporate investments.

As one of the Illinois REALTORS® to have received the stipend to attend the conference, I appreciate the fact that it has helped us reduce the cost of all the expenses incurred by us to travel to France and participate at MIPIM.

Moses: Through the meetings I pre-arranged and set up, I do have some developer leads based out of London that are looking to expand to the USA.

Noah: Our team has won listing assignments because of our presence at MIPIM and beyond that, we’ve developed continued business with some of those same people.

Theresa: The largest successes are from connecting to networks of professionals where we can hopefully all help each other’s businesses.

Andy: Every year there are new leads and successes, which is part of the draw.  Historically speaking, the most impactful for me personally was when Bill Caton met a representative from the Berlin-based co-living company Quarters, which led to Quarters expanding further into the U.S., past New York and into Chicago. I, alongside Bill, and his son and partner Steve, represented Quarters for years and expanded our network of developers, investors and operators exponentially due to this relationship that was started in Cannes at MIPIM.

Marsha: I’m excited to report that I have connected with key partners from Egypt and Dubai for an upcoming syndication and have created goodwill with government officials from Abu Dhabi for future collaboration.

Betty: As a participant, I had the opportunity to have met with groups representing investors, developers, and company executives from countries such as Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Dubai, Egypt, France, Germany, and England—just to name a few of the groups looking for investment opportunities.

Currently, I am working and developing a couple of projects. Hopefully, I will be able to start promoting it soon. The takeaway would be: From the global business perspective, anything is possible when attending MIPIM.