New York, New York – October 2, 2025 – Berkadia, a distinguished leader in the commercial real estate sector, and the Chen Institute for Global Real Estate Finance at NYU Stern School of Business are thrilled to announce the second annual Multifamily Investment Case Competition. The event will take place from October 16-18 at the NYU Stern School of Business, where graduate-student teams from universities across the nation will tackle the evolving landscape of the single-family rental (SFR) and build-to-rent (BTR) asset class.
This year’s competition will feature teams from top graduate programs, including the NYU Stern School of Business, Columbia Business School, UCLA Anderson School of Management, the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, The University of Florida Warrington College of Business and the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business.
As part of preparing for the case competition, Berkadia and NYU hosted an educational series as a primer on the SFR/BTR space. They invited industry leaders in development, capital allocation, and financing, including Brent Long, President of Christopher Todd Communities; Tanner Maddux, Chief Investment Officer at Sunstone Two Trees; Gentry Hoit, Chief Strategy Officer at ARK Homes for Rent; Brett Moss, Managing Director at Berkadia; Sherzod Ibragimov, Principal at SIP Ventures; Mackinley Robinson, Senior Director at Berkadia; and Rob Hodge, Senior Vice President at More Residential. These leaders spoke with the case participants, sharing their practical and professional insights into the SFR/BTR asset class.
“We are excited to announce the launch of our second annual case competition,” said Justin Wheeler, CEO of Berkadia. “This event offers a distinctive opportunity to connect with some of the brightest minds from prestigious universities. I look forward to the unique perspectives and creative strategies these students will present.”
In keeping with one of the missions Berkadia and NYU established from the outset—which was to create an opportunity for students and early-career professionals to connect with and learn directly from industry practitioners and leaders through a real-world case context—the judging panel for the competition will include:
Mark Forrester, Senior Managing Director at Berkadia, Matt Blank, Co-Founder of BB Living, Darrin Rowe, President of Taylor Morrison, Ashish Karamchandani, Executive Vice President at Heitman, Sharon Wilson Geno, President of the National Multifamily Housing Council, Cameron Jones, Portfolio Manager for Nuveen US Equities Fund, Brent Long, President of Christopher Todd Communities and Stella Pappas, Head of Investor Relations at TruAmerica.