Leadership in Chaos: How Two Panels at IMN Revealed the New Rules of Distressed Real Estate

Last week I had the honor of moderating two panels at IMN Bank Special Assets East. What I witnessed wasn’t just technical discussion — it was leadership in action at one of the most pivotal moments in commercial real estate.

Day 1 – The Workout Panel We explored the shift from “extend and pretend” to real resolution.

• Ben Harris (Jones Walker LLP) brought clarity on legal structuring and tax considerations that protect recoveries.

• Rafael Serrano (Safe Harbor Capital Partners) showed how sophisticated buyers evaluate opportunities in today’s auctions and note sales.

• Chris Swieca (Wintrust) offered the grounded bank workout perspective on when forbearance ends and decisive action begins.

The message was clear: leadership today means knowing when to extend — and when to pivot.

Day 2 – The AI Fireside Chat With Cole Goulet (New Day Asset Management), we moved into the future. Cole shared how AI is empowering teams to build “perfect borrower” profiles, predict defaults with precision, and streamline operations at scale. He also pointed to platforms like Ovam.ai as tools that will redefine how leaders make decisions.

I contributed real-world examples from my brokerage practice — tools like Giraffe for instant market analysis, Try Cactus for rapid proforma testing, and Deep Blocks for portfolio risk simulation. The insight that stayed with me: the leaders who will thrive are those who combine deep human expertise with AI speed.

Three Leadership Lessons I’m Taking Forward

1. True leadership sees the risk others miss — debt yield ≤8% is the new red flag.

2. Empowerment comes from accessible tools — AI no longer requires massive infrastructure.

3. The greatest advantage is collaboration — pairing capital with intelligence creates outcomes greater than either could achieve alone.

To every speaker who shared their wisdom — @BenHarris #JonesWalker #RafaelSerrano #SafeHarborCapital #ChrisSwieca #Wintrust #ColeGoulet #NewDayAssetManagement — thank you. You reminded us that leadership in real estate isn’t about waiting for perfect conditions; it’s about creating value in imperfect ones.

If you’re a leader navigating special assets or value-add opportunities, I’d be grateful to support you. At Skyline Property Experts, we help clients acquire and dispose of distressed real estate with clarity and speed. Through Capital Advisors USA, LLC, my team provides expert underwriting, evaluation, and preparation for any deal structure.

To learn more about this and our upcoming speaking engagements as well as our next cutting edge leadership articles subscribe to Global Empowerment Leadership’s newsletter on Linkedin here: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7060440518475804672

Reach out directly or visit www.skylinepropertyexperts.com — let’s build something meaningful together.

#IMNBankers #Leadership #GlobalEmpowerment #DistressedRealEstate #AIinRealEstate #ValueCreation