To listen to the webcast of the Global Summit Session at NAREIT's 2006 Annual Convention, go to http://www.bresitech.com/nareit/.

Photographs by Robert Houser

At NAREIT's Annual Convention, industry heads from real estate associations around the world met to discuss issues of common interest. Dubbed the "CEO Roundtable for Real Estate Equity Securitization Associations," these nine individuals met for the first time to discuss how their organization can collaborate with others to promote securitized real estate around the world.

With the spread of REITs around the world and the growth of cross-border investment, here are nine industry representatives who will become more familiar in the pages of Portfolio.

Asian Public Real Estate Association
Peter Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer
APREA is the only association representing the Asia Pacific publicly listed real estate sector. It was established in 2005 as a non-profit industry to represent and raise awareness of the sector. The association aims to foster international best-practices that will facilitate local, regional and international investment in the sector. APREA also lobbies governments and regulators to ensure that the members' interests are adequately represented and a stable financial and regulatory environment exists for open trading and investment.

Association for Real Estate Securitization (Japan)
Yuichi Hiromoto and Shuji Tomikawa, co-chairman, international committee
The Association for Real Estate Securitization (ARES) was first established in September 1990 as "The Council of Real Estate Syndication (CRES)," with major real estate companies as its core members. ARES seeks to protect investors and contribute to the healthy development of the real estate securitization market by securing appropriate and efficient administration of real estate securitization operations.

British Property Federation
Gareth Lewis, director of finance & investment
The British Property Federation represents and promotes the interests of the U.K. property industry and to maximize its contribution to the economy, savings and investment industry and the built environment. The BPF have also established the REITA campaign (www.reita.org) under the direction of the REITs and Quoted Property Group. This is aimed at addressing the "information gap" evident in retail investors and their financial advisors, through a targeted outreach program.

European Public Real Estate Association
Nick van Ommen, CEO
The European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) was established as a non-profit organization in 1999. EPRA's members include the majority of the leading real estate companies and investment institutions in Europe. Its mission is to promote, represent and support the development of the European public real estate sector.

National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts
Steven A. Wechsler, president and CEO
The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts® (NAREIT) is the worldwide representative voice for U.S. real estate investment trusts (REITs) and publicly traded real estate companies. Members are REITs and other businesses that own, operate and finance income-producing real estate, as well as those firms and individuals who advise, study and service these businesses.

Property Council of Australia
Peter Verwer, chief executive and Trevor Cooke, executive director, capital markets
The Property Council of Australia (PCA) is the nation's leading advocate for investment property interests. The Property Council is the political arm of the investment property sector in Australia. It also fosters a more informed, connected and professional property marketplace. It serves the interests of companies across all four quadrants of property investment activity, as well as property developers and managers.

Real Property Association of Canada
S. Michael Brooks, executive director
REALpac, the Real Property Association of Canada, is Canada's senior national real property association, whose mission is to collectively influence public policy, educate government and the public, and ensure stable and beneficial real estate capital and property markets in Canada. Members currently own real estate assets located in the major centers across Canada and include REITs, publicly traded and large private companies, banks, brokerages, crown corporations, investment dealers, life companies and pension funds.