Pennybacker

Had a great time back at Yale University for the AREA Conference 2024! We kicked off with an insightful global macroeconomic overview from Paula Campbell Roberts (YC '98), covering key trends like the rising demand for big data centers driven by AI growth. A highlight of the event was a panel moderated by Cherie Santos-Wuest (YSoA '98), featuring: Rish Gosine, Managing Director, Pennybacker Capital: Their AI-driven real estate investment product is taking a thoughtful approach to integrating GenAI into decision-making. Cristian Oncescu, RA, AIA (YC '09, YSoA '14), Associate at Newman Architects: Experimenting with a wide range of generative AI tools in practice. Christine Wendell, CEO of Pronto Housing: Using AI to streamline paperwork and get people into homes faster, including automating her presentation! The real estate outlook is promising, potentially acting as a hedge while equities face lower expected returns. Housing demand continues to rise nationwide, and we discussed the perceived need for more data centers to fuel AI. While I fully agree on the housing front—supply has lagged for over a decade—I’m more skeptical about data center growth. We’re at an inflection point where smaller, on-device models from companies like Groq and Liquid AI may change the game. With AI moving so fast, entire waves of innovation will pass before many of these data centers are even completed. My bet? In five years, we may see a lot of empty data centers. Huge thanks to Allyson Bowen and the entire team for organizing such a dynamic and diverse event. I've never met more artists, actors, and literature professors at a real estate conference before—gotta love a liberal arts education!

We're thrilled to welcome Samuel M Warfield to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Energy Center Executive Council 🤘 Sam leads Pennybacker’s Critical Infrastructure platform as a senior member of the Firm. Prior to Pennybacker, he was Managing Director, Head of U.S. Investments at Arroyo Investors—a leading middle-market private equity firm focused on power and energy infrastructure assets. Prior to Arroyo, Sam was a senior corporate associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York, where his practice focused on M&A transactions in the power and infrastructure sector. Sam was recognized in 2015 as a “Rising Star” in M&A in the New York metro area by Super Lawyers magazine. He also clerked at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission in the Department of Investment Management in Washington D.C. Sam received his Bachelor of Science in Finance magna cum laude from the University of Florida and his Juris Doctor magna cum laude from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Sam is also a member of the University of Florida Hall of Fame. Thank you for committing to serve on our council! To learn more about how to get involved, please visit https://lnkd.in/da-H7vBz