Steers Center Honors a Decade of Impact at 2025 Real Estate Luminaries

A powerful lineup of business leaders and policy influencers filled Georgetown University’s historic Gaston Hall for the Steers Center for Global Real Assets annual Luminaries event on Thursday, April 10. The event honored a decade of innovation and impact for the center under the Steers name and reflected its expanded mission at the intersection of real assets, technology, and energy.

The evening featured a dynamic panel on “Real Assets and Energy Innovation: Powering Our Future,” followed by a fireside conversation titled “Real Assets & Private Equity: A Blackstone Perspective,” with Jonathan Gray, president and chief operating officer at Blackstone, and Joseph Baratta (B’93), head of global private equity strategies at Blackstone, and moderated by Robert Steers (B’75).

Bridging Real Estate and Energy Innovation

The opening panel, moderated by Matthew Cypher, director of the Steers Center and Atara Kaufman Professor of the Practice, showcased leaders working at the cutting edge of real estate, clean energy, and next-generation power infrastructure. Panelists included Andy Power, president and CEO of Digital Realty; Tate McDonald, partner at Holland & Knight; and Clay Sell, CEO of X-energy.

The discussion revealed a growing urgency and opportunity within the energy landscape as rapid digitization, artificial intelligence, and data center expansion drive unprecedented electricity demand. Power noted that data centers alone could consume up to 12% of U.S. electricity by 2028. Digital Realty, he explained, is responding with strategic investments in power-efficient infrastructure and innovative solutions like on-site gas turbines and solar generation in South Africa​.

Sell emphasized the role of small modular nuclear reactors in supporting a sustainable energy future.

“This is no longer science fiction,” he said. “We’re working with Amazon and Dow to build safe, meltdown-proof nuclear systems that redefine how and where power can be generated.”

X-energy’s reactors, he added, are compact, factory-built, and designed to operate for up to a century – a game-changing proposition for global infrastructure​.

Meanwhile, McDonald provided critical policy context, noting the federal government’s unprecedented support for clean energy through grant programs and Department of Energy loan guarantees.

“We’ve laid the foundation for a generational shift in energy development,” she said. “The transition is hard, but the United States is poised to lead if we embrace creativity in policy and investment.”

A Conversation with Blackstone: Insight in a Time of Volatility

Following the panel, Robert Steers, executive chairman of Cohen & Steers, introduced a conversation between Blackstone’s Jonathan Gray and Joseph Baratta. The discussion offered a wide-ranging view into the macroeconomic forces shaping investment strategy in 2025.

Gray underscored the importance of calm, long-term thinking in the face of economic uncertainty. “Periods of volatility are when real opportunities emerge,” he said.

Despite challenging capital markets, Blackstone is seeing strong investment performance in sectors like infrastructure and private credit, while continuing to lean into long-term themes like AI, energy transition, and data infrastructure​.

Baratta added that while 2021-vintage private equity deals have been more challenging, newer investments made post-rate hikes among the firm’s best in the past decade. He also emphasized the resilience of the United States as an investment destination and the enduring strength of the American capital markets.

When asked about the future of real estate, Gray noted a turning point: “We’re in the good part of the real estate cycle. Supply is constrained, fundamentals are strong, and there’s real opportunity – especially in logistics, rental housing, and even select office assets priced 50-60% below peak.”

A Decade of Student-Centered Impact

In April 2015, the then-Real Estate Finance Initiative announced the generous gift from the Steers family to name the center at the annual luminaries event, which also featured Jonathan Gray as its keynote speaker. Ten years later, the Steers Center for Global Real Estate unveiled its new name – the Steers Center for Global Real Assets – as the next phase of its growth, noting that its success is due in large part thanks to the network of alumni and industry professionals that help the center remain at the forefront of real assets education.

Throughout the evening, speakers emphasized the role of the Steers Center in educating and empowering the next generation of real assets professionals. Cypher noted that the center’s evolution – reflected in its new name – is a response to the industry’s shift from siloed real estate to an integrated ecosystem that includes infrastructure, technology, and energy. 

As the Luminaries event concluded, one thing was clear: the Steers Center and Georgetown McDonough are not only preparing their students for the real estate industry of today, but are helping to shape the industry of tomorrow.