Planning Ahead Biotech Conference
Women’s Futures Delivered by Satellite
Corrections or additions?
These articles by Kathleen McGinn Spring were prepared for the
April 4, 2001 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Office Space: Bringing in Broadband
New Jersey property managers are behind the curve in
wiring their buildings for high-speed broadband access, says Steve
Weiss, real estate account manager for Winstar, a broadband service
provider. But Weiss’ comments make it clear that getting wired is
no simple matter. Weiss works from offices in both New York City and
Union, and finds property managers in the city to be a much easier
sell. “I found in New Jersey, when I started talking to property
managers, they look at you like you have three heads.”
Touting the benefits of fitting out office buildings for high
bandwidth
telecom and Internet, Weiss moderates one of several panels at the
National Association of Industrial and Office Properties’ day long
conference, “Technology E-ssentials: New Jersey’s only real estate
technology conference for the beginner and expert,” on Wednesday,
April 11, at 8 a.m. at the Woodbridge Hilton in Iselin. Cost: $120.
Call 732-417-9010.
Weiss started out intending to be a scientist. A 1982 Rutgers
graduate,
he was a bio-chem major. After college he went to work for
Princeton-based
biotech, Liposome, becoming that company’s 11th employee. He worked
for Liposome for seven years before deciding “I had gone as far
as I could in science.” He enrolled in a part-time MBA program
at New York University. Initially planning to use his business degree
to go into management with a pharmaceutical company, he says “in
my third year, I decided I’d always had an interest in real estate.
So I switched.”
After working with a small real estate company “just to get my
feet wet,” Weiss moved on to a large mortgage banking firm. Then
last year, looking for something different, he heard about Winstar
and was drawn to the opportunity to work at a career that combined
real estate and technology.
Winstar equips office buildings for high bandwidth communications
using “line of sight” technology. This involves installing
radio equipment in the building and beaming signals through the air
from a central hub. Tenants in the building are offered the option
for tapping into the system. Those that do so become Winstar
customers.
Often, there are several competing high-bandwidth providers in a
building.
Weiss says property managers benefit from offering their tenants a
crack at high speed communication, and offers the following pluses
along with a cautionary note:
Diversity and redundancy. Buildings serviced by just onecarrier risk “being cut off from the world” should their linesbe cut, Weiss says. Fires, floods, careless construction crews, themenaces to the wires carrying the phone and Internet signals arelegion.Buildings that allow several broadband providers to set up shop intheir basements achieve a redundancy that could save the day. If someof the wires enter the building from one side, and some from theother,so much better, Weiss says.While broadband often is delivered through fiber optic cable, signalsfrom Winstar and similar companies are delivered through the air.Allowing such a communications provider into a building achievesdiversity,Weiss says, by giving tenants a way to keep their E-mails flying andtheir customer support centers up even if a disaster of some sortshould cut cables leading into the building. Line of sight servicecan be extended to tenants quickly, he says, minimizing any downtimefor offices affected by outages in cable-based systems.A marketing tool. Weiss senses a lack of urgency amongNew Jersey property managers. He theorizes that with a strong economykeeping their buildings full, many are in no great hurry to offertenants a smorgasbord of high-bandwidth communications options. Sometenants, in the financial industry, for example, already need highbandwidth, and other industries are not far behind in needing —or wanting — lightening fast Internet and goodies such as clearvideo conferencing. Property managers that offer these options willbe ahead of the game, Weiss says, and will be in a strong positionto attract and retain the best tenants in any economic slowdown.A source of revenue. Broadband providers generally doall the work of fitting out a building, and, in exchange for a chanceto sign up tenants for services, compensate building owners. Weissdid not want to go into specifics of how Winstar structures itsleases,but says building owners typically are paid fees as tenants sign up.Another advantage, he says, is that broadband is seen as a capitalimprovement.Some problems. Broadband equipment takes up space. Itis generally placed in areas like basements that couldn’t be rentedanyway, but, Weiss says, this is an issue with some property managers.The radio equipment Winstar installs requires 40 to 60 square feetof space in an area large enough so that doors to its cabinets canbe opened. The system also requires a mast and antennae. Differentbroadband systems require different configurations. Sometimes, Weisssays, property managers don’t want to deal with the hassles. “It’stoo much. Too confusing.”And sometimes, property managers who want the technology have troublegetting it. A line of sight system like Winstar’s requires that itscustomers be in buildings with an unobstructed view of its hub. Ifa taller building is in the way, there can be no service. Not everybuilding is within sight of a hub. But broadband via fiber optic cableis expensive to install, and far from universally available.Still, pressure on property managers to offer tenants accessto cutting edge communication connections surely will build.”Rightnow, in a lot of cases it’s looked at as an amenity,” Weiss says.”But I believe in a couple of years, it will be a necessity.”Top Of PagePlanning Ahead Biotech ConferenceBiotech 2001: Opportunities in the Nation’sPharmaceuticalCenter takes place on Monday and Tuesday, April 23 and 24 at theAtlanticCity Sheraton and the Atlantic City Convention Center. Billed as thelargest regional biotechnology conference in the country, the eventis a joint undertaking of the Biotechnology Council of New Jerseyand the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Association. The organizations’goal is to build a new biotechnology industry by capitalizing on theconcentration of pharmaceutical giants in the region.The keynote speaker is Jan Leschly, chairman and CEO, Care Capitalat Princeton Overlook. One CEO breakfast, by invitation only, featuresformer senior pharma executives talking about what it is like to makethe transition to biotech. They include John Jackson, chairmanand CEO, Celgene Company; David U’Prichard, CEO, 3-DimensionalPharmaceuticals Inc.; P. Roy Vagelos, chairman, RegeneronPharmaceuticalsInc.; and Douglas Watson, president and CEO, ValiGen Inc.U’Prichard’scompany has a new branch at Cedar Brook Corporate Center and ValiGenis opening offices on Carter Road.Another ValiGen executive, Richard Metz, executive directorof product development, is on an “Introduction toBiotechnology”panel, a basic biotechnology course that will focus on cloning, genetherapy, transgenesis, plant genetics, mapping the human genome, drugand vaccine development, plant biotechnology, and proteomics.Manya Deehr, a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, moderatesa “Law and Biotechnology” workshop to examine issues in thelaw that executives need to understand in order to succesfully managetransactions in the biotechnology arena. Deehr’s law firm has a branchat the Carnegie Center.Linda Griggs, also a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, willdiscuss “Living with Disclosure: What Impact are the New SECRegulationsHaving on Biotech.”Lisa Drakeman, CEO of Genmab A/S and an officer at Medarex onState Road, is on the panel to discuss how biotechs can tap intopartnersand dollars in Europe and Japan. Title: “Finding an InternationalPharmaceutical Partner.””Labor Issues — Finding and Recruiting Key People” isthe topic for Gene Mancino, president, Blau Mancino Associatesat 12 Roszel Road. His panel will address this question: “In thetightest biotechnology market in history, how can your company find,hire, and retain the scientists and executives it so desperatelyneeds?”Top Of PageWomen’s Futures Delivered by SatelliteThe Bordentown site for this event was canceled at the last minute andthose who registered will attend in Manhattan. This story did not runin the print edition.Tom Peters, the management guru, and MarthaStewart, the housekeeping guru, are among the national celebritiesfor a one-day global gathering of business women, on Thursday, April5, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Marcy Maguire is among the localleaders of the event that will be downlinked by satellite to theMaguires’Chevy dealership on 840 Route 206 in Bordentown. Ticket prices are$259, including lunch and materials, and may be sold out. Call212-221-1713.Susan Willett Bird, founder of Women.future, is a graduate ofMarquette and Stanford Law School. She has worked for IBM and helda senior position with real estate company Grubb & Ellis. She builther own real estate firm and founded a CD-ROM based marketing companythat partnered with Apple Computer to do patent-protected interactivemultimedia marketing of real estate and related products. Bird hasput these topics on the agenda for what she calls the”MainEvent.”How can women capitalize upon their unique leadershipstrengths in the new Internet economy?What are the components of this new style of leadership,and how can an understanding of them help employers attract and retainthose with talent?What products and services captivate women and how shouldcompanies deliver an “experience” that motivates thesepurchasedecision-makers?How can participation benefit men as employers, employees,and marketers?”This is the world’s foremost global gathering of businesswomen— from small business owners to senior executives to women inthe professions,” say the organizers. Maguire and her husband alsoown WindsorNissan in Hightstown, Saturn dealerships in Bordentown and Toms River,motorcycle and auto parts stores in Bordentown, and they are buildingSaturn and Mitsubishi dealerships in Lawrence.Maguire is a member of the Committee of 200 in New York City, a groupof the Manhattan’s area’s most powerful women. Bird is a foundingmember of this group, and she is also founder and “chieffuturist”at Women.Future.”In addition to being a great learning opportunity,” saysKate Butler, who is scheduled to be a facilitator at the Bordentownsite, “the day provides a great networking opportunity forprofessionalwomen.” Butler has a Trenton-based human resources consultingcompany, American Humanagement Association.Among the other global panelists are actress and producer DrewBarrymore; Merle Okawara, CEO of eBay Japan; MarjorieScardino, owner of the Financial Times; Kathleen Sullivan,dean of Stanford Law School; Laura Ziskin, CEO of Fox 2000;Ellen Hancock, CEO of Exodus Communications; J.C. Herz,author of “Joystick Nation: How Videogames Ate Our Quarters, WonOur Hearts, and Rewired Our Minds;” Wendy Kapp, founderand president of Teach for America; Betsy Holden, CEO of KraftFoods; and Myra Hart, professor at Harvard Business School andfounding officer of Staples.The PBS Adult Learning Service and Fortune magazine are involvedin this networking extravaganza, as is the National Association ofWomen Business Owners and Catalyst. The group’s web page(www.womenfuture.com)offers reams of networking contacts, with pages for everyone fromthe Amazing Women of St. Louis to the Work & Family Connection.Previous StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
