In our first episode of Season 2 of the Real Estate Forum Podcast, host Raphael Sidelsky sits down with Hossein Fateh, Founder and CEO of CloudHQ and Cloud Capital, to explore the evolution of the data center industry and why it has become one of the most durable and strategically important asset classes in real estate.

Hossein shares his journey from navigating real estate bankruptcies during the dot-com crash to co-founding and taking public an early data center REIT and ultimately building a global data center platform. He breaks down the fundamentals of powered land, long-term tenant relationships, and development yields, while addressing AI-driven demand, infrastructure constraints, financing innovation, and the myths around data center obsolescence. The conversation offers an inside look at the capital markets, operational discipline, and long-term thinking required to build and sustain digital infrastructure at global scale.

00:00 – Introduction
00:35 – Guest Introduction
01:33 – Early Career and Lessons
02:00 – Building CloudHQ
06:10 – DuPont Fabros Technology
14:58 – CloudHQ and Cloud Capital Today
20:28 – Infrastructure Demand Shifts
26:35 – Community and Environmental Concerns
31:59 – Economic Metrics and Underwriting
40:33 – Global Expansion and Risk Management
42:21 – Long-term Ownership and Exit Strategies
46:46 – Technological Advancements and Obsolescence
56:31 – Future of CloudHQ and Cloud Capital
61:58 – Closing Thoughts and Recommendations

Welcome to Season 2 of the Real Estate Forum, a podcast from the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate at Columbia Business School.

Home to Columbia’s renowned MBA Real Estate Program, the Milstein Center serves as a platform for thought leadership and exchange, connecting world-class faculty and deep industry expertise in the heart of New York City.

Hosted by Raphael Sidelsky '99, this season, we go deeper into the forces reshaping today’s real estate landscape—through timely conversations with industry leaders, investors, operators, and developers, alongside insights from Columbia Business School’s world-class faculty and original research from the Milstein Center’s Research Lab.

From capital markets and development to innovation, strategy, and sustainability, Season Two explores the ideas and decisions defining what comes next for the built environment.

Whether you’re a real estate professional, investor, student, or simply passionate about cities and the spaces we inhabit, the Real Estate Forum delivers informed perspectives from one of the world’s leading real estate programs—based in New York at the center of the global capital markets.
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and join us for Season Two.

The Real Estate Forum podcast is produced by The Podcast Consultant with special thanks to Executive Producer Maria Fera.

In this special episode of the Real Estate Forum podcast, two of Columbia Business School’s most distinguished economists, Glenn Hubbard, Dean Emeritus of Columbia Business School, and Abby Joseph Cohen, Professor at Columbia Business School and former Chief Investment Strategist at Goldman Sachs, came together on December 2, 2025, for a timely economic briefing at the 18th Annual Columbia Business School Real Estate Symposium on Columbia Business School’s Manhattanville campus.

In a wide-ranging and candid conversation, Glenn and Abby examine the state of the U.S. and global economy through the lens of real estate. They discuss the macroeconomic forces shaping capital markets, the evolving policy environment, interest rate expectations, and the structural shifts influencing asset values and long-term investment strategies. The discussion highlights both the headwinds and opportunities facing real estate investors, owners, and operators as they navigate today’s complex economic landscape.