Bio

Steve Weikal is a lecturer, researcher, and thought leader focused on innovative new technologies and business models that are reinventing traditional ways of developing, transacting and managing real estate. He is the Industry Chair of the Real Estate Technology HUB in the Lab for Real Estate Transformation at the MIT Center for Real Estate and is also the Managing Partner of MET Fund II, which invests in early-stage startups that have an MIT connection and focus on solutions for the coming built environment transformation. Prior to this role, Steve was the Head of Industry Relations at the MIT Center for Real Estate, responsible for managing relationships between the Center and its global network of corporate partners and over 1,300 alumni representing 48 countries. He was also executive producer of the Center’s signature event, the MIT World Real Estate Forum. Steve is a member of the CREtech Climate Leadership Board, the Global Insights Panel for MIT Technology Review, the review committee for the CoreNet Global Innovator Awards. He is on the boards of eight real estate technology companies and was the Founder of MIT Real Disruption, a series of successful conferences discussing the impact of emerging technology on the real estate industry that is now part of the global CREtech media platform. An ardent industry advocate, Steve speaks extensively about real estate technology for corporate clients around the world and at conferences for AFIRE, AsRES, BOMA, CCIM, CoreNet, CREW, ICSC, IREM, NAIOP, PERE, SIOR, and ULI. He has been quoted by numerous media outlets, including BuzzFeed, TechInsider, Medium, USA Today, CP Executive, Harvard Real Estate Review, the Boston Globe, GlobeSt. the Real Reporter, Travel Weekly, IPE Real Assets Europe and Anuario Inmobiliario LatinoAmerica. Steve holds a Master’s of Science in Real Estate Development (MSRED) and Master’s in City Planning (MCP) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a law degree (JD) from Suffolk University Law School.