Austin State of The Market

Mike joined CWS in 1998 and is responsible for the company’s overall investment and operations activities. He holds an MBA from Harvard and a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Classics, with honors, from Princeton. Prior to CWS, Mike worked for Security Capital Group in Santa Fe, New Mexico and was a Naval Intelligence Officer, servingboth during the Gulf War and later as a Chief of Naval Operations Briefer in the Pentagon. Mike is on the Advisory Board for the Urban Land Institute, Austin, TX, and is a member of Vistage. He is a member of the South Fork Anglers, the 2013 Jackson Hole One-Fly Champions.

Herbert McDowell Pike, Jr. (Mac) is currently chairman and co-owner of The Sutton Company, an Austin based real estate development and investment company. Mr. Pike has primarily been involved in all aspects of the development process, from the acquisition of a property to the construction and sale of the project. The Sutton Company has been involved, as a general partner, in several downtown projects including the Plaza Lofts at Fifth and Guadalupe in downtown Austin, a 60 unit high rise condominium project, and the Brazos Lofts and Avenue Lofts, both on Fifth Street and conversions from business use.From 1989 to the present, Mr. Pike, through the Sutton Company as general partner, developed such Austin area projects as Stratford Hills Section I (purchased from the University of Texas), Hunterwood (purchased from Davenport Ranch), the Estates at Blackacre in West Lake Hills, the Island at Westlake, two sections in Great Hills in northwest Austin, the Enclave at Mesa in Northwest Hills, Northpark and the Club at Wells Point in Pflugerville, Round Rock Ranch in Round Rock, Quest Towne Center in Cedar Park as well as other commercial projects such as the Apple Computer Customer Service Center on HWY 183.Prior to moving to Austin in 1989, Mr. Pike was owner and president of McAllen Aviation Center, an aviation fixed based operation with air charter certificates in both the U. S. and Mexico, as well as being one of the largest Exxon aviation franchises in the country. In addition Mr. Pike was a co-founder and Chairman of the Board of InterNational Bank of McAllen, a privately owned bank in McAllen, Texas. From 1980 until 1985 Mr. Pike was co-owner and dealer operator of Weslaco Motors, a General Motors dealership in Weslaco, Texas. Mr. Pike was in charge of the operations and sales of the dealership, which grew to one of the top selling new car dealerships in the Rio Grande Valley. During this time Mr. Pike was partner in Tejas Building and Development, which developed over 700 residential lots and 400 warehouse units in the Valley. Upon graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 1972 with a degree in Finance, Mr. Pike became Vice President of Commercial Lending at McAllen State Bank and later became Executive Vice President of First National Bank of Brownsville prior to becoming co-owner of Weslaco Motors. Mr. Pike has served on the state boards of the Texas Lyceum and the Gulf Coast Conservation Association as well as President of McAllen South Rotary, Board member of Gladys Porter Zoo, President of Hidalgo County United Way and various duties with the Boy Scouts of America, including Eagle Scout. Mr. Pike was recently on the board and executive committee of the Downtown Austin Alliance and a board member and executive committee member of the Real Estate Council of Austin.

As Vice President of Development for Aspen Heights, Ryan Fetgatter oversees and manages all aspects of student housing and multifamily development, including market research and selection, site acquisition, entitlement, design, and preconstruction.  Since joining Aspen Heights in 2010, Ryan has led the development of 29 different projects which include 16,000+ student housing beds and 900+ multi-family units totaling over $1.5 billion in cost. Notable projects include RISE, The Independent, and Aspen West Campus, all high-rise residential towers in Austin, Texas. Prior to joining Aspen Heights, Ryan was with The Opus Group in Washington, DC, working on over 750,000 square feet of urban and suburban office development.  Ryan graduated from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2006.

Patton K. Jones, executive managing director, ARA, A Newmark Company Central Texas office. Mr. Jones is responsible for the Austin and San Antonio conventional multifamily business, the ARA Newmark National Student Housing Group, and the ARA Newmark National Manufactured Housing Group. Mr. Jones oversees business development, market research, and all aspects of property disposition. The collective business lines produce roughly $800MM in sales annually. Prior to joining ARA Newmark, Mr. Jones was co-founder of an aviation parts company. He lived and worked in London and Hong Kong and was responsible for sales in 33 countries. The company grew 9,200% in 3 years and was winner of numerous business awards - ranked # 1 in "Houston's 100 Fastest-Growing Businesses" in 1999 by the Houston Chronicle, ranked # 7 in Dun & Bradstreet and Entrepreneur Magazine's "Hot 100, America's Fastest-Growing New Businesses 1999," and scored one of the Aviation Industries' best web sites rated by Forbes Magazine in 2000. Additionally, Mr. Jones's past work experience includes single-family patio home development, energy trading, and serving as an international sales manager for a Fortune 500 tech firm. Pat received his Political Science degree at the University of Texas at Austin.

As the president of the newest addition to the MFG consortium, Manchester Texas Financial Group, Douglas W. Manchester represents Manchester Financial Group and all Texas holdings in the capital city of Austin, Texas. Manchester earned his BA in Political Science with a minor in Business from Wake Forest University. Following graduation, he has applied his business knowledge in all aspects of the hotel, insurance and real estate industries. This career path has led him to Austin to engage the firm in commercial real estate ventures and hotel development.

Tom Noonan joined the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau on May 16 th , 2016 as President & CEO.  Prior to that date, Tom was the President & CEO of Visit Baltimore for over nine years starting in January of 2007.   Tom was responsible for promoting the Baltimore region as a destination for conventions, meetings, leisure visits, day trips, group tours and family reunions. Under Tom’s leadership, Visit Baltimore produced historic convention booking levels from 2009-2015.  His leadership was instrumental in the formation of Synchronicities, a three city sales, service, and marketing partnerships with the Anaheim and San Antonio DMO’s.  Additionally, Baltimore InSite, the first virtual destination sales tool, was launched in 2012.   In his final year, Visit Baltimore also launched the Visit Baltimore Education and Training Foundation that will provide scholarships/training in hospitality industry to those children with high academic levels without the means to afford college. Tom is an established leader in the tourism industry and has hosted many meetings industry events such as MPI, AIBTM, PCMA, IAEE and several events for ASAE.   Prior to Baltimore, Tom spent 18 years at the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau as a Sales, Services, and Convention Marketing Executive.  Tom is a graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa where he studied business management and speech communications.  Those disciplines have served him well in a destination marketing career that has progressed steadily within the DMO industry for the last 28 years. Tom and his wife Mindy have one son Reed, and are thrilled to be returning to their roots in Texas; and especially to the City of Austin which is one of America’s most admired destinations.

As the managing partner of the Austin office, Matt sources opportunity, oversees development and asset management for Kor. He identifies acquisitions and creates value through planning, entitlement and strategic partnerships. Prior to joining Kor, Matt was the VP of Development & Finance at Stratus Properties (STRS) where he served as a development manager, analyst and broker. He underwrote over $350 million of closed debt and $175 million of placed equity. Integral to the team, he managed the development of the W Austin Hotel & Residences. This $300 million development is one million square feet and includes a 2,500 capacity music venue anchored by Austin City Limits. He previously served as a legislative analyst in the Texas Senate. Matt is a Texas native and has resided in Austin since 1999. He holds a BS from the University of Texas at Austin as well as an MS in Community & Regional Planning.

Bryan is the Business Unit Leader for the Central Region Austin office of DPR Construction. He provides vision and direction for the company with 22 years in the industry, and has established his reputation, as well as DPR's, by exceeding customer's expectations. As a DPR partner, Bryan brings the unique ability to lead project teams in team building by utilizing a collaborative process and high-performance problem-solving techniques.

Michael Yu, along with his partner, Rahul Bijlani, joined CBRE Hotels in the firm's Houston office in February 2016. He has executed almost 200 transactions, totaling over $700 MM in his career. Prior to joining CBRE Hotels, Michael and Rahul lead the #1 National Hospitality Group team at Marcus & Millichap nationwide where they completed over 70% of all hotel sales by Marcus & Millichap in Texas and Louisiana. Prior to being a broker, Michael began his career in the hospitality industry in the early 90s as a front office manager of a full-service hotel in Cleveland, Ohio. Quickly promoted to general manager then district manager, he was soon supervising eight properties owned by a private hotel investment group. In 1997, Mr. Yu became the Vice President of the company and was responsible for asset management and hotel development. Over the following five years, Michael completed over 20 transactions for the company; including acquisition, disposition, repositioning, and new construction. This wealth of hotel operations and transaction experience prepared Michael in 2003 to begin providing exceptional hotel investment brokerage services for his clients previously at Marcus & Millichap and now at CBRE Hotels from the perspective of a principal. He currently leads a 15 person team that transacts nationwide across the private and institutional client space for all types of hospitality investment products.

Jennifer is the Founder and CEO of Art + Artisans. She has helped clients create meaningful, impactful spaces for the past 22 years. Jennifer is passionate about helping her clients succeed and showing them how art can be part of the strategy to achieve their vision and attract their ideal market. She believes that art creates spaces with unique identities that people love and want to visit again and again, bringing countless positive experiences that inspire and build community. Jennifer views her primary role today as Chief Relationship Builder both with clients and within her team. Jennifer has built a culture at A+A deeply rooted in delivering excellence in both client service and quality of work delivered. Developing and nurturing trust with clients, team members, artists and vendors is what has enabled Art + Artisans’ success for 22 years. Jennifer has led many large commercial projects across the country with clients who understand the importance integrating art to tell a story, convey their brand, build community, and engage people. Jennifer is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and has lived in Austin for over 30 years. She has served on the Executive Board of CREW Austin and as a Guardian Angel for the Center for Child Protection. In 2018, she was a nominee for the Austin Business Journal's Profiles in Power, a finalist for the Austin Business Journal's CEO of the Year in 2019, and a Bisnow honoree for Women Leading Austin Real Estate in 2024.

Prior to forming HPI in 1992, Dick spent five years at Trammell Crow Company in Austin, Texas. Dick joined Trammell Crow as an intern and within one year he was promoted to marketing representative. Crow promoted Dick to marketing director of its industrial division before his departure in 1992. Dick is an active member of the Austin community.

What drives you? I strive to be the best, and I want the same for the company we’re building. I want Cielo to deliver the highest level of customer service, the most well planned spaces a tenant could imagine, and the highest risk adjusted returns to our investors. If we do that — and I can also be the best husband and dad I can possibly be — then I can go to sleep at night knowing I didn’t leave anything on the table. How do you envision Austin in the next 25 years? I expect that Austin will continue to be one of the most sought after places in the country for people to live and work 25 year from now. This means our population could triple in that time, creating many challenges and opportunities. I believe that our urban core must continue to increase in density with more high-rise and mid-rise developments, just as we’ve seen over the last five years. The alternative is much more traffic and sprawl to the detriment of our environment and quality of life. How did you start the company? Bobby and I share Texas roots and were introduced by a mutual friend. I liked his vision and creative energy immediately. Two months later, we formed our company and bootstrapped it from there. Why Austin? Austin is one of the best cities in the world without a doubt. It appeals to people of all ages and just has so much going for it. We are the Capital of Texas, home of the University of Texas, soon to be home to a new medical school, the tech capital of the south, and the Live Music Capital of the World. Austin offers a beautiful natural environment and countless ways to enjoy it. It’s a business friendly city with a thriving restaurant scene. If you’ve spent a few days here eating barbecue, listening to live music, or water skiing on Lake Travis, you know why so many people want to be — and are becoming — Austinites.

During a career that began in 2005, Anne has completed hundreds of transactions for some of the industry’s most respected institutional owners, including Clarion Partners, Lionstone, TA Associates, UBS, Shorenstein, Westmount Realty, TIER Reit, and Principal Financial Group. She is regularly recognized as a “Commercial Real Estate Heavy Hitter” by the Austin Business Journal. Prior to joining Endeavor in 2015, Anne was a Vice President of Office Leasing at Austin-based Live Oak Gottesman.

Mike Celkis is a partner with the Firm’s tax practice. Based in the Austin office, Mike is responsible for providing domestic tax, financial accounting, and tax consulting services to individuals, corporations, and partnerships in many different industries. He is also responsible for planning and tax compliance reviews for partnerships and corporations with a focus on low-income housing tax credit projects and real estate developers. Mike has broad knowledge of, and experience in, international tax, energy tax credit services, multifamily and commercial real estate, and carryover allocations and is the firm expert on the Texas Franchise Tax and Section 199 (domestic manufacturing deduction). His clients include not-for-profit housing organizations and experienced developers across the United States. His duties include the planning, supervision and review of tax compliance matters for a substantial number of the Austin office's individual, partnership and corporate tax clients.