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CEO Round Table Discussion

Strategies and Insights for Success in 2025

Adam Portnoy

Adam Portnoy

President & CEO

RMR Group

Sal​ ​Lupoli

Sal​ ​Lupoli

CEO & Founder

Lupoli Companies

Brian Kavoogian

Brian Kavoogian

CEO

National Development

Robert Griffin Jr.

Robert Griffin Jr.

Co-Head of U.S Capital Markets

Newmark

Jason Dunn
Moderator

Jason Dunn

Partner

Goulston & Storrs

Adam Portnoy

President & CEO

RMR Group

Mr. Portnoy is President and Chief Executive Officer of The RMR Group (Nasdaq: RMR). He also serves as a Managing Director of RMR and on the Boards of its client companies, including: Service Properties Trust (Nasdaq: SVC), Diversified Healthcare Trust (Nasdaq: DHC), Office Properties Income Trust (Nasdaq: OPI), Industrial Logistics Properties Trust (Nasdaq: ILPT), Seven Hills Realty Trust (Nasdaq: SEVN), AlerisLife Inc. (Private), Sonesta International Hotels Corporation (Private) and Tremont Realty Capital, an SEC registered investment adviser.

Prior to joining RMR in 2003, Mr. Portnoy held various positions in the finance industry and public sector, including working as a banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and ABN AMRO, working in private equity at the International Finance Corporation (a member of The World Bank Group) and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, as well as serving as Chief Executive Officer of a telecommunications company. Mr. Portnoy currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Pioneer Institute, as a member of the executive committee of the Board of Directors of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Opportunity Alliance, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts High Technology Council and as the Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He is formerly a member of the Board of Trustees of Occidental College and the Board of Governors of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Nareit). Mr. Portnoy graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy from Occidental College in 1993.

Sal​ ​Lupoli

CEO & Founder

Lupoli Companies

As a social impact entrepreneur, Sal’s personal commitment to community engagement and

corporate social responsibility is unparalleled. Sal’s approach to activism and involvement is

defined by an optimistic determination to cause change that positively impacts the economic

and social landscape in the community at large. His desire to contribute to the economic

progress in the region is emphasized by the success Sal has shared with a number of local

organizations and programs.

Brian Kavoogian

CEO

National Development

Brian Kavoogian is CEO of National Development, one of Greater Boston’s leading real estate development, investment and management firms. Formed in 1983, the firm is recognized as one of the region’s most innovative and creative real estate firms, working with its partners and stakeholders to create great places to live, work and play within the Greater Boston region and providing its investors with attractive risk adjusted returns. The firm is focused almost entirely on the Greater Boston region, where it has, over the past 35 years, become ingrained in the local community, in the belief that its local knowledge and relationships will result in better projects and better investments. The firm’s projects involve a mix of uses, which we are able to create as a result of our expertise across the property-type spectrum including office, research, industrial, retail, senior housing, multifamily and lodging. Its capital is provided by its fully-discretionary closed-end Charles River funds, which it manages on behalf of a group of educational endowments, foundations, pension funds and family offices. Throughout its history, the firm has acquired or developed over 30 million SF in over 45 communities throughout the region, and invested over $6 billion on behalf of its investors.

In 2006, Brian co-founded Charles River Realty Investors as the investment management platform of National Development. Charles River raised over $1.1 billion of equity capital across its four funds before combining with National Development in 2019 to form a seamless, vertically-integrated firm.

Brian is involved with a number of civic, charitable and industry-related organizations. He is a past chairman of both of the region’s real estate trade organizations, the Greater Boston Real Estate Board and NAIOP Massachusetts, where he remains on the Board of Directors.

In 2015, he was appointed by Governor Charlie Baker to the board of the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency where he serves as the Vice Chair. Brian is an Overseer of Newton-Wellesley Hospital, and a member of the Partners Healthcare System, Inc. Corporation. He is a Trustee Emeritus of Tufts University, a past co-chairman of Heading Home and the past Vice Chairman of the Greater Boston YMCA. Brian received a BA from Tufts University in 1984.

Jason Dunn

Moderator

Goulston & Storrs

Jason Dunn is a Partner in the Firm's Real Estate group and has a wide-ranging practice that encompasses all aspects of commercial real estate, with a focus on representing domestic and foreign institutional clients in equity and debt investments in North American real estate and infrastructure through funds, joint ventures, and REITs. Through his representation of tax-exempt and foreign investors, Jason has experience with tax and ERISA transaction structures. Other aspects of Jason’s commercial real estate practice include acquisitions and dispositions, occupancy and ground leases, sale-leasebacks, development and financing. Jason is Co-Chair of the firm's International Investors group.

Representative Experience:

Represented a foreign pension fund investor in connection with its joint venture and commingled fund investments in U.S. real estate, including:

50% investment in a joint venture to acquire market dominant malls throughout the United States. To-date, the joint venture has invested in centers having a gross asset value in excess of $4 billion.

Anchor investment in a commingled fund with capital commitments of $500 million to $1 billion that is targeting a value-add investment strategy in real estate assets located in major markets of the United States, with an emphasis on commercial office.

Represented a U.S. corporate pension fund investor in connection with its direct investments in all sectors of U.S. real estate, including:

$50 million equity commitment to a $240 million (levered) multi-state retail acquisition program investment with a publicly-traded REIT.

$30 million equity commitment to a $900 million (levered) acquisition and development program that targets rent-stabilized multi-family residential projects in New York City.

Represented a real estate joint venture in the formation of a rollup joint venture consisting of approximately 3 million square feet of U.S. retail properties, and the sale of The Mall at Green Hills in Nashville, Tennessee and The Gardens on El Paseo and El Paseo Village in Palm Desert, California to The Taubman Realty Group Limited Partnership for $560 million (consisting of assumed debt, UPREIT partnership units and installment notes).

Represented a real estate joint venture in the formation of a joint venture to acquire and develop a portfolio of transportation-related cargo and warehouse distribution facilities at or near major airports throughout the U.S. The joint venture currently holds a portfolio of over 35 properties totaling over 10 million square feet.

Represented a private secondary school in connection with the sale and partial lease-back of its campus in Northfield, Massachusetts (approximately 225 acres and 450,000 square feet of building area).

Represented a golf course development company in connection with its development of the Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, NJ, including: land acquisition (assembly of parcels through contract with local redevelopment agency); joint venture with local developer; NJ brownfield redevelopment program; golf course membership documents; and JV recapitalization.

Represented a private non-profit in connection with its joint development with Leggat McCall Properties of Waltham Woods Corporate Center in Waltham, Massachusetts, and its ground lease to Raytheon Company for the development of its world headquarters building.

Keynote Opening Remarks

The Impact Of Life Sciences On Greater Boston's Ecosystem

Kendalle O'Connell
Keynote

Kendalle O'Connell

CEO

MassBio

Kendalle O'Connell

CEO

MassBio

Kendalle Burlin O’Connell is a seasoned and effective executive who has received wide acclaim for her leadership of MassBio. As CEO and President of the world’s largest and oldest biopharma membership organization, Kendalle drives the strategy to grow the industry and support member companies, while advocating for policies that enable healthcare innovation and unlock breakthrough therapies for patients around the world. For more than 16 years, Kendalle has sought to deliver for MassBio’s now 1,700+ members through the launch of new initiatives, programs, and events while pushing the industry to new heights by convening and connecting key stakeholders and promoting collaboration.

To better serve the entire life cycle of biopharma companies, Kendalle has expanded MassBio’s innovation offerings to include partnering and investor events, an entrepreneurial accelerator, and a network for founders and chief executives. As part of MassBio’s commitment to realizing a more diverse and equitable life sciences industry, Kendalle was the driving force behind the organization’s launch of the non-profit Bioversity and the opening of its first workforce training center in Dorchester where residents, 96 percent of whom identify as Black or Latino, are prepared for rewarding entry-level careers at local life sciences companies. Kendalle has been an outspoken advocate for the industry in policy debates about state government support for the expansion of the life sciences in Massachusetts, the federal government’s intervention into biopharma innovation, and efforts to improve the affordability and accessibility of life-changing medicines, just to name a few.

Kendalle has earned numerous accolades for her leadership, including Boston Magazine’s list of The 150 Most Influential Bostonians in 2023 and 2024, the Boston Business Journal’s 2023 Power 50: Movement Makers list, and the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce Inspire Award. Currently, Kendalle serves as a Director on the Board of The Boston Foundation, Vice Chair of the Eastern New England Board of Directors for the American Cancer Society, and Chair of Bioversity’s Board. She graduated cum laude from Sacred Heart University with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science and received her Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School.

Why You Should Attend This 2025 Boston CEO Roundtable Discussion

What You'll Learn:

  • How will policy from the new federal and local administration impact deal activity across 2025?

  • What impact will continued rate cuts have on future investment and development opportunities?

  • Which types of assets provide the most economic opportunity for the new year?

  • Activity has begun to pick back up, but how has the investment strategies from the top firms shifted to capitalize on the current opportunities in the market?

  • President-Elect Donald Trump is stepping back into office. What potential impacts will his policy have on material pricing, labor costs and overall impact on economic growth?

  • How are leaders assessing the current state of capital markets and the continued challenges in the marketplace?

  • Which particular submarkets within Massachusetts are seeing growth, and what features are contributing to their attractiveness to investors? 

  • What predictions do Boston’s industry leaders have for 2025 and beyond?

How You'll Do More Business: 

Enhance your business by gaining a stronger understanding of Boston's evolving commercial real estate landscape. Understand how the leading firms in the market are positioning themselves for major success in 2025. Hear from city officials, policy makers, developers, investors, contractors and architects on the future of real estate and economic opportunity in Greater Boston as well as why this market is positioned to defend against continued economic uncertainty.

Who You'll Meet: 

Network with a diverse group of industry leaders, including developers, financiers, urban planners, policymakers, and real estate experts. This event is a melting pot of ideas and strategies, fostering connections and collaborations in the Boston real estate market.

For questions regarding content, speaking, and sponsorship opportunities, please email our Boston Event Producer, Joshua Piquion, at joshua.piquion@bisnow.com. To request disability-related accommodations, please contact ally.araco@bisnow.com no later than seven business days prior to the event.

Boston's 2025 PROJECTS, ARTICLES, CURRENT EVENTS

Venue

Hyatt Regency Boston
One Avenue de Lafayette
Boston, MA 02111

Ballroom: Martha's Vineyard / Foyer
Floor: 3rd Floor


Valet Parking - $58, Self Parking - $41

Get Directions

Agenda

Time Activity
1:30 PM
2:30 PM
Pre-Event Networking
2:30 PM
2:45 PM
Opening Keynote Remarks

Hear from the CEO of Massbio on the impact of life sciences on greater boston's ecosystem

2:45 PM
3:45 PM
CEO Round Table Discussion

- Hear from the leaders of Boston's top development firms share their investment strategies and key insights to position yourself for success in 2025

3:45 PM
4:00 PM
Post-Event Networking

Sponsors

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