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25 Fid Kennedy Ave.

25 Fid Kennedy Ave.

3.5-acre city-owned parcel located in the Boston Marine Industrial Park (BMIP) overlooking Boston Harbor. Historically known as “Building 16,” 25 Fid Kennedy Avenue was built in 1940 by the U.S. Navy as a multi-trade heavy machine shop. The open, steel frame structure and forty-ton overhead crane capacity facilitated large-scale metal fabrication and assembly supporting the U.S. efforts in WWII. After years of neglect, the building was left vacant for decades. In 2015, Cannistraro was designated the Developer by the Boston Redevelopment Authority to revitalize the facility to its created use. Renovations preserve the legacy of the buildings industrial Art Deco architecture and utilitarian uses.

Speakers and Panels

Dana Griffin

Dana Griffin

Director, Development

Jamestown

Eric Schlager

Eric Schlager

CEO

The Bulfinch Companies

Sara Shank

Sara Shank

Managing Director, Tech Initiatives

Beacon Capital Partners

Dana Griffin

Director, Development

Jamestown

Dana Griffin is the Director of Development at Jamestown. Mr. Griffin joined the company in 2013 as Vice President, Development and Construction. He oversees development opportunities on select assets nationwide. Mr. Griffin’s primary responsibilities include advancing the strategic vision for an asset, determining feasibility, and establishing scope and budgets to maximize overall asset value. Prior to joining Jamestown, he was a Senior Vice President at Jones Lang LaSalle. Mr. Griffin has an extensive development and construction background, with past assignments including life science work, new building infrastructure, a wide array of repositioning work, and leading entitlement efforts. He currently serves on the boards for the Back Bay Association, the Seaport TMA, A Better City, and the Boston Municipal Research Bureau. Mr. Griffin received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Eric Schlager

CEO

The Bulfinch Companies

As Chief Executive Officer, Eric oversees strategy, acquisitions, asset management, finance and general oversight of the company. With over 30 years of experience in real estate, Eric has helped Bulfinch emerge as one of Greater Boston’s leading commercial real estate firms by delivering on the company’s “vision to value” mission through innovative investment and acquisition strategies. He is a passionate supporter and advocate of several philanthropic organizations and actively involved with numerous business and civic organizations.

EDUCATION

University of Pennsylvania, BA in International Relations & Minor in Economics

AFFILIATIONS

NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association, Board of Directors, previously served as Chairman & President

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Board of Trustees

Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Board of Trustees

Atlantic Charter Insurance Co., Board of Directors & Investment Committee

University of Pennsylvania, Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center, Member & Research Sponsor

Real Estate Finance Association

Urban Land Institute

Real Estate Investment Advisory Council

Sara Shank

Managing Director, Tech Initiatives

Beacon Capital Partners

Ms. Shank is based in Beacon Capital Partners’ Boston office and oversees portfolio management, including technology initiatives to improve the tenant experience. In this role, she evaluates opportunities to invest in and pilot new technology to add value across Beacon’s portfolio. In addition to other corporate projects, she spearheads technology adoption across functionalities, and has forged relationships with leading industry providers. She previously was in Beacon’s acquisitions and dispositions group. Prior to joining Beacon in 2003, Ms. Shank was a Senior Associate for Cornerstone Properties in San Francisco and held earlier positions at William Wilson & Associates, prior to its purchase by Cornerstone. Ms. Shank is the co-founder and co-chair of ULI’s New England Real Estate Technology Council. She is a frequent speaker on commercial real estate technology and was recognized by Real Estate Forum as one of the 50 under 40 in commercial real estate in 2015. Ms. Shank holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Virginia, a Master of Business Administration degree from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Keynote State of CRE Tech Remarks

Michael Beckerman
Keynote

Michael Beckerman

CEO

CREtech

Dave McLaughlin
Moderator

Dave McLaughlin

General Manager, Eastern US & Canada

WeWork

Michael Beckerman

CEO

CREtech

Michael Beckerman is the CEO of CREtech, the largest event, research and data platform devoted to the commercial real estate technology sector. CREtech annually produces sold out events in New York, Boston and Los Angeles and has built the biggest community of real estate tech professionals in the world.

Michael is one of the most active leaders and sought after speakers in the emerging commercial real estate tech sector, having delivered keynote presentations at conferences and private company events around the world. He is a frequent guest on industry podcasts such as Fifth Wall and also one of the most popular bloggers in the commercial real estate tech sector.

He began his entry into commercial real estate tech in 2012 with the launch of The News Funnel, a customized news platform, and subsequently launched a blogging, social media and marketing platform for the commercial real estate industry, The Content Funnel.

Michael previously spent 25 years in the public relations industry having built Beckerman Public Relations into the largest firm in the industry specializing in the commercial real estate industry.

Michael resides in New Jersey with his wife and two children.

Dave McLaughlin

Moderator

WeWork

Dave McLaughlin serves as WeWork’s General Manager for the Tri-State, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic territories, responsible for overall business performance in from Washington DC to Toronto and Montreal. Since joining WeWork in 2015, Dave has opened and overseen multiple North American markets. Prior to WeWork, Dave was CEO and Co-Founder of Vsnap, a video messaging startup (acquired by Gainsight). Dave was also Co-Founder and VP Business Development of Fig, a mobile payments startup (acquired by PayPal). Dave is an award-winning screenwriter and film director. He is a graduate of Boston College, and he lives in the Boston area with his wife and their two sons.

How to Adapt to CRE Tech to Immediately Impact Your Business

Paige Pitcher

Paige Pitcher

Center for Innovation Associate

Hines

Chris Mayer

Chris Mayer

Executive Vice President & Chief Innovation Officer

Suffolk

Liz Long

Liz Long

Vice President of Marketing & Sales

Touchplan

John Cannistraro
Moderator

John Cannistraro

President

Cannistraro

Paige Pitcher

Center for Innovation Associate

Hines

Paige Pitcher is a Real Estate Developer, Planner, and Entrepreneur. Currently at Hines Office of Innovation she vets and launches new products, processes, and technologies for a global real estate firm with holdings in 26 countries. Prior to joining Hines, she co-founded a planning and development company that built half a million square feet of mixed-use projects including 500+ units of affordable housing. Paige holds a Master of Real Estate Development from MIT and a BS in Urban Planning from the University of Utah. As a Fellow of the Samuel Tak Lee Real Estate Entrepreneurship Lab, her research quantified the financial impact of autonomous vehicles on the built environment.

Chris Mayer

Executive Vice President & Chief Innovation Officer

Suffolk

Chris Mayer is the Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer at Suffolk. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the company’s innovation initiatives, managing their execution, and measuring their results to achieve safer and more affordable building. In addition, Chris heads up Suffolk’s Innovation Committee, which is focused on identifying new innovations and testing them for feasibility.

Prior to joining Suffolk, Chris was a consultant in the digital media and online education industries where his focus was on developing strategic technology plans that align with, and enable, successful business growth. Chris also worked as the Publisher of the Boston Globe newspaper and websites for four years and worked at the news organization for nearly 30 years. He oversaw the Globe’s two-brand online strategy, developed new technologies that allowed subscribers to access Globe content on smartphones and tablets, and launched RadioBDC which introduced the Globe to a new digital radio audience.

Chris currently serves on the board of Community Servings, a not-for-profit food and nutrition program that provides services throughout Massachusetts to individuals and families living with critical and chronic illnesses.

Chris received his Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from Yale University.

Liz Long

Vice President of Marketing & Sales

Touchplan

Liz has been leading teams to success for more than a decade. With an avid passion for startups, she’s most recently applied her devotion, creative initiative and expertise in product and design as an original employee and key contributor for MOCA’s software products division, Touchplan. At Touchplan, Liz has adapted and grown with the company, tackling everything from customer support and strategic account management to marketing and organizational development. Liz prides herself on being a part of every project team that has used Touchplan - over 700 to date. Prior to joining Touchplan, Liz founded the Boston chapter of Girl Develop It and is an alumnus of the Startup Institute.

John Cannistraro

Moderator

Cannistraro

John C. Cannistraro, Jr. is president of J.C. Cannistraro, LLC, a family-owned mechanical contractor specializing in plumbing, fire protection, HVAC piping and sheet metal services for commercial and institutional projects in the Greater Boston area. John is responsible for establishing the long-term vision for this 700-person business, now in its second generation of family leadership, and emphasizing a culture of community outreach and collaboration. Cannistraro was recently named a top contractor in the Boston Business Journal Book of Lists and a Top Place to Work according to the Boston Globe.

John is a past president of the Massachusetts Building Congress and the Greater Boston Plumbing Contractors Association. John has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University, holds a Master Plumber’s License in Massachusetts, and is a graduate of the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Leasing, Amenities & Turning Information into Dollars

Guy Zipori

Guy Zipori

CEO

Skyline AI

Marc Emmons

Marc Emmons

VP of Sales and Marketing

Starry Internet Services

Josh Glastein

Josh Glastein

SVP, Chief Information & Technology Officer

Berkshire Residential Investments

Craig Hale

Craig Hale

Senior Vice President

Leyton

Luke Behrmann

Luke Behrmann

Vice President, Product Management

redIQ

Benjamin Pleat
Moderator

Benjamin Pleat

CEO, Co-Founder

Cobu

Guy Zipori

CEO

Skyline AI

Guy Zipori, CEO of Skyline AI, is a serial tech entrepreneur, who mastered code at 14, and founded his first tech company at 16. In 2017, Guy and his partners co-founded Skyline AI, an artificial intelligence asset manager for commercial real estate. Prior to Skyline AI, Guy co-founded and served as CEO of SteamRail which was acquired by ironSource in 2016. Before SteamRail, Guy co-founded and operated as CTO for Visionize, which was acquired by AVG Technologies (NYSE: AVG) in 2011. Subsequently, he continued to lead the engineering of AVG post-acquisition, developing products used by 187 million active users, generating over $160 million in annual revenue.

Josh Glastein

SVP, Chief Information & Technology Officer

Berkshire Residential Investments

Josh Glastein serves as Chief Information & Technology Officer for Berkshire. He joined the company in 2018, bringing extensive financial technology experience. Previously, Josh served as an IT Manager at the Baupost Group. He oversaw technology projects and support for the front and middle office from 2013 to 2018. Prior to the Baupost Group, he worked for Wellington Management Company from 2007-2013, where he managed the company’s portfolio accounting system. Collectively, Josh has managed technology teams responsible for supporting systems used throughout the entire investment process.

Josh holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University. Several years later, he returned to school to receive dual Master’s degrees from Boston University, including a Master in Business Administration and a Master of Science in Information Systems.

Craig Hale

Senior Vice President

Leyton

Craig has a keen interest in technology that has led him into the world of…. Tax! Following the completion of his PhD and Masters in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Manchester, he started his own business designing, manufacturing and selling drones, and it is here he was firsts exposed to the R&D tax credit. After learning vital lessons in engineering and business, Craig joined Leyton and has led the R&D studies across all engineering sectors, with significant focus on construction. From multi-billion dollar turnover to the extremities of the supply chain, the industry is embracing innovation and he has helped to secure over $30 Million in tax savings.

Luke Behrmann

Vice President, Product Management

redIQ

Luke Behrmann is a Product Management professional with a passion for creating customer value and the products that address the needs and problems of a market. Over ten years of experience in taking new products and technology to market is leveraged from across multiple industries and from large publicly traded companies, technology startups and academic technology transfer and commercialization. Prior to joining RedIQ, Luke oversaw a product platform and all product management activities that supported over $60MM in annual revenues and included all aspects of product planning, development and execution. Luke has a BA in Economics and an MBA with an emphasis in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business.

Benjamin Pleat

Moderator

Cobu

Ben Pleat is CEO and Founder of Cobu, a real estate technology and services company that is changing the apartment living experience by powering genuine community through technology, experiences, and analytics. As a New York native, Ben has seen first hand just how impactful a sense of community can be toward bringing a sense of belonging to a physical space. Ben is constantly fascinated by innovation in the built world, and has explored the nexus of real estate and technology while with companies like WeWork, Goldman Sachs, and Israel Cleantech Ventures. Ben is based in Downtown Boston with his team.

Summary

1) Blockchain, AI and Big Data has been all over the news, but how is it actually being applied to the CRE industry today?    

2) How are the industry's leading dealmakers leveraging technology to source, evaluate, and ultimately complete more transactions?

3) What innovations in design are most impacting things like sustainability, space optimization, and tenant satisfaction?

4) With construction costs rising and a growing labor shortage, what innovative products and practices are being employed to deliver projects faster and under-budget without sacrificing structural or functional integrity?

5) With the current boom cycle nearing its conclusion and "good" acquisition deals becoming harder to find, how are leading property owners and managers utilizing tech to lower operating costs and still deliver returns to their investors?

Venue

25 Fid Kennedy Ave
Boston, MA 02210

Floor: 2nd floor


Free parking available across the street at the Massport lot on Fid Kennedy Avenue

Agenda

Time Activity
11:30 AM
12:30 PM
Breakfast & Networking
12:30 PM
1:15 PM
Leasing, Amenities & Turning Information into Dollars
1:15 PM
2:00 PM
How to Adapt to CRE Tech to Immediately Impact Your Business
2:00 PM
2:30 PM
Keynote State of CRE Tech Remarks
2:30 PM
3:00 PM
Post Event Networking