With nearly 20 years’ experience working in the development and construction industry, Matt blends his leadership, energy, entrepreneurship, and team building acumen with a healthy balance of micro and macro management across all businesses under the LG Group umbrella to create lasting value for the company and clients we serve.

As COO, Matt is constantly pushing and challenging his teams. His oversight of all company operations, including all phases of the development process, ensures exceptional output while maintaining unparalleled culture and opportunity. Externally, Matt connects with clients, partners, architects, and investors to ensure LG delivers for all involved.

Matt grew up in Naperville, Illinois and graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in Construction Engineering and Management. If not enjoying his home in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago with his wife and three young children, Matt can be found enjoying the outdoors, often skiing, golfing, hiking, or fishing in Sawyer, Michigan and Big Sky, Montana.

Jim Panella serves as Managing Partner of RDM Companies, overseeing the firm’s investment and development platform with a focus on strategy, execution, and long-term value creation. His responsibilities span development, asset management, financing, and capital transactions, ensuring seamless integration across all phases of a project.

Jim brings deep expertise in ground-up and adaptive reuse development, financial underwriting, acquisitions and dispositions, and lease negotiations. He is known for his ability to structure complex deals, guide projects through entitlements and construction, and deliver high-performing assets across a range of property types.

Throughout his career, Jim has played a central role in the acquisition, development, financing, leasing, and disposition of real estate projects totaling more than $800 million. His thoughtful, hands-on approach has helped RDM consistently deliver impactful projects that align with both investor goals and community needs.

James Fifer is President of Milhouse Construction. In his role, James is responsible for growing the team, driving business development for the group, and ensuring the program management team provides the highest level of service and exceeds client expectations. James brings 30 years of industry expertise to Milhouse, ranging from construction management, real estate development, business development, marketing, and program management.

Throughout his career, James has served as a trusted owner’s representative on many high profile real estate development and construction projects throughout Chicagoland. This experience makes him particularly adept at identifying new opportunities and clients for Milhouse. Upon joining Milhouse in 2010, James led the company’s growth into the construction industry, managing the redevelopment of Pullman Park on Chicago’s south side. During his tenure with Milhouse, James has taken the Program Management team from 30 team members to a department of 50+ talented individuals and growing.

James holds a Master of Business Administration from DePaul University and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

James sits on the board of Milhouse Charities, a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to advancing underrepresented youth and minorities in STEM.

Outside of work, James enjoys spending time with his family and friends, traveling and playing golf.

Andrew serves as a Project Executive at IMEG, leading complex corporate, mixed-use, hospitality, multifamily, senior living, and commercial developments nationally. A licensed Professional Engineer, he brings deep expertise in energy distribution and power generation systems, with a particular focus on high-rise construction.

Andrew plays a key role in life-cycle cost analysis, cost estimating, and construction observation, helping project teams balance performance, constructability, and long-term value. Known for his collaborative leadership and clear communication, he works closely with owners, architects, and contractors to deliver innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective solutions for both large-scale renovations and new construction projects.

With over twenty years of construction experience and more than a decade with BEAR, Josh’s well-rounded industry know-how, rapport with clients and his project managers, and unwavering attention to detail is unparalleled. Josh and his team average nearly 100 projects each year ranging from hundreds to millions in contracts. He oversees construction projects of all types in downtown Chicago with a scope of work including small maintenance work to large capital building projects (lobbies, amenity centers, public spaces, spec suites) and tenant build-outs. He also leads a team of project managers for projects in the telecommunications sector. He received his degree in Construction Management from Illinois State University, is a member of the 399 Chief Engineers Association, and he serves on the Construction Management Advisory Board at his alma mater.

Walid is a Manager of Commercial Development for Xfinity. Xfinity is the multifamily arm of Comcast, serving customers such as apartments, condos, dorms and senior facilities. Walid leads the Account Executive team, with a primary focus in the City of Chicago and surrounding suburbs, working with owners and associations to provide unique solutions to meet their needs. Walid joined Xfinity in 2013 bringing nearly 25 years of telecom experience with the last 12 years solely focused on Multi-family. Walid was born in Chicago and currently lives in the south suburbs with his wife and 3 kids.

Sam oversees and leads all construction operations at ENC, guiding projects from early engagement through completion with a strong focus on collaboration, accountability, and results. He works closely with owners and key stakeholders to build a unified team culture that encourages open dialogue and

collaborative solutions. With more than two decades of experience in the Chicago construction market, Sam provides executive leadership across the firm’s construction business operations, including client engagement, long-term planning, staffing strategy, and team development.

An Evans Scholar alum from Purdue University, Sam earned a degree in Construction Management with a specialization in Mechanical Systems and a minor in Organizational Leadership. Outside of work, Sam is an avid golfer, a dedicated baseball fan, a movie enthusiast, and a proud father of four.

Since joining Focus, Justin has help deliver over $1.9B in real estate value to the Chicago and surrounding suburban markets. Additionally, Justin has assembled a truly diverse development team that executes a variety of complex real estate development matters including entitlements and public policy, detailed budgeting and proformas, architectural design coordination and construction oversight. Justin's 20 years of experience pursuing unique infill development opportunities in markets with high barriers of entry has help Focus secure a reputation for delivering impactful real estate which retains its value.

Michael joined The Baldwin Group in October 2025 as Partner. He brings over 35 years of specialized

industry expertise advising construction firms nationwide in the areas of enterprise risk management, losssensitive program design, and strategic risk management.

As a leader at The Baldwin Group, Michael spearheads efforts to foster growth, innovation, and the

expansion of the practice’s reach. His focus is on deepening the firm’s expertise in the construction industry

by advancing technical risk and insurance proficiency within client teams, identifying emerging risk issues

impacting contractors, and driving increased value for construction firms. Michael oversees advisory and

property and casualty resources, develops strategies for client and colleague growth, and collaborates with

Construction Practice teams to enhance service offerings and deliver industry-leading expertise.

Prior to joining The Baldwin Group, Michael served as the Director of IMA’s National Construction Specialty

Group, where he led the firm’s strategic efforts to enhance the success of construction clients nationwide

for eight years. In that role, Michael coordinated IMA’s resources and expertise to deliver comprehensive

risk and insurance solutions tailored to the unique needs of the construction industry.

Michael began his insurance career in 1990 as a construction underwriter with Aetna, later joining Zurich’s

North American Home Office in Schaumburg, Illinois. He then spent over two decades with a top-10 global

brokerage firm, where he led the Construction & Design Group for ten years. Over the course of his career,

He has partnered with many of the largest and most complex construction organizations in the United

States, including multiple ENR Top 100 general and specialty contractors.

A respected thought leader in the field, Michael has shared his expertise as an educator, teaching Risk and

Insurance at the Henry Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri–Kansas City and coteaching Enterprise Risk Management in the university’s accelerated MBA program.

Tim brings 43 years of diverse experience to clients across a wide range of sectors, including high-rise and suburban commercial office, mixed-use retail, hospitality, residential, senior living, K–12, higher education, cultural, research, healthcare, and public-private partnership projects. He has also worked directly with the Lendlease Americas COO, assisting in national project operations reviews as well as the development of process improvements and operational excellence initiatives. As a Project Executive, Tim has served as the Lendlease representative on owner-architect-construction management teams, acting as the team leader responsible for overall project operations, with a focus on establishing strong project organization and control. Additionally, from 2011 to 2013, Tim served as Operations Director for Lendlease’s Multi-Site group, where he implemented and maintained operational disciplines, oversaw successful project execution, led system implementations, and managed business unit reporting. At RLB I provided Owner’s Representative role for a major casino project in Chicago, leveraging his extensive background in construction, program management, and design management to oversee the entire program. In this role, he coordinates with a diverse array of consultants while providing strategic advisory support to the client.

Justin Neagle is the Chief Storyteller at Spot Migration, a managed IT and cybersecurity firm focused on the construction industry. They partner with AEC companies to help them modernize their technology, reduce risk, and build scalable systems that support long-term growth and valuation.

With deep roots in the built world, Justin is also the co-host of the Building Scale Podcast, which is ranked in the top 5% of podcasts globally. He sits down with construction, architecture, and engineering leaders to find out how they have built scale in their businesses by unpacking the stories of real growth challenges. He is also a co-founder of the National Construction Board of Influence (NCBOI), a national leadership community designed to connect and elevate construction leaders through events, peer groups, and collaboration.

Justin’s work sits at the intersection of construction, technology, and leadership, helping firms turn IT and cybersecurity into strategic assets that fuel performance, protect margins, and support sustainable growth.