Dr. Omar Lateef became president and CEO of Rush University Medical Center in May 2019. Under his leadership, the Medical Center received national attention for its effective management of the COVID-19 pandemic, which included building a forward triage, deploying early testing, acceptance of critically ill patient transfers, and being one of the first health systems to offer antibody testing. In recognition of Lateef’s role in Rush’s response to the crisis, Modern Healthcare named Lateef one of 50 most influential clinical executives.

Lateef is a nationally recognized leader in the measurement of health care quality. He has worked with physicians and analysts at Rush and from academic medical centers across the nation to evaluate the driving factors and methodology of quality rankings by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), U.S. News and World Report and others.

In January 2020, Lateef was invited by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to serve on the National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Lateef and his colleagues have evaluated and recommended changes to the rating systems to confirm that they are accurate and a fair reflection of quality. His work to ensure that key national measures are transparent, measure what they are intended to measure and have no unintended consequences has greatly affected how health care quality is reported across the country.

Prior to becoming president and CEO, Lateef was the chief medical officer of the Medical Center and of Rush University System for Health. Under his leadership, Rush system hospitals have performed exceptionally well in rankings by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. News & World Report, the Leapfrog Group and Vizient, which in 2019 ranked Rush University Medical Center first among 93 participating academic health systems across the nation in quality and accountability.

A former associate dean of medical sciences at Rush University, Lateef is a professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine. He has won numerous teaching awards during his time as a clinical educator at Rush.

In 1995, Lateef earned a bachelor's degree in religious studies from the University of Florida-Gainesville. Four years later, he received his medical degree from Des Moines University, after which he completed his internship and residency at New York University Downtown Hospital. He completed a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Rush in 2005.

Lateef has published extensively on health care quality and delivery scientific, and has spoken internationally on methods for improving health care.

Ken Bahk, Ph.D. is the co-founder and managing partner of Kaleidoscope Health Ventures (KHV), a venture-development firm with a mission to realize health equity for all by reinventing the health innovation model. KHV brings together world-class startups, partners, investors and talent to address socioeconomic and health issues while providing high-value services to support a new wave of life science startups and healthcare solutions.

Ken has spent 19 years in life sciences and healthcare; enabling new technologies from idea to commercialization as a senior executive, venture and impact investor for family offices, and investor and board member for multiple market-leading exits. He has served in thought leadership roles for organizations including the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, Association for Molecular Pathology, and the American Society for Microbiology. He is a thought-leader for the topics of key Healthtech trends and Innovation for the JP Morgan Annual Healthcare Conference and the White House. Most recently, Ken serves as an advisor to PATHS-UP, the national science foundation backed consortium of leading academics and behemoth industry players who develop advanced technologies and health systems for underserved populations.

Ken is a member of the Board of Directors at Inflammatix and Project N95. He received his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and MS in Neurobiology and Physiology from Northwestern University, and his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.

Bob co-founded Kaleidoscope Health Ventures (KHV) on a simple premise - your zip code should define where you live, not how long or how well you live. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show there’s a 30-year life expectancy gap between high-and low-income neighborhoods in Chicago - the worst among major cities studied in the nation. KHV brings together world-class innovators, startups, academia, corporate partners, and investors for a compelling purpose: Achieve health equity through innovation and collaboration, at scale.

Bob’s principles-forward focus led to producing an award-winning film, The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlin. A 2018 passion project collaborating on a story that needs to be told and catalyst for driving conversation and change for social, racial and health inequality. Propelling those conversations into the board room, Bob serves on several life science and digital health start-ups’ boards.

Before his values-based career shift, Bob led Corporate Strategy, Innovation, and Business Development at Astellas, enabling global business model transformation and directing strategy and growth for its Americas Operations (Canada, US, Latin Americas). Prior to this, Bob lead corporate sales and marketing for TAP Pharmaceuticals.

Bob advises venture capital and private equity firms, incubators and accelerators, and start-up ventures across multiple industries. He attributes his success to fostering a shared team vision, and building an environment anchored on trust and transparency for effective collaboration. Bob holds an Executive MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and Bachelor of Science in Biological Studies from Rutgers University.

JC Griffin joined Avison Young in 2021 as a Senior Broker within the firm's Development Services and Capital Markets groups. In this capacity, Mr. Griffin focuses on advancing the firm’s national client procurement efforts, executing investment management transactions and conducting valuation and strategic advisory services for publicly governed and privately owned entities and their institutional assets.

Before joining Avison Young, JC worked in @properties’ Commercial Division and founded GVG Real Estate Advisors, LLC, where he serviced HNWI and institutional investors, family offices and conventional landlords with the disposition, leasing and valuation of retail and office assets. Prior to brokerage advisory, Mr. Griffin managed personnel, facilities and communications in the public sector, working for the Cook County Bureau of Asset Management, the Illinois Department of Transportation, the U.S. House of Representatives and consulting for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. JC also served as a liaison to the White House Opportunity & Revitalization Council established to amplify the coordination of Federal economic development resources in Opportunity Zones and other distressed communities identified as a result of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Antecedent to his work in government administration and affairs, Griffin managed labor relations, training and transportation operations for the Norfolk Southern Railroad Corporation in Chicago and Detroit.

Mr. Griffin is graduate of the national Real Estate Associate Program (REAP) and the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Commercial Real Estate Academy. He is a licensed real estate broker in the state of Illinois, Florida and North Carolina, an alumnus of the John Marshall Law School and earned his undergraduate degree from North Park University with a concentration in business and organizational management. Mr. Griffin also served honorably in the United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, fulfilling eight collective years in the U.S. Department of Defense as an Iraq War veteran and C-130 enlisted aviator.

As a founder and principal of Echo, Jon is responsible for the firm’s strategic direction and manages the day-to-day operations for the company. Jon’s responsibilities include sourcing new investment opportunities, debt/equity financing, leasing, project management and asset management for Echo’s portfolio of properties.  Jon has extensive experience in real estate development, land assemblage, property acquisition, corporate real estate consultation, tenant representation, and leasing.

Prior to founding Echo Real Estate Capital, Jon served as Vice President of Development for a privately held Chicago-based development firm where his list of preferred development clients included numerous national retailers and restaurants expanding throughout the Chicagoland MSA.  Prior to that, Jon helped found a Chicago-based retail brokerage company where his list of clients included: McDonald’s USA, Dollar General, Verizon Wireless, Fifth-Third Bank, Save a Lot, Sonic, Anna’s Linens, True North Energy, Flexeon Rehabilitation, and Front Burner Restaurants.

Jon began his commercial real estate career with a retail and hotel development firm and was involved in over 30 projects comprising 8+ million square feet of commercial space.

Prior to his start in commercial real estate, Jon worked in the Indianapolis Division of Centex Homes – a Fortune 500 Production home builder based in Dallas, TX.

D. Deeni Taylor is our Executive Vice President – Chief Investment Officer.

Taylor comes to the Physicians Realty Trust from Indianapolis based Duke Realty, Inc. (NYSE:DRE), where he served as an Executive Vice President helping to lead Duke’s healthcare team since 2006.

Prior to his healthcare real estate career, Taylor enjoyed a 25-year hospital career. He served as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for St. Vincent Health, an Ascension Health ministry including 16 hospitals serving central Indiana. He also served as President of UNITY Health Management Services in Birmingham, Alabama and worked for Ascension’s St. Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama as the Vice President of Planning and Marketing. Prior to that, he worked for St. Joseph Hospital in Augusta, Georgia, where he served as Vice President Ancillary Services.

He is a graduate of Purdue University, with a B.S. in Pharmacy, and Central Michigan University with a Master of Science in Hospital Administration. Mr. Taylor is a member of ULI and serves on their Healthcare and Life Science Council. He is a member of the Healthcare Real Estate Insights Editorial Board and a past Diplomat in American College of Healthcare Executives. Mr. Taylor has served on Peyton Manning’s PeyBack Foundation since 2001.

Curt brings decades of wide-ranging industry

experience to the position of Director of Real

Estate Development, with particular expertise

in healthcare solutions. As Director of Real

Estate Development, he takes a leadership role

in pursuing opportunities, planning responses

to proposal requests, and preparing project

pro formas, as well as managing due diligence

and entitlement processes for medical and

related projects throughout our Great Lakes

Region. He particularly excels during the critical

preconstruction phase of a project, assisting

his customers in site selection and acquisitions,

municipal-use permits and approvals, design

and financing— processes he strengthens

through his extensive relationships within

brokerage networks, third-party consultants,

governmental agencies and other stakeholders

and property owners. Curt values resolving

project conflicts proactively and is resourceful

at finding creative solutions that make a positive

impact on costs and scheduling, benefiting

owners and heightening outcomes.

Majd Ello had a passion for the AEC industry since her early childhood days of walking the ancient cobblestone streets of her hometown of Jerusalem. The creativity in design and coordination of the beautiful and complex structures that stand thousands of years later, absolutely amazes her.

An incredible program called ACE Mentor Program, guided this passion of hers with 2 hours a week of living in the shoes of an Architect, Engineer or Construction Manager, from visiting a potential project site, sketching possible layouts of a lobby to the detailed structural analysis and design of the columns in the building. She quickly learned this was an industry she loved. Through the years, she's touched a few parts of the industry from architectural design and structural engineering to general contracting and technology. This has introduced her to some of the most creative and passionate people, which led her to her current role as Customer Success Manager at Autodesk. Combining two passions of the AEC industry as well as helping people. If you know Majd, you know she is a dreamer, and her ambitions for this industry and our world are ever so exponentially growing. She hopes to continue pushing the ceiling of this industry and its people.