Bisnow's Midwest Industrial & Logistics Summit

Jeremy Giles

President, Central Region
Prologis

Laurie Paquette

SVP
Starwood

Laurie Paquette is responsible for the real estate operations and property management of Starwood Retail Partners. Her responsibilities include strategic planning, budget approval and management, capital expenditures and operations, marketing, and business development. She has more 30 years of professional experience, most of which has been within the real estate sector. Prior to joining Starwood Retail Properties, Laurie was Vice President of Asset Management at General Growth Properties where she was responsible for 9 million square feet of assets in Las Vegas and Hawaii, including some of the most successful and high-profile retail centers in the world. Laurie holds a BA in Marketing and Management from Concordia University.

Taylor Malfitano

Vice President
Link Industrial Properties

Taylor Malfitano is Vice President of National Accounts for Link Industrial Properties. Link Industrial Properties is Blackstone’s US industrial real estate operating platform. Link currently manages a national portfolio of high-quality, well-located industrial assets totaling over 180 million square feet throughout the U.S. In his role, Mr. Malfitano is responsible for maintaining and growing relationships with top customers and business partners in the markets in which Link operates. Prior to joining Link Industrial Properties, Mr. Malfitano was Vice President of Investments at Gramercy Property Trust. During his tenure at Gramercy, Mr. Malfitano was responsible for Industrial Acquisitions in the Western and Southwestern US. Mr. Malfitano holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Villanova University.

Mark Goode

Founding Principal
Venture One Real Estate

Adam Moore

Senior Regional Director
First Industrial Realty Trust

As Senior Regional Director for First Industrial’s Chicago/Milwaukee Region, Adam Moore is responsible for leasing, acquisition, development and other corporate customer initiatives throughout the region.  Mr. Moore has over 20 years of experience working in the commercial real estate sector, during this time he has been responsible for over $1 Billion in transactions. During his time with First Industrial, he has completed an average of 40 lease transactions per year while increasing portfolio occupancy and quality through acquisitions and development. Prior to his current position, Mr. Moore served as Marketing/Leasing Director for First Industrial's Chicago/Milwaukee region, working with tenants on new leasing opportunities throughout the area. Previously, Mr. Moore served as a Vice President for Krusinski Construction Company where he was responsible for business development and commercial development activities. Earlier, he was a Director at the brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield, Leasing Agent for Prime Group Realty Trust and a Broker for Equis Corporation. An active member of the Association of Industrial Real Estate Brokers (AIRE), Mr. Moore holds a Bachelor of Science in economics from DePauw University.

Mike Yungerman

VP & General Manager
Opus Development Company

Mike is responsible for the leadership, development and overall management of the Chicago office and team members, including those in Milwaukee. Mike’s primary responsibilities include active projects and pursuit of development opportunities in Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. As such, Mike plays an integral role in defining and executing current strategies and future growth plans for the region. Over his 23 year commercial real estate career, Mike has completed more than 21 million square feet of industrial, office and medical projects, valued at over $1 billion with high-profile clients, such as ConAgra Foods, Hewlett-Packard, Macy’s and Electrolux. Mike has negotiated and managed many of Opus’ joint venture projects with partners such as Northwestern Mutual, USAA Real Estate Company, AEW Capital Management and Founders Properties. Mike holds a Master of Business Administration in real estate finance from DePaul University and a Bachelor of Applied Science in construction management from Western Illinois University. He is a member of NAIOP, the Association of Industrial Real Estate and SIOR.

Dominic Sergi

CEO & President
Clear Height Properties

Dominic Sergi is the President and CEO of Clear Height Properties, where he is responsible for setting and executing on the company’s long-term investment criteria. Since 2010, he has lead his team to acquiring and developing over $200 million in assets. Dominic’s oversees all aspects of the company’s integrated platform of management, leasing and construction. Dominic is active in various industry, community and charitable organizations. He’s a member of the local real estate chapters of NAIOP, SIOR, ULI and REIA. And charitable organizations of PAWS Chicago, USO of Illinois, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Dominic also serves on the board of several companies such as Cresco Labs, Outcome Health (formerly ContextMedia), Conversion Energy Systems, and BizAssure. Dominic A. Sergi is a licensed Managing Broker with the State of Illinois.

David Nielsen

SVP
Bentall Kennedy

David Nielsen is a Senior Vice President at Bentall Kennedy with responsibility for investment transactions in the Eastern region of the United States. David joined Bentall Kennedy in 2007 and is based in the Chicago office. Prior to joining Bentall Kennedy, Mr. Nielsen was a Director in the Investments Group of Equity Office Properties Trust. In this role, he participated in the acquisition and disposition of over $1 billion of office assets throughout the United States with primary responsibilities of sourcing investment opportunities in Southeast Florida, Washington, D.C., and Stamford, Connecticut. Mr. Nielsen holds an MBA degree from DePaul University and a BA degree in business administration from Wartburg College. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute, the Real Estate Investment Association and is active in the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers

Mark Melone

Executive Vice President, Director of Construction
PREMIER Design + Build Group

As Executive Vice President, Director of Construction at PREMIER Design + Build Group, Mark oversees the overall company’s commitment to construction excellence and dedication to client service in the delivery of top quality industrial, commercial, medical and multifamily facilities. Mark has led various project types to success nationwide over his more than a decade with PREMIER. Most recently, Mark was involved in the design and construction of a 285,527-square-foot freezer facility in Savannah, Georgia. He also oversaw the redevelopment of a previous Dominick’s campus in Northlake, Illinois, including the addition of a new freezer and refurbishment of an existing cooler building. Mark holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois.

Derek Fish

Senior Vice President, Investments
Realterm

Derek Fish is responsible for leading Acquisitions and Business Development for Realterm in the United States. Previously, Mr. Fish worked for Ravinia Capital Group in Chicago, IL, as an Acquisitions Associate charged with underwriting real estate investments and capital structures across property types. Derek was also a senior analyst at LaSalle Investment Management responsible for asset management of properties across a $3.0 billion fund. Mr. Fish holds a BA from Dartmouth College.

Kevin Brennan

Managing Principal
Brennan Investment Group

Kevin Brennan is a Managing Principal and Co-Founder of Brennan Investment Group. In this capacity, Mr. Brennan directs all investment, operations, portfolio management, disposition, and development activity in the Midwest. Prior to joining Brennan Investment Group, Mr. Brennan worked in the Capital Deployment Group at Prologis. While at Prologis, Mr. Brennan was directly responsible for the evaluation and underwriting of industrial acquisition and development transactions throughout the Central Region of the United States. During the course of his career, Mr. Brennan has been involved in over $3 billion in industrial transactions. Mr. Brennan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and is a board member of NAIOP.

Jim Martell

CEO
Logistics Property Company

Jim Martell serves as CEO of Logistics Property Company, LLC (“LPC”) where he is responsible for the overall strategic direction, planning and performance of LPC. Jim has 43 years of experience in all aspects of commercial real estate including leasing, management, acquisition, development, construction, financing, and disposition. Over the course of his career, Jim has been involved in office, retail, multi-family and industrial development throughout North America. Since 1995 he has completed several billion dollar development projects. Jim began his real estate career as a commercial real estate lender and then worked for a regional general contractor for nine years. Moving to Chicago in 1986, Jim joined the Shearson Lehman Brother’s Balcor Company as a portfolio manager ($9.0BN in NAV). Following Balcor, he worked for the Prime Group until he formed Ridge in 1995. In 2003, Ridge formed several REITs with Prudential Real Estate Company. Selling the assets of the Pru Ridge REITs in 2014, Ridge formed Ridge Development Company, LLC with Transwestern. In 2017, Ridge wrapped up its joint venture with Transwestern and formed Logistics Property Company, LLC with Macquarie Capital out of Australia.

Timothy Walsh

Partner, CIO
Dermody Properties

Tim Walsh is Partner, Chief Investment Officer for Dermody Properties, and is responsible for overseeing all origination activities, such as acquisitions, development and build-to-suit projects. His primary focus is working with Dermody Properties’ national team of regional partners to identify and target the best value-add industrial investment opportunities available. Mr. Walsh has more than 28 years of experience in industrial acquisitions and portfolio management, and is based in the company’s Midwest Region Office in Chicago, Illinois. Throughout his career, Mr. Walsh has been engaged in the creation, deployment and management of industrial real estate fund vehicles. He has been responsible for the acquisition of over 25 million square feet of core industrial space and 11 million square feet of value-added industrial space for a combined value of over $1.8 billion. Prior to joining Dermody Properties, Mr. Walsh was a Principal of the Exeter Property Group and served as the Core Portfolio Manager. During his tenure at Exeter, Mr. Walsh was responsible for the acquisition of 94 industrial properties totaling more than 21 million square feet of industrial real estate space in 17 markets across the United States. Prior to assuming his role at Exeter Property Group, Mr. Walsh spent 14 years at Wrightwood Capital where he oversaw three successive industrial funds including originations, finance, asset management, leasing, dispositions, and investor relations. Mr. Walsh received his B.S. from University of Notre Dame and received his M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He is a member of NAIOP and the Ecommerce Forum, and is a Product Council Member with the Urban Land Institute.

Brad Sweeney

SVP - Acquisitions
Stag Industrial

Mr. Sweeney serves as our Senior Vice President of Acquisitions. Mr. Sweeney served as Managing Director for STAG Capital Partners, LLC from 2004 to 2011, where he was responsible for managing an acquisition team in the sourcing, underwriting, negotiating and closing of deals with a territory of approximately half the country. Mr. Sweeney was employed at Fidelity Investments Real Estate Group from June 1995 to October 2004 in various capacities, most recently as an Investment Officer where he was responsible for sourcing, negotiating, underwriting and closing private equity and mezzanine debt investments in various real estate asset types. Mr. Sweeney received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Saint Michael’s College and has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Alan Zocher

President & Co-Founder
Premier Design + Build Group

As president and co-founder of PREMIER Design + Build Group, LLC, Alan oversees the firm’s management team and leads the company’s strategic planning, providing direction for the company’s future. Alan is integrated in PREMIER’s projects from conceptual site plan through project completion. His leadership and expertise ensure that all aspects of the company are handled in a thorough and professional manner.

James McGill

EVP
CA Ventures

James E. McGill is the Executive Vice President of Industrial for CA Ventures. He played a large role in CA Industrial’s inception in June 2018. Prior to joining CA Ventures, Jim was Managing Director, Central Region Capital Deployment for Prologis, Inc. and was responsible for all Capital Deployment activities within the Central Region. Jim was responsible for the completion of $1.05B of development projects including21Build-to-Suit projects totaling 12.9M square feet. In addition, his team acquired over $700M of core and value add properties. Prior to Prologis, Jim joined AMB in 2004 as Senior Vice President, Development, and established the Midwest and Pacific Northwest development team. During this time, his team constructed over 4M square feet of industrial product and deployed over $475M of capital in Chicago, Dallas, Seattle and the Central Valley. Previously, Jim spent eight years at McShane Company, where he held the position of Executive Vice President, Development.His responsibilities included developing and managing more than 2.5M square feet of industrial properties with a market value in excess of $110M and more than 1M square feet of office properties with a value in excess of$150M. Jim is a member of the Association of Industrial Real Estate Brokers (AIRE), the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) and the National Association of Industrial & Office Properties (NAIOP). He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting from Iowa State University and a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance from the University of Iowa.

Ryan O'Leary

SVP
Duke Realty

As Regional Senior Vice President, Ryan is responsible for new development, leasing and management of Duke Realty’s Central Region property portfolios in Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Indianapolis, Ohio and Nashville totaling more than 61.5 million square feet. He also works to identify acquisition and disposition opportunities, along with new land positions and prospects for build-to- suit development. Ryan joined Duke Realty's Chicago office in 1998 as a Leasing Representative and was promoted to Vice President in 2003 and Senior Vice President in 2015. As Senior Vice President of the company's Chicago operations, Ryan played a leading role in the market's industrial leasing and development activities. Ryan has led teams on a variety of transactions including portfolio leasing, land acquisition and entitlement, dispositions, speculative and build-to-suit development. EDUCATION • Bachelor of Science, Finance and Real Estate, Indiana University PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS • Emeritus Board President, National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, Chicago Chapter COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT • Founder, Dealmakers Take Heart Golf Outing to support Children's Heart Foundation and Mend-A-Heart CAREER HIGHLIGHTS • Amazon.com Build-to-suit and Lease – 954,720 and 402,860 square feet, respectively, in Butterfield Corporate Park; Aurora, IL • Amazon.com Build-to-Suit – 855,000 square feet • Weber-Stephen Products Build-to-Suit – 757,120 square feet • Yusen Logistics freight forwarding distribution center – 228,000 square feet • Woodward Build-to-Suit in Niles, IL – 334,000 square feet • Speculative Industrial Building in Romeoville – 324,000 square feet • Forsythe Technology Build-to-Suit – 230,000 square feet • Shorr Packaging Build-to-Suit – 242,372 square feet • Fellowes Build-to-Suit – 499,154 square feet • 1341-1343 Enterprise Drive – 324,115-square-foot speculative industrial building

Robert Smietana

CEO
HSA Commercial Real Estate

Under Smietana’s supervision, HSA’s diversified management portfolio has consistently ranked in the top 10 in Chicago and grown to include more than 16 million square feet of office, industrial, retail and corporate facilities in 14 states. Smietana has completed more than 75 commercial developments comprising more than 20 million square feet and valued at $2 billion. His diverse development experience, which began in 1978, includes industrial, retail, hotel, suburban and urban office, senior housing and medical office. He has been responsible for all phases of real estate, including land acquisitions, entitlements, design development, financing, construction management operations, property and asset management, and brokerage.

Brian Quigley

EVP
Conor Commercial Real Estate

As Executive Vice President overseeing Conor Commercial’s Midwest industrial and office group, Brian is responsible for leading a team of commercial real estate professionals in identifying and securing development opportunities on a local and regional basis. Over the course of his 25-year career, Brian has developed over 20 million square feet of industrial and commercial product throughout the Chicagoland area and Midwest Region. He applies his proven track record and industry standing to position the firm for continued growth and achievement of its development objectives. In his role, Brian provides strategic direction for the selection and acquisition of single site and multi-parcel land opportunities throughout Chicago and the Midwest Region. He also directs and manages the completion of both speculative and build-to-suit developments on behalf of the firm. Prior to joining Conor Commercial, Brian worked for Dermody Properties, CenterPoint Properties and Panattoni Development.

Geoffrey Kasselman

Executive Managing Director
Newmark Knight Frank

Geoffrey Kasselman, SIOR, LEED AP, serves as an Executive Managing Director at NKF where he leads the company’s National Industrial Practice. In this capacity, he guides the direction and expansion of the firm’s industrial brokerage capabilities across North America, including supporting various corporate portfolio, e-commerce, manufacturing, food & beverage, and data center projects, while also promoting the benefits of sustainability, technology and innovation for the sector. He also serves as CEO and Founder of Op2mize Energy, a strategic energy procurement firm. Mr. Kasselman was recently honored as a member of the 2017 Midwest CRE Hall of Fame, a 2016 CoStar Power Broker, and recently won NKF’s Outstanding Service Award for 2016, in addition to numerous other honors and distinctions received over his 30-year career. He is a prominent national speaker and accomplished author on a variety of topics including economic trends, innovation, sustainability and the exponential future of CRE. Over the course of his career he has completed more than 1,000 transactions worth in excess of $1 billion. In addition to his NKF responsibilities, Mr. Kasselman is serving a one-year term as the 2017 Society of Industrial and Office Realtors® (SIOR) Global President. SIOR was founded in 1941 by the US Government to help secure industrial facilities in support of the World War II effort. In this regard, SIOR has been servicing the commercial real estate industry for over 75 years. In this volunteer role, Kasselman leads the preeminent non-profit commercial real estate services organization in an array of strategic and global initiatives while acting as an ambassador and discussing the many benefits of becoming a SIOR designee.

Barry Missner

CEO
The Missner Group

With nearly 25 years of experience in commercial real estate, Barry Missner is an experienced developer, entrepreneur, and leader. Mr. Missner has personally facilitated numerous joint-venture partnerships resulting in many successful developments, including an NAIOP Award for Industrial Redevelopment of the Year. He has also led the development and acquisition of more than $300 million worth of real estate and continues to significantly grow The Missner Group’s property investment portfolio on behalf of the firm’s private investors.

Wendy Berger

CEO & Founder
WBS Equities

Wendy Berger is CEO and Founder of WBS Equities, LLC. WBS Equities is a real estate development firm which specializes in ground-up construction, renovation, development, sale lease back transactions and acquisition of industrial buildings for food and beverage manufacturers and distributors. Wendy is also an active investor across multiple real estate asset classes including retail, multi-family, senior housing and self-storage. Over the last 28 years she has been involved in the real estate business as a developer, property manager, broker and principally as an owner-investor. Wendy began her career at American National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago (a subsidiary of First Chicago, now JP Morgan Chase) in Commercial Lending. Wendy spent several years as a principal with Berger Realty Group, an 80-year- old family owned Real Estate business where she focused on residential and industrial property management and development. She was responsible for managing 3,000 apartment units, 200,000 square feet of commercial space and 250,000 square feet of industrial space. Aside from her experience in the real estate field, Wendy spent 10 years working with ultra-high growth technology startups. Wendy was employee number 10 at Orbitz, the Travel web site founded in 2000 by American, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United Airlines. Wendy was Director of the Enterprise Planning at Orbitz and focused on strategic planning. Prior to Orbitz, Wendy co-founded and was COO of Neoglyphics Media Corporation, one of the country’s first web site development firms. Neoglyphics grew from a small start-up to a corporation with a staff of more than 150 employees before it was sold in March 1998 for $65 million. Wendy earned her MBA in Finance and Real Estate from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business. She received a B.S., cum laude, in Finance and Marketing from Syracuse University. In her spare time Wendy is an avid triathlete and runner, having completed 31 Olympic Distance triathlons and six half-marathons. Wendy serves on the Board of directors of the Chicago Public Library Foundation (2016 – present), the Board of directors of the Jewish Federation/Jewish United Fund of Chicago (2001 – 2007, and 2009 – present). Wendy has volunteered for TimeLine Theater, The Marwen Foundation, Chicago Run and the Uptown Cafe. Wendy served until 2004 as Vice-President and Membership Chair at The Standard Club of Chicago and as a member of the Board of Directors (1994 – 2004). Wendy is also a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and served as the chair of the Real Estate Membership Committee. Wendy served two years on the Board of Directors of TEDxMidwest. Wendy co-founded Illinois Women in Cannabis in 2014. Wendy is an active mentor, a role she takes very seriously, usually mentoring 4 – 5 young women at any given time. Most recently, Wendy is proud to now call herself a TED speaker, her talk is available on the TED web site.

Michael Larsen

Managing Director
InSite Real Estate

Michael Larsen is the Managing Director of Development responsible for InSite Real Estate’s national development operations. Mr. Larsen joined InSite in 2007, and quickly rose to Managing Director of Development in 2011. Prior to joining InSite, Mr. Larsen was responsible for the project management of industrial distribution center projects in the Chicago market for FCL Builders. Mr. Larsen received a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Management from Illinois State University, and a Master of Business Administration degree in Real Estate Investment and Finance from DePaul University. Mr. Larsen has completed over 15 million square feet of industrial transactions, and is a member of NAIOP, SIOR, IAMC, AIRE, and IARW.