Dallas-Fort Worth Hospitality Boom!

Since 2018, Maher has been a Principal in site selection and business incentives at Ryan, the largest firm in the world dedicated exclusively to business tax. With more than 20 years of economic development experience in the public sector, Mr. Maso supports Ryan clients to improve profitability through business growth and development. Previously, Maher Maso served as the CEO of the Prosper Economic Development Corporation. Maher Maso also proudly served as Mayor of the City of Frisco from 2008-2017, named by the U.S. Census Bureau as the fastest growing city in the country in the last decade. Under Mayor Maso’s administration, the City of Frisco has received dozens of awards and attributions including Money Magazine “Best Places to Live List” and Allstate’s “Safe and Secure Communities List” Maher Maso works to represent small and large companies to create public/private partnerships and to create jobs in communities by negotiating incentives and focusing on site selection. His initiatives as Mayor positioned the City of Frisco as a hub of first-class entertainment, sports and sports medicine including the home of the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Stars, FC Dallas and the world headquarters of the PGA. He has been interviewed by Newsweek, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, and others. Maher is a regular keynote speaker and has spoken globally for government, trade associations and corporations.

Recently named a 2019 Top CEO by Glassdoor, Peter Strebel is president of Omni Hotels & Resorts where he continues to elevate the vision of Omni while insuring all operational areas within the company align with the long-term goals and objectives for the brand. A 30-year-plus veteran of the hospitality industry, he works with teams to continue to enhance the existing high-level of guest service as well as oversee the growth and expansion plans the brand has in the pipeline. The company’s former chief marketing officer and senior vice president of sales, Strebel was responsible for creating and driving innovative branding, communications, marketing and business development strategies to increase awareness, capture market share and build revenue for the luxury hotel brand. Strebel also formerly served as senior vice president of operations for the company where he oversaw the development of brand-wide property standards, guest rooms and other operational areas for the luxury hotel brand’s growing convention collection and resort portfolio. A long-term Omni veteran, Strebel rejoined Omni in 2009 as area managing director and general manager of the company’s flagship property in midtown Manhattan, the award-winning Omni Berkshire Place. During his previous tenure at Omni, he had a successful 10-year career in sales and marketing positions of increasing responsibility, ultimately leading to his appointment as vice president of sales and marketing. In between his time with Omni, Strebel served as executive vice president and chief marketing officer for the Wyndham Hotel Group and was promoted to president of the company before returning to Omni. Strebel serves on the board of directors for the Global Hotel Alliance. Peter graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor of Business Administration.

As the Vice President of Franchise Development, U.S. for G6 Hospitality, Jeff Stephenson leads the expansion efforts for Motel 6 & Studio 6 throughout the United States. Since joining G6, he has helped grow the brands by over 650 locations, totaling over 1400 locations today. Jeff joined G6 Hospitality in 2015 as the Managing Director of Franchise Development. He has over twenty years of hotel experience including operations, franchise operations and franchise development. His tenure includes working for Red Roof Inns, Accor and now G6. Jeff is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and offices out of the Corporate Support Center in Carrollton, Texas.

David Kuperberg is the Head of Development, Dream Hotels at Hyatt. In this role, Kuperberg is responsible for the continued growth and success of Dream Hotel Group’s portfolio of lifestyle brands, which includes Dream Hotels, Time Hotels, The Chatwal and Unscripted Hotels, in emerging and established markets worldwide. He most recently served as Senior Vice President of Development for Virgin Hotels prior to joining Dream Hotel Group in 2013. Kuperberg started his hospitality career in 2004 as Senior Director of Mergers and Acquisitions with Wyndham Worldwide Corporation, where he oversaw the acquisition of Ramada International from Marriott, which included more than 200 hotels and resorts worldwide and later launched Wyndham’s international hotel business. He was then appointed to Vice President of Global Development and Strategy where he achieved great success leading the acquisition of the TRYP brand from Sol Melia, representing 94 hotels across Europe and South America, as well as a joint venture with Malta-based Corinthia Group to acquire and rebrand its 15 European hotels under Wyndham flags. Prior to joining Wyndham, Kuperberg served as an associate for True North Capital, a New York-based private equity group and merchant bank that provides financing solutions to companies in the U.S. and Europe. He also worked as a strategy consultant for Computer Sciences Corporation, where he gained invaluable experience in the Management Consulting division. Kuperberg holds a Master of Management degree from Yale University. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of California at Berkeley.

Dr. Jeremy Stone began his career in operations along with some golf-related design and development, construction and project management. He received a Master of Science degree in Land Development and a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Science from Texas A&M. Subsequently, he taught business and real estate focused courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level including two years at the University of Auckland Business School in New Zealand. He worked in the Dallas office of PKF Consulting prior to starting Stone Hospitality & Real Estate in 2010. Dr. Stone has experience analyzing real estate market conditions around the world; and has consulted for wide variety of hospitality projects. He has worked with the U.S. Armed Forces, National Park Service, municipalities and developers alike on a range of projects and with many branded and non-branded hotels. Dr. Stone enjoys keeping a focus on providing market-based solutions to clients and offers professional services for development and asset management.

Dustin Gabriel, is with Petros PACE Finance (an Apollo Company). Dustin is based in Dallas and focuses on building the PACE business in the Dallas area and in other select PACE markets throughout the country. He joined Petros from the Real Estate Specialties Group (“RESG”) for Bank OZK (formerly Bank of the Ozarks), where he oversaw the construction and operations of a national loan portfolio with over 7 million square feet valued at $2.4 billion in commercial real estate. Prior to RESG, he worked at a commercial real estate investment management firm where he was responsible for asset management, leasing, disposition, finance and operations. He worked alongside other partners at NGN Capital in sourcing deal opportunities and capital to co-sponsor the development of suburban class A offices, land acquisitions and value-add multifamily. He is also a former strategy and research consultant at Cicero Group. Mr. Gabriel is a graduate of Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management and holds an MPA with an emphasis in finance from the Romney Institute. He is a former collegiate athlete and starting Strong Safety on a top 25 nationally ranked Cougar football team.

Ray Garfield is an accomplished leader in the financing and development of essential facilities for municipalities and other public sector entities. With an extensive Wall Street background, he focuses primarily on working with investment banking partners, bond and underwriter’s counsels to engineer creative financing structures and securing capital for essential public/private developments. Mr. Garfield founded Garfield Corporation in 1997 to finance and develop publicly-owned and public/private facilities, and expanded the firm as Garfield Traub Development in 2003. Through 2012, the firms had completed or under development over $1 billion in public/private facilities, including performing arts centers, convention centers, conference centers and headquarters hotels, justice and public safety facilities, K-12 and higher education buildings, government office buildings, parking garages, and other vital public infrastructure. Prior to 1997, Mr. Garfield served as Chairman and CEO or as a Senior Executive of a number of major private or publicly-held national development, real estate services, and financial services companies, including Vista Properties, Inc., Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., Salomon Brothers, and Merrill Lynch Commercial Real Estate. In that capacity, he was responsible for the development or disposition of more than 9000 acres of urban properties totaling over $1 billion and the sale or financing of major properties totaling over $6 billion nationwide. Mr. Garfield has been a member of leading professional real estate organizations including the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), and has been a board member of two public companies, Vista Properties, Inc. and Harvard Industries. He has been a featured speaker and panelist at real estate conferences throughout the nation including The Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS), the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), and the National Council for Public Private Partnerships (NCPPP). Mr. Garfield received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and served as a Naval Aviator. As a Disabled American Veteran, Mr. Garfield’s firm is designated as a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business.

Mr. Healy is founder and CEO of Civitas Capital Group, an investment management firm based in Dallas, Texas. Under his leadership since 2009, the firm has been recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in Dallas with assets under management of over $1.4 billion, invested primarily in real estate, lodging and related asset classes. Mr. Healy continues to be responsible for all facets of the firm’s strategic growth, identifying talent, delivering expertise, and ensuring the firm’s two operating divisions, Alternative Investments and EB-5 Capital, have an unrelenting focus on customer service. The growing Alternative Investments group focuses on managing global capital for insurance companies, pension funds, family offices and other clients, while the EB-5 Capital division has become an industry leader, frequently cited for its innovative public-private partnership with the City of Dallas Office of Economic Development. Today, Civitas has an unparalleled reputation for quality and analytical rigor and serves more than 1,400 individual and institutional investors from over 40 countries. Prior to founding Civitas, Mr. Healy held senior executive roles with a boutique real estate investment fund and with Highland Capital Management, LP. Mr. Healy holds an MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University and a bachelor’s degree in government and politics from the University of Texas at Dallas. He serves on the Board of Directors of Invest in the USA (IIUSA), the nonprofit trade association representing regional center operators. An active member of the Dallas business and civic community, Mr. Healy is a member of the Dallas Citizens Council and the Dallas Assembly.

Mike Hoque, a Dallas entrepreneur, is the founder and chairman of Hoque Global, parent company of HG Real Estate Solutions, DRG Concepts, iDesign Meetings and RideCentric. Always finding opportunities among what others might perceive as business obstacles, Hoque’s companies have fostered his vision of creating vibrant urban environments. HG Real Estate specializes in catalytic land acquisition, development, master-planning, and construction of mixed-use residential, retail, hotel, and office projects. DRG Concepts, Hoque’s restaurant group, creates, owns and operates numerous distinct and acclaimed concepts throughout DFW, with an emphasis on Main Street in Downtown Dallas. RideCentric, founded in 1999 by Hoque, has grown into an international transportation logistics company serving Fortune 500 companies worldwide. Hoque also serves on the board of Downtown Dallas Inc. and has received honors from the National Restaurant Association for his leadership and innovation in the Dallas business community.  He has been honored by Dallas Business Journal as a Top 40 Under 40 business innovator.  D Magazine and DCEO have also recognized Hoque as a Dallas 500 business leader.

Mr. Sowden has over 34 years of experience in commercial real estate with a strong background in real estate brokerage and mortgage banking, acquisition, development, and asset management. He has been active in sales of more than 12 million square feet of commercial real estate and over 36,000 apartment units throughout the United States. Mr. Sowden has also been involved in the financing of over $2.5 Billion in commercial real estate loans. He has brokered the sale of over $4.5 billion in commercial real estate transactions on behalf of some of the largest institutional owners in the United States. Mr. Sowden has acquired, developed, and renovated over 1.5 billion in commercial real estate to include retail, office, multi-family, and hospitality throughout the Southwestern and the Southeastern United States. Mr. Sowden is responsible for the overall direction of RREAF Holdings and RREAF’s subsidiary companies including strategic planning for all growth areas of the Company to include but not be limited to, its development, acquisitions, property, and asset management programs as well as the development and implementation of commercial real estate funds. Mr. Sowden graduated in 1985 with a degree in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Sowden served more than 10 years on The Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee at The University of Texas at Austin. He has maintained an active Texas Real Estate Brokers License for the past 25 years

Current: Principal, Ryan, Dallas office - Specializes in providing commercial real estate property taxation services, including valuation and reporting of both real and personal property assets. Previous: - Director, Commercial Real Estate, national consulting firm - Responsible for Dallas office building portfolio, leading national engagements and office management. - Senior Manager, Property Tax, national accounting firm - Vice President, national property tax consulting firm • Senior Vice President, local property tax consulting firm • Project Manager, national tax appraisal firm PUBLIC SECTOR EXPERIENCE: Previous - Review Appraiser, Commercial/Industrial Valuation, State Property Tax Board of Texas PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS: Mr. Harris has given many presentations throughout his career to state taxing authorities, professional organizations, and client training seminars on various issues in the property tax industry including: - Certified Commercial Investment Member - Institute of Real Estate Management - The Real Estate Council PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS: - Building Owners and Managers Association - Certified Commercial Investment Member - National Association of Realtors - Texas Association of Property Tax Professionals EDUCATION/ACCREDITATION: - Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) Designee - Senior Property Tax Consultant, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation: - Texas Board of Property Tax Examiners - American College of Real Estate, Real Estate License (inactive)