Retail Series: West Coast Summit

Nick Griffin

EVP
DTLA Alliance

As the Downtown Los Angeles Alliance's Executive Director, Nicholas ‘Nick’ Griffin spearheads the organization’s efforts to attract new businesses, retailers, investors and residents to what has grown to become one of the nation’s most dynamic urban centers. Hailed the “next great American City,” by GQ Magazine, Downtown LA has experienced unprecedented growth over the past 16-years, in large part due to the efforts of the DTLA Alliance's economic development team. Prior to the DTLA Alliance, Nick spent more than 25 years in business development in the real estate, media/entertainment and technology industries. For the previous 10 years, Nick was a leading commercial leasing and sales broker in New York City, where he was responsible for more than $100M in transactions. Prior to his rise in real estate, Nick spent a decade as a marketing and sales executive in the creative media and technology industries. Nick is a graduate of UCLA and holds an MBA from Ohio State University.

Steve Basham

Senior Market Analyst
CoStar Group

Steve Basham is a Senior Market Analyst for the CoStar Group, specializing in the Los Angeles market. He has authored more than 50 reports on Los Angeles commercial real estate, with an emphasis on targeted, granular analysis of submarkets and micro-markets. His work has been featured in regional and national media outlets including the L.A. Times, NPR’s Marketplace, and Bloomberg News.

Peter Roth

Partner
Allen Matkins

John Schmid

Studio Director
MBH Architects

John Schmid, Studio Director for the Restaurant and Retail Design Studio, is an indispensable mentor and member of the MBH Architects leadership team. His work in retail architecture began with 14 years at Gap, Inc., where he acquired a wealth of knowledge about the client-side of the architectural relationship. His ability to lead the execution of projects nationally, work with clients to understand their needs, and manage his team internally to meet client expectations has resulted in many long-term relationships with clients like Yard House, Peet’s Coffee, and Target. His business acumen has led to successful projects for Kona Grill, Earls Kitchen + Bar, Back of the House concepts (Super Duper Burger and Delarosa), Cloud Kitchens, and chef-driven concepts like Michael Mina’s Pabu, International Smoke, and Trailblazer Tavern.

Shauna Mattis

SVP Retail Advisor
JLL

Shauna L. Mattis is a Senior Vice President at JLL and has over 19 years of experience in retail commercial brokerage. Mrs. Mattis leads the company in client management and leasing services throughout Southern California. Shauna serves as an advocate for her clients in identifying, negotiating and completion of new stores, relocations, expansions and renewals. She is responsible for overall development and execution of leasing strategies to maximize each property's full potential. Shauna's strong knowledge of marketing, development and negotiations allows her to better assist clients on achieving their overall asset goals through the implementation and execution of a strategic merchandising and leasing plan. Due to her vast experience, Ms. Mattis has developed and maintains strong retail relationships on national, regional and local levels Experience Shauna began her real estate career in 1998 as a leasing agent with Kirnan Commercial working on the development of Valencia Marketplace, a 750,000 sf promotional center, in Santa Clarita. Her clients include REIT's, developers, receivers, institutional and professional shopping center owners. She has extensive experience in anchor tenant leasing and shopping center repositioning. She is also a specialist in leasing and selling underutilized and excess retailer-owned real estate. Through her portfolio of properties, she has successfully completed leases with many of the active retail chain tenants in the industry. Education and affiliations Mrs. Mattis graduated from California State University Northridge with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communication and Business Administration. Shauna is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers organization, JLL Gold Achiever 2017, JLL Top Achiever 2016 and a CoStar Power Broker for 2015 & 2016.

Rich Brand

Partner
Arent Fox

Rich Brand is the firm’s San Francisco Managing Partner and head of the Sports practice group. He focuses on sports law, real estate and corporate transactions, e-commerce, hospitality and leisure, and partnership and corporate law. Rich is recognized as a leading sports attorney by Chambers USA and Legal 500 and as a leading real estate attorney by Best Lawyers. As noted by Chambers USA, “he is highly regarded for his expertise in representing both sellers and purchasers of sports teams” and “he brings tons of experience, and good business sense to the deal table.” Rich speaks extensively on many aspects of sports, real estate and hospitality law at major industry conferences. He is frequently featured on the Yes Network’s Forbes SportsMoney sports talk show and has appeared on CNN, Fox Sports and other national video/television/radio programs. Rich is also an adjunct professor at Stanford Law School and UC Berkeley School of Law, where he leads seminars on sports law transactions. Rich regularly guest lectures at prominent undergraduate and graduate Sports Administration programs.

Allen Hubsch

Partner, Real Estate Department
Loeb & Loeb

Allen Hubsch has a diverse real estate practice, with several areas of specialization. Among other things, he has developed a unique practice representing owners and operators of motion picture theatres, concert venues, Broadway-style theatres and sports venues across the United States. With more than 30 years of experience, he represents clients in connection with real estate purchases and sales, leases, financings, and joint ventures, including multi-property and multi-state transactions. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, Oxford University and Duke University.