What's Next for LA Office?

Patrick is responsible for leasing Tishman Speyer’s Southern California properties, currently overseeing over 2 million square feet including the Beverly Hills portfolio, Arboretum Courtyard, 6430 Sunset, 555 Aviation, 10900 Wilshire, and the developments in Playa Vista. Patrick has worked in real estate since 2002 in leasing, design & construction, property management, and acquisitions in a range of product types in diverse markets. He joined Tishman Speyer in 2009 and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce and the Westwood Business Improvement District and is a member of the Los Angeles Commercial Real Estate Association. Patrick graduated with honors from Loyola Marymount University with a BA in Philosophy and double minor in Business Administration and Communication Studies.

Christopher Rising is the CEO of Rising Realty Partners (RRP), a Los Angeles-based real estate investment and operating platform that owns and manages over five million square feet of properties. He serves on the company's Executive and Investment Committees, drawing on his extensive experience in managing acquisitions and creative development. Prior to joining RRP, Christopher was Senior Vice President of Asset Transactions at MPG Office Trust, where he worked directly with the CEO to improve finances through debt reduction and restructuring. Under Christopher's visionary leadership, RRP has spearheaded the revitalization of historic buildings in Downtown Los Angeles into creative office spaces, attracting unique businesses back to the region. The company's transformation and subsequent sale of the PacMutual Campus, one of the oldest office buildings in the heart of DTLA, was described by the Los Angeles Times as a "record price for a pure office building downtown." More recently, RRP has generated great success by entering the industrial space, acquiring five multi-tenant light industrial properties in the past year. Christopher's success in the real estate industry has earned him recognition by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the 500 most influential people in Los Angeles. In 2003, Christopher founded The Rising Real Estate Group (RREG) and eventually partnered with Barker Pacific Group to create Hamilton Capital Partners (HCP), an equity fund vehicle. RREG is also a principal in 626 Wilshire Blvd, a 156K square foot office building located in downtown Los Angeles. Christopher began his career as an associate at Pillsbury Madison & Sutro and later worked at Cushman Realty Corporation (CRC) under brokerage legend John C. Cushman, III. He then served as a Director at Cushman & Wakefield of California, Inc. (C&W), joining C&W after its merger with CRC in 2001. Outside of work, Christopher is an active member of the Los Angeles community, serving on the River LA Board and The Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation. He formerly sat on the Board of Overseers at Loyola Law School and the Duke Athletic Advisory Board. He is a past President of the Board of Chandler School in Pasadena and served for ten years on the Board of Regents of Loyola High School, where he chaired the Investment Committee. Christopher holds a J.D. in Real Estate Law from Loyola Law School and a B.A. in History and Political Science from Duke University. He also attended Duke on a football scholarship and was a member of the 1989 ACC Championship team.

James is an Executive Vice President located in Jones Lang LaSalle’s Los Angeles corporate office, where he focuses on tenant and landlord representation services in the Los Angeles area. James advises clients on a full range of real estate services including portfolio and leasing strategy, space acquisition, disposition and occupancy analysis, and cost savings strategies. James has a dynamic professional background that includes 25 years of experience in real estate brokerage leadership, agency leasing, tenant representation, corporate services, real estate development, and law. This breadth of experience allows James to provide clients with strategies that offer cost savings and value for a broad range of transactions such as leases, building and land acquisitions, and property dispositions. James returned to JLL after leading seven brokerage offices in the Los Angeles region for a global real estate services firm overseeing 90 real estate professionals James was responsible for business planning and client pursuit with individual brokers and brokerage teams, recruiting and training brokers, enhancing the office culture, and implementing company initiatives. Previously, he was the Vice President of Leasing for Brookfield Properties’ Downtown LA office portfolio, which consisted of 8.5 million square feet of Class A office buildings. At Brookfield, James developed and successfully implemented leasing strategies and marketing campaigns for Trophy assets including community, tenant and broker engagement events, building tours and presentations, and negotiating leases from initial proposal through execution. He began his real estate career with Catellus Development Corporation and was responsible for the marketing and leasing of Union Station in Los Angeles and the Mission Bay project in San Francisco. James is also a lawyer having practiced commercial litigation with Haight, Brown & Bonesteel.

Nadine Watt is CEO of Watt Capital Partners. Nadine brings over 25 years of real estate expertise and an entrepreneurial drive to her position, where she oversees day-to-day activities and strategic planning for all commercial investment activities including acquisitions, development, and asset management for the company’s 6 million- square-foot portfolio. Previously, Nadine served as President of Watt Companies. In 2011, she led a strategic reorganization of the company that moved the firm beyond traditional property management and leasing to a focus on acquisitions and real estate development, as well as joint venture opportunities. Nadine played a key role in launching Watt Companies’ acquisition division – Watt Investment Partners – that now actively invests $60 million in a variety of property types across the Western United States. Throughout her 20-year tenure at Watt Companies, Nadine has touched all facets of the company’s operations, including the development of thousands of apartment units and numerous shopping centers. Nadine was also responsible for a widely celebrated multi-million-dollar renovation program at Watt Plaza, a 920,000 square foot, Class-A office building in Century City. The building was certified Platinum LEED and was recognized by BOMA International with an award for Outstanding Building of the Year. Nadine was recently inducted as the President of the University of Southern California Board of Governors and serves as Vice-Chair of the Lusk Center for Real Estate, as well as on the USC Associates Board of Directors. She was the first woman to be named Chair of the Los Angeles Business Council, a position she held for 7 years and is now the immediate past chair. She is a Board Member of Fisker Inc. (FSR) chairing the Compensation Committee, Visionary Women, and the City of Hope Los Angeles Real Estate & Construction Industries Council. Nadine received the Century City Citizen of the Year award in 2017 and the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2018. Nadine has also been the subject of a spotlight piece in the Los Angeles Times highlighting her career path and business success. She has also previously held Board Positions on two other publicly traded companies, The New Home Company (NWHM) and 1 st Century Bank. A graduate of Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Nadine also holds a Master of Arts degree from the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. Nadine currently resides in Beverly Hills with her husband Andrew Jameson and their two daughters, Keira and Reese Jameson.

Daisy leads Lowe’s growing hospitality-inspired commercial management company, Hospitality at Work. She created the high-touch tenant engagement platform that has seen tenant satisfaction and NOI increase year over year, benefiting both tenants and institutional clients. Previously, Daisy was responsible for commercial development management in Northern California, with a focus on entitlements. Seeing the development cycle from acquisition, to master planning, entitlements, design, leasing and disposition has benefited Daisy as she pivoted to operations, where she can understand both the possibilities and limitations in properties, in order to increase their value. Daisy values her work with talented teams who create unique places and experiences. A resident of San Francisco, she spends her free time hiking, skiing and traveling with her husband and children. Education: University of California, Berkeley, BA; Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, MBA

Chris is the Senior Vice President of Business Development at essensys, the leading global provider of software-as-a-service and technology to the flexible workspace industry Chris has 13 years of commercial real estate experience with a focus on office leasing. In 2018 he left the traditional leasing world to join Knotel where he led the West Coast real estate team. Chris has developed a deep understanding of the flex sector viewing it from all angles and across multiple territories, having worked with brokers, operators and as well as being a serviced office tenant himself. He helps to drive the essensys’ expansion in North America and is passionate about delivering the best occupier experience. Outside of work you will likely find him at the beach with his family, surfing and hanging out in the sand or on the football field coaching or throwing the ball with his son.

LaCoursiere has 10 years of commercial brokerage experience, spending most of his career with Cushman & Wakefield in New York City and Chicago, where he built the Global Alternative Investment Services practice group with partners in six global hedge fund/trading markets.

John Ollen joined Newmark in 2020 and currently serves as an Executive Managing Director operating out of the company’s West Los Angeles and Downtown office. A 35-year corporate real estate veteran, John has substantial expertise in Landlord Representation in the commercial office sector. He has completed more than 19 million square feet of transactions over his career. John came to Newmark after serving as a Managing Director for 20 years at Tishman Speyer where he was responsible for overseeing the firms Southern California commercial real estate portfolio. Prior to his time at Tishman Speyer, John oversaw the leasing for several institutional owners.

Ryan has been with Hackman Capital Partners since 2012 and is responsible for acquisition, development, leasing and asset management for Western US assets. Ryan has overseen numerous marquee projects while at the company, including the development and leasing of The Culver Studios, The Culver Steps and the Beats Campus; and has negotiated lease transactions with Apple, Amazon, Macys and other Fortune 500 tenants. He has acquired and managed company-sponsored investments with over $1B of market value. Prior to joining Hackman Capital, Ryan worked for ten years in acquisitions and asset management for The Archon Group, a fully-owned subsidiary of Goldman Sachs. During his tenure at The Archon Group, he worked on the growth and management of its portfolio in the Western region of the United States. Following his time at The Archon Group, Ryan was Senior Vice President of SCI Properties and was responsible for the sourcing and acquisition of nearly $2B of product. Ryan most recently served as Director of Asset Management at TriCal Commercial Investments, where he was responsible for leasing and asset management of the company’s portfolio throughout the Western United States. Ryan received his Bachelor of Science from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, with a double emphasis in Finance and Marketing.

Jeff Grasso is the Founder & Managing Partner of Vesta where he is responsible for the firm’s management & strategy, investment implementation, and investor relations. Before launching Vesta, Jeff was Senior Vice President and Head of Acquisitions at Silverstein Properties, Inc., where he was responsible for sourcing, capitalizing, and executing over $10 billion of acquisition, development, and corporate investments in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Prior to joining Silverstein, Jeff worked in the portfolio management group of ING Clarion Capital, a $5 billion AUM real estate credit opportunity fund. He was responsible for the acquisition and asset management of an ABS portfolio in addition to acquiring and originating high yield whole loans. Jeff holds a B.S. in Accounting, Finance, and Real Estate from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. He resides in Salt Lake with his wife where he enjoys fly fishing, whitewater rafting, and embraces a “pay it forward” mentality with the local Utah community.

Winner of UCLA’s 2019 Sustainability Achievement Award for Overall Commitment, Todd Lynch oversees campus Green Building construction projects at UCLA’s Capital Programs Department, from planning through post-occupancy. He has completed over 55 LEED-certified projects, including 17 at Platinum level. He serves on UCLA’s Sustainability Committee, UC’s systemwide Green Buildings Working Group, and the USGBC Los Angeles Board of Directors. Todd also teaches on professional practice, construction, and sustainability in UCLA’s Department of Architecture and Urban Design. He is a frequent speaker and stakeholder for the UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and its Student Action Research program, and taught UCLA’s first LEED Lab program in 2020, mentoring students on the certification of six existing campus buildings. Todd advises the UCLA chapters of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) and USGBC Students, serves as UCLA’s Architecture Licensing Advisor, and recently helped to launch and grow USGBC-LA’s Green Building Corps. A California-licensed Architect with over 25 years of experience, Todd is also a founding Principal of Sharif, Lynch: Architecture, and holds degrees from Yale and UC Berkeley.

A native Angeleno, Ben Stapleton is a recognized sustainability leader, who brings to this position extensive experience and connections across real estate, technology and innovation. He launched and managed the La Kretz Innovation Campus in Downtown Los Angeles, most recently serving as SVP, Operations & Finance for the LA Cleantech Incubator (LACI). The Campus has become an epicenter for sustainability in the region featuring events with prominent local, national and international leaders, while being home to a community of cutting-edge businesses and nonprofits. At LACI, Stapleton led major operational growth, program development, and partnerships to triple revenue for the non-profit. Simultaneously, he helped lead efforts that resulted in the La Kretz Innovation Campus becoming an iconic green building for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the City of Los Angeles, with multiple certifications, as well as pilot projects targeting waste, water, and energy efficiency. Stapleton has also held the positions of Managing Director of the LA Better Buildings Challenge and Vice President & Cleantech Practice Group Lead at JLL. He has served on the boards of LA Bioscience Hub and USGBC-LA. Representing competing schools in Los Angeles, Stapleton holds a MBA from the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business, and a Bachelors of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

For the last twenty years, Arthur Woolverton’s career has been focused leveraging technology, financial to develop solutions that address energy efficiency, resiliency and water challenges. Arthur has served as the North American Marketing Leader for Honeywell’s Energy and Environmental Solutions business and recently served as the Global Offering Leader for Data Centers. Arthur current role as the Sustainability Solutions Leader is focused on helping the private sector leverage financial and engineering solutions to lower costs, lower risks and improve accountability to the stakeholders they serve.