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Puerto Rico Case Study

The new Cayman Islands of the Caribbean

Keith St. Clair

Keith St. Clair

CEO

ESJ Collection

Nicholas Prouty

Nicholas Prouty

Chief Executive Officer

Putnam Bridge Funding

Ricardo Alvarez-Diaz

Ricardo Alvarez-Diaz

Founder/Principal

Álvarez‐Díaz & Villalón

Michael McDonald

Michael McDonald

Executive Vice President

FirstBank Puerto Rico

Adam Greenfader
Moderator

Adam Greenfader

New Development Specialist

Fortune International Realty

Keith St. Clair

CEO

ESJ Collection

Mr. St. Clair started his business career in the UK in the late 70’s with real estate developments in England and Spain. In 1984 he assumed the position of Chairman & Managing Director of Sol Holidays. Mr. St. Clair developed the company into a major tour operator over the following 6 years when the operation was sold to a public company.

Concurrently Mr. St. Clair was a director of the Association of British Travel Agents serving on its bonding, finance and aviation committees. He was Vice Chairman of the Tour Operators Council and held advisory positions with Stanstead Airport and the government of Tenerife assisting the president Adan Martin in developing tourism, hotel and airport infrastructure.

In the mid 90’s St. Clair moved to the United States and in 1998 created a holding company for the consolidation of travel service distributors and operators in the US market. In 1999 he acquired the American Express operation in Central Florida, Bon Voyage Travel and Around The World Travel, the largest Carlson Travel franchise in the USA, headquartered in Coral Gables. Traveleaders became the companies DBA and under St. Clair’s control and leadership acquired 18 additional significant travel distribution companies throughout the United States, creating Florida’s largest independent travel distribution company and a top 10 national enterprise with revenues of $550 million USD.

St. Clair has held several critical roles and senior executive management positions including the chairmanship and directorships of several public and private companies. St. Clair was the president of Assist Card USA. one of the largest independent global assistance companies where he secured regulatory recognition throughout all 50 states in the US. St. Clair negotiated an executed a 3 year presenting sponsorship of the Miami Heat prior to their 2009 championship season. Mr. St. Clair was chairman of the advisory board at Forum Telecom and chairman of Options Media Group Holdings prior to forming his own international consultancy business, Conexus LLC, for the development of global partnerships.

St. Clair served for many years as a director of the Foundation Board of Florida International University during a period of intense growth when the university added the Law School, Medical School and a 1A sports program. He has served as a director of Seaway 2 Hotels, a member of World City CEO Roundtable, on the Continental Airlines Travel Advisory Board and was a founding member of the Corporate Advisory Council of ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents). St. Clair has also served as a member of the Board Of Governors of The Greater Miami Chamber Of Commerce. Mr. St Clair’s many accomplishments and business acumen were rewarded by his being recognized as the 2004 entrepreneur of the year and subsequent induction into the Florida Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. In addition, he was recognized by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as their Man Of The Year. He is currently the Chairman of the Society’s South Florida and Puerto Rico Chapter. Most recently, Mr. St. Clair and his development group purchased the iconic ESJ Towers Resort located on Isla Verde Beach, outside of San Juan Puerto Rico. Within less than six months from acquiring ESJ, St. Clair has rebranded the property as ESJ Azul, including an extensive renovation of the property and a new marketing and distribution plan that has exponentially increased sales and added additional revenue streams. He is taking that same model of success and expanding it across the Isla Verde area, igniting a much needed

renaissance that will increase tourism and create thousands of well-paying jobs with plans already in the works to build two more iconic resorts in Isla Verde.

He has again brought his expertise to the travel industry where he has also created various travel distribution, marketing, and management companies, with his ultimate goal to

increase tourism to Puerto Rico. Given Mr. St Clair’s dedication to Puerto Rico and his vision for the future, he recently become a proud citizen of Puerto Rico through law 2022 and

is already implementing a $100+million dollar development plan to further his mission and vision for Puerto Rico and Isla Verde Beach.

Nicholas Prouty

Chief Executive Officer

Putnam Bridge Funding

Nicholas Prouty is the founder and CEO of Putnam Bridge, a firm engaged in the acquisitions and management of distressed landmark properties in the United States and abroad. Mr. Prouty has been a real estate principal in several companies, including a General Partner of Hudson Cross Financial, a company engaged in the acquisition and disposition of foreclosed houses on a nationwide basis. In addition, he has served as an advisor to many specialty real estate companies.

Within the last year, Mr. Prouty's firm has been active in Puerto Rico and has made two significant nine figure investments. Those investments include the acquisition of Ciudadela, a mixed use real estate development in Santurce and Puerto del Rey, the largest marina in Puerto Rico.

Mr. Prouty formerly headed acquisitions and restructuring for a $1+billion hedge fund focused on asset based lending and real estate finance. Prior experience also included serving as Managing Partner to a prominent family office, and as treasury analyst at Lazard Freres & Co.

Mr. Prouty is the founder of the Habitat Support Foundation, a non-profit entity based in Washington, D.C. engaged in providing non-recourse loan guarantees to Habitat for Humanity. Mr. Prouty received a Bachelors of Arts in European History from the Claremont Colleges in Claremont, California. He is married, has two children and lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Ricardo Alvarez-Diaz

Founder/Principal

Álvarez‐Díaz & Villalón

Ricardo Álvarez‐Díaz is the founder and principal of Álvarez‐Díaz & Villalón®: a leading

architectural and interior design firm, headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico with offices in

Miami, Florida. Over its fifteen-year history, this dynamic firm, has performed work in the

United States, Central America, South America and the Middle East; and was recently

included as one of the top 50 leading retail design firms in the U.S. by VMSD.

Álvarez‐Díaz began his career working in New York for famed architect and educator Robert

A.M. Stern and studied architecture in Italy and the United States, where he received his

Professional Bachelor of Architecture degree from The University of Notre Dame.

In 2016 Alvarez-Diaz was named one of the Top 15 Architects in Miami by Builddirect.com

and in 2012 as one of the Top 40 Under 40 by Caribbean Business, the leading financial

publication for the Caribbean Basin area.

Alvarez-Diaz is a prolific author and has been published in a variety of leading industry

publications. He also served as former section editor for the Institute of Classical

Architecture’s annual magazine The Classicist. He and his firm have been featured in

numerous books, newspapers, and magazines, both stateside and abroad, including,

Architect, Interior Design, Affordable Housing Finance, Retail Middle East, Nexus,

Bloomberg, VMSD, Ocean Drive, Interiors and Sources, Retail: Design, and Green Building &

Design magazines.

Álvarez‐Díaz frequently lectures, both stateside and on the island, on contemporary

architectural and design topics, and in particular, issues of architectural design and

productivity, energy performance, and sustainability.

In November of 2015, Mr. Álvarez-Díaz became the President of Puerto Rico Builders

Association: marking the first time in the organization’s sixty-four- year history that a

licensed architect has been named to this prestigious post. Álvarez-Díaz also serves as Board

of Trustees President for the Puerto Rico Foundation for Architecture and as founding Co-

Chair of the Local Urban Land Institute (ULI) district council.

He is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), and has been actively involved

on major council boards and advisory panels at various renowned institutions, both in the

United States and Puerto Rico, including Habitat for Humanity, Foundation for Puerto Rico,

Ponce Museum of Art, Puerto Rico is the Answer, Juntos por Puerto Rico, Saint John's

School, the PR Center for Social Concerns, and Citizen Effect: a nonprofit organization based

in Washington D.C.

In partnership with his wife, interior designer Cristina Villalón, he cosponsors the Álvarez-

Díaz & Villalón Fund at the University of Notre Dame. Annually, the fund bestows a

summer internship prize, plus two student scholarship awards; at both the undergraduate

and graduate levels within the School of Architecture for outstanding leadership and

sustainability in design. Álvarez-Díaz is the proud father of three beautiful daughters, a rock-jazz drummer, and an

ardent fan of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He is licensed to practice architecture in Florida,

New York and Puerto Rico.

Michael McDonald

Executive Vice President

FirstBank Puerto Rico

With over 30 years of experience in various senior executive roles within the financial services

industry, Michael McDonald, has extensive expertise in asset management, investment banking

and commercial banking. As Business Group Director of Firstbank Puerto Rico, Michael oversees

Corporate Banking, Business Banking, Commercial Transaction Banking, Platinum Banking, and

FirstBank Securities. He leads a team of more than 20 seasoned relationship officers

responsible for a loan portfolio of more than $2 billion. His team also provides support in

underwriting, structuring and relationship management to other departments and affiliates of

the Bank including the USVI and FirstBank Florida.

Prior to Firstbank, Michael was President of a leading bank-owned securities and retail

brokerage firm where he developed strategies to gather and manage retail and institutional

financial assets while managing complex control and regulatory issues. Throughout his career, he

has advised large and small, private and public companies in the areas of financial strategy and

capital raising.

Michael has a B.A. from Boston College and M.B.A from the Harvard Business School.

Adam Greenfader

Moderator

Fortune International Realty

Adam Greenfader is a global real estate professional with a proven track record in over 52 new construction projects in the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and the United States. Adam knows how to seamlessly manages multiple development projects simultaneously, with an entrepreneurial mindset and deal mentality. Mr. Greenfader has an expertise in cultivating high-performing sales teams with great comfort being in the sales trenches and recruiting – 1,032 new units sold.

Adam holds a Master of Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California and a Certificate of Urbanism, Université de la Sorbonne. Adam Greenfader is an active member in the National

Association of Home Builders, Green Building Council, and Urban Land Institute.

He has garnered many awards and accolades over the years including

Business Executive of the Year, Top Management in Real Estate, Enterprising Executive,

and just recently "Most Innovative Marketing Award" from the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Investor Sentiment

Major Projects & What is the Driving Capital Force Behind Them

Carlos Rosso

Carlos Rosso

Founder

Rosso Development

Neil Freeman

Neil Freeman

CEO

Aries Capital

Mark Hafner

Mark Hafner

CEO

HASTA Capital

Jay Smith

Jay Smith

President

nFusion Consultancy

Karyl Argamasilla
Moderator

Karyl Argamasilla

Attorney

Bilzin Sumberg

Carlos Rosso

Founder

Rosso Development

Carlos Rosso is the Founder of Rosso Development, a fully integrated development firm focused on high-end boutique development opportunities. Rosso is set to oversee multiple upcoming awe-inspiring projects in key markets in South Florida and Latin America—with the first ever The Standard Residences in Midtown Miami as his debut project. Rosso founded Rosso Development in 2020 after nearly 20 years with The Related Group, where he was a driving force behind the company’s condominium operations. As the president of the condominium and international development divisions, he oversaw all facets of condominium development domestically and internationally.

Over the course of his career, Rosso developed well over 16,000 units, and in the process, mastered diverse development disciplines including construction, project financing, land acquisition and sales and marketing. Under his leadership, Related successfully delivered iconic projects including the 1,600 unit Paraiso District in Miami; Residences by ARMANI/CASA designed by César Pelli; Hyde Beach House; Park Grove by OMA/Rem Koolhaas; Auberge Beach Residences and Spa in Fort Lauderdale; SLS Cancun & Residences in Mexico; and V:HOUSE in Brazil.

Prior to his time at Related, Rosso held a number of positions across global development firms, having served as Vice President of Real Estate Development for Investment Properties Ltd. in Boston; and ten years as Project Director for Besix International, overseeing the development and construction of over ten million square feet of multi-family, hotel and office buildings in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Rosso graduated summa cum laude from the Universidad de Buenos Aires with a master’s degree in Architecture. He also earned a master’s degree in Real Estate Development and Finance, with the highest honors, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). www.rossodev.com

Mark Hafner

CEO

HASTA Capital

Mark is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of HASTA Capital. Headquartered in Mexico City, HASTA

is focused on the investment, development and property management of residential multifamily rental

assets in Latin America, employing its intense operational focus to build best-in- class local platforms.

HASTA combines its specialized operational expertise, a rigorous analytical methodology and meticulous

attention to detail, sustainability and quality control throughout the development process in order to

create world class buildings and living environments that improve their cities and generate superior risk

adjusted returns for their investors.

Prior to founding HASTA, Mark was Senior Managing Director at Greystar, the largest operator of

apartments in the U.S. In over 12 years at Greystar, Mark held multiple leadership roles across the

company, most recently leading Greystar’s international expansion into Europe and Latin America where

he oversaw the investment and development of over 30,000 residential units in Europe and Mexico.

Mark previously led Greystar’s acquisitions, dispositions and asset management for the Eastern U.S.

During his tenure with Greystar, Mark led the investment, acquisition and development of over $9.0

Billion USD of multifamily rental properties and student housing.

Mark received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from The State University of New

York at Oswego.  He previously worked at Merck & Co. and Clear Channel Communication. He is a

member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO).

Jay Smith

President

nFusion Consultancy

Jay is the President and CEO of nFusion Consultancy, a South Carolina based real estate

advisory firm formed in 2009 during the midst of the United States’ real estate led recession.

Since its founding, Jay’s team has been responsible for acquiring key land positions, purchasing

and selling significant operating assets, and for providing development services to public and

private investment funds. nFusion maintains its own portfolio of real estate assets, and has

delivered over 11,000 finished lots and 1,000 plus acre resort mixed use communities. The firm

is active along the East Coast of the United States and in the Caribbean basin, and is currently

overseeing the planning, predevelopment and development of over 2,500 units in the US and

Puerto Rico

Jay began his career in the hospitality development sector in 1981 when he joined Sands

Investments, a Carolina based resort developer that delivered over 6000 units throughout the

Carolinas and the Caribbean from 1981-1986. From 1986 until 2003 he owned, developed and

operated several ocean front hospitality properties. From 2003 through 2008 he led mixed use

projects in the Carolinas for major developers including Burroughs & Chapin Company and

Newland Communities.

Jay is a member of ULI and has served as Chairman of the Planning Commission for the City of

Myrtle Beach and as President of the Myrtle Beach Hospitality Association.

Karyl Argamasilla

Moderator

Bilzin Sumberg

Karyl Argamasilla is an Of Counsel Attorney in Bilzin Sumberg's Real Estate Group. Karyl focuses her practice on structuring and executing large commercial real estate transactions. She has represented national and local developers, lenders, landlords, tenants, sellers and purchasers in engagements such as acquisition, disposition and operation of property, development, financing, loan restructuring, leasing, condominium documentation and general corporate matters.

Projects include office buildings, multi-family, restaurants, shopping centers, hotels, aircrafts, schools, condominiums, mixed-use and lot developments. She prepares and registers condominiums, as well as conversions, with the Florida Division of Land Sales Condominiums and Mobile Homes and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and handles compliance matters with both agencies.

Hospitality & Lifestyle

Driving Development in Emerging Markets

Colin Hannan

Colin Hannan

Founder

The Foundry Collective

Mike Wilson

Mike Wilson

COO

OBM International

Jose Gelabert-Navia

Jose Gelabert-Navia

Regional Director Latin America

Perkins + Will

Christian Glauser Benz

Christian Glauser Benz

Managing Partner

Leman Holdings

José Izquierdo II

José Izquierdo II

Executive Director

Puerto Rico Tourism Company

Francisco Luis
Moderator

Francisco Luis

Partner

Kevane Grant Thornton

Mike Wilson

COO

OBM International

Mike is OBM International’s Chief Operating Officer, overseeing all financial, human resource, information technology, legal and

business issues. Mike’s leadership and direction in these areas allows his OBMI colleagues to focus their time where it matters

most – on design excellence and client service.

Mike is a UK qualified Chartered Accountant with broad, multi-sector, business advisory experience developed primarily as a

Director with KPMG in London.

Drawing upon his background in business and finance Mike is uniquely positioned to add value to OBMI’s Development

Consultancy services for our clients, bringing his breadth of understanding of the key financial factors to developing a successful

project.

Jose Gelabert-Navia

Regional Director Latin America

Perkins + Will

With thirty four years of experience as an architect, Mr. Gelabert-Navia is the

Regional Director for Latin America of Perkins+Will. Jose has been involved in a

variety of projects, including academic buildings, museums, corporate and residential

work. He is an expert in complex mixed-used projects involving a variety

of markets including retail, housing, and offices. He has also been involved with

Civic, Healthcare and Education projects in both the United States and Latin

America. Jose is currently a Professor of Architecture and formerly the Dean of

the School of Architecture at the University of Miami.

Christian Glauser Benz

Managing Partner

Leman Holdings

Christian Glauser Benz is the Managing Partner of Swiss based Leman Holdings, a boutique real estate investment and advisory platform with offices in Switzerland and the US. The group recently announced expansion plans for North America with a new $1.5 billion investment in luxury hospitality and mixed-use projects across the US, Mexico and the Caribbean. www.lemanholdings.com

José Izquierdo II

Executive Director

Puerto Rico Tourism Company

José R. Izquierdo II, Esq., was appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico Ricardo Rosselló

Nevares as Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company on January 2017. Prior to

his appointment, Izquierdo practiced law in San Juan and served as Secretary General Secretary

of the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and as Chief Executive Officer of both the North

American Boxing Organization (NABO) and the Intercontinental Boxing Organization,

establishing himself as a prominent figure in the sport at an international level.

Izquierdo also served as Assistant Secretary and Director of Legal and Legislative Affairs at the

Department of Economic Development and Commerce of Puerto Rico.

The Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company received a BA in History and

Latin American and Iberian Studies from Haverford College, Haverford, PA, in 2005, having

also spent a year studying International History and Government at the London School of

Economics and Political Science. As an undergraduate, Izquierdo was selected for a prestigious

White House internship.

After gaining considerable experience as advisor to various key legislative committees, Jose

received a JD from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law in 2011, where he was a staff

editor of the UPR Law Review, class president, and president of the Federal Bar Association

(FBA).

Francisco Luis

Moderator

Kevane Grant Thornton

Tax partner with over twenty five years of

experience in public accounting, including the

“Big Four” and private consulting practice.

Sector experience

Francisco engages in the design and development

of tax planning and consulting strategies. This

includes tax services in the area of mergers and

acquisitions, business reorganizations, partnership

transactions, tax incentives and exemptions,

individual and corporate tax issues, personal

financial matters, and others. Francisco has

experience in assisting clients before the Internal

Revenue Service, the Puerto Rico Treasury

Department, the Municipal Revenue Collection

Center, and various municipalities. He also

possesses extensive tax compliance experience.

Professional qualifications and memberships:

Francisco is a graduate of the University of

Puerto Rico with a bachelor’s degree in business

administration, major in accounting. He obtained

his Juris Doctor degree from the University of

Puerto Rico Law School.

Professional affiliations and

memberships

He is a member of the Puerto Rico State Society

of Certified Public Accountants and the American

Institute of Certified Public Accountants. As part

of his involvement with the Puerto Rico State

Society of Certified Public Accountants, he is a

former president of the San Juan Chapter, past

member of the Board of Directors and has also

led various committees, including Strategic

Planning, Ethics and Regulations. In addition, he

serves as technical instructor in various seminars

sponsored by the Puerto Rico State Society of

Certified Public Accountants.

Keynote

Puerto Rico's Economic Outlook

Ricardo Rosselló Nevares

Ricardo Rosselló Nevares

Governor

Puerto Rico

Ricardo Rosselló Nevares

Governor

Puerto Rico

Ricardo Rosselló Nevares swore as governor of Puerto Rico on January 2, 2017 after his

victory in the general elections against other five candidates. His main objective is to guide

Puerto Rico in overcoming its government and financial crisis, and obtaining equality for

the island by making Puerto Rico the 51 st state of the United States.

Rosselló Nevares obtained a doctor’s degree in Bioengineering and Neurobiology and

graduated from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with

bachelors’ degrees in Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering, with a specialization in

Development Economics. He continued his academic career at the University of Michigan,

where he obtained a master’s and doctor’s degree in Bioengineering. He attended post-

doctorate studies at Duke University in North Carolina, where he also worked as a

researcher. Rosselló Nevares worked both as a professor at the Metropolitan University

and as an auxiliary professor at the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of

Puerto Rico. His research work has been acknowledged with several awards, including the

Top Ten Outstanding Young Persons (JCI International.) He was also selected as the

youngest member of the Ibero-American Culture and Scientific Academy. His work has

been published in several science journals, such as E-life and the cover of the prestigious

Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. As a result of his research, he has been

able to develop intellectual property with the purpose of treating diseases such as

neurodegeneration and cancer. He was recently acknowledged as a scholar by the

International Society of Neurobiology.

In 2012, Rosselló Nevares published the book Un mejor Puerto Rico es posible, which

analyzes how the island’s situation under its current political system affects both the social

and economic parameters of Puerto Rico, and its relationship with the rest of the world.

Facing the 2012 status plebiscite, Rosselló Nevares founded the movement Boricua Ahora

Es, with the purpose of creating awareness on the importance of achieving a fair political

definition for Puerto Rico. Through this movement, he encouraged the Puerto Rican

electorate to vote for statehood, to obtain for the first time the victory of this status formula

in a plebiscitary inquiry.

On June 5, 2016, 37 year-old Rosselló Nevares stood out on the New Progressive Party

(NPP) primaries and became the governor candidate for this collectivity during the general

elections on November 8, 2016. He is married to Beatriz Isabel Rosselló, with whom he has

a daughter named Claudia Beatriz. Rosselló Nevares’s parents are Pedro Rosselló González,

former governor of Puerto Rico (1993-2001,) and former first lady Maga Rosselló.

Summary

Join us for Bisnow's Caribbean & LatAm Forum where we will be taking a look at deal making in the areas poised for tremendous growth in 2017.... The Caribbean & Latin America.

We will also be exploring the trends & opportunities with the top investors, developers, lenders and deal makers who are exploring deals in what are arguably the hottest Commercial Real Estate Markets right now.

Do not miss Bisnow's first dive into the Caribbean & LatAm markets...será un programa increíble! 

Share your comments, post your photos and ask questions using #BisnowMiami on Twitter and Instagram, and follow us at @BisnowMiami on Twitter for more local news.

Venue

JW Marriott Marquis
255 Biscayne Blvd Way
Miami, FL 33131

Ballroom: 5, 6 & 7; 3rd Floor


Valet Parking $25/day

Agenda

Time Activity
11:30 AM
12:30 PM
Breakfast & Networking
12:30 PM
12:45 PM
Governor of Puerto Rico Keynote
12:45 PM
1:20 PM
Case Study: A look at Puerto Rico
1:20 PM
1:50 PM
Investor Sentiment
1:50 PM
2:20 PM
Hospitality & Lifestyle
2:20 PM
3:00 PM
Post-Panel Networking