NYC 2017 Forecast

Mr. Schlank is a Founder and Managing Partner of Savanna. At Savanna, Mr. Schlank sits on the investment committee and is in charge of construction and redevelopment and shares responsibilities for asset management, sales and marketing and acquisitions. Mr. Schlank has overseen the acquisition and redevelopment of more than 70 real estate assets, comprising over 20 million square feet of space and nearly $3.8 billion of total capitalization, including raw land development sites, apartments, office buildings, industrial to residential conversions, retail and warehouse/distribution properties. Prior to founding Savanna, Mr. Schlank was a project manager for the Westside Federation for Senior Housing, a New York-based developer of low-income housing. Mr. Schlank received an MS in Real Estate Development from the Columbia School of Architecture and a BA in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Schlank is an Assistant Adjunct Professor at Columbia University where he teaches a seminar in Real Estate Finance to graduate students in the Columbia Architecture School’s Real Estate Master’s Degree Program.

Ralph Herzka is the chairman and CEO of Meridian Capital Group. Since co-founding the commercial real estate advisory firm in 1991, Mr. Herzka has remained the guiding force behind the company’s evolution from a small Brooklyn-based commercial mortgage brokerage to a national leader in real estate capital markets, having personally arranged over $100 billion in financing. Additionally, Mr. Herzka has led Meridian’s recent expansion into New York City investment sales and retail leasing in 2015 and 2018, respectively. Mr. Herzka demonstrates an exceptional ability to foster multi-generational relationships with real estate owners and investors and forms critical alliances with lenders to achieve success across the asset spectrum. He is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council, and the International Council of Shopping Centers. In addition to his professional leadership, Mr. Herzka is a dedicated philanthropist, raising millions of dollars for various organizations over his career. Most notably, he is a passionate participant of Bike4Chai, an annual 180-mile cycling fundraiser for children fighting pediatric illnesses and disabilities. Mr. Herzka is a lifelong resident of Brooklyn, NY. He and his wife are proud parents and grandparents.

As Chairman, NY Investment Sales with JLL Capital Markets, Bob co-leads the investment sales division in New York City. Bob was Chairman and Founding Partner of Massey Knakal Realty Services, New York’s #1 building sales firm. He started his real estate career in 1984 at CB Richard Ellis where he met Paul J. Massey Jr. They both left CB in 1988 to form Massey Knakal. From 1988 through 2014, Massey Knakal closed over 6,000 transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $23 billion. To date, Bob has been personally responsible for the sale of 1,873 buildings (generally considered to be the highest total ever for a single broker in New York) and over $18 billion in sales. On December 31, 2014, Cushman & Wakefield acquired Massey Knakal. At Cushman & Wakefield, Bob acted as Chairman of New York Investment Sales. He was ranked the top originating investment sales broker at Cushman & Wakefield, globally, in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Since 2009, Bob has written a weekly column on the New York City Real Estate Market called Concrete Thoughts for the Commercial Observer.

Economist and former fixed income professional with nearly 20 years of macro strategy experience. Strong econometric modeling skills and extensive research experience. CFA holder; Master's degree in Mathematical Finance. Specialties: Quantitative and econometric modeling; scenario analysis; solid knowledge of labor market dynamics. (Also: curve trading/relative value strategy, trading and execution. ALM and interest rate/FX hedging.) Knowledge of eViews and MATLAB. Authored "An Examination of Transparency in European Bond Markets", CFA Institute

Ken McCarthy has been with Cushman & Wakefield since August 2006. As Principal Economist, he works with the Chief Economist on C&W’s U.S. economic position and presents it to the public. As the Applied Research Lead, Ken is responsible for preparing cutting edge research about the outlook for commercial real estate in the Americas. Before becoming Principal Economist with Cushman & Wakefield, Ken served as Chief Economist of The Center for Innovative Entrepreneurship. Prior to this role he was the Chief Economist for vFinance, Inc. where he oversaw all of the company’s economic analysis and research. He’s headed the Economic Intelligence Company (EIC) that provided economic analysis and advice to Fortune 500 firms and also served as Vice President of Rinfret Associates, Inc. for 14 years. Professional Experience: Before becoming a Principal Economist with Cushman & Wakefield, Ken served as Chief Economist of The Center for Innovative Entrepreneurship. Prior to this role he was the Chief Economist for vFinance, Inc. where he oversaw all of the company’s economic analysis and research. He’s headed the Economic Intelligence Company (EIC) that provided economic analysis and advice to Fortune 500 firms and also served as Vice President of Rinfret Associates, Inc. for 14 years. Professional Recognition: Ken’s market information and studies have been published in several business publications and annual almanacs including: The New York Times, Crain’s New York, New York Real Estate Journal, Real Estate New York and Real Estate Weekly. Professional Affiliations · Member of the Research Roundtable of the Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute of Baruch College. · Member of the advisory panel of the New York City Office of Management and Budget. Education: · Master of Arts degree from Fordham University · Bachelors of Arts degree in Economics from St. Anselm College in New Hampshire.

Ryan Severino is the chief economist at JLL where he manages the economics team and is responsible for global and regional economic research, analysis and forecasting as well as property market forecasting.​ Prior to JLL, Ryan served as senior economist and director of research at Reis in the research and economics department, the team responsible for the firm's market forecasting, valuation, and portfolio analytics services. Ryan also served as the Associate Director of Research at MetLife Real Estate Investments where he was responsible for macroeconomic and real estate market analysis, formulating portfolio strategy, and conducting deal reviews. Before joining MetLife, Ryan served as the Director of Investment Strategy and Market Research at Starwood Capital Group where he directed the entire research effort at the firm. Ryan has also held research positions at Prudential Real Estate Investors and UBS. Additionally, Ryan currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of finance and economics at Columbia University and New York University teaching courses such as Urban Economics, Portfolio and Risk Management, Microeconomics, and Macroeconomics. He also has experience in real estate asset management, portfolio management, and acquisitions. Ryan's original research has appeared in a number of journals such as the Wharton Real Estate Review and The Real Estate Finance Journal. His assessments of market conditions have appeared in international publications like The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Financial Times and on business networks such as CNBC and Bloomberg. Ryan is a member of the CFA Institute, the American Economic Association, ULI, and NCREIF. Ryan holds a master's degree from Columbia University, where he studied International Finance and Economics, a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University, where he studied Finance, Japanese, and Economics, and is a CFA Charterholder

Seth D. Molod, is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Lightstone, where he is responsible for overseeing and managing all corporate finance operations. Prior to joining Lightstone he served as Chair, Real Estate Services; and Executive Committee member at Berdon LLP. Mr. Molod brings over 25 years of extensive experience advising some of the nation’s most prominent real estate owners, developers, managers, and investors in both commercial and residential projects. He has advised privately held real estate companies as well as institutional investors, REITs, and other public companies. Mr. Molod received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting from Muhlenberg College. He is licensed as a certified public accountant in New Jersey and in New York.

Louis Jerome is a Principal at JEMB Realty Corporation. After moving from his role at Hunter Realty, Louis moved into a management position for leasing several properties along with overseeing maintenance, compliance, and operations. Louis now directs the management of both the Herald Towers in Manhattan and the Pocono Manor in Pennsylvania, which hosts commericial, residential, and hospitality spaces. Louis is a proud graduate of New York University.

Doug Curry has served as the CEO of Xceligent, Inc. since its inception in 1999. Mr. Curry leads the executive staff and strategic direction of the company. His experience in real estate dates back to 1983 with hands-on experience of developing commercial and residential properties alongside his father. In 1996, Curry founded Pinnacle Appraisal Group, LLC. By focusing on customer service, standardized processes, training, and utilization of technology, Curry grew the company into one of the top appraisal firms in the country and his business model became the standard for many national banks. Curry then founded Pinnacle Commercial and experienced first-hand the difficulty in obtaining quality commercial real estate information. He founded Xceligent as an answer to that industry need in Kansas City. Over the last nearly 20 years, he has directed Xceligent’s growth into a proactively researched commercial real estate information provider covering more than 50 US markets.