New York City State of the Market

Sabrina Kanner

Executive Vice President, Design and Construction
Brookfield Properties

With Brookfield Properties and its predecessor, Olympia & York, since 1982, Ms. Kanner oversees design and construction in the U.S. She joined the construction division of Olympia & York in 1982 and was appointed to run Olympia and York’s construction company in 1986. In her tenure with the company, Ms. Kanner has played a key role in the construction, design and development or redevelopment of over 40 million square feet of signature Brookfield projects such as World Financial Center, Brookfield Place, 300 Madison Avenue, Bay Adelaide Centre, the restoration/renovation of the Winter Garden at World Financial Center after 9/11, and currently Manhattan West. She is a member of WX and sits on the Boards of Directors of the New York Building Congress (Treasurer), The Salvadori Center (Chair), The Opus Group, The Regional Plan Association, Urban Green Council (Secretary), Cedar Realty Trust, and National Academy of Construction and sits on the Board of Trustees of The National Building Museum (Secretary) and The Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation.

Leah Cuffy

Research Analyst
National Apartment Association

Leah Cuffy is the Research Analyst at National Apartment Association (NAA), where she is responsible for providing insights on key apartment industry topics. Prior to joining NAA, Leah was the Senior Research Assistant at the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation, a family foundation which supported entrepreneurship, self-reliance, global understanding, and free enterprise. In this role she was responsible for vetting potential grantees and their initiatives, and processing of the grants. She also has previous experience in commercial real estate research and analytics with Costar Group. Leah began her career in the multifamily sector through various roles in property management at both Equity Residential and UDR. She has been able to leverage her experience and fulfill her passion of providing valuable market research for members so they can make informed and sound business decisions. Leah holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from Washington Adventist University.

Laurent Morali

President
Kushner Companies

Laurent Morali is the President of Kushner Companies. Mr. Morali began his career in finance with Credit Lyonnais Bank in Seoul, Korea. In January 2000, he joined the structured real estate finance team of Credit Lyonnais in Paris. He joined Credit Lyonnais America’s real estate financing team in October 2001 with a rapid focus on complex transactions on the capital markets. Mr. Morali joined Kushner Companies in 2008 where he has held several positions, starting with Director of Finance, transitioning to Head of Acquisitions and Capital Markets, in June 2016 he became President of the company. Mr. Morali has closed in excess of $14 billion worth of real estate transactions, from construction and development deals to complex securitizations of real estate and other esoteric assets. Mr. Morali obtained his Business School degree from Ecole Superieure de Commerce of Toulouse, France in June, 1998

Gerard Norcia

Executive Director
JP Morgan Asset Management

Executive Director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management with more than twelve years experience performing value-add commercial real estate investment management. Specialize in multi-family, office and retail asset management, acquisition/reposition analytics, joint venture and capital markets structuring.

Kevin Hoo

Managing Partner
Cove Property Group

Kevin Hoo is the Managing Partner of Cove Property Group. Mr. Hoo has developed significant joint venture and capital partner relationships throughout his career and is responsible for the acquisition, financing and asset management of Cove's portfolio. Mr. Hoo has overseen in excess of $3 billion of direct real estate transactions, as well as development and capital projects throughout his career and has negotiated over one million square feet of leases across 90 separate transactions. Prior to Cove, Mr. Hoo was a Managing Director at Savanna. While at Savanna, Mr. Hoo oversaw the acquisition, financing and asset management of nearly 1.8 million square feet through to successful investment exits, including 100 Wall Street, 245 & 249 West 17th Street, 21 Penn Plaza and 31 Penn Plaza. Before Savanna, Mr. Hoo was a Director at Tishman Speyer. Based in New York City, Mr. Hoo began in the Emerging Markets group (focused on China and India), initially managing acquisition and development opportunities and was subsequently granted oversight of design and construction elements in that role. Mr. Hoo later transitioned into the New York Acquisitions and Development group and finally the Commercial Leasing and Sales group, with a specific focus on Rockefeller Center and 200 Park Avenue. Prior to Tishman Speyer, Mr. Hoo was an Associate Director in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group at UBS AG in Sydney, Australia, where he was responsible for M&A and capital market transactions for REIT clients. Mr. Hoo is a Vice Chair of the board of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, as well as a Bachelor of Commerce (with honors) and Bachelor of Law (with honors) from the University of Queensland, Australia.

Shimon Shkury

President
Ariel Property Advisors

Ronnie Levine

Senior Managing Director
Meridian Capital Group

Mr. Levine joined Meridian in 2004 and currently serves as a Senior Managing Director, overseeing a staff of originators and underwriters in the negotiation and placement of financing for construction, repositioning and transitional asset transactions. Prior to joining Meridian, Mr. Levine was a Senior Vice President at Westminster Capital, a division of Kushner Companies. His job responsibilities at Westminster included coordinating all aspects of financing for Kushner Companies, including debt and equity financing. Mr. Levine also previously worked as a financial analyst in the real estate investment banking group of CIBC World Markets. Mr. Levine holds an M.S. in Real Estate Finance from New York University and a B.A. in Finance from Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business.

Greta Guggenheim

CEO
TPG Real Estate Finance Trust

Greta Guggenheim is Chief Executive Officer and President of TPG Real Estate Finance Trust (“TRT”) and a Firm Partner of TPG. TRT is a NYSE listed commercial mortgage REIT (ticker TRTX) that originates commercial real estate mortgage loans in major markets throughout the U.S. Previously, Ms. Guggenheim was Co‐Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Ladder Capital. Ms. Guggenheim’s prior experience includes positions at Dillon Read Capital Management, UBS, Bear Stearns and Credit Suisse. Ms. Guggenheim serves on the ULI Board of Trustees, Board of Governors of CREFC as well as several charitable foundations. Ms. Guggenheim has a MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from Swarthmore College.

Jeff Fastov

Senior Managing Director
Square Mile Capital

Jeff is responsible for establishing, overseeing and implementing Square Mile’s strategic direction with respect to all credit initiatives. Prior to joining Square Mile in 2013, Jeff served as co-head of Credit Suisse’s Real Estate Finance and Securitization group. Prior to Credit Suisse, Jeff founded Oasis Real Estate Partners, a capital markets advisor to foreign and domestic financial institutions, private equity funds and other significant real estate credit market participants. From 1992 to 2009, Jeff was with Goldman Sachs, where he ultimately served as co-head of its commercial real estate lending business. Jeff started his career at Moody’s Investors Service where he established and led the Commercial Real Estate Ratings group from 1983 to 1992. Jeff received his B.A. from the University of Rochester and his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Tony Fineman

Managing Director
ACORE Capital

Mr. Fineman has more than 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate business. At ACORE, Mr. Fineman is responsible for originating, underwriting, structuring and closing commercial real estate financing opportunities, and for managing originations for the Eastern Region. Prior to joining ACORE, Mr. Fineman was an Executive Vice President with Brickman and a principal at Hillcrest Finance, where he was responsible for originating, underwriting, structuring and closing equity and debt investment opportunities, and financing new and existing equity investments. Prior to Brickman, Mr. Fineman held various positions in commercial real estate finance including a senior role with Wachovia Bank, where he managed, structured and closed more than $25 billion of complex commercial real estate finance transactions often involving multiple lenders and tranches of debt, and a role as a banker with Nomura Securities in the mid to late 1990s. In addition to his finance experience, Mr. Fineman has also spent a significant amount of time on the equity side of the commercial real estate business where he was involved in the development, ownership, management and operation of commercial real estate, including in senior roles with Centres Inc. and Terranova Corporation, and in his time with Brickman. Mr. Fineman began his career in commercial real estate as an attorney representing institutional and private clients in a wide range of commercial real estate transactions, including finance, acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, development and land use. After college and prior to law school, Mr. Fineman spent several years at IBM Corporation as a marketing representative. Mr. Fineman received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Drexel University and a J.D. from the University of Florida. Mr. Fineman serves on the board of enCourage Kids Foundation. Mr. Fineman is married to Lori and they have two children, Mia and Rocky.

Tim Doherty

EVP, Co-Head of Investments
Safehold & iStar

Tim Doherty currently serves as Executive Vice President, Co-Head of Investments. In this role, Mr. Doherty leads the investment team of Safehold Inc (NYSE: SAFE), a public REIT focused on the acquisition and creation of ground lease investments across all property types nationwide. Safehold is the first publicly traded company focused solely on ground lease investments and is externally managed by iStar. Mr. Doherty worked at iStar between 2000 and 2008 and recently rejoined iStar in 2013. Prior to becoming the Head of Ground Lease Investments, he focused on structured finance having worked on over 60 transactions totaling more than $5 billion during his tenure at iStar. The transaction structure types included first mortgage, mezzanine, B-notes, preferred equity, DIP financing, participations and corporate finance investments and included all traditional property types (office, retail, hotel and industrial) and non-traditional product types (self-storage, entertainment and land). Prior to his latest tenure at iStar, Mr. Doherty co-founded and operated Shem Creek Capital (“SCC”), a boutique real estate finance fund located in Boston, MA. Prior to joining iStar Financial in 2000, Mr. Doherty was at Archon Group, a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs, investing on behalf of the Whitehall funds. He received his BS in Finance from Georgetown University.

Ted Kuch

Principal
Ryan

Current: Principal, Ryan, New York office - Specializes in providing property tax services to commercial clients located in New York City and throughout the United States. Previous - Director, Property Tax, Ryan, New York office - Managing Director, Property Tax, international real estate firm - Tax Counsel, law firm - Specialized in providing real estate valuation and property tax litigation. PUBLIC SECTOR EXPERIENCE Previous - Law Clerk, New Jersey Tax Court, Newark PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS - District of Columbia Bar Association (2010) - Institute for Professionals in Taxation - Certified Member • New Jersey State Bar Association (2006) - Member of the Supreme Court Committee on the Tax Court - Member of the Taxation Committee • New York City Bar Association (2014) - Member of the Condemnation and Tax Certiorari Committee EDUCATION/ACCREDITATION - Juris Doctor Degree, Thomas Jefferson School of Law - Bachelor of Arts Degree, Hartwick College - Graduate, Brennan-Vanderbilt American Inn of Court

Richard Monopoli

SVP, Development
Boston Properties

Richard T. Monopoli oversees all development activity for Boston Properties’ New York region. Since joining Boston Properties in 2005, Mr. Monopoli has built or redeveloped over three million square feet of office and mixed-use projects and has secured an additional two million square feet of development rights. Notable projects include the creation of new air rights parcels to allow for the redevelopment of the Hancock Garage and Back Bay MBTA Station in Boston, Massachusetts, the assemblage of development parcels and creation of a new zoning overlay district for CityPoint in Waltham, Massachusetts, obtaining development rights to allow for the construction of The Broad Institute’s state- of-the-art research facility at 75 Ames Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the redevelopment of 601 Lexington Avenue in New York. Prior to joining Boston Properties, Mr. Monopoli was a Vice President of Acquisitions at LaSalle Investment Management where he sourced and closed over two hundred million dollars of core and value-add transactions. Mr. Monopoli also spent five years as a consulting structural engineer with Simpson Gumpertz & Heger with a focus on building envelope technology and forensic engineering. Mr. Monopoli is a member of the New York District Urban Land Institute’s Advisory Board and a co-chair of the Urban Design and Mixed Use Product Council. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Massachusetts and California and is a CFA Charterholder. He is a frequent panel member at industry events and has guest lectured at the Kellogg School of Management. Mr. Monopoli received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 1993, a Master’s of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Irvine in 1994, and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management in 2002.

David Roll

Portfolio Manager
Norges Bank Investment Management

David Roll is a Portfolio Manager at Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) where he oversees acquisitions and asset management in New York. He joined NBIM in January 2013 to help build the US team and grow NBIM’s US real estate portfolio. Today, the NBIM New York portfolio is approximately 11 million square feet and includes a wide range of assets including historic printing press buildings in Hudson Square as well as newly developed skyscrapers in Midtown. Prior to joining NBIM, David held various roles in real estate private equity in London, Stockholm and New York at PGIM and Areim. He is a board member of AFIRE and a member of the Campaign Team for Batsheva Arts Campus in Tel Aviv. David holds a Master’ of Science in real estate finance from KTH in Stockholm.

Thomas Farrell

Partner
COVE

Thomas Farrell is a Partner at Cove Property Group. Prior to joining Cove, Mr. Farrell was a Senior Managing Director with Tishman Speyer where he was a key member of that firm for over 20 years. During his tenure at TS he played a key role as head of its Design and Construction group overseeing some of its most prestigious projects across the globe. Mr. Farrell played an integral role on major New York projects including the Hearst Tower, Goldman Sachs World Headquarters, 101 West End Avenue and build-to-suit projects for Citibank and other major financial institutions. Mr. Farrell also played a primary role in other US markets for TS including projects in Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Mr. Farrell also helped establish Tishman Speyer's business in Brazil and had a leadership role on numerous projects in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia. Mr. Farrell also had an oversight role for other international projects across major markets in Europe, Nike's Asia headquarters in Shanghai, and the Waverock project in Hyderabad, India. From 2003 through 2015 he served on Tishman Speyer's Investment Committee and also on its Management & Compliance Committees. From 2014 through November 2015, Mr. Farrell served as country head for Tishman Speyer's efforts in Mexico. Before his time at TS, Mr. Farrell spent nine years managing the design and construction of major projects with Olympia & York, where he held leadership roles for the buildout of Merrill Lynch's headquarters at the World Financial Center and CIBC's headquarters at 425 Lexington Avenue. Mr. Farrell also served as project director for Phase Two of the Canary Wharf project in London and the Santa Fe project in Mexico City. Mr. Farrell was recently inducted into the National Academy of Construction and serves on the advisory board of New Ground, an education service for the homeless. Mr. Farrell is a licensed professional engineer and has a Bachelor's Degree from Manhattan College, where he serves on the Board of Trustees.

Jonathan Ninnis

Principal & President
OC Development Management

Through the acquisition of Metropolitan Building Services by OC Development Management, Jonathan serves as Principal and President of the OCDM. OCDM is an owner-focused, Development Management Services firm providing turn key development management from project inception through construction and occupancy for varying types of commercial projects. As the firm’s President, Mr. Ninnis remains actively involved in the daily execution of OCDM’s projects while also setting the strategic direction of the company and leading all business development efforts. Mr. Ninnis brings to the table more than 18 years of experience and, unlike many others in the field, a foundation in architecture with a highly technical background and knowledge in both design and construction. This expertise by nature creates a proactive rather than reactive management style and allows a strategic approach to be applied to the many facets of completing a complex project. Prior to founding OCDM, Mr. Ninnis has held positions throughout the Real Estate Industry including Vice President of Development at L&L Holding Company, Senior Associate at VVA Project Managers, and Managing Agent at Citi for Cushman and Wakefield. These positions have allowed Jonathan to complete prestigious projects for many well-known clients such as Citi, JP Morgan, NYU Langone Medical Center, City University of New York, the Union Club of the City of New York, Beacon Capital and many others. Over the course of his career, Jonathan has completed over $800 million in projects spanning across 4.5 million square feet of real estate throughout the greater NYC, NJ, and Boston areas. Mr. Ninnis is a registered architect and holds a Bachelor of Architecture from New Jersey Institute of Technology. Jonathan also serves on NJIT’s Dean’s Executive Counsel.

Doug Hocking

Principal
KPF

A Principal at Kohn Pedersen Fox, Doug has more than 25 years of experience in architectural design, contributing to some of the firm’s most respected and well-known projects. He has a reputation for his attention to detail and craft, resulting in award-winning projects built throughout the world. Doug has been active in Washington DC and Virginia; as Design Principal, he lead the design for the soon to be completed 1900 N Street, the recently finished 1775 Tyson’s Boulevard, a mixed-use LEED Platinum project in Tyson’s Corner, as well as the brand new 1000 Maine office building. The office, part of a large master plan to redevelop the waterfront district, has won numerous awards both locally and nationally for its design excellence and craftsmanship. Doug has demonstrated special skill in approaching complex transformation projects that deal with the reordering of spaces. His design for 390 Madison Avenue exemplifies his expertise in this area, carving out sections of existing floor slabs in the existing structure and redistributing the excised floor area elsewhere in the building. His work at the University of Kentucky College of Law exhibits a similar expertise in reshaping spaces through renovation. An advocate for sustainable and resilient architecture, Doug has designed some of the firm’s landmark “green” projects, including 555 Mission Street, the first LEED Gold office building in San Francisco, and the NYCHA Red Hook Houses Sandy Resiliency & Renewal Program, which focuses on decreasing the community’s vulnerability to potential natural disasters in the future. Passionate about his chosen profession, Doug is very active in the architectural community. He has been an adjunct professor and studio instructor for many schools, including the University of Hawaii and the University of North Carolina. As chair of the planning board of a suburban county near New York City, he uses his skills as an architect and designer to help people understand what the implications of development and building are to them, their future, and their families.

Cedric Bobo

Co-Founder
Project Destined

Cedric Bobo is the CEO and Co-founder of Project Destined, a social impact vehicle that trains urban youth and military veterans to be owners and stakeholders in the communities in which they live, work and play. Prior to founding Project Destined, Cedric spent over 20 years as an investor and investment banker including over 10 years at The Carlyle Group where he committed over $2 Billion of equity capital. In 2015, Cedric was named to the “10 Top Powerful Black People on Wall Street You Should Know.” Prior to Carlyle, he worked at D.L.J. Merchant Banking (London) and McCown De Leeuw. He is the co-founder of Charter Board Partners, a non-profit focused on governance in the charter school sector. He also serves on the District of Columbia’s Office of Public Charter School Financing and Support Credit Committee and Beauvoir, The National Cathedral Elementary School. Cedric received his MBA from Harvard Business School and a BSME, summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee.

Ben Brown

Managing Partner
Brookfield Properties

Ben Brown is a Managing Partner in Brookfield’s Real Estate Group. He joined Brookfield in 2010 and has held various roles including leading acquisitions and dispositions for the office property business in New York and in London. He is currently responsible for the commercial operations, including acquisition and disposition activities, for the office business in New York and Boston. Prior to joining Brookfield, Mr. Brown spent time in Boston, Florida and New York with the New Boston Fund, Sovereign Bank and Thor Equities. Ben holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration in Finance from Northeastern University.

Laurie Grasso

Partner
Hunton Andrews Kurth

Laurie, an accomplished deal maker, is partner and co-chair of the firm’s global real estate practice. She takes a client-focused approach to her real estate practice, often acting as in-house counsel for her clients and becoming a trusted member of their businesses. She has a long list of clients who have been with her since the beginning of her practice and appreciate her ability to adeptly and efficiently handle any type of real estate deal. She is recognized as a leading lawyer in Chambers USA 2021, noting that she is “a strong negotiator” and “she has a great business sense combined with legal knowledge.” Most recently, for the second year in a row, Commercial Observer included her in their elite “Power 100” list, which recognizes the most powerful players in real estate. Laurie represents real estate private equity funds, companies, institutional REITs, investors and other property owners in structuring and closing real estate transactions such as acquisitions and dispositions, developments, financings, portfolio transactions, preferred equity investments, leasing and real estate joint ventures. Her work touches all asset classes, including office, multifamily, affordable housing, workforce housing, mixed-use, life sciences, hospitality, retail and condominium. She also maintains an active capital markets and fund practice, representing investors in joint venture transactions and sophisticated fund and tax structures. Laurie is also well-versed in the Opportunity Zone program and helps clients through the process of structuring and investing in qualified properties and vehicles. Laurie is involved in a number of non-profit and charitable organizations focusing on increasing diversity in real estate. She serves on the Advisory Board and spearheads the firm’s legal partnership with Project Destined, an organization dedicated to transforming minority youth into owners in the communities in which they live, work and play. She also serves as co-chair for Rebuilding New York’s “She Builds” program, where she organizes an annual renovation day, rehabilitating a New York City community center in need.

Thomas Durels

EVP Real Estate
Empire State Realty Trust

Mr. Durels is responsible for all of our real estate activities, including leasing, property redevelopment, management and construction. Mr. Durels joined our predecessor in 1990 where he served in similar capacities, also supervised property acquisitions, and was involved in acquisitions and structured equity investments of over $1.1 billion. Prior to joining our predecessor, from February 1984 to April 1990, he served as Assistant Vice President at Helmsley Spear, Inc., where Mr. Durels was responsible for construction and engineering for its portfolio of office, hotel, residential and retail properties. Mr. Durels is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, the Urban Land Institute and the Young Men’s and Women’s Real Estate Association, for which he served as Treasurer in 2003, and is a licensed real estate broker in New York and Connecticut. Mr. Durels received a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University.

Benjamin Levine

EVP, Finance & Acquisition
Douglaston Development

Mr. Levine joined Douglaston Development as a Project Manager in 2008 and quickly rose through the ranks to oversee several projects throughout the boroughs. As Executive Vice President of Finance and Acquisitions, he is responsible for all acquisition and development underwriting and feasibility. To date, he has secured over $2 billion in project underwriting since joining the company. Before joining Douglaston Development, Mr. Levine worked as an analyst at Credit Suisse in both New York City and London for their real estate finance and securitization group. Community and Industry Involvement: Board member of Haymakers for Hope Member and former Chair of the Jewish National Fund Future in New York. Mr. Levine graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies and a minor in Urban Real Estate and Development.

Gregory Kraut

Managing Partner
KPG Funds

Gregory Kraut joined KPG in 2017 as a managing partner. Mr. Kraut oversees the strategic direction of the company, fundraising, development, capital administration, asset management and leasing. Before joining KPG, Mr. Kraut was the Founding Principal and Managing Director of Avison Young’s New York office. Working with senior management, he established the Canadian-based firm’s local corporate infrastructure and grew its footprint in the Tri-State region through business acquisitions and high-level recruiting. During this time, he was named one of Commercial Observer’s Power 100 in New York City real estate for three consecutive years. As a senior broker and advisor, Mr. Kraut specialized in tenant and landlord representation including acquisition, disposition and planning strategies for local and multi-market clients. He also evaluated and underwrote office properties for individual and institutional owners. Prior to Avison Young, Mr. Kraut was a Senior Executive at CBRE, the world’s largest real estate services company. Throughout his 20-year career, he has represented owners and occupiers in transactions totaling more than 10 million square feet.

Sammy Courtright

Co-Founder & COO
Fitspot

Sammy is the Co-Founder and COO of Fitspot. She’s an attention-to-detail aficionado who brings a blend of grit and imagination to the zillions of tasks that confront every startup. She has always thrived in operations, working as a production assistant in LA and managing operations in the fashion industry. Sammy wears many hats at Fitspot, doing everything from fundraising and hosting webinars to operations and managing the customer experience. Sammy has a B.F.A. from the University of Miami. She hails from Australia, and she can’t leave the house without her Akubra.

Karl Frederic

Partner
Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf

Karl Frederic (who previously used Karl Piirimae) conducts a multi-disciplinary practice focusing on real estate development, leasing, construction and related workout and litigation matters. In his national practice, he has handled transactions across the full spectrum of real estate assets, ranging from retail centers and corporate headquarters to the MetLife Stadium. He has a particular focus on and demonstrated experience in real estate matters involving the pharmaceutical and bio-tech industries. He has provided services to global technology firms, pharmaceutical conglomerates, educational institutions and healthcare companies. He also advises clients on acquisitions and the repositioning and expansion of existing developed assets. Mr. Frederic's practice routinely involves general corporate transactions, real estate conveyance and leasing, finance, construction and landlord-tenant litigation, so that he brings a unique multi-disciplinary approach to each engagement. He has also developed an associated focus in construction matters that is often particularly useful in advising clients in the issues related to tenant improvements that routinely arise in leasing transactions. He also provides counsel in connection with stand-alone construction projects, advising clients on design and construction contracts.

Jay Norris

Co-Founder & CEO
Guesst Software

Jay Norris, Co-founder, and CEO of Guesst®, has over 15 years in developing experiential marketing concepts. Jay started in the music industry developing multi-city tours and venues for top recording artists for Clive Davis’ Arista Record and others. In 1997, Jay started Tastemakers Media, which published a cutting-edge magazine throughout the US featuring the best retail & lifestyle offerings domestically and abroad. In 2005, Jay brought his expertise in lifestyle and experiential marketing to the commercial real estate tenant brokerage industry. Jay is a small to medium-size business growth executive at heart, continually looking to maximize resources, build relationships and identify growth opportunities. Jay has been effectuating Retail-Matchmaking in the analog space for a number of years, which has led to the founding of Guesst - A Retail-Sharing Community.

Reynolds Allen

Managing Director, Retail Strategy and Operations
EDENS

As Managing Director of Retail Strategy and Operations, Reynolds is responsible for EDENS’ evolving retail and retailer sales strategy as well as the administration of the leasing, legal and property operations teams. Since 2006, Reynolds has been an integral part of EDENS’ development and retail strategy work. In 2014, he expanded his role to Vice President – Development where he led the redevelopment of Union Market in Washington, DC. The Union Market District was designed to attract the District’s community of culinary, entrepreneurial and creative innovators. Reynolds also played a large role in the redevelopments of Barclay Square, Davidson Commons, Riverton Commons and Argent Lake Village. Reynolds received a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Science and a degree in Human & Organizational Development from Vanderbilt.

Rachel Johnson

Associate Director, Market Analytics
CoStar Group

Michael Cortazzo

Director of Retail Operations
Guesst

Michael J. Cortazzo has more than 40 years of experience with retail and office tenants of all shapes and sizes. From mom-and-pop restaurant owners to Fortune 500 apparel companies with more than $3 billion in annual sales, Michael is able to find the perfect real estate fit for them all. Over his storied career, Michael has completed more than 500 new store real estate transactions and more than 1.5 million square feet of office transactions worldwide. This includes deals in New York City, London, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Pittsburgh, Puerto Rico and Shanghai. Michael’s vast expertise accommodates retailers the world over because he understands commerce is a global market regardless of your business’ physical location. As we know, a sophisticated, well-executed strategy must be in place for today’s retailers to successfully execute technology, ecommerce and omnichannel initiatives. Michael offers the trifecta, having spent his career, rolling out point of sale (POS) systems to more than 900 stores, spearheading R&D initiatives for mobile POS, overseeing customer service call centers, and managing the creation, installation and implementation of labor management systems, Shoppertrak in-store customer traffic tools, Cognos database reporting tools and mobile video training solutions. His 15 years as senior director of store operations for American Eagle Outfitters has allowed Michael to understand a company’s needs and changing technologies, empathizing with their challenges while capitalizing on their strengths. Michael has been responsible for profits and loss statements on more than 900 retail stores with a payroll budget of $150 million. He has also managed 7.5 million square feet of store, office and distribution center facilities, while executing corporate directives at the store level, which includes sales, customer service, training and floor sets. Michael’s talents were further honed as Senior Director of Real Estate and Facilities for American Eagle Outfitters as it expanded from two stores to a company with multiple brands in more than 25 countries, opening 100 to 150 new stores per year under his watch. During this time, the company also doubled its average store sales volume. Michael works with his clients on a very personal level, guiding their endeavors from thought development through physical development to the expansion phase. Michael’s successes are his client’s successes, which means his number one goal is to oversee all aspects of a concept, ensuring the project is completed on time and under budget.

Jason Muss

President
Muss Development

James Nelson

Principal & Head of Tri-State Investment Sales
Avison Young

James Nelson is a Principal and Head of Tri-State Investment Sales in Avison Young’s New York City office where he leads a group of 30 professionals in the sale of multifamily, office, development and retail properties.    Nelson most recently served as Vice Chairman of Cushman & Wakefield, where his team marketed over $1 billion in listings, ranking him as the number one Investment Sales broker nationwide in 2016. Prior, Nelson was a partner and top producer for Massey Knakal for six of their last eight years and was named the company’s youngest partner in 2004. Throughout his 20-year career, Nelson has been involved in the sale of over 400 properties and loans with an aggregate value of over $4 billion.   Nelson is the Chairman of REBNY’s Commercial Board of Directors, a Board Member of both the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce and the Catalog for Giving, and Founder of the Real Estate Services Alliance and the Colgate Real Estate Council. He has received numerous distinctions including being #1 Top NYC Deal Maker by LoopNet, Real Estate Forum’s 40 Under 40, Top 35 and Under NYC Real Estate Players by The Real Deal, and REBNY’s Most Promising Commercial Sales Person of the Year Award.

Daniel Parker

Managing Director
Hodges Ward Elliott

Daniel Parker is a Managing Director on the Hodges Ward Elliott (“HWE”) New York commercial investment sales team. Mr. Parker has spent over a decade working in both principal and advisory roles in the New York City commercial real estate market. Prior to joining HWE, Mr. Parker was a Vice President at The Related Companies, where he led a management team overseeing a 2,700 unit multifamily portfolio in New York City. Prior to working for Related, Mr. Parker worked in the Savills Studley Capital Transactions Group, working on a team that closed in excess of $2.2 billion in commercial real estate transactions including residential, office, retail and land. Mr. Parker started his real estate career working as a multifamily asset manager, overseeing 45 rent-regulated properties with 1,600 apartments and 78 retail spaces located in New York City for Prana Investments. In addition to New York City office, retail and land transactions, Mr. Parker brokers multifamily properties in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Mr. Parker has represented institutional clients that include Related, Rockpoint, Carlyle, KBS, Westbrook and Normandy, as well as a number of private families and investors. Mr. Parker recently brokered the sale of a $71 million workforce housing portfolio on behalf of Related to a partnership between Taconic Investment Partners and Clarion Partners. Other notable multifamily sales include the record-breaking $140 million sale of a 38 walk-up properties with nearly 1,000 units in the Bronx, 316 Bergen in Brooklyn, the Madison Belvedere at 10 East 29th Street in Manhattan, 442 Lorimer, 184 Havemeyer, 164 Havemeyer, the leasehold at 300 East 46th Street, and 111 Kent Avenue. In 2005, the New York City Teaching Fellows program selected Mr. Parker for a one year public school assignment as a full-time English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher in Washington Heights at PS 5. From 2001-2003, Mr. Parker lived in Mexico City, where he offered service through his church and became fluent in Spanish. Mr. Parker is an Eagle Scout and remains an avid photographer, camper and hiker. He regularly spends time with his family at Candlewood Lake in New Milford, CT to enjoy the outdoors and water sports. Mr. Parker received his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Utah and an MBA in Finance and Economics from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.

Andrew Barrocas

CEO
MNS

Andrew Barrocas has enjoyed success as a dominant force and respected authority in the New York City real estate industry for many years. In his accomplished career, he has sold over $10-billion worth of property, and managed, trained, recruited and collaborated with the city's top agents and brokers. As CEO and Founder of MNS, Andrew currently oversees more than a billion dollars’ worth of real estate, as well as an exceptional team of talented agents and project managers focused on providing the utmost level of client service. Andrew entered the real estate field after graduating from the WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. He went on to achieve instant success and recognition as one of the "Top 30 Brokers Under 30", according to The Real Deal. Over the years, Andrew has been a continually sought-after expert on real estate who has been featured in The New York Times' "The 30-Minute Interview", quoted in all major New York publications, and spotlighted on The Stoler Report. Since founding MNS in 2006, Andrew has grown the company substantially in terms of its revenue and its team, which is now over 125 people. He also serves his industry as a licensed teacher through the State of New York, passing on his knowledge and array of professional experience of real estate sales to real estate brokers and salespersons. Andrew is also an active member of The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), The Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP), Young Jewish Professionals (YJP) and Young Presidents Organization (YPO). He and his wife Rachel are the proud parents of three beautiful girls – Cayden, Ella and Zoe.

Michael Feldman

Co-Founder and Senior Managing Partner
Choice New York

In 2010 Michael Feldman & Benjamin Bottner founded Choice New York with a simple premise: to create a third party Property & Asset Management Company that provides a superior level of service, expertise and financial performance to Property Owners. At inception, the company had zero clients. Today, Choice New York Management and affiliated companies claim hundreds of Property Owners as clients and have just under 2 Billion Dollars of Assets under active Management. Mr. Feldman’s role has continued to evolve with the companies continued growth. In true start up form, Mr. Feldman has performed virtually every single function at the company in the past. Today, Mr. Feldman focuses his day to day activities on business development, brand awareness strategy, staff recruitment, talent retention, and select client advisory engagements. Prior to co-founding Choice New York Management, Mr. Feldman was a Managing Director at AFC Realty Capital, a boutique commercial real estate investment bank. There, he focused on the securing of debt and equity on multi-family, retail and office transactions throughout the United States. Prior to AFC, he was a Senior Private Banker with Indymac Bank. Mr. Feldman is regularly asked to speak on an array of real estate topics. He periodically teaches a continuing education class for attorneys called, “Receiverships and Bankruptcies” for the National Law Institute. He also teaches a continuing education course for Real Estate Brokers titled, “Commercial Property Management,” as an adjunct instructor for the Real Estate Board of New York. Additionally, he has served as a private consultant for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office as well as a counselor to individual members in the United States Congress House of Representatives Financial Committee, whereupon he provides practical evaluations of various mechanisms by which Federal policy can impact local real estate. Mr. Feldman has served as a hired consultant for the prominent Venture Capital Company called Pre-Hype, where he counsels the technology based software company on the operational efficiencies within the property management industry. Mr. Feldman’s memberships and professional affiliations include being Director of the Board of Managers of the Cast Iron Corporation, Treasurer of the Real Estate Services Alliance (RESA), and he is a licensed New York State Real Estate Broker. Mr. Feldman takes special pride in his ongoing role on the Board of Rising Realty Stars, a non-profit aimed at placing the best and brightest young professionals from urban, impoverished backgrounds into internships and entry level positions within the Commercial Real Estate industry. Mr. Feldman’s formal education was at the University of Rochester where he earned a BA in Political Science. He was a 1997 recipient of the University’s prestigious Rush Rhees Scholarship, awarded for outstanding scholastic achievement.

Adam Frazier

Head of New York, VP
Oxford Properties

As the Head of New York, Adam Frazier is responsible for driving all NYC leasing efforts on behalf of Oxford Properties. Additionally, as a member of the US Investments team, Mr. Frazier contributes to identifying and executing new business opportunities across the country. Mr. Frazier’s career in real estate has been primarily focused on real estate development and leasing across New York City where he has leased more than 8 million square feet and worked with some of the City’s most recognizable tenants, including Weil Gotshal and Manges, and the NBA. Prior to joining Oxford, Mr. Frazier was the Development Manager at Boston Properties. During his nearly seven-year tenure, Mr. Frazier oversaw the development of 250 W 55th Street, a 1 million-square-foot office tower that overlooks Central Park. Then, as the Vice President of Leasing at Boston Properties, Mr. Frazier was responsible for developing and implementing a successful leasing strategy across the firm’s 10-million-square foot portfolio. Before joining Boston Properties, Mr. Frazier was the Development Manager at Edens where he was responsible for the assemblage, entitlement and development of a 2 million-square-foot mixed-use center, the Mosaic District in Fairfax County, Virginia and the acquisition of several other mixed-use developments. He began his professional career as an equity trader, trading NASDAQ listed technology stocks for Salomon Smith Barney/Citibank from 1999-2004. Mr. Frazier received a BSBA degree from Bucknell University and holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. He is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, ICSC, ULI and of the Young Men’s and Women’s Real Estate Association of New York where he served two terms on its board as Treasurer and Governor. Adam is a recipient of REBNY’s Most Promising Sales Person of the Year Award in 2011 and was the New York Cares 2014 Honoree.

Stephen Winter

SVP
Related

Jeremy Bernard

CEO, Americas
essensys

Jeremy Bernard is the CEO, North America at essensys, the world’s leading provider of software and technology to the flexible real estate industry. He has over 25 years of experience in the real estate and technology sectors. Most recently, Jeremy was the Global Head of Real Estate for Knotel where he grew and oversaw a portfolio of 5.5MM sq ft of flexible office space around the world. In previous roles, he has held C-level positions at real estate investment firms and launched several proptech companies. Jeremy resides in Westport, CT with his wife Jamie, daughter Morgan and son Brody.

Michael Cohen

President, NY Tri-State
Colliers International

Mr. Cohen is President of the Tri-Slate Region. When the firm operated as GVA Williams. Mr Cohen was the third generation of his family to head the firm. which was founded in 1926. He chaired GVA Williams' Executive Committee and was the founding partner and Chairman of GVA Worldwide Ltd.. GVA strategic partnership of leading real estate firms serving 120 business capitals on Uwe continents. An expert real estate advisor. Mr. Cohen has represented an elite clientele of the nation's lop companies, including American Express, ADP and General Motors. He specializes in representing corporations in the acquisition and disposition of office space nationwide. He has extensive experience representing law firms including, Moses 8 Singer. Holland and Knight. Smith Gantrell Russell. Mr. Cohen currently represents a wide range of clients regionally and nationally and globally including, Wells Fargo Advisors. American Lawyer Media. Signature Bank. Russell Reynolds Associates. SS&C and Marks Paneth In 2012. Mr. Cohen was ranked as one of New York City's lop 20 brokers by the Real Deal. That year. among others. he represented Parsons Brinkerhoff in the renewal of their 200.000-square toot world headquarters at 1 Penn Plaza in 2017 Mr. Cohen was ranked 66 among Commercial Observer's Power 100 nationwide. Mr. Cohen graduated from llw University of Pennsylvania. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Mr. Cohen is on the Board of Directors of several or ganizalions. He serves as Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Flatiron/21J Street Partnership and also serves on the Boards of. The Roundabout Theatre Company, the Jewish National Fund of Greater New York and YPO Metro NY/YPO Gold Big Apple. He is also a past Chairman of the Board of Housing and Services Inc. and past President of Young Presidents' Organization NY Metro Chapter. Mr Cohen is also a Tony Award winning Producer of -A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.

Mitchell Konsker

Vice Chairman
JLL