David Kuperberg is the Head of Development, Dream Hotels at Hyatt. In this role, Kuperberg is

responsible for the continued growth and success of Dream Hotel Group’s portfolio of lifestyle brands,

which includes Dream Hotels, Time Hotels, The Chatwal and Unscripted Hotels, in emerging and

established markets worldwide. He most recently served as Senior Vice President of Development for

Virgin Hotels prior to joining Dream Hotel Group in 2013.

Kuperberg started his hospitality career in 2004 as Senior Director of Mergers and Acquisitions with

Wyndham Worldwide Corporation, where he oversaw the acquisition of Ramada International from

Marriott, which included more than 200 hotels and resorts worldwide and later launched Wyndham’s

international hotel business. He was then appointed to Vice President of Global Development and

Strategy where he achieved great success leading the acquisition of the TRYP brand from Sol Melia,

representing 94 hotels across Europe and South America, as well as a joint venture with Malta-based

Corinthia Group to acquire and rebrand its 15 European hotels under Wyndham flags.

Prior to joining Wyndham, Kuperberg served as an associate for True North Capital, a New York-based

private equity group and merchant bank that provides financing solutions to companies in the U.S. and

Europe. He also worked as a strategy consultant for Computer Sciences Corporation, where he gained

invaluable experience in the Management Consulting division.

Kuperberg holds a Master of Management degree from Yale University. He earned his Bachelor of Arts

degree in History from the University of California at Berkeley.

Julie Purnell joined the firm in 2021 from CBRE Hotels Advisory, where she was an Executive Vice President. As Senior Vice President of Asset Management at FPI, she has primary day-to-day responsibility for overseeing the Portfolio. Julie brings 30 years of hospitality industry experience from the principal, operator and franchisor perspective from her diverse background in strategic planning, acquisitions, real estate development, adaptive re-use conversions, management contracts, business development and asset value enhancement. Prior to CBRE, she held acquisition and development leadership roles at hotel companies including Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Loews Hotels, Marriott International, Denihan Investments and Destination Hotels. Julie has been responsible for significantly expanding property portfolios within these hotel companies through sourcing opportunities, negotiating agreements and closing transactions. Julie is an active member of HAMA (Hotel Asset Managers Association) and graduated cum laude from Washington State University with a BA degree from the School of Hospitality Business Management.

Mr. Peruri has been involved in over $ 5 billion in transactions during his career and over $1 billion in transactions while at Oxford. He is involved in multiple facets of the business including investor relations, deal origination, acquisitions underwriting, due diligence, project financing, project design, entitlements/planning, construction, and property operations. He is responsible for investment opportunities across the real estate spectrum and also in the corporate private equity area. Prior to joining Oxford Capital Group, LLC, Mr. Peruri worked in acquisitions and asset management at Sam Zell’s Equity International, focused primarily on real estate related platform investments in South America and Asia. Mr. Peruri began his career working in the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley in New York City. Mr. Peruri graduated with an MBA in Finance and Real Estate from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, was a recipient of the Pension Real Estate Association Scholarship and the Robert Toigo Fellowship, and served as teaching assistant to Professor Jeremy Siegel. He also holds a B.S. in Finance from the College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, graduating with Highest Honors and awarded the Bronze Tablet, and completed the yearlong General Course program at the London School of Economics.

Julie Baccelli is a Bay Area native and construction industry veteran. Consulting to the industry for over a decade on new business development strategies and client management. At Build Group, San Francisco headquarters she is responsible for the tenant improvement projects for Bay Area hospitality, retail, and restaurants. Build Group has offices in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley and Seattle.

Nathan oversees asset management responsibilities for a portfolio of office, retail and residential assets in the San Francisco Bay Area. He also works closely with the local development team on Grosvenor’s build-to-core strategy for multi-family residential assets.

Prior to joining Grosvenor in 2021, he held roles in commercial real estate investment management & capital markets, and most recently led the global real estate strategy & analytics function for a major apparel retailer.

Nathan earned his Bachelor of Science, Real Estate Studies from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Crowned “the anti-snob of the San Francisco Food Scene” by San Francisco magazine, Adriano Paganini has created some of the San Francisco Bay Area’s most beloved restaurants.

Paganini grew up near Milan where his father was a tailor. More interested in food than fabric, he enrolled in culinary school, and managed to become an apprentice to world famous French chef/restaurateur Paul Bocuse.

Adriano ultimately moved to London where he got a job cooking at the Hyde Park Hotel. He stayed for five (5) years honing his skills in the kitchen. When the Italian Ambassador gave a dinner for the Queen of England, Italian chefs from all over London prepared dishes. The Ambassador chose three of Adriano’s preparations and, at 24 years of age, he was placed in charge of Italy’s dinner for Queen Elizabeth. He also cooked for Margaret Thatcher, and cooked for Luciano Pavarotti.

Adriano moved to San Francisco, took over the kitchens at the Donatello Restaurant in the hotel of the same name. He then moved on to open his own restaurant in the Marina. However, cooking 6 nights per week at Café Adriano wasn’t enough.

In 1994, at the age of 27, Adriano Paganini opened the first chef driven restaurant in America. Pasta Pomodoro was the inspiration for the entire fast casual dining segment of the industry that spawned hundreds of concepts.

Pasta Pomodoro was not only game changing for fast casual and casual dining in America, it was also wildly successful in its own right. Adriano built 46 units and ultimately sold the brand.

A master at understanding and reading contemporary culture, Adriano’s track record in both creating and exploiting trends, of identifying the right concept in a particular location, and his history of finding and preserving relationships with talented people are what have led to the success of Back of the House: Belga; Beretta; Delarosa; El Techo de Lolinda; Lolinda; Starbelly; Super Duper Burger; Uno Dos Tacos.

Alex, more commonly known as “Collins,” is a Director within Tishman Speyer’s Acquisition and Development group, focusing on Mission Rock in San Francisco. Collins has worked on Mission Rock since September 2019. She played a pivotal role in raising equity and construction loan placement for Phase 1. She also supported $100M+ in municipal bond issuances to fund horizontal infrastructure costs for the project. Most recently, Collins leads retail leasing and commercial placemaking efforts at Mission Rock. She is in process of leasing ~50K SF of ground floor retail, with a focus on local and minority-owned businesses, expected to open in early 2024. Prior to joining Tishman Speyer, Collins was an Investment Sales Associate at Eastdil Secured, where she underwrote and marketed CRE equity and financing transactions across the West coast. She also worked as a Commercial Real Estate Analyst at Wells Fargo. Alex holds her BBA in Corporate Finance with a concentration in Commercial Real Estate and a Minor in Accounting from The University of Texas at Austin. She remains involved in UT Austin’s Real Estate Board, an active member of Arche (CRE women’s group), and graduate of NAIOP’s Young Professionals Group (“YPG”). In her free time, Collins enjoys volunteering with Muttville and Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly (“LBFE”), and loves frequenting San Francisco’s many amazing restaurants (and bars).

Michael Van Every is the President and Managing Partner of Republic Urban Properties, the Bay Area flagship of the Republic Family of Companies. Mr. Van Every works with Federal, State, and Local governments on the creation and development of ‘smart growth’ projects, such as master-planned communities near transportation hubs; urban mixed-use projects near major employment centers; and innovative, public-private partnerships. The Republic Family of Companies is known for developing institutional-quality real estate throughout the United States, from land development, to historic adaptive reuse, to shopping malls.

In his 25 years of working experience representing major institutional and private real estate developers in the greater Bay Area, Van Every has earned the reputation as a man with the leadership, the knowledge, the experience, and tenacity to see complicated projects through from land acquisition to completion. Under Van Every’s leadership, RUP has gained national attention for its Transit Oriented Development (TOD) projects at key transit stations working as the premier public-private partner with many transit authorities across California.

Since 2006, as the managing partner of RUP, Van Every has been involved with the planning, financing, construction, and delivery of 1,238 multifamily units and 145,000 square feet of mixed-use commercial space. In addition to the multifamily pipeline, RUP has approximately 380 hotels rooms, 151,000 square feet of office, and 120,000 square feet of retail in various stages of development. The estimated market value among projects is projected at $1.5 billion in value.

A third-generation San Jose native, Van Every holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from California State University at Fresno. Van Every is an active member of San Jose Rotary Club as well as the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. He also serves as a Board Member on Santa Clara County Catholic Charities. Michael is married and lives with his wife Jennifer and Jacob in the Willow Glen Neighborhood of San Jose.

Chris has been with Lockehouse Retail Group since 2014 and is now a partner at the firm. Chris is an expert in mixed-use developments, working early in the design, entitlement, and construction process to assist developers to prepare retail space to maximize efficiency and viability for restaurant and retail tenants.

Chris has successfully represented major landlords and developers Prometheus, Lane Partners, Harvest Properties, Sares Regis, Dostart Development, First Washington Realty, UBS, Sand Hill Property Company, CCRP, Oxford, Hines, Hanover, PNC, Boston Properties, Thompson Dorfman, KB Homes, Fairfield Residential, Brookfield, New York Life Investments, Joie de Vivre Hotels, Mission Housing Development, as well as other local and regional landlords and developers.

Chris is also highly invested in representing numerous national, regional and local tenants. He has successfully represented Tenants including Target, Urban Air, Orchard Supply Hardware, Starbird, LaserAway, Little Gym, LL Flooring, Lemonade, Super Duper Burger, Paul Martin’s, Starbucks, 7-Eleven, Bonobos, Marine Layer, Nopa Restaurant Group, Oren’s Hummus, among others.

Prior to Lockehouse, Chris spent three years with Terranomics Retail Services (now Cushman & Wakefield) based in the San Francisco office. Chris also spent seven years on the East Coast with world class shopping center owner and developer Federal Realty Investment Trust and Oakwood Corporate Housing.

Chris holds a Master of Science Degree in Real Estate from New York University and did his undergrad at CU Boulder. He grew up in Hillsborough, California and attended the Menlo School. Chris lives in San Francisco with his wife and daughter.

Amy Vitarelli is the Senior Vice President and Hospitality Practice Leader at Heffernan Insurance Brokers. With a specialized focus on crafting insurance programs for the bustling restaurant and hospitality sectors in the Bay Area and throughout the U.S., Amy has over two decades of experience collaborating with premier Bay Area brands. Her extensive work spans various phases of project development—from acquisition and development to operations—partnering closely with developers and investors. Before her transition to insurance, Amy worked in the technology sector from 1995 to 2001, gaining invaluable insights during several market cycles. This experience, across industries, enriches the expert guidance and strategic advice she provides to her clients. In recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field, Amy was awarded the prestigious Business Insurance “Break Out Award” in 2017.

Cherie Y. Song is a Partner in Lubin Olson's Real Estate and

Business Practice Groups. She specializes in commercial

leasing, acquisitions and dispositions, and

telecommunications.

Ms. Song represents institutional landlords, multi-billion

dollar investment management companies, REITs, pension

funds, and national retailers in a broad range

of lease-related matters for office, retail, industrial,

mixed-use properties and telecommunications assets. She

also represents developers and investors in the acquisition,

development, disposition and financing of commercial

properties. Her practice also includes advising startups and

private companies on various real estate and

business-related matters.

Prior to joining Lubin Olson, Ms. Song practiced in the San

Francisco office of Buchalter Nemer and the Los Angeles

office of McGuireWoods.

Ms. Song was honored by Thompson Reuters as a Super

Lawyer “Rising Star” in 2009 and 2010.

Catie Cramer is the Vice President, Luxury, Lifestyle & Premium brands for IHG Hotels & Resorts, responsible for the Western region of the US and Canada. Prior to joining IHG, Catie spent several years as the Vice President of Development for Commune Hotels & Resorts/Two Roads Hospitality, expanding the Thompson, AlilA, Joie de Vivre, Tommie and Destination brands across the US and Mexico. Upon Hyatt’s acquisition of Two Roads Hospitality, she was retained as the Vice President of Lifestyle Development & Owner Relations where she was responsible for the successful integration of the Two Roads portfolio and pipeline, workouts and retentions, sourcing new opportunities across the lifestyle brands, driving development strategy in the lifestyle space, mergers and acquisitions and JV/equity investments. Catie graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Hotel Administration.

Leigh Chang focuses on acquisition, financing, development, and dispositions at Group i. Leigh has nearly two decades of real estate and finance experience during which she has acquired, financed and managed approximately $14 billion in transaction value.

Prior to joining Group i, Leigh specialized in areas of acquisition, financing and disposition for Veritas Investments, which managed approximately $1 billion in multifamily properties in San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to Veritas, Leigh was an Assistant Portfolio Manager at The Townsend Group for the firm’s $1 billion+ discretionary investment funds, which invested across all property types through co-investments, joint ventures, recapitalizations, and debt investments. Leigh was responsible for underwriting and managing investments across office, retail, hotel and senior living facilities in U.S., China, Brazil and Central & Eastern Europe. Prior to Townsend, Leigh worked at boutique investment bank, Houlihan Lokey, in strategic alternatives, sell-side advisory, corporate valuation, capital restructuring and management buyout.

Leigh received an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Economics from Pomona College.

Eli Sokol is a Vice President of Development & Investment, North America for citizenM hotels. In this role, Eli is responsible for leading the strategic growth of citizenM’s real estate footprint in the US & Canada, overseeing acquisitions and investment management across the brand’s focus markets.

A graduate of Cal Poly University, San Luis Obispo, David formed McCullough Landscape Architecture as a sole proprietorship in 1999 while consulting for another firm. After wife and partner, Catherine joined the business in 2001 and became Chief Executive Officer and President in 2002; the firm became a woman-owned corporation and a certified Small Business by the State of California.

With offices in San Diego and the Bay Area, McCullough creates spaces for hospitality, retail, mixed-use and institutional properties around the world. As principal landscape architect, David oversees all aspects of the design and production of firm projects at McCullough. He serves as head designer on all projects and maintains quality control on all work completed. Previous projects have earned awards and recognition in several national publications.

David finds time in his schedule to take leadership in creative organizations such as the the San Diego Architecture Foundation (SDAF) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) local Urban Design Committee. He currently serves as Chair of the Pecha Kucha Night program, which is on its sixth successful year. He finds it inspiring to take part in such a diverse mix of creative minds while bringing them together to share with the public their wild ideas.

In addition, recently David was appointed by San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer to serve on the Historical Resources Board as Chair, which governs the identification, protection, retention and preservation of historical sites in San Diego. Concurrently, he has been invited to serve on the city’s Code Monitoring Team (CMT).

David’s design philosophy is centered around merging context and creative passion with grit, soul, and style. The firm takes every project with a uniquely creative approach that centers around diversity, discovery and conservation. David feels it’s important to engage the human spirit with nature, while expressing empathy.

Recent projects include a large waterfront development in Shanghai, China, Seaport San Diego redevelopment, several multifamily projects in Calgary and Vancouver, along with other notable hospitality, entertainment, and mixed-use collaborations in the Western US and Canada.

Chuck Bennett joined LG in 2018 as the National Manager for LG’s Hospitality HVAC business. He is responsible for the management of executive level relationships at hospitality brands, development companies, owners and others. Chuck supports the promotion of LG Air Conditioning Products including Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF), Heat Pump Chillers and Split System Heat Pumps on new and existing hotel projects with LG regional managers, LG sales engineers and independent representatives. Chuck creates local connectivity with key brand managed hotel properties through personal interaction. He brings almost 40 years engaged in Hospitality in various leadership roles throughout his career including HVAC Distribution, Manufacturing, Contracting, and Service. Chuck is a graduate of Arizona State University with a degree in Business Marketing.