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Spotlight on Puerto Rico

Carla Campos

Carla Campos

Executive Director

Puerto Rico Tourism Company

Patricia George-Iguina
Dorado Beach Resort, Coco Beach Resort, Hyatt House San Juan

Patricia George-Iguina

Partner & Vice Chair, Real Estate

McConnell Valdés

Brad Dean

Brad Dean

CEO

Discover Puerto Rico

Francisco Luis

Francisco Luis

Partner

Kevane Grant Thornton

Adam Greenfader
Moderator

Adam Greenfader

Managing Partner

AG&T

Carla Campos

Executive Director

Puerto Rico Tourism Company

Carla Campos is the Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), the Government of

Puerto Rico’s Tourism Board. She was previously the Deputy Director and Chief Marketing Officer of the

PRTC, but her tourism industry experience and track record in destination management and marketing

quickly placed her at the forefront of the agency and a key member of Governor Ricardo Rosselló

Nevares’ cabinet. She has spearheaded the recent design and implementation of Puerto Rico’s

transformational Destination Marketing and Recovery Plan before and after hurricanes Irma and Maria

with ample private sector buy in, which have enabled a rapid pace recovery for tourism on the Island.

Having obtained a Masters in Tourism Administration with a concentration in Destination Management

from the George Washington University in Washington D.C., her field experience in destinations

throughout Latin America and the Caribbean position her as an experienced facilitator in public-private

partnerships for destination management, and most recently a leading professional in crisis

management for tourism.

Francisco Luis

Partner

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.

Adam Greenfader

Moderator

AG&T

Adam Greenfader is a managing partner at AG&T, a real estate development and advisory firm based in Miami, Florida. AG&T specializes in the Caribbean and Latin America in the areas of hospitality, residential, and commercial properties. AG & T’s principal clients include hedge funds, private equity groups and other institutional capital.

Adam has worked on over 52 developments in The United States, Puerto Rico, Panama, the Caribbean, and Europe valued over one billion dollars. This includes both private and public developments.

Adam Greenfader is passionate about resiliency - Green building practices. He currently chairs the Caribbean Committee at the Urban Land Institute in South East Florida and is the Florida Liaison for the Puerto Rico Builders Association.

Adam Greenfader holds a Master of Real Estate Development degree from the University of Southern California.

Hotel & Resort Development

Frank Comito

Frank Comito

CEO and Director General

Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association

Juan Corvinos Solans
British Colonial Hilton Nassau, Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino

Juan Corvinos Solans

VP, Development

Hilton

Fernando Fernandez
Zoetry Wellness & Spa Resorts, Secrets Resorts & Spa

Fernando Fernandez

VP, Development-Caribbean

Apple Leisure Group

Ing. Emilio Colón Zavala
Discovery Bay Resort & Marina

Ing. Emilio Colón Zavala

President

Puerto Rico Builders Association/ ECZ Group

William Pitts
Moderator

William Pitts

CEO

WG Pitts

Frank Comito

CEO and Director General

Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association

Frank has over 35 years of experience in economic development, organization management, government affairs, project management, workforce development, research, and in providing business and investor support in The Bahamas, the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Caribbean.

He presently holds the position of CEO and Director General for the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA).

Previously, Frank served as Executive Vice President for the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association, a position he held for more than 10 years. During that time he was he lead private sector representative for the National Emergency Management Agency’s EDF which focused on tourism-related matters in crisis planning and recovery.

He has held executive positions with the Nassau Tourism & Development Board, the National Alliance of Business in Washington DC. and earlier with the St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John Chambers of Commerce.

Regionally, he was President of the Caribbean Society of Hotel Association Executives a long-serving member of the Board of Directors for CHTA.

Frank was Deputy Chairman of the Nassau Airport Development Company where he helped to guide a $410 million investment in upgrading the airport. He served on the Board for the International Downtown Association and is a Lifetime Director for the Downtown Nassau Partnership.

He has two children, is married to a Bahamian, Donna. Frank is an island collector with an avid love for the Caribbean, its beauty, people, diversity, history and culture. He has travelled to 27 Caribbean destinations, most on multiple occasions, plus 15 islands in The Bahamas.

Fernando Fernandez

Zoetry Wellness & Spa Resorts, Secrets Resorts & Spa

Apple Leisure Group

As Apple Leisure Group®’s Vice President of Development, Fernando Fernandez leverages over

three decades of experience in hotel operations, consultancy and development to accelerate the

group’s expansion goals in key markets. Fernando is responsible for increasing the company's

footprint in the Caribbean and Latin America by securing partnerships with hotel owners and

developers in these high-demand markets.

Prior to joining Apple Leisure Group, Fernando spent eight years as Vice President of

Development for Meliá Hotels International in Europe, across the Americas and the Caribbean.

During his tenure, Fernando successfully negotiated high-profile additions to Meliá’s

management portfolio, including Meliá Jamaica, which introduced Spain’s largest hotel company

to the English Caribbean. He also oversaw the addition of Me Miami and Meliá Cartagena de

Indias in Colombia among others.

In addition to his work with Meliá Hotels International, Fernando managed key accounts for

LRA Worldwide, including Starwood Hotels & Resorts (Latin America), Grupo Posadas

(México), Interstate Hotels & Resorts (USA), Accor Hotels (Latin América), Pestana Hotels &

Resorts (Portugal), Delta Hotels (Canada) and Oberoi Hotels and Resorts (India).

Fernando received a degree in Hotel & Tourism Management from Escuela Official de Turismo

in Madrid, Spain, before acquiring additional training in Hotel Management at the Hotel Institute

Montreux in Switzerland. Fernando graduated with honors from the University of South

Carolina, earning a B.S. in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management.

William Pitts

Moderator

WG Pitts

William G. "Will" Pitts serves as President and CEO of WGPITTS and WGPITTS Caribbean, A full-service award- winning Design-Build firm headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida with offices in Orlando, Florida, Camp LeJeune, North Carolina and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

WGPITTS Caribbean is focused on becoming a Tier One developer and investor in Puerto Rico’s hospitality and residential building industry. In the past year alone, WGPITTS Caribbean has worked with Royal Palm Companies on their due diligence for the Melia Hotel and Resort in Coco Beach, Puerto Rico and its conversion to a Hyatt Regency. WGPITTS Caribbean is currently working on the acquisition of several hospitality projects and providing services for construction to hotel owners on the island.

Experience is important and Will mobilized to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on one of the first commercial flights after Hurricane Maria. The purpose of that mobilization was to assess the opportunities to assist the US Government, FEMA, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the Government of Puerto Rico with the disaster relief and restoration program. Since then WGPITTS has formed a subsidiary company, WGPITTS Caribbean partnered with investment fund Wildermuth Advisory. WGITTS Caribbean completed emergency housing repair for FEMA and the Puerto Rico Department of Housing and Assisted Monarch Alterative Capital. WGPITTS Caribbean sits ready and able to execute on projects awarded by the Puerto Rican government in the coming months and years.

Committed experts with “Best in Class” capabilities in professional services, capital services, construction and design-build. WGPITTS and WGPITTS Caribbean has constructed in excess of 150 projects from 1996 – 2019. These projects include office parks, shopping centers, industrial buildings, condominiums, estate homes, golf club houses and parks. Will personally established and developed clients including well-respected names in the industry such as: Taylor Woodrow Communities, the Ritz Carlton Company, Amelia Island, Plantation at Ponte Vedra, St. Joe Company, Centex Homes, Pulte Homes, Landmar, DR Horton, Walt Disney Company, Publix, Sunbelt Management, Omni Hotels, Monarch Alternative Capital and numerous other service-oriented, quality-driven development companies. WGPITTS is currently executing the design of the 1200 room upgrade at Saratoga Springs for the Walt Disney Company.

Additional Background: Born at the Orlando Naval Training Center in Orlando, Florida, Will was raised and has lived in Northeast Florida for most of his life. Will earned a Bachelor of Science in Building Construction Management from the University of North Florida and holds a Florida Certified General Contractor (unlimited) license (no. CG-C060240). He is well respected by his peers and was elected Vice Chairman of the Associated General Contractors of Florida (2006-2008). He was previously named as a Top 40 Executives Under 40 in Northeast Florida by the Jacksonville Business Journal. Under his leadership, WGPITTS was ranked as the Number 1 Fastest Growing Company in Northeast Florida by the Jacksonville Business Journal. WGPITTS was also ranked as the 6th Fastest Growing Company in the State of Florida by the University of Florida College of Business and ranked 9th in the Top 50 Fastest Growing Companies in Jacksonville, Florida

Financing and Investing in the Caribbean

Cole Shephard

Cole Shephard

CFO

Lifeafar

James Andrews
Beaches Turks & Caicos, Planet Hollywood St. Maarten

James Andrews

Senior Managing Director

Integra Realty Resources

Rogerio Basso

Rogerio Basso

Head of Tourism

Inter-American Development Bank

Jake Epstein
Indigo Bay

Jake Epstein

Ellington Management Group

Andrew Dickey
Moderator

Andrew Dickey

Executive Vice President

JLL - FL

Cole Shephard

CFO

Lifeafar

Cole Shephard is the Chief Financial Officer of Lifeafar, a real estate investment and hospitality firm that caters to global investors and discerning travelers, which is opening the door to investment and new experiences in Colombia, Puerto Rico and beyond. With a wealth of valuable international experience, Cole oversees all of Lifeafar’s finances, including budget management, cost-benefit analysis, forecasting needs and the securing of new funding. Taken together, his experience includes transactions around the globe, with

deals ranging into the billions of U.S. dollars. Cole joined Lifeafar in 2018, arriving from Legacy Group Asset Management (Legacy), of which he still serves as Director. The South American company specializes in the

international trade of agricultural products and structuring of private equity investments in the agricultural space with a core focus on Colombian markets.

Prior to forming Legacy in early 2015, Cole was with PricewaterhouseCoopers, specializing in accounting, advisory and consulting solutions. During eight years with PwC, he was stationed in the U.S., Bermuda, Hong Kong SAR, and Beijing. In first the first of two stops, he focused on accounting and advisory services to clients in a wide-range of industries, including oil extraction and distribution, healthcare, banking and biotechnology. Then, during nearly four years in Asia, he provided advisory and consulting services to clients participating in global mergers and acquisitions. Cole further concentrated on the financial

services and real estate sectors, spending a majority of his time advising on cross-border deals in areas of business strategy review, business valuation, buyer and seller due diligence, tax structuring, and business carve-out analyses.

A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Cole graduated Valedictorian from North Carolina State University in 2006 with a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance. He earned a Master’s degree in accounting the following year and became a licensed United States Certified Public Accountant in 2008.

James Andrews

Beaches Turks & Caicos, Planet Hollywood St. Maarten

Integra Realty Resources

James Andrews is currently the Senior Managing Director of the Miami and Caribbean practices for Integra Realty Resources. Before relocating to Miami, James was based in the Cayman Islands for 22 years and managed the Caribbean offices of Integra since 2012; overseeing the offices in Cayman, USVI, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Mr. Andrews has been actively engaged in valuation and consulting for over 30 years; with over 22 years in the Caribbean.

James manages a diverse valuation practice; with a specialization in business-related real estate such as hotels, resorts, and other going concern properties such as marinas, golf courses recreational, food/beverage outlets and healthcare.

In addition to his property valuation credentials FRICS and MAI, he is also qualified though ASA in business valuation and provides appraisal of operating companies, holding companies, limited partnerships, trusts, partial interests and intangible assets.

James Andrews has completed assignments in more than 15 countries and territories across the Caribbean region as well as throughout the USA.

Rogerio Basso

Head of Tourism

Inter-American Development Bank

With over 20 years of real estate and hospitality experience, Rogerio leads all initiatives related

to tourism in Latin America for IDB Invest, the private sector division of the Inter-American

Development Bank Group. In his capacity as Head of Tourism, he is responsible for origination,

transactions, and for executing IDB Invest’s tourism strategy in the region, offering a variety of

financial instruments including debt, quasi-equity and equity.

Prior to joining IDB Invest, Rogerio served as Chief Investment Officer for Key International, a

Miami-based real estate investment and development platform active across the full spectrum

of real estate assets including hotels, residential, multi-family, office and retail. He also served

as EVP Acquisitions & Development for Terranum Hotels, an owner and operator of hotels

across Latin America, sponsored by Colombia-based Santo Domingo Group and Sam Zell’s Equity International.

Early on in his career, Rogerio worked for over 11 years at Ernst & Young in Miami, where he was responsible for

leading the firm’s real estate and hospitality advisory activities in Latin America across a wide variety of real estate

asset classes. His operational skills are drawn from his tenure at Four Seasons Hotels and InterContinental Hotels.

Mr. Basso is often quoted in industry publications on hospitality trends and topics, and is a guest speaker at industry

related conferences in the United States and Latin America. He also served as a professor of feasibility analysis for

the graduate hotel management program at Florida International University. Rogerio holds a Business Degree from

the College of William and Mary and a Masters Degree from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University.

Andrew Dickey

Moderator

JLL - FL

Andrew Dickey works with the Hotels & Hospitality investment sales team of JLL in Miami. Mr.

Dickey is primarily responsible for leading investment sales (asset/portfolio sales) and the general

disposition, financing or UCC foreclosure of client’s asset(s). Mr. Dickey covers the Southeast US

markets, Caribbean and Latin America.

Mr. Dickey is currently involved in investment sales projects in the Southeast US, Caribbean and

Latin America and has been involved in over $6.8 billion of hospitality transactions over the last 17

years. Notably, $4.1 billion of transactions and financings in Florida, over $550 million in the

Caribbean / LatAM and over $850 in UCC Foreclosures. Notable projects include the El

Conquistador, SLS Brickell Miami, the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, San Juan Marriott Sterallis Resort &

Casino, financing and disposition of the SLS South Beach, Royal Palm Miami Beach twice

(2010/2015), $600 million in hotel sales in Ft. Lauderdale in 2014-2015, Gansevoort Miami Beach

UCC Foreclosure and sale and numerous projects abroad including Aruba, Brazil, Mexico, Costa

Rica and several Caribbean islands.

Mr. Dickey holds a B.S. in Finance from Villanova University’s School of Commerce & Finance, as

well as a M.B.A. from ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain with a concentration at the

UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Summary

1) Following a devastating year of storms, the Caribbean is now awash in new and reopened incentive-level properties. What projects are coming back online and what new developments are being planned?

2) What are some creative tax incentives and loopholes that Puerto Rico has implemented to spur both business and real estate investment? What are some ways investors can be 100% tax exempt? 

3) What were the biggest lessons hoteliers and tourism officials took away from the hurricane season of 2017? How did they communicate to travelers that hotels were up and running again?

4) What barriers to entry are there to investing in the Caribbean? What pitfalls should investors and sponsors be aware of?  

5) How did recent damage caused by storms like Maria uncover risks that threaten investment and how will it evolve the future design of hospitality, retail and housing assets in the Caribbean? 

6) The whole island of Puerto Rico is an opportunity zone. What impact will that have on the CRE market and what projects are developers building? 

Venue

Intercontinental Miami
100 Chopin Plaza
Miami, FL 33131

Ballroom/Level: Biscayne Ballroom, 2nd Level


Discounted Valet $18.00

Agenda

Time Activity
12:00 PM
1:00 PM
Coffee, Breakfast & Networking
1:00 PM
1:45 PM
Spotlight on Puerto Rico
1:45 PM
2:30 PM
Financing and Investing in the Caribbean
2:30 PM
3:15 PM
Hotel & Resort Development
3:15 PM
3:45 PM
More Networking & Deal Making
4:00 PM
5:00 PM
Post-Event Aperitifs: Presented by the Puerto Rico Builders Association. All Bisnow attendees are welcome and invited. (Note: this is not a Bisnow production)
5:00 PM
8:00 PM
Caribbean Project Showcase: Presented by the Puerto Rico Builders Association. All Bisnow attendees are welcome and invited. (Note: this is not a Bisnow production)