South Florida Capital Markets Forum

Since co-founding Peachtree Group in 2007, Greg has successfully overseen investments exceeding $11.0 billion in commercial real estate and various other enterprises. With over 25 years of experience, he brings extensive experience in credit and equity investing, particularly in hotels and other commercial real estate assets. Previously, Greg served as senior vice president of business development for Specialty Finance Group, where he originated more than $2.0 billion of credit transactions. Before that, Greg was vice president of business development for GMAC Commercial Mortgage Asset-Backed Lending Division. During his six-year tenure, he originated, closed and funded more than 300 hospitality FF&E financing transactions with an aggregate capital structure exceeding $10.0 billion. Greg is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and is a board member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association. He also serves on the real estate fund advisory board for the Texas McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.

Shaunak Tanna is an executive director at PGIM Real Estate. Based in New York, Shaunak is responsible for sourcing, underwriting, and structuring real estate investments including senior and mezzanine loans and preferred equity investments for the Eastern and Mid-Western U.S. Prior to joining PGIM Real Estate, Shaunak was Head of Structured Investments for Basis Investment Group, LLC, where he was responsible for the firm’s mezzanine and bridge lending, and originated a range of investments across stabilized, development and transitional value-add properties. Before Basis, he was with Terra Capital Partners, LLC and its affiliate The Greenwich Group International, LLC. Shaunak has a Bachelor of Commerce in accounting and taxation from the University of Mumbai and a Master of Business Administration in real estate from Baruch College. Shaunak is also a Chartered Accountant, and an active member of the Advisory Board for Steven Newman Real Estate Institute of Baruch College.

Matt Ferrari is the Co-Chief Investment Officer and Head of Acquisitions at TruAmerica Multifamily. Based in Miami, Florida Mr. Ferrari heads the firm’s acquisitions team and also oversees operations and asset management across their Eastern and Central United States portfolio of over 17,000 apartments. Mr. Ferrari also is a member of TruAmerica’s Investment Committee. Since joining the firm in 2016, Matt has played a meaningful role in the firm’s growth, having overseen the acquisition of over 38,000 apartments totaling $8.0 billion throughout the U.S., including TruAmerica’s expansion into the Eastern U.S. multifamily markets while also helping grow its stable of investors. Previously, Mr. Ferrari was an Investments Director at AvalonBay Communities Inc., an S&P 500 publicly traded multifamily REIT where he was responsible for acquisitions and dispositions in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. During his four years at AvalonBay, Mr. Ferrari was responsible for $500 million in acquisitions and $1.3 billion in dispositions. Prior to his time at AvalonBay, Mr. Ferrari worked for Archstone Communities Inc. in their leadership and development rotational program as a Management Development Associate before becoming a Regional Operations Director for their Eastside Manhattan portfolio in New York City. Mr. Ferrari holds an M.B.A. from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and a B.S. in Management and Business from Skidmore College. He is also a member of the Steering Committee at Georgetown University’s Steers Center for Global Real Estate.

Danny has more than 25 years of extensive international experience in real estate investment, private equity, venture capital, investment banking, and asset management. Danny co-founded GAIA in 2009. He previously founded and was Co-CEO of Tamir Fishman, an investment bank with billions of dollars in assets under management. He has held board positions with numerous government housing, development, and real estate investment companies and is the former co-head of the Israeli government’s privatization sector. Danny earned a B.Sc. in Economics and an M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Robert Gilman, CPA, CGMA, is an accounting and audit partner at Anchin and Co-Practice Leader of the Firm's Real Estate Industry Group. His practice covers a wide range of services for his clients who are mainly involved in the commercial, residential and development of real estate. These services include due diligence on acquisitions, tax structuring on deals, securing financing, and assisting with client investor relations for both domestic and international investors. Rob also advises clients with financial and estate planning, budgeting, tax planning, and cash flow strategies. Rob is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) and the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY). He is involved with a number of Real Estate industry organizations and is actively involved with the Long Island Chapter of the March of Dimes, which he was recently honored for.

Mr. Kornberg is a seasoned real estate professional with over $2 billion of single asset and portfolio transaction experience. Prior to joining Mast, Mr. Kornberg was a Managing Director at Northwood Investors, a privately-held global real estate investment firm, where he was responsible for evaluating real estate equity and debt investment opportunities. During his approximately 10 years at Northwood, he executed acquisitions, obtained financing, oversaw capital projects, and improved operating performance across the firm’s hospitality portfolio. Prior to Northwood, Mr. Kornberg worked in the Real Estate, Gaming, Lodging and Leisure Investment Banking group at Deutsche Bank and focused on corporate advisory assignments, capital markets transactions, and mergers and acquisitions primarily within the hospitality and gaming sectors. Mr. Kornberg is an active member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) Investment Roundtable. Mr. Kornberg received his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics, Magna Cum Laude, from Duke University.

As Chief Investment Officer atThe Naftali Group, David oversees the company’s acquisitions group and is responsible for the sourcing, structuring and execution of the firm’s investments. Previously, David was Director of Acquisitions at RFR Holding, where he was instrumental in executing more than $2.5 billion of property acquisitions and credit investments encompassing over 3.5 million square feet of assets across the office, residential, retail and hotel sectors. Prior to RFR David worked at The City Investment Fund, a real estate private equity fund, where he was responsible for underwriting and executing the fund’s acquisitions. David began his career at The Lightstone Group as a financial analyst supporting the firm’s nationwide property and credit investments. David graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Philosophy, and completed an MBA at Columbia Business School and an M.S. in Real Estate from New York University.

Arturo Vidal, CFA, is a seasoned financial professional with extensive experience in real estate development and finance. He is a Partner and VP of Finance at North Development Group, where he leads financial strategy and execution for high-rise condominium projects totaling more than 1,500 units across South Florida. Arturo is a CFA charterholder, a designation recognized globally for its rigorous emphasis on investment analysis, ethics, corporate finance and portfolio management. He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Real Estate and a Master of Science in Finance (MSF) from the University of Miami, where he graduated with high honors, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Computer Science from Middlebury College.

Scott Sherman is Founder and Principal of Miami-Based Torose Equities. He is responsible for the firm's strategic direction, sourcing investment opportunities, capital markets and operations. Torose is a real estate investment firm with several different verticals, including a value-add urban retail, office, and mixed-use strategy within the Southeastern United States. Prior to launching Torose, Scott co-founded Tricera Capital where he led the charge on strategic direction, capital markets and sourcing investment opportunities. In this role, Scott built a portfolio in excess of $700M over five years and consistently delivered returns in excess of 20% IRR and a 2x multiple across realized investments. Scott maintains ownership and major decisions across the Tricera portfolio and continues to be a minority owner of Tricera Capital. Previously, Scott was Vice President of Acquisitions at Thor Equities. He was responsible for acquisitions in the Southeast United States including Miami, Washington, DC, Nashville, Austin and Charleston. Additionally, he was a key member of Thor’s expansion into Montreal, London and France. At Thor, Scott completed in excess of $2 Billion of acquisitions focusing on urban retail and mixed-use assets. Prior to Thor, Scott was the Director of Acquisitions at Becker Brothers where he was responsible for sourcing and executing value-add strategies across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S. During his tenure at Becker Brothers, he managed a mix of asset types including retail, office and parking garages. Before Becker Brothers, Scott began his career at Ernst & Young in the Transaction Real Estate Advisory group where he also obtained his CPA license in the state of NY. Scott is a native of South Florida and currently resides in Miami with his wife Laura, son Lucas, and daughter Lily. He received his MS and BS in Accounting from the University of Florida where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. Scott is a member of ICSC, and CIASF, in addition to several philanthropic organizations he dedicates time to in his community.

Zack Simkins is Managing Director of Vaster, a Miami-based private lender, where he leads the firm’s strategy in providing tailored real estate financing solutions. At Vaster, he has structured and lent over $500 million in residential, commercial, and mixed-use transactions for both domestic and international clients. Zack’s ability to adapt with the market has established him as a trusted partner for developers, investors, and high-net-worth individuals seeking flexible capital solutions.