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Speakers and Panels

Bill Marriott
Keynote

Bill Marriott

Executive Chairman

Marriott International

Barry Sternlicht
Keynote

Barry Sternlicht

Chairman & CEO

Starwood Capital

Keynote
Keynote
Raul Leal
Keynote

Raul Leal

CEO

Virgin Hotels

Keynote
Welcome Wilson Jr.

Welcome Wilson Jr.

President & CEO

Welcome Group

Bill Marriott

Executive Chairman

Marriott International

J.W. Marriott, Jr. is Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Marriott International, Inc., one of the world's largest lodging companies. He was Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board for 40 years, before stepping down on March 31, 2012. His leadership spans nearly 60 years, and he has taken Marriott from a family restaurant business to a global lodging company with more than 4,200 properties in 80 countries and territories.

[Read his blog: www.marriottonthemove.com]

Known throughout the industry for his hands-on management style, Mr. Marriott has built a highly regarded culture that emphasizes the importance of Marriott’s people and recognizes the value they bring to the organization. Today, there are approximately 365,000 employees at the company’s headquarters and other offices, and at managed and franchised property locations.

Barry Sternlicht

Chairman & CEO

Starwood Capital

Barry Sternlicht is Chairman & CEO of Starwood Capital Group, the private alternative investment firm he formed in 1991 focused on global real estate, hotel management, oil and gas, and energy infrastructure. Mr. Sternlicht also serves as Chairman of Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD), the largest commercial mortgage REIT in the U.S.; and French crystal maker Baccarat S.A.; as well as member of the Board of Directors of Invitation Homes (NYSE: INVH) the largest publicly traded investor, owner and operator of single-family homes in the U.S.

For the past 26 years, Mr. Sternlicht has structured investments with an asset value of approximately $92 billion. Starwood Capital’s funds have invested in approximately 172,500 multifamily/condo units, 2,900 hotels, 74 million square feet of office properties, 54 million square feet of retail and 52,000 lots of land in residential subdivisions. The Firm currently manages approximately $56 billion of assets on behalf of its high net worth and institutional partners. Starwood Capital, its affiliates and externally managed public companies employ more than 3,700 professionals, while approximately 9,000 additional employees are involved with a dozen portfolio operating companies. The Firm maintains offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Greenwich, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., and affiliated offices in London, Luxembourg, Amsterdam and Hong Kong.

From 1995 through early 2005, Mr. Sternlicht was Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, a company he founded in 1995. During his tenure, he built Starwood Hotels into one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world, employing more than 120,000 people with 895 properties in 100 countries. Mr. Sternlicht created W Hotels, perhaps the world’s most successful “boutique” brand, and built the St. Regis Hotels brand from a single hotel to a global brand.

In 2008, Mr. Sternlicht founded SH Group, his new hotel management company. SH Group is the owner and manager of Baccarat Hotels & Resorts and 1 Hotels brands.

In 2016, Mr. Sternlicht was the recipient of PERE’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2015, he was named the Global Industry Figure of the Year by PERE, received the Cornell Icon of the Industry Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Hotel Investment Forum. In 2013, Mr. Sternlicht was named the Most Important Person in Commercial Real Estate Finance by The Mortgage Observer. In 2010, Mr. Sternlicht was named Executive of the Year and Investor of the Year by Commercial Property Executive. Mr. Sternlicht was also named America’s Best Lodging CEO by Institutional Investor Magazine. He is a member of the Interior Design Magazine Hall of Fame. He has received the Preston Robert Tisch Distinguished Industry Leadership Award from New York University, the CEO Diversity Award from Diversity Best Practices/Business Women’s Network, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Travel Marketing Executives, the Hospitality Heritage Award from the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and the Marketer of the Year Award from Brandweek. Mr. Sternlicht’s humanitarian efforts have garnered prestigious national honors such as JDRF’s Man of the Year, JDRF’s Living and Giving Award and JDRF’s Chairman’s Award.

Mr. Sternlicht serves on the Board of Directors of The Estée Lauder Companies and the Real Estate Roundtable. Additionally, he formerly served as Chairman of the Board and is currently a Board member of The Robin Hood Foundation, and also serves on the Boards of the Dreamland Film & Performing Arts Center, and the Executive Advisory Board of Americans for the Arts. He is a member of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation Trustee Council, the World Presidents Organization and the Urban Land Institute.

Barry Sternlicht received his BA, magna cum laude, with honors from Brown University. He later earned an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.

Raul Leal

CEO

Virgin Hotels

Raul leads Virgin Hotels and is responsible for the company’s overall expansion, customer experience and culture. In a career that spans 30 years, Raul has held top management positions for Interstate Hotels, Lane Hotels and the Continental companies and is one of the few hospitality industry executives that understand both the lifestyle and branded hotels segments. In between 1996 and 2010, Raul was President and Partner at Tecton Hospitality which owned and operated over 35 full branded hotels and was named a “Preferred Hotel Management Company” by most of the major brands. In 2002 he launched Desires Hotels, a management company focused on the growing lifestyle hotel segment. Desires Hotels had 20 award winning modern boutique hotels located in urban and resort locations domestically and internationally. Desires Hotels was named “Best Management Company of the Year” by Lodging Hospitality in 2008 and consistently achieved high levels of REVPAR and profitability as well as social media rankings and owner satisfaction. Raul also serves on the Boards for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Cornell University.

Welcome Wilson Jr.

President & CEO

Welcome Group

Welcome Wilson Jr. is president and chief executive officer of Welcome Group, a real estate development firm specializing in single-tenant office buildings and industrial buildings including lab, warehouse and manufacturing facilities. He has extensive experience in industrial development, residential subdividing, office buildings, and retail centers. He is also the joint venture partner in Kingham ∙ Dalton ∙ Wilson Ltd., a Design/Build construction affiliate of Welcome Group and is a director of River Oaks Financial Group, Inc.

Welcome currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Alamo Endowment in San Antonio, and serves as Chairman of the Alamo Trust. He was recently appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to serve on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in Austin. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Trellis Company and the Trellis Foundation in Austin, the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission, the Board of Directors of the Texas Business Hall of Fame. In addition, he is also Chairman of the Board of the Southwest Houston Redevelopment Authority and by appointment of the Mayor of Houston is Chairman of Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone #20 (TIRZ # 20).

Welcome W. Wilson, Jr. is the former Vice Chairman of the University of Houston System Board of Regents, he is the Immediate Past Chairman of the Houston Realty Business Coalition and has served in the past as Vice Chairman of the Houston Food Bank, Chairman of the End Hunger Network, a Director of the Houston Chapter of the American Lung Association, Director of the Houstonian Club in Houston, and President of the Kinkaid School Alumni Association.

Wilson, who is a native Texan, is married and attended the University of Denver.

Ft. Lauderdale's Hotel Scene: The Old & The New

Robert Finvarb

Robert Finvarb

President

Robert Finvarb Companies

Keith Menin

Keith Menin

Principal

Menin Hospitality Group

Jimmy Tate

Jimmy Tate

CEO

Tate Capital

Susan LaFleur

Susan LaFleur

Director of Interiors

Stantec Architecture & Design

Jake Wurzak

Jake Wurzak

President

Wurzak Hotel Group

Allison McCarthy
Moderator

Allison McCarthy

Partner

Holland & Knight

Robert Finvarb

President

Robert Finvarb Companies

Robert Finvarb is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1993. Following his graduation from law school, he practiced law at Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A. in Miami. In 2003, he founded Robert Finvarb Companies (RFC) and currently serves as its CEO. Under Robert’s leadership, RFC has become an industry leader in developing, owning and operating mixed-use hotel projects throughout the United States. RFC has developed projects in excess of $1bn of market value, containing more than 3,000 hotel rooms and over 200,000 square feet of retail space throughout the U.S. and the company’s projects have been recognized for excellence by several organizations and municipalities, including, the American Lodging Investment Summit (best hotel project in 2017), Marriott International (Outstanding Contribution), the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers (NABHOOD) and the City of Miami Beach. Robert is a Founder of Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach, a Diamond Society Member of the Miami Children’s Hospital and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Miami Country Day Sc

Keith Menin

Principal

Menin Hospitality Group

http://meninhospitality.com/about/the-team/keith-menin/

Susan LaFleur

Director of Interiors

Stantec Architecture & Design

Susan is an award winning Interior Designer with expertise spanning Hospitality and Residential projects across the country. Her knowledge of emerging trends, detailed focus on design aesthetics, and a deep understanding of her client’s needs allow her to take a holistic design approach, creating spaces that are timeless and tell a story for each guest. With a unique approach to conceptualizing design, she instills a blend of meticulous project management among her team merged with a passion for the highest levels of design and modernity, all while maintaining the integrity of the building, the community and her client’s needs.

Jake Wurzak

President

Wurzak Hotel Group

Jake Wurzak is the President at Wurzak Hotel Group. Jake also serves as the company’s in-house counsel and co-general counsel.

Jake has been involved in the family hotel business from a very young age and is passionate about creating hotels and developing hospitality concepts in order to better enhance the guest’s experience. He is primarily focused on the analysis and executions of new acquisitions and dispositions, deal sourcing, new business development and the pursuit of third party management agreements. Jake also plays a key role in working with our brand partners as well as our capital and development partners to help grow the Wurzak Hotel Group. In addition, he leads the purchasing and procurement company, WHG Supply, LLC. Jake is also a member of the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale Board of Governors.

Prior to joining Wurzak Hotel Group Jake worked with The Kor Group in Los Angeles, and Hersha Hospitality Trust in Philadelphia. Jake received his BBA, cum laude, with honors from The University of Miami School of Business. He later earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Nova Southeastern University. Jake also serves as partner in Dove Hill Holdings, LLC, a real estate investment firm. Jake is a member of the Florida Bar.

Allison McCarthy

Moderator

Holland & Knight

Allison McCarthy is a real estate and hospitality lawyer in Florida based in Holland & Knight's Fort Lauderdale office. As a member of the firm's Hospitality, Resort and Timeshare Group, Ms. McCarthy's practice focuses on commercial real estate and commercial lending, with a strong emphasis in hotel and resort development, and hospitality law. This includes hotel acquisitions and dispositions; development and finance; mixed-use development projects; hotel management agreements; branded residential projects; restaurant and spa agreements; and general hotel operation matters throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean. Ms. McCarthy has a thorough understanding of the legal intricacies that affect the hospitality industry, and represents owners, developers and international hotel companies in sophisticated and complex hospitality transactions.

Retail & Restaurant Development

Angie Kenyon

Angie Kenyon

Vice President of Real Estate

MOD Pizza

Robert Shapiro

Robert Shapiro

Vice Chairman

Meyers Group

Michael Comras

Michael Comras

CEO

Comras Company

Tim Petrillo

Tim Petrillo

CEO, The Restaurant People

Chairman, Ft. Lauderdale DDA

Charles Ladd

Charles Ladd

Founder & President

Barron Real Estate

David Ramos
Moderator

David Ramos

VP Enterprise Division

Hotwire Communications

Angie Kenyon

Vice President of Real Estate

MOD Pizza

Angie has been a south Florida resident since 1976 and is a highly regarded executive in the Commercial

Real Estate Industry representing brands such as Starbucks, Burger King, Dunkin Brands and currently P.F.

Chang’s group. Throughout her career she has created lucrative brand growth throughout the country by

developing new units and managing the real estate, design and construction aspects of major brands. She

has led great teams of people to accomplish challenging growth goals and is responsible for the majority of

the Starbucks locations in Florida.

She will be joining BBX Capital group as the VP…………..

Angie is also an avid athlete and has participated in many triathlons and marathons, including New York

Marathon, Marine Corp Marathon, Disney Marathon and San Diego Rock ‘n Roll Marathon. She has a

passion for the arts communities in South Florida and is actively involved in The Arts Garage, Delray Beach

and School House Square Arts in Delray Beach and now an active board member of Benzaiten. She has

served as President of Dade County International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and is an active

member in this organization as well as 100 Women Who Care and CityHouse Delray.

Robert Shapiro

Vice Chairman

Meyers Group

Robert L. Shapiro is the founder and President of Master Development, Inc. Organized in 2001, Master Development focuses on the acquisition, design, development and redevelopment of retail and mixed-use projects throughout South Florida. Since 1986, Bob, both individually and with joint venture partners, has been involved in the acquisition and development of over 7 million square feet of retail space in more than 30 separate properties. Each of these properties were successfully developed, completed and sold primarily to institutional investors.

In 2021, Bob partnered with Stuart Meyers, the principal of The Meyers Group. Mr. Meyers has more than 40 years of experience as a residential development specialist in both Florida and Texas. Bob was named Vice Chairman of The Meyers Group and President of the newly formed Master Meyers Development, a joint venture between Master Development and The Meyers Group. That company is designed to be a diversified real estate development company which will acquire land and create and develop mixed-use projects throughout Florida.

Bob was one of the original partners in the entity that developed Dania Pointe beginning in 2014. Dania Pointe is a 102-acre mixed use development in Dania Beach, Florida, just south of the Fort Lauderdale Airport. The property was developed in partnership with Kimco Realty, Inc., a NYSE-listed REIT. Comprising 2.5 million square feet of retail, residential, office, hotel, restaurant and entertainment components, Dania Pointe is one of the largest mixed-use destinations in South Florida. Kimco acquired Bob’s interest in the property in 2020.

Bob has been a panelist regarding commercial and mixed-use developments at seminars of the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Florida Redevelopment Association, and the Florida Board of Realtors. He has also been a guest lecturer at Nova Southeastern University Graduate Real Estate program. In both 2015 and 2016, the South Florida Business Journal recognized Bob as one of the "Top 100 Power Leaders in Real Estate" in South Florida.

Bob is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a JD law degree from the University of Connecticut Law School, and a Master of Laws in Taxation from Georgetown University. A resident of Miami since 1971, he practiced law at large Miami law firms. He is married to Janet Shapiro and has three children and five grandchildren.

Michael Comras

CEO

Comras Company

Michael Comras is President and CEO of The Comras Company of Florida, a Miami Beach-

based full-service real estate brokerage company founded in 1992. Comras specializes in the

leasing and sale of urban and suburban retail properties across South Florida. As a principal in

various development entities, Michael also has been involved in the construction, leasing and

sale of properties that have evolved into some of the region’s top retail and entertainment

destinations.

Michael’s talent for seeing transactions from the perspectives of both owners and tenants has

generated phenomenal success for once-languishing urban cores. He is extremely active in

Miami’s emerging neighborhoods, including the burgeoning Wynwood Arts District, Coconut

Grove, Design District and Downtown Miami. His influence also stretches beyond Miami’s urban

core through various leasing assignments in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties.

Clients represented by or located in a Comras property include Polo Ralph Lauren, Sephora,

Nike, Forever 21, Apple, Le Pain Quotidian, Capital One Bank, BCBG, J Crew, Madewell,

Sephora, Suit Supply, Lucky Strike, Bonobos, Sugarcane, and Tesla to name a few.

On Miami’s mainland, Comras recently spearheaded the investor groups’ acquisitions of the

lifestyle centers CocoWalk in Coconut Grove and Shops at Sunset Place in South Miami. His

latest venture, BLVD at Lenox, a 200,000 square foot, multi-story retail development, features

Target’s long-awaited debut on South Beach. Among the firm’s renown redevelopment

achievements are the conception of Miami Beach’s Collins Avenue Fashion District and the

renaissance of the historic Lincoln Road promenade. These achievements have culminated in

Comras’ $370 million sale of an entire Lincoln Road blockfront, the largest sale of a retail

property in Miami-Dade County history.

New York-born, Comras holds a BA from the University of Miami and an MBA in banking and

finance from Pace University. A licensed real estate broker in the state of Florida, he is an active

member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Realtor Association of Greater

Miami and the Beaches. Comras participates in several business improvement districts and

civic committees. He serves on the University of Miami Real Estate Advisory Board and is a

sought-after panelist for real estate programs organized by ICSC and a variety of commercial

real estate news providers. A former chairman of The Lincoln Road Marketing Association, he

has also served on the Miami Beach Mayor’s Blue-Ribbon Task Force on Tourism-Retail-

Nightlife/Dining. Charitable activities include The AIR Society of National Jewish Health

(founding member), Women of Tomorrow, Bass Museum, Mount Sinai Medical Center and

Miami Children’s Hospital.

Tim Petrillo

CEO, The Restaurant People

Chairman, Ft. Lauderdale DDA

Co-founder of The Restaurant People and its current CEO.

TRP has owned and operates various full service restaurants from quick-casual to fine

dining throughout Florida. Current operations include Tarpon Bend Food & Tackle

(Downtown Fort Lauderdale, Coral Gables). Himmarshee Bar & Grille and SIDE BAR

(sold 2006), The River House, Yolo and O Lounge, VIBE Music Lounge, Anthony’s

Coal Fired Pizza West Coast Developer, S3: Sun, Surf & Sand, Township, Centrale

Italian Parlor, Boatyard, Spatch Grilled Chicken and Taste & 1WLO (Opening 2017).

Co-owner (TRP along Harren Equity) Shrimp Basket, 31 unit casual seafood chain

throughout Louisiana, Alabama and Florida.

Co-founder of Urban Street Development

 Florida State University Collegetown Entertainment District Phases 1& 2;

160 student housing apartments/337 beds -60,000 square feet of retail and 600

space parking garage in Tallahassee, Florida.

 Queue Apartments - 200 Unit residential apartment building in downtown Fort

Lauderdale.

 New River Trading Post Development – 36,000 square foot Mix use project in

the entertainment district of Fort Lauderdale comprising of 7000 square feet

office, 7000 square feet retail, 6500 square foot Maritime Museum and 8

work/live loft units.

 Foundry/Mill Lofts – A residential project in the heart of Flagler Village that is

comprised of 70-loft style units.

 Flagler Storage (Extra Space Self Storage)

100,000 square foot self storage facility in Downtown Fort Lauderdale.

 Atlantic Avenue East -- 32,000 square foot Mixed Use project on Atlantic

Avenue in Delray Beach entertainment district comprising of 12,000 square feet

office, 20,000 square feet of restaurant & retail.

Charles Ladd

Founder & President

Barron Real Estate

Barron Real Estate, Inc., is a commercial real estate development and leasing company located in Coral Springs, Florida. Charlie Ladd, founder and president of Barron Real Estate, has extensive experience providing full service project management to outside investors in addition to developing a portfolio of owned real estate properties via joint venture partnerships. Mr. Ladd has worked, as a development partner, with George Rahael and the Amera companies since the late 1980's. Starting in 2012, Mr. Ladd began working with Jesse Gaddis in developing 500 Federal and with Steve Hudson in acquiring a substantial parcel on E. Las Olas for a new development that will be built over the next two years.

Among Mr. Ladd’s development projects and professional endeavors include the following notable Fort Lauderdale properties developed and currently owned:

Starbucks/Scotty’s (Broward/Federal)

Palm Court (Broward/Federal)

Kinko’s (300 N. Federal)

Paradise Bank (SEC Federal and 6th)

Victoria Park Shoppes (Federal/NE6th St.)

Park Plaza on the Curve (Federal/NE9th St.)

Las Olas Blvd. property (Tommy Bahama to Louie Bossi)

Fresh Market – 400 N Federal

The Walk redevelopment, Coral Springs

Charter Place, Coral Springs

David Ramos

Moderator

Hotwire Communications

David Ramos is the Vice President for Hotwire Communications Fision Enterprise Division. As Vice President, his responsibilities include business development, community relations, account management, and consumer sales for new and existing businesses, creating cutting-edge, convenient solutions for all their IT needs in office and commercial properties.

He is a proven leader with extensive experience building and leading high performing teams that focus on changing the landscape of our industry within the Commercial Market. David began his cable career at Atlantic Broadband as a door-to-door sales rep, and was then given the opportunity to use his sales, management and innovation skills to improve business performance by leading the Florida region as their Sales Manager.

Previously, he served as Vice President of Sales for Advanced Enterprises, one of the largest sales; call centers, and installation vendors for DIRECTV. Prior to that, he was a Director of Sales for Comcast overseeing residential sales, indirect retail, and special markets in South Florida.

A graduate of Trinity International University, David holds a B.A. in Organizational Leadership, and a Master of Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Miami-Dade College School of Business and is a Certified Business Counselor with the SBA's SCORE program. David’s aim is to continue to drive innovation for Fision customers by introducing products, and services, that fit their technology driven business needs.

Summary

In the hospitality industry, there is only one constant...change! You cannot talk about hospitality & retail these days without talking about disruption and innovation. With the advent of the "shared economy" the consumer experience has never been more important. What does this mean for Ft. Lauderdale and the greater South Florida Hospitality & Retail?

Join us as we gather the regions industry experts responsible for South Florida's most experiential restaurants, retail and hotels? What does the consolidation of hotel brands mean for the industry? What do home sharing companies mean to hoteliers? What role does technology play in this shift? What does this mean for the retail and restaurant scene in Ft. Lauderdale?

We will explore the major projects, trends, challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for our region at our South Florida's Retail & Hospitality Series on October 11th!

Share your comments, post your photos and ask questions using #BisnowMiami on Twitter and Instagram, and follow us at @BisnowMiami on Twitter for more local news.

Venue

The Venue
2345 Wilton Dr.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33305

Ballroom: Epic


Free onsite parking

Agenda

Time Activity
11:30 AM
12:30 PM
Breakfast & Networking
12:30 PM
1:10 PM
Ft. Lauderdale's Hotel Scene: The Old & The New
1:10 PM
1:50 PM
Retail & Restaurant Development
1:50 PM
2:20 PM
Post-Panel Networking