Stephen Owens is a 30-plus year veteran of Swire Properties, Inc., one of the leading real estate developers in South Florida and a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based Swire Properties Ltd, and has been in charge of U.S. operations since 1985. Prior to assuming his current role as President, Mr. Owens oversaw Swire’s commercial and residential investment portfolio totaling more than two million square feet.

STEPHEN H. BITTEL is the Chairman and founder (1980) of Terranova Corporation, leading a team of professionals in the ownership and operation of a commercial real estate portfolio valued at nearly $1.0 billion; graduated magna cum laude from Bowdoin College, 1978; law degree from the University of Miami School of Law, 1982; founded Petroleum Realty Investment Partners in 1999; has chaired and/or served on the ICSC Open Air Centers Conference, ICSC Capital Marketplace Program and the ICSC Florida Conference. A Miami native, Bittel has been a member of the Florida Bar Association, the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Young Presidents Organization (past Chair of the Miami Chapter and the YPO Real Estate Round Table, and past Co-Chair of the Miami Chapter of WPO); served as Director on the Boards of the Community Partnership for the Homeless, the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority, the Jackson Memorial Hospital Foundation, and the Boards or four public companies; served as Trustee member for the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Miami-Dade and Temple Beth Am; has written numerous articles on real estate matters and spoken at professional conferences throughout the United States and Europe; in 2005 was awarded the South Florida Business Journal “Ultimate CEO” award. Bittel is a Board member and a Vice Chairman of Development of the National Jewish Democratic Council; has led the Greater Miami Jewish Federation’s Washington Mission in 2009 and 2010; and is the National Finance Co-Chair of the Democratic National Committee and an At-Large member, serving on the Rules and Bylaws Committee. Bittel currently serves on the Board of Teach for America Miami (TFA).

Reinaldo Borges has a Masters Degree in Architecture with a focus on Mixed-Use and Hybrid urban projects and urban design. With over 25 years of Professional experience, he has won numerous international design competitions awards. His work has been published in national and international architectural publications and ranges from design collaboration of the New American Airlines Arena in Miami, to the Royal Palm Crowne Plaza Resort Hotel in South Miami Beach, to a New Carillon Canyon Ranch Resort in Miami Beach, to Community Centers and Fire Stations in Sunrise Florida. He is a Florida and Maryland registered architect, a certified member of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and an active member of the American Institute of Architects and the US Green Building Council.

Reinaldo has developed a well-rounded background in the field of architecture, in projects ranging from luxury high-rise multi-family residences to resort/urban hotels and complex mixed-use facilities to Fire Stations and Building renovations. Moderate to Luxury condominium high-rise design and hospitality projects are his strongest design specialties. Reinaldo uses responsive creative problem solving from concept to final detailed execution of the work, with an enthusiastic team oriented approach. He has successfully collaborated with national design teams in design collaborations numerous times. During the design of the new American Airlines Arena where Mr. Borges as the design leader, directed a team of over 20 design professional ranging from Sports Architects to Structural and Mechanical Engineers. Rigorous design oriented and balanced with a strong technical background is the Borges leadership approach to the profession of architecture and engineering systems.

PROJECT EXPERIENCE

• 888 Brickell Corporate Tower, LEED Building, Miami FL

• Palm Center Residential Mixed-Use Housing, Sustainable Design, Hialeah FL

• Infinity at Brickell Phase I, 60 story, Condo Tower, Miami FL

• Miami Free Trade Zone, Office Building, Miami Fl

• UPS Distribution Center, Miami FL

• Susquehana Financial Office, LEED Building, Hagerstown, MD

• Mansion on the Beach, Condo Hotel, Miami Beach Fl

• Lofts at Mayfair, Coconut Grove Fl

• Webster Hotel Boutique, Miami Beach Fl

• E-suites Business Hotel Prototype, 150 Key- 300 Locations USA

• Beach Club in Marco Island, Restaurant and Club, marco Island Fl

• Royal Palm Resort Hotel, 424 room, 2 17 story Towes, Historic Preservation MB

• Carillon Swisshotel, 650 rooms in 2 towers with Convention Facilities, MB

• American Airlines Arena, 20,000 Basketball seating, mullet- use Arena, Miami Fl

• Community Village Beach Club, Sunrise Fl

• Fire Station No 83, Police Substation, Sunrise FL

As Vice President of Corporate Development for Florida

East Coast Industries (FECI), Francois Illas is responsible

for pre-development project issues including land use,

environmental, traffic and general governmental

regulation, as well as property acquisition and seller

issues.

Mr. Illas’ involvement spans across projects for FECI and

its subsidiary companies including a $3 billion

transportation and commercial real estate investment,

which also represents the United States’ first privately

owned and operated intercity passenger rail system

connecting Miami and Orlando; Flagler Global Logistics,

the largest industrial developer in Florida and an

integrated logistics company; and Flagler, a full-service

real estate company focused on the commercial office

sector.

David is charged with developing and managing all hospitality related operations. His responsibilities include determining the food, beverage and entertainment portfolio; positioning and strategy for the Brightline train service, as well as the stations located in downtown Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

With more than 22 years of experience in the hospitality industry in Europe and North America, David oversaw the strategic planning of many partnerships with award-winning celebrity chefs, and the launch of several luxury brands in key markets. Prior to joining, David served as Senior Vice President of Food and Beverage Strategy for MGM Resorts International where he played a key role in the development of relationships with such culinary luminaries as Joel Robuchon and Alain Ducassee, while managing other celebrity chefs such as Tom Colicchio and Wolfgang Puck. David also has extensive experience as a hotel operator in Las Vegas, prior to which he spent seven years with luxury hotel chain, Ritz-Carlton.

David graduated with a degree in hotel, catering and institutional management from Glasgow College of Food Technology. David is the go-to guy at Brightline for recommendations for the best meal or cocktail in town… and he shares that passion with his new wife and baby daughter, often cooking for friends and family.

Joe Hernandez is a sought-after transactional real estate and business lawyer with a unique perspective: he is able to draw from his prior work experience as a banker and general counsel for a private equity firm to inform his representation of a variety of clients seeking to engage in complex commercial real estate and business transactions.

Joe’s clients include real estate developers, financial institutions, private equity firms, high net worth individuals, and public entities in all phases of complex commercial real estate and business transactions in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. He handles acquisitions, development, financing, leasing, joint ventures, and advises clients on raising capital for real estate projects.

Joe has also developed a particular niche representing condominium associations and cooperative corporations being pursued by developers for acquisition of the units and termination of the condominium or cooperative. Joe coordinates a multi-disciplinary approach in order to counsel clients in navigating the myriad of legal issues faced by associations and unit owners in these situations. Joe also represents condominium associations, community associations, developers of condominium projects, and groups of unit owners in a variety of condominium law and community association matters, including turnovers, dispute resolution, casualties and construction defects issues.

Joe is an agent for several national title insurance companies and has handled the resolution of complex title insurance issues involving real property in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Prior to joining the firm, Joe served as general counsel for an asset management firm owned by Cerberus Capital. Prior to that, Joe was the head of the real estate practice group at the Miami office of an AmLaw 100 firm and a real estate shareholder at one of the largest law firms in the country. Prior to law school, Joe was a banker at a large money center bank in New York and also worked for the predecessor of Bank of America for five years as a corporate and real estate banker.

Joe was elected as a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) in 2017.

Active in the community, Joe is on the board of directors of Junior Achievement of Greater Miami. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law and teaches courses in real estate finance for the Real Property Development L.L.M Program.

A graduate Industrial Engineer and Attorney, he has focused on environmental and technology issues throughout his career. Continuedly elected since 1968, Harvey has served as a Mayor, Miami-Dade County Commissioner and currently as Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts. He has served under three Presidents in Advisory roles: President Carter – Intergovernmental Science, Engineering and Technology; President Reagan – Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations and President Clinton – U.S. Commission on Sustainable Communities. He has been deeply involved in Climate Change issues, as a founder and officer of the ICLEI USA (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives) and as Chair of Miami-Dade Task Force on Climate Change and currently as Chair of the County’s Sea Level Rise Task Force.

James F. Murley serves as Assistant Dean for External Affairs, College of Architecture,

Urban and Public Affairs and Director of the Center for Urban and Environmental

Solutions, Florida Atlantic University. Governor Charlie Crist appointed Jim as the first

Chair of the Florida Energy and Climate Commission. Jim also serves as Vice Chair of

the Miami-Dade County Climate Change Advisory Task Force and is a member and

chair of the Build Environment Committee of the Broward County Climate Change Task

Force.

Jim is Chair of the Sustainability Committee of the Urban Land Institute's Southeast

Florida/Caribbean District Council and was recently appointed a member of Mayor of

Miami-Dade County's new Sustainability Advisory Board. Jim is a former Secretary of

the Florida Department of Community Affairs and Executive Director of 1,000 Friends of

Florida. Jim is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Jim

graduated from Denison University in Granville, Ohio with a BA in History and George

Washington University Law School. He is a graduate of Class IX Leadership Florida

Mr. Defortuna is President, CEO and Founder of Fortune International Group, a Miami-based full- service real estate firm recognized throughout South Florida, Latin America and Europe as a leader in high-end luxury real estate. He oversees all of the company’s activities across all of its business units. Mr. Defortuna is involved with the strategic decision making of the group, as well as the day-to-day operations of each of its divisions.

He started the business in 1983, and quickly became a driving force in real estate. Through his company’s success and far reach into U.S., European and Latin American markets, Mr. Defortuna is widely recognized for having made a significant contribution to the internationalization of Miami and its reputation as a global business, trade and vacation hub. He currently serves as a member of the Mayor of Miami's International Council and also as Director of the Argentine-U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in Miami. Additionally, he is a member of several charitable organizations in Miami, such as Manos del Sur, Mt. Sinai Hospital and St. Stephen’s Episcopal School.

Mr. Defortuna holds a Bachelors Degree in Electrical and Chemical Engineering from the National University of Argentina and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Miami. Fully fluent English and Spanish, Mr. Defortuna is married to Ana Cristina and has five children.

Led by Principal Shahab S. Karmely, New York based KAR Properties is a real estate investment and development firm.

With over 28 years of international real estate experience, Shahab S. Karmely has honed an impressive pedigree in transactional, managerial, and developmental disciplines. These, combined with an extensive background in fine arts and design, are the foundational elements of his development expertise and overall vision.

As the founder of KAR Properties LLC, and through KAR and/or its affiliates, Mr. Karmely has acquired, repositioned, and monetized over 3 million square feet of office, luxury mixed-use, and industrial space in the US, Southeast Asia, and Europe. With offices in New York and Miami, KAR currently oversees the management of a core portfolio of assets and a development pipeline in excess of 5 million square feet.

KAR has made a significant entry into the Miami market with acquisitions in excess of $200 million in established and emerging neighborhoods. The firm is currently developing 2000 Ocean in Hallandale Beach, a 38-story, a private residential enclave located in Hallandale Beach, Florida. In Downtown Miami, KAR Properties is also developing One River Point, a two-tower, 60-story development that will rise 800 feet above the Miami River.

Mr. Karmely’s background as an owner/manager and developer gives him a unique perspective and invaluable insights in analyzing and implementing the appropriate strategies for a variety of asset classes. He champions innovative and inventive approaches in response to changing market conditions, trends, and new opportunities as is required in today’s dynamic real estate markets.

Suzanne M. Amaducci-Adams, Real Estate Practice Group Leader, has extensive experience in handling all aspects of commercial real estate and finance transactions, including acquisitions, mixed-use development, leasing, public private partnerships, commercial mortgage backed securities, and loan restructurings. Suzanne is very active in the areas of marina and hotel acquisition, finance and development, and leads the firm's Hospitality Group.

For almost 30 years, Philip Levine has been an integral member of the Miami Beach community. Over the years, Philip has established a number of successful Miami Beach-based businesses, creating hundreds of job opportunities for local and area residents while contributing to the city’s tax-revenue base. Because he believes in making a difference, he’s also an active member of local philanthropic organizations.

In 1990, with only $500 in capital, Philip launched Onboard Media, a start-up business that originated in a studio apartment above the News Café on Ocean Drive. Designed as a port-marketing program for the cruise industry, the company expanded to publish eighty-five in-stateroom magazines and to produce award-winning TV programming.

Once Philip had grown Onboard Media into an $85 million company, he partnered with Berkshire Partners to acquire Starboard Cruise Services. The successful merger resulted in the world’s largest duty-free and media partner in the cruise industry, with a revenue of about $400 million.

In 2000, Philip sold the company to Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, creating the largest cruise industry concessionaire/partner in the world. The Onboard Media headquarters is still based in Miami Beach, just off of Lincoln Road.

Currently, Philip is CEO of Royal Media Partners, an exclusive partner of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. From its Alton Road offices, Royal Media Partners handles the creation of all the media for Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Azamara Club Cruises ships sailing in the Caribbean and Alaska.

Philip is actively involved with the Clinton Global Initiative, an organization that implements innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. He is also on the board of directors for Best Buddies International, the Miami-based nonprofit organization that creates opportunities for people with developmental disabilities.

In 2010, Philip was tapped by President Obama’s Secretary of Commerce to serve on a Task Force advising on U.S. tourism. Through his work on the Task Force, Philip is working to strengthen the nation’s growing international tourism industry—which in turn strengthens our economy.

In November 2013, Philip was elected Mayor of Miami Beach. He received 50.48% of the total vote in a four-person race.

Philip Levine was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and moved to South Florida at the age of 10. He has called Miami Beach his home since the late 1980s. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he earned a degree in Political Science.

Javier F. Aviñó serves as Practice Group Leader of Bilzin Sumberg's Land Development & Government Relations Group. Javier focuses his practice in land use and zoning law. In South Florida, he is the first stop for developers before they put a shovel in the ground. From the development of multiple Affordable Housing Projects, negotiating multi-million construction loans, to assisting with a $2.4 billion high-speed passenger rail project connecting South and Central Florida, Javier's deep roots in the community have allowed him to assist in projects that are helping to shape the landscape in South Florida. He represented The Sydell Group, developer of the trendy Freehand Miami hostel (formerly the Indian Creek Hotel), in its acquisition, zoning, and liquor license issues related to renovating the historic Art Deco building. He also represented Miami Produce Center, an entity controlled by Robert Wennett, in the filing of a Special Area Plan (SAP) with the City of Miami for a proposed eight-building development with over 1 million square feet of residential, office, retail, hotel, and educational components in the Allapattah neighborhood of Miami, Florida. Javier has been recognized by Chambers USA, South Florida Business Journal, and South Florida Legal Guide. Javier has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Boston College and received his J.D. from the University of Miami.

Robert (“Bob”) Zangrillo is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Dragon Global. Zangrillo is a veteran investor and executive in the social networking, entertainment media, eCommerce, mobility, software and mobile industries and his talents for providing significant financial returns for his investors and building teams dedicated to delivering leading industry solutions are widely known. Over the last few years, Zangrillo has diversified into commercial real estate development in Miami, where he has partnered with Tony Cho to build Cho Dragon, one of Miami’s leading real estate development companies.

Over the last eight years, Zangrillo has built Dragon Global into one of the leading venture growth firms based on his track record of investing in the leading technology growth companies, including Facebook, Jet.com, Twitter, Uber Technologies, and Zynga. Zangrillo has over twenty-five years of experience in venture capital with a remarkable track record. He has been a pioneer in the venture growth investment area where he has led some of the largest primary and secondary investments. Zangrillo was one of the earliest late stage venture growth investors in Facebook. During the period from 2008-2012, Zangrillo became one of the largest late stage investors in Facebook, through multiple predecessor funds, leading to his founding of Dragon Global.

Zangrillo was both one of the early visionaries to recognize the enormous potential of social media in 2008 and Internet commerce in 1995 and how they both would transform the way business is conducted in the new global economy. Over the last twenty-five years, Zangrillo has been a prominent figure in the Internet community, with significant roles as a Chairman and CEO, venture capital investor, active executive director and advisor to high-growth companies.

Zangrillo has been recognized for his leadership in the industry and has received numerous personal and technology awards, such as 1998 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year and Crain’s Top 40 under 40 Award. From 2001-2006, Zangrillo was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, where he served on the Committee on Finance and Budget.

Zangrillo received his MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and his BA from the University of Vermont.

Bernardo Fort-Brescia, FAIA, is a founding Principal of Arquitectonica. He studied architecture and urban

planning at Princeton University and received a Master of Architecture from Harvard University, where

he later taught. Today Arquitectonica has designed buildings in 58 countries from offices around the

world.

Mr. Fort-Brescia’s designs have won hundreds of design awards. His work has been featured in 6,000

national and international publications and has been the subject of numerous museum exhibitions in

the Americas, Europe and Asia. He is the recipient of the AIA Florida Honor for Design Award and the AIA

Silver Medal for Design Excellence. He was honored as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects

and was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame. Mr. Fort-Brescia was honored by the Salvadori

Center in New York with the 2000 Founder’s Award. In 2018, he was the recipient of the Urban Land

Institute Lifetime Achievement Award, marking the first time an architect has won the award.

Mr. Fort-Brescia has taught at Harvard University, University of Miami and Florida International

University, and has chaired architectural advisory boards at these institutions as well, including the

University of Miami School of Architecture. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Wolfsonian

Museum and the New World Symphony. He is also a strong supporter of the National YoungArts

Foundation. Mr. Fort-Brescia currently sits on the Urban Land Institute Advisory Board.