Jay Paul's Matt Lituchy On Giving Back And Fighting Disease
Many real estate leaders have a strong commitment to giving back to the community. Bisnow spoke to Jay Paul Co's Matt Lituchy about his passion -- bringing healthcare innovation to the community through SoCal's City of Hope. He'll be presenting the Spirit of Life Award here in San Francisco honoring Equity Office's Eli Khouri on the evening of May 18. That morning, Matt will be one of our speakers at Bisnow's San Francisco Construction and Development event at the Parc 55 Hotel.
Bisnow: Tell us about the City of Hope and your objectives.
Matt Lituchy: City of Hope is a leading research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. At City of Hope, scientists work with doctors to treat both the physical and emotional needs of patients. They combine science with soul to make miracles every day.
Our Northern California Real Estate & Construction Council (Matt Lituchy--center--with Mark Bakar and Chris Quiett and Debbie C. Thurmond) is one of its philanthropic arms, and through our dinner event May 18 honoring Eli Khouri of Equity Office, we aim to raise $1M to further its innovations. By an unusual coincidence, a local Nibbi Brothers employee whose life was saved by City of Hope contacted our group, and will speak briefly, too.
Bisnow: How did you get involved?
Matt Lituchy: Cancer, diabetes and blood disorders have afflicted numerous friends and family members, so research and treatment has always been of interest to me. When John Moe and Drew Gordon reached out last year, I was honored for the invitation to get involved with the City of Hope. But what truly hooked me was the time spent touring the City of Hope campus in Duarte, CA. The opportunity to see the state-of-the-art facilities and chat with world-renowned researchers and scientists was both impressive and inspirational.
Bisnow: What does the Spirit of Life Award recognize?
Matt Lituchy: The Spirit of Life Award is presented via our dinner event to individuals who exemplify the ideals and values that have guided City of Hope for over a century, and whose professional and humanitarian accomplishments are worthy of celebration. Recipients have a commitment to elevating the human condition and a profound belief in the power of each individual to effect change.
Over 800 real estate and construction professionals are expected to attend this year at the Marriott. Since 1987, the Northern California group has raised almost $8M and honored real estate leaders such as Andy Ball, Carol Bartz, Kofi Bonner, Michael Covarrubias, Oz Erickson, Rick Holliday, Sean Jeffries, Rik Kunnath, Chris Meany, Hamid Moghadam, Connie Moore, Larry Pace, and Ron Zeff.
Bisnow: Tell us about Eli Khouri and why he's receiving the award.
Matt Lituchy: Eli Khouri is president and CEO of Equity Office. Equity Office, an affiliate of the Blackstone Group, is one of the nation’s largest office real estate owners and operators. In this role, Mr. Khouri oversees the strategic direction of the company as well as all day-to-day operations. Prior to joining Equity Office, Mr. Khouri held the position of EVP and CIO at Kilroy Realty, and was responsible for the performance of the company’s investment activities and capital allocations including acquisitions, development, redevelopment and dispositions.
He is very philanthropic in general (including Reading Partners that helps kids reach grade-level reading, the Portola Valley School Endowment, Common Sense Media and others) and personally very interested in cancer research.
Bisnow: Do real estate leaders have a particular role to play in philanthropic efforts such as the City of Hope?
Matt Lituchy: I believe all business and civic leaders have a responsibility to give back regardless of industry. The Bay Area real estate community has enjoyed phenomenal success over the years, and we should be willing to invest some of that success in areas that are underfunded. With diminishing federal support and grant monies, medical research is in acute need of private philanthropy--we need to be there!
Tickets are available to be there for the Spirit of Life Award at the Marriott Marquis starting at 5 pm May 18.
To hear from Matt on real estate, join us at Bisnow's San Francisco Construction and Development event May 18 at the Parc 55 Hotel. Sign up here!
