Spotlight on Puerto Rico

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  Carla Campos

  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.

  Puerto Rico Tourism Company

  Executive Director

  Carla Campos

  Executive Director

  Puerto Rico Tourism Company

• Dorado Beach Resort, Coco Beach Resort, Hyatt House San Juan

  Patricia George-Iguina

  Partner & Vice Chair, Real Estate

  McConnell Valdés

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  Brad Dean

  CEO

  Discover Puerto Rico

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  Francisco Luis

  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.

  Kevane Grant Thornton

  Partner

  Francisco Luis

  Partner

  Kevane Grant Thornton

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  Adam Greenfader

  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.

  AG&T

  Managing Partner

  Moderator

  Adam Greenfader

  Managing Partner

  AG&T

Hotel & Resort Development

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  Frank Comito

  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.

  Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association

  CEO and Director General

  Frank Comito

  CEO and Director General

  Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association

• British Colonial Hilton Nassau, Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino

  Juan Corvinos Solans

  VP, Development

  Hilton

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  Fernando Fernandez

  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.

  Apple Leisure Group

  VP, Development-Caribbean

  Zoetry Wellness & Spa Resorts, Secrets Resorts & Spa

  Fernando Fernandez

  VP, Development-Caribbean

  Apple Leisure Group

• Discovery Bay Resort & Marina

  Ing. Emilio Colón Zavala

  President

  Puerto Rico Builders Association/ ECZ Group

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  William 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

  WG Pitts

  CEO

  Moderator

  William Pitts

  CEO

  WG Pitts

Financing and Investing in the Caribbean

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  Cole Shephard

  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.

  Lifeafar

  CFO

  Cole Shephard

  CFO

  Lifeafar

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  James Andrews

  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.

  Integra Realty Resources

  Senior Managing Director

  Beaches Turks & Caicos, Planet Hollywood St. Maarten

  James Andrews

  Senior Managing Director

  Integra Realty Resources

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  Rogerio Basso

  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.

  Inter-American Development Bank

  Head of Tourism

  Rogerio Basso

  Head of Tourism

  Inter-American Development Bank

• Indigo Bay

  Jake Epstein

  Ellington Management Group

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  Andrew Dickey

  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.

  JLL - FL

  Executive Vice President

  Moderator

  Andrew Dickey

  Executive Vice President

  JLL - FL