Fireside Chat with Ned Segal: Bringing Vibrancy Back to San Francisco

A Deep Dive into Downtown Revitalization and Sustainable Economic Growth

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  Ned Segal

  Ned Segal is a dedicated and passionate San Franciscan, having grown up, raised a family, and worked in the City for most of his life. Prior to his role as San Francisco’s Chief of Housing and Economic Development, Ned served as Twitter's Chief Financial Officer, leading the company's finance functions along with Corporate Development and Partnerships, including Global Content Partnerships, Developer Platform Commercial and Business Development. Previously he served as Senior Vice President of Finance for Intuit, where he led finance for the Small Business Group that delivered QuickBooks, Payments, and Payroll to millions of small businesses and self employed customers. In this role, Ned was responsible for the division's financial and strategic planning. Before joining Intuit, Ned served as Chief Financial Officer of then-public RPX Corp, the leader in patent risk management solutions to technology companies around the world. Ned began his career at Goldman Sachs, most recently as a Managing Director and Head of Global Software Investment Banking. In this capacity, he advised technology companies from around the world on mergers, acquisitions, IPOs, and other equity and debt financings, and led Goldman Sachs investments in multiple technology companies. Ned's career highlight may still be his tenure as a hot dog vendor at Candlestick Park from 1988-1992. His professional board service includes terms on the Boards of RingCentral, BostonGene, and BeyondMeat. Ned earned a BS from Georgetown University in Spanish. He is an active volunteer in the non-profit sector, having served as a Board Member of Tipping Point Community, where he led the Development Committee responsible for teaming with Tipping Point’s leadership to raise nearly $50M to fight poverty in the Bay Area every year. He is a previous Trustee of Lick-Wilmerding High School and Town School for Boys, where he co-led the search that brought the first woman leader of an independent boys’ school to Town in 2017. He also was a founding board member of the San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation, where Ned worked with other civic leaders to help save a number of single-standing theaters, including the Vogue, the Presidio, and the Marina theaters. Ned and his wife live in their hometown of San Francisco with their three children, where he loves walking the neighborhoods, watching kids' sports, eating at San Francisco’s many amazing restaurants, and attending Giants, Niners, and Warriors games.

  City & County of San Francisco

  Chief of Housing and Economic Development

  former Twitter CFO

  Ned Segal

  Chief of Housing and Economic Development

  City & County of San Francisco

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  Anne Taupier

  Anne Taupier serves as the Director of Development overseeing the management and entitlement of large private and public mixed- use development and affordable housing projects on behalf of the City of San Francisco. The role includes leading negotiations with developers to provide community benefits packages that reflect and enhance the City’s housing, affordability, sustainability, jobs, open space, equity and transportation policy objectives. Anne has worked extensively on San Francisco development projects including: The Hunter’s Point Shipyard, 2013 America’s Cup Host City, 5M, The Plumber’s Union Development, The Conservatory of Music student housing, India Basin, the Flower Mart, Potrero Power Station and Balboa Reservoir. In addition, her experience includes working in the administration under former Mayor Gavin Newsom and as an investigator for the San Francisco Office of the City Attorney. Anne has a strong belief that scarce and unaffordable housing is a local, national and global crisis and that safe and stable housing is an essential component of every community’s public health plan. This focus on providing housing security for everyone is also critical to job stability and a strong and diverse local economy. Anne is a life-long trail runner and former competitive cyclist and tri-athlete. She has worked as a fitness instructor and advocates for programs that encourage girls and young women to participate in sports, athletics, dance and movement that build strong self-confidence and leadership skills. She has a Masters of Art Education and a B.A in French and Fine Arts from The University of Massachusetts. Anne was also the Co-founder and former Vice President of “The Kerouac Corporation”, a 501-C3 established in her hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts.

  SF Office of Economic & Workforce Development

  Director of Development

  Moderator

  Anne Taupier

  Director of Development

  SF Office of Economic & Workforce Development

San Francisco CRE Outlook: Where We Are and Where We're Headed

Breaking Down the Key Players, Challenges, and Opportunities to Thrive in an Evolving Market

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  Angela Biggs

  Angela Biggs serves as Managing Director, Investment for Grosvenor and has over 19 years of industry experience. She is responsible for acquisitions of multifamily, retail and office properties in Northern and Southern California. She chairs Grosvenor's Eaton Program, a global initiative designed to enable improvement through the delivery of strategic initiatives across worldwide operating companies. Angela co-chairs ULI NEXT, is active in her firm’s DEI Racial and Gender Equity committees and was recognized by GlobeSt. as a 2022 Woman of Influence. Prior to Grosvenor, Angela oversaw portfolio management for the Sares Regis Group Value-Add Multifamily Funds, developed enterprise data centers for Vantage Data Centers and invested in retail and lodging portfolios at Farallon Capital Management. She holds a B.A. from University of California Los Angeles and an M.B.A. from Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania.

  Grosvenor

  Managing Director, Investment

  Angela Biggs

  Managing Director, Investment

  Grosvenor

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  Connor Kidd

  Connor Kidd is President and CEO of The Swig Company and has over a decade of institutional commercial real estate experience. Connor joined The Swig Company in 2009 with the Investments Team and led the Asset Management team since from January 2019 until September 2023. Throughout his career, Connor has participated as a principal in transactions of over $5 billion in value, comprising over 6 million square feet and over 500 multifamily units. Before joining The Swig Company, Connor held real estate positions at Hunter Properties, AMB Properties (now Prologis), and North Star Realty Finance. Connor has a Bachelor of Science and an MBA from Stanford University. He is an active member of the San Francisco NAIOP chapter and a member of the Stanford Alumni Real Estate Counsel (SREC).

  The Swig Company

  President and CEO

  Connor Kidd

  President and CEO

  The Swig Company

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  Gordon Childress

  Gordon Childress brings 34 years of experience in the construction industry across various markets, including airports, education, healthcare and manufacturing. He currently runs Skanska USA Building’s operations in the State of California. Previously, he held operational leadership roles at contractor and developer companies in Northern California and Oregon. Gordon is active in the local community. He currently sits on the CEA Executive Board and served as 2021 Chair of the Northern California Hard Hats with Heart. Hard Hats with Heart benefits the American Heart Association and works to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives, specifically aimed toward the construction industry’s elevated risk. A LEED accredited professional, Gordon received his B.S. in building construction from Texas A&M University.

  Skanska

  EVP

  Gordon Childress

  EVP

  Skanska

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  Matthew Cox

  With 25 years of experience in complex risk insurance brokerage, Matthew serves as the Real Estate Practice Leader at Heffernan Insurance Brokers (HIB). In this role, he designs insurance programs for both commercial and residential developments, encompassing projects under construction as well as completed real estate portfolios. HIB's real estate clientele includes nationwide developers, lenders, REITs, and family offices. Additionally, HIB maintains a London operation, facilitating efficient access to the Lloyd's insurance market.

  Heffernan Insurance Brokers

  SVP

  Matthew Cox

  SVP

  Heffernan Insurance Brokers

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  Tony Natsis

  A name partner of the firm, Anton N. Natsis is Chair of Allen Matkins’ Real Estate Department and is one of the top real estate attorneys in the United States. His practice focuses on development, leasing, purchase and sale, and portfolio investment sales transactions involving office, retail, and industrial projects, as well as arbitrating numerous fair market value disputes, CAM disputes and other significant landlord/tenant disputes. He also has extensive experience in debt, equity, and joint venture workouts, and the purchase of distressed assets and distressed debt. Tony is continually sought out by some of the largest national land owners, such as J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Blackstone Real Estate, Brookfield Properties, HCP, Vornado Realty Trust, Regent Properties, The Irvine Company, Boston Properties, Equity Office Properties, Kilroy Realty, Inc., Beacon Capital Partners, MPG Office Trust, Kamehameha Schools (The Bishop Estate) and Westfield Corporation. He represents many governmental entities, including the LAUSD, State of California, and City of Anaheim. Tony is also frequently retained as counsel for major national office tenants, such as AT&T, Citicorp, the FDIC, AIG, The Walt Disney Company, and the Los Angeles Times. A frequent lecturer and author, Tony is the chief consultant for the California Continuing Education of the Bar Commercial Leasing Series, the legal education reference book on leasing for California attorneys, is an adjunct professor of law at Loyola Law School for a course covering commercial real estate transactions, and has spoken before such national real estate groups as ULI and BOMA. Tony is a founding board member of The Ziman Real Estate Center, which is governed under the joint auspices of the UCLA Anderson School of Business and the UCLA Law School. In the past decade, Tony has closed commercial office leases exceeding 50 million square feet. He has worked on real estate purchase contracts with a total consideration of more than $30 billion and on development transactions with a total consideration in excess of $25 billion. Since 2006, Tony has represented clients in office building portfolio investment sales transactions involving over $75 billion of consideration. One of Tony's most significant transactions is the largest real estate acquisition deal in the history of the United States. He provided extensive real estate services in connection with Blackstone Real Estate's purchase of Equity Office Properties Trust, at that point the largest owner of office space in the U.S. other than the Federal Government, for $43 billion. Subsequently, Blackstone contracted to sell over 50% of the properties it purchased with such sales closing in the first and second quarter of 2007. Tony assisted Blackstone in its acquisition due diligence related to EOP and the subsequent sales of the properties. The transactions related to this deal included Maguire Properties' purchase of Blackstone/EOP in Orange County for $2 billion, Irvine Company's purchase of Blackstone/EOP in San Diego for $1 billion, Morgan Stanley's purchase of Blackstone/EOP in San Francisco for $2.5 billion, and Beacon Capital Partners’ purchase of Blackstone/EOP Seattle for $6.3 billion.

  Allen Matkins

  Partner

  Moderator

  Tony Natsis

  Partner

  Allen Matkins

Building Vibrant Communities: The Role of Mixed-Use Development in SF’s Recovery

Creating Multi-Functional Spaces to Fuel Revitalization and Strengthen Community Building

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  David Sternberg

  As Executive Vice President of the Northern California & Mountain Regions for Brookfield Properties’ U.S. Office Division, David Sternberg oversees the leasing, management, and construction of approximately 9M square feet of premier commercial office properties in downtown Denver, San Francisco, and Seattle. In addition, Sternberg has been a part of the Senior Leadership team involved with two major developments in San Francisco, 415 Natoma and Pier 70. During his 30-plus year career in commercial real estate, Sternberg has also held management positions with major real estate investment and property management companies in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis. Active in numerous civic leadership roles, Sternberg serves as Chair for the Denver’s Upper Downtown Stakeholder’s group and Downtown Denver Partnership Management Group, is a board member for Denver Civic Ventures and the Bay Area Council, and works closely with elected officials, civic leaders and arts organizations. Originally from the Chicago area, Sternberg currently resides just outside San Francisco with his wife Robin. They have three children.

  Brookfield Properties

  EVP

  David Sternberg

  EVP

  Brookfield Properties

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  Jeremy Bachrach

  Jeremy Bachrach, Senior Director, Acquisitions and Development, joined Tishman Speyer in 2018 and currently oversees multiple development projects in San Francisco and Los Angeles. This includes leadership of the Santa Monica Collection, eight multifamily sites in Downtown Santa Monica, and the residential and horizontal infrastructure components of Mission Rock, a 28-acre mixed use development in San Francisco. He also serves as the Tishman Speyer representative on multiple LIHTC projects which are being developed in conjunction with MidPen Housing. Previously he was responsible for entitling, developing and negotiating joint ventures for other multifamily and commercial sites in San Francisco. Prior to Tishman Speyer, Jeremy worked in Acquisitions at the Prado Group, a San Francisco-based developer, and at PGIM Real Estate Finance. During his time at PGIM, he underwrote over $3.0B in affordable housing senior financing, and focused on mixed income and mixed use projects with a variety of capital sources including: LIHTCs, Tax-Exempt Bonds, and Section 8.

  Tishman Speyer

  Senior Director

  Jeremy Bachrach

  Senior Director

  Tishman Speyer

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  Tina Chang

  Tina Chang is a Partner at Associate Capital, where she leads design and master development efforts at the Power Station. In this capacity, she selects and partners with the globe’s most talented and innovative designer professionals to deliver world-class, sustainable and intentionally-crafted buildings. Prior to Associate Capital, Tina spent nearly a decade in the public sector. She managed large-scale entitlement projects as a Senior Planner with the San Francisco Planning Department, and she master-planned US Naval installations in the Middle East and Washington, D.C. region during her time with the US Navy. She earned a Master of City and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania and B.A. in International Development Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. Tina serves as a Commissioner on the San Francisco Board of Appeals and as Board Chair of the Homeless Prenatal Program, a nationally-recognized family resource center that empowers women and families by facilitating housing security, healthy babies and economic sustainability. She lives in San Francisco with her family.

  Associate Capital

  Partner

  Tina Chang

  Partner

  Associate Capital

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  Angela Wu

  With over two decades of experience, Angela’s expertise spans both design and business development, overseeing various market sectors, and leading an office and studio. Throughout her career, she has built and cultivated deep relationships and trust with clients, consultants, contractors, and community leaders. Angela has a proven track record of achieving strategic goals, positioning firms for growth and profitability, and ensuring high client satisfaction. Her global experience, and previous roles with KPF and SOM has refined her design approach, emphasizing culturally driven and program-oriented solutions. Her passion for multidisciplinary collaboration brings a unique dimension to her architectural projects. Some notable mixed-use projects in her portfolio include 415 Natoma, the New Beijing Poly Plaza, Poly International Plaza, The Bellevue, The Rise Master Plan, and Google San Jose Downtown West. As an architect deeply passionate about design, Angela specializes in complex projects that align with like-minded clients, aiming to create exceptional designs that benefit present and future generations. Her designs blend innovation, functionality, and beauty, drawing from her interdisciplinary knowledge and expertise.

  10Design

  Principal

  Angela Wu

  Principal

  10Design

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  Dan Calamuci

  Dan Calamuci is the senior representative for strategic campaigns and research at the Nor Cal Carpenters Union, representing nearly 37,000 members in carpentry and related crafts in California’s northern 46 counties. Dan leads a team engaged in policy analysis, construction industry economic analysis, and strategic research for organizing, compliance, and contract campaigns. In 2023, Dan was appointed by Governor Newsom to California’s Fraud Assessment Commission, representing organized labor. In 2024, Dan was elected to the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, and he currently serves as the Vice Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party and an executive board member of the California Democratic Party. He holds an M.S. in Labor Studies from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and a B.A. from George Washington University

  Nor Cal Carpenters Union

  Senior Representative

  Moderator

  Dan Calamuci

  Senior Representative

  Nor Cal Carpenters Union

Developing High-Performing Properties: Strategies for Value, Growth, and Tenant Demand

Development Strategies to Enhance Property Performance, Attract Tenants, and Drive Long-Term Value

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  Mike Grisso

  Real estate professional with more than 15 years of experience in development, land planning, and project management. Experience includes planning and implementing the Transbay Redevelopment Project in Downtown San Francisco, which involved serving as the lead negotiator on a variety of complex real estate and public/private development transactions, including more than $400 million in land dispositions.

  Kilroy Realty Corporation

  SVP, Development & Land Planning

  Mike Grisso

  SVP, Development & Land Planning

  Kilroy Realty Corporation

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  Aaron Reuter

  Managing Director: Head of Portfolio Management and Co-Head of Investments for Veritas Investments and has over 20 years of industry experience. Mr. Reuter focuses on multifamily portfolio management and investment activities for the Bay Area and Pacific Northwest. Prior to joining Veritas, Mr. Reuter held senior positions at Swift Real Estate Partners, The Green Cities Company, and Prologis. Mr. Reuter holds a BA from UCLA and an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

  Veritas Investments

  Managing Director & Head of Portfolio Management

  Aaron Reuter

  Managing Director & Head of Portfolio Management

  Veritas Investments

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  Danielle Friend

  Danielle Friend joined Harvest Properties as the Director of Architecture and Construction in June 2018. At Harvest, Danielle leverages her design and implementation expertise to evaluate acquisition targets as well as to develop the strategy for various asset repositioning efforts. Danielle’s responsibilities include developing and implementing project management processes and tools for the Operations and Asset Management Teams to ensure the optimal execution of capital and tenant improvement projects across the 11MM square foot portfolio. Prior to working at Harvest, Danielle spent eight years at JLL leading project management services for the Northwest Office Sector, overseeing 5 million+ square feet of capital and tenant improvement projects valued at over $250MM. Danielle earned her Master of Architecture degree from Pratt Institute. Prior to attending graduate school, she graduated with High Honors from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Originally from New York, Danielle and her husband moved to the Bay Area from Chicago 5 years ago and enjoying hiking in Marin with their dog, Reggie. Danielle and her family support various charitable organizations including the ASPCA, AIPAC, Equality California, and Venice Arts.

  Harvest Properties

  Senior Director of Development

  Danielle Friend

  Senior Director of Development

  Harvest Properties

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  Brent Saldaña

  Brent Saldaña advises investors, developers, owners and operators, and others in the real estate industry in diverse, sophisticated real estate and corporate transactions. His clients span from individual investors and family-owned real estate enterprises, to established developers, to sponsors launching real estate funds, and his experience touches on multiple asset types and classes, including multifamily, office, hospitality, industrial, R&D campuses, and vineyards, among others. He serves as chair of Farella Braun + Martel’s Real Estate Group. Brent has extensive experience in acquisitions and dispositions, construction and permanent financings, multi-tiered joint ventures and entity formations, development projects, leasing, and asset and property management arrangements. He advises clients in many unusual deals requiring creative structures, including unique land swap transactions and challenging tenant workouts. Brent also works closely with members of Farella’s Family Wealth Group in structuring real estate holdings and succession planning for families looking to preserve generational wealth. Brent’s practice has a particular focus on complex real estate projects in the San Francisco Bay Area that require negotiating mutually beneficial solutions among multiple stakeholders to protect his clients’ interests. His work involves thoughtful consideration of interrelated agreements, excellent project management skills, and a continual appreciation of the big picture. He brings an infectious enthusiasm for placemaking, the built environment, and all things real estate. Representative work includes:  Representing the interest of a major investor in a hotel property in Oakland, CA, and representing the seller of a hotel in Oakland.  Representing the owner in the refinancing and sale of Cavallo Point Lodge in Marin County.  Representing the developer in adaptive reuse projects in the East Bay involving the exercise of purchase rights in leases with the municipality, structuring of joint ventures, obtaining construction financing, and negotiation of reciprocal utility easements with adjacent owners.  Representing a multifamily owner and operator in the restructuring of a dozen of its limited partnerships and tenancy in common holdings along the West Coast.  Representing the seller in the sale of a Peninsula office building re-entitled for multifamily construction. This sale, involving seven separate owners, required intricate seller financing, facilitated by the appointment of an administrative agent.  Representing a sponsor in the formation of a single-family residential investment fund targeting assets in the Southwest.  Representing owners and operators of collective retail experiences, including representation of a flower market operator and food hall operator.  Advising an office/retail unit owner in the foreclosure of an assessment lien under a reciprocal easement agreement against an adjoining unit owner.  Negotiating a $175MM credit facility, including lines of credit, secured by personal property assets for a Bay Area-based construction company.  Advising clients on Subdivision Map Act, Tenant Protection Act, Commercial Tenant Protection Act and other California statutory law issues.  Negotiating financing for the developer of a mixed-use project in India Basin in San Francisco.  Assisting an East Bay developer with build-to-suit leases, including a build-to-suit lease for a 220,000-square-foot office building for a life sciences company.  Representing winery and vineyard owners and operators in water infrastructure and water rights easements.  Advising a senior living owner and operator in sale negotiations with a developer of an adjacent mixed-use project in San Jose in which the senior living owner obtained future easement and other rights in an intricate set of sale and easement agreements. Brent is a 2025 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow. Prior to joining a law firm, Brent worked in development and marketing at The San Francisco Foundation and as in-house counsel for a CDFI fund (nonprofit lender) lending to businesses in New York and in disaster recovery zones. Brent earned his J.D. with honors from the University of Texas School of Law and his B.A. with honors from Tufts University. He is admitted to practice in California and New York.

  Farella Braun + Martel LLP

  Partner

  Moderator

  Brent Saldaña

  Partner

  Farella Braun + Martel LLP

Remarks From The Podium

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  Sherif Hassan

  Sherif Hassan, VP of Strategic Partnerships North America at Re-Leased, brings over a decade of experience in the real estate and software industries. As a solutions-focused strategist, Sherif leads a dynamic team dedicated to empowering property owners and managers with cutting-edge technology. His expertise in streamlining operations, enhancing portfolio visibility, and driving value enables clients to optimize performance. Sherif’s forward-thinking approach also fosters long-term, positive relationships between owners and tenants, ensuring sustainable growth and success in a competitive market.

  Re-Leased

  VP, Strategic Partnerships

  Sherif Hassan

  VP, Strategic Partnerships

  Re-Leased