Keynote Conversation with The City of San Jose

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  Matt Mahan

  Matt Mahan is the 66th Mayor of San José. He was raised in Watsonville, California by working parents, a school teacher and a letter carrier, who taught Matt and his sisters to value hard work, the importance of education, and the power of community. His love for San José was ignited early on when he decided to make the long, often four-hour-a-day commute by bus to San José to attend Bellarmine College Prep. Matt went on to attend Harvard University, where he served as student body president and graduated magna cum laude before joining the Teach for America program, where he taught English and History at George Joseph Middle School in Alum Rock, San Jose. Matt went on to the business world, where he founded and served as CEO of two civic tech companies dedicated to empowering neighborhoods and holding government accountable. These core tenets have remained key to his policy priorities – both during his time as District 10 Councilmember and now as San Jose Mayor. Matt decided to run for San José’s top office in 2022 because he knew local government needed significant reform to get back to basics and deliver results on homelessness, public safety and housing affordability. Since taking office, Matt has led the city to build more housing, expand solutions to homelessness that have reduced the number of people living on our streets, and brought crime rates down to historic lows. His efforts to bring AI tools and performance management practices into City Hall have yielded a more efficient and accountable government. Mayor Matt Mahan, his wife Silvia, and their two young children live in the Almaden neighborhood.

  City of San Jose

  Mayor

  KEYNOTE

  Matt Mahan

  Mayor

  City of San Jose

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  Ahmad Thomas

  Ahmad Thomas is the CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, the region’s most dynamic business association. As a change agent and next generation business leader, Thomas partners with the organization’s 350+ member companies to promote entrepreneurial solutions to strengthen Silicon Valley business competitiveness, bolster its innovation ecosystem, and create shared economic value throughout the greater Bay Area. A hallmark of his leadership is in catalyzing industry-leading initiatives to operationalize change around diversity, equity, and inclusion from the Boardroom to the C-suites and beyond. A former investment banker and senior Congressional aide, he brings nearly 20 years of experience working both in and on behalf of non-profit social enterprises, governments, and businesses, where he has honed a deep understanding of the essentiality of public-private partnerships and the intersection of equity, policy, and technology that drives Silicon Valley’s innovation infrastructure. Thomas holds a B.S. from Cornell University, Master’s degree from the London School of Economics, and M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

  Silicon Valley Leadership Group

  CEO

  Moderator

  Ahmad Thomas

  CEO

  Silicon Valley Leadership Group

Silicon Valley As An Emerging Market

Opportunities Driving Growth Throughout San Jose, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Menlo Park & Redwood City

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  Will Parker

  Will Parker serves as Principal in Trammell Crow Company’s (TCC) Northern California market. In this role, he is responsible for sourcing and overseeing industrial development opportunities throughout Northern California. During his tenure with TCC, Will has gained experience working across multiple western geographies and has established a development portfolio of industrial and office projects exceeding 6 million square feet. He has previously served on TCC’s Leadership Council and as a market leader. In addition to his project work, Will serves as a mentor in TCC’s internal mentorship program, takes an active interest in MBA recruiting, and contributes as a member of TCC’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Steering Committee. His volunteer work has focused on at-risk youth and health care. He is a past Director of The Guardsmen, an all-volunteer organization that provides access to educational and outdoor activities for inner-city youth in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to joining TCC, Parker served on the Quantitative Equity Portfolio Team at Wellington Management, LLP, in Boston. He also spent two years as a Commercial Construction Laborer in Seattle as a member of Local 242. While at the Tuck School of Business, Will was a 2007 recipient of the Arnold F. Adams, Jr. Award for Entrepreneurship.

  Trammell Crow

  Principal

  Will Parker

  Principal

  Trammell Crow

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  Jeffrey Rogers

  Jeffrey Rogers has conducted commercial real estate transactions for more than twenty five years. He has led investments with private and institutional equity partners, delivering attractive financial returns relative to the market. Jeff founded Briggs Development in 2011 where his team’s projects have focused on adding value to Office, Industrial and Research & Development assets in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento. He has served as a board member and/or fund raiser for the San Jose Police Activities League, the Bellarmine College Preparatory Dad’s Board, Catholic Charities, Links for Life and the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

  Briggs Development

  President

  Jeffrey Rogers

  President

  Briggs Development

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  Razmig Boladian

  Razmig co-manages RPP and is specifically responsible for asset management and capital markets. Prior to RPP, Razmig, a serial entrepreneur, co-founded several companies and practices, including Roland Berger Strategy Consultants’ Middle East practice and served as Partner and Saudi Arabian Country Manager. Within six years, Roland Berger was ranked one of the top five consulting firms in the Middle East, managing over fifty consultants. Razmig started his career at Booz & Co. and Deloitte Consulting. Razmig is a graduate of American University of Beirut, Carnegie Mellon University, and Harvard University.

  Rubicon Point Partners

  Managing Partner

  Razmig Boladian

  Managing Partner

  Rubicon Point Partners

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  Nanci Klein

  Nanci Klein is responsible for cultivating and maintaining significant relationships with the world’s top global companies that have a presence in San Jose. She’s steered some of city’s most complex economic development projects and negotiations, such as the retention and expansion of eBay, NanoSolar, Cisco, SunPower and Hitachi.

  City of San Jose

  Director of Economic Development & Real Estate

  Nanci Klein

  Director of Economic Development & Real Estate

  City of San Jose

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  David Blackwell

  David Blackwell is a partner in the San Francisco office of Allen Matkins. He practices real estate law with an emphasis on land use entitlements and litigation, and his experience includes representing landowners, developers, businesses, and governmental entities before administrative agencies and state and federal courts. David's practice involves all areas of land use law, including affordable housing and the state density bonus law, state and local planning and zoning law, the California Environmental Quality Act, the Subdivision Map Act, initiatives and referenda, development agreements, traditional and sustainable energy projects, wetlands regulation, eminent domain and inverse condemnation, and the Williamson Act.

  Allen Matkins

  Partner

  Moderator

  David Blackwell

  Partner

  Allen Matkins

Construction, Design And Development Outlook

Projects Shaping the Silicon Valley Region

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  Doug McDonald

  Doug is directly responsible for Land Acquisition, Entitlements, Design and Construction, Asset Management, Asset Disposition, and Finance. Doug has been with SummerHill since 2001. Before assuming his current role as President of SummerHill Apartment Communities, Doug held the COO and CFO roles for SummerHill Apartment Communities and the CFO role for SummerHill Homes. As CFO he secured nearly $2.5 Billion in project level construction debt and equity capital. Prior to joining SummerHill Homes, Doug was Manager of Strategy and Business Architecture for Accenture in San Francisco. Doug was also Division Controller – Carolinas for Pulte Homes and Supervising Senior Accountant for KPMG Peat Marwick, both of Charlotte, North Carolina. Doug is a former certified public accountant. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration – Finance and a Master of Accounting degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Doug also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan – Stephen M. Ross School of Business, where he graduated with distinction and received the annual Innovation Award. Doug is a member of the NAHB Multifamily Leadership Board and is involved with various other industry and charitable organizations.

  SummerHill Apartment Communities

  President and CEO

  Doug McDonald

  President and CEO

  SummerHill Apartment Communities

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  Paul Ring

  Mr. Ring currently serves as Executive Vice President of Development and Construction. He has experience overseeing the development of over $400 million in mixed use, apartments, and for-sale housing projects. He has managed all project stages including, acquisition, program definition, entitlement, consultant selection and design, value engineering review, construction oversight, and warranty review, with responsibility for overall schedule, budget, and quality goals.

  Urban Catalyst Fund

  EVP - Development and Construction / Partner

  Paul Ring

  EVP - Development and Construction / Partner

  Urban Catalyst Fund

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  Travis Schultz

  Travis’ portfolio includes high-tech companies, high-profile financial institutions, leading healthcare facilities, and Fortune 500 commercial office projects locally in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Southern California and across the West Coast. As Project Executive and leader of Truebeck Construction’s San Francisco office, Schultz is responsible for local strategy, expanding operations in the city, and interiors market development.

  Truebeck Construction

  Director of Interiors

  Travis Schultz

  Director of Interiors

  Truebeck Construction

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  Chuck McCallum

  Chuck McCallum brings over 30 years of experience at the intersection of planning, land development, and civil engineering, shaping some of Silicon Valley’s most transformative projects, from the 58-acre Facebook West Campus to more than two dozen high-rise towers in downtown San Jose. As CEO of Kier + Wright and KWRE, he has expanded the firm’s capabilities by launching its full-service renewable energy practice and now leads efforts to integrate clean energy solutions and modernize the grid as Chair of ACEC California’s Energy Committee. Known for transforming complex infrastructure challenges into practical, high-quality solutions, Chuck is also exploring how emerging technologies like AI can accelerate decision-making, enhance efficiency, and drive innovation in the built environment. A strategic thinker and mentor, he draws on deep technical expertise to deliver sustainable, cost-effective results, and recharges through hiking, pickleball, and family time.

  KWRE and Kier & Wright

  President

  Moderator

  Chuck McCallum

  President

  KWRE and Kier & Wright