Next-Gen Construction

Tech, Tools & Tactics Redefining the Built Environment

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  Aman Patel

  Aman Patel is a leader in manufacturing and engineering for modular construction, with a decade of experience designing products, setting up factories, and implementing systems that enable large-scale, eƯicient, and high-quality housing production. He currently serves as Vice President of Engineering at Model/Z, where he was the first employee and played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s vision and operational framework. From day one, Aman laid the foundation for success along with defining the product and manufacturing strategies. He oversaw the selection and fit-out of the company’s first factory, ensuring it met stringent manufacturing requirements for capacity, layout, equipment, and supplier proximity. At Model/Z, Aman has led the development of a highly optimized 1-bedroom modular unit through the application of Design for Manufacturing (DFM) principles, achieving significant weight reductions and eƯiciency gains. He established the company’s CAD, PDM, and PLM systems, built high-performing products and manufacturing engineering teams. His leadership extends to product validation, process optimization, and the design of assembly line to further increase throughput and reduce labor costs. Aman is also leading the creation of a first-of-its-kind software tool designed to streamline the entire cradle-to-grave process of housing development—from property identification and design to permitting, manufacturing, and installation. This platform has the potential to unlock the true scalability of modular housing by removing key bottlenecks in development, dramatically reducing costs and accelerating project timelines from years to months. Before Model/Z, Aman held senior manufacturing and engineering roles at multiple modular startups, including CRATE Modular, Impact Housing, Universal Standard Housing, and RAD Urban. In these positions, he developed end-to-end manufacturing strategies, optimized plant layouts, implemented Lean and Six Sigma practices, transitioned companies from 2D to 3D CAD workflows, and integrated digital MES/QMS solutions to replace paper-based processes. His eƯorts consistently resulted in measurable gains in productivity, quality, and cost-eƯiciency. Aman holds a Master’s in Integrated Manufacturing Systems Engineering from North Carolina State University and a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Mumbai. Passionate about transforming how housing is built, Aman’s work has directly contributed to the manufacturing of over 2,500 modular units in California. His blend of technical expertise, operational leadership, and innovative problem-solving positions him at the forefront of industrialized construction—bridging the gap between cutting-edge design, scalable manufacturing, and end-to-end development solutions.

  SoLa Impact

  VP

  Aman Patel

  VP

  SoLa Impact

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  Mike Sweeney

  Michael Sweeney is an Associate Principal at Steinberg Hart with over two decades of experience shaping transformative urban projects that span architecture, urban design, and planning. His work leverages building technologies, zoning and planning codes, and development partnerships as integral tools in a holistic design process, ensuring excellence from concept through delivery. Over the past decade, Michael has developed deep expertise in steel volumetric modular and prefabricated construction, guiding projects from conceptual design and factory fabrication to assembly on site. His portfolio includes the Treehouse Hotel, a 143-key modular project in Sunnyvale, California, several Permanent Supportive Housing developments in Los Angeles, and the multi-phase, 3,500-bed student housing project at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, currently the largest steel modular project underway in California. In addition to his professional practice, Michael served as an elected member of a Los Angeles Neighborhood Council as well as the City’s Colorado Boulevard Design Review Board.

  Steinberg Hart

  Associate Principal

  Mike Sweeney

  Associate Principal

  Steinberg Hart

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  Sophia Smith

  Leading mass timber business development for Kalesnikoff in the United States, Sophia draws on her background in both design and construction to expand opportunities for CLT, glulam, and modular solutions. Her current focus includes advancing market adoption, building partnerships, and supporting the integration of prefab and modular applications across diverse project types. In her previous role as Project Manager for Los Angeles’ first mass timber multifamily housing project at SuperLA, she helped develop the project’s on- and off-site strategy and is recognized for bridging technical execution with client and project team collaboration. She has taught and mentored at the University of San Diego and in the Architecture Department at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where she earned her Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch).

  Kalesnikoff

  Mass Timber Manager

  Sophia Smith

  Mass Timber Manager

  Kalesnikoff

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  Alex Toth

  Alex Toth is Vice President of Growth at Villa, a next-generation homebuilding platform that leverages offsite construction and technology to efficiently deliver much-needed housing. He leads revenue growth, sales, marketing, and partnerships for the company, which in 2024 became California’s largest retailer of manufactured homes on permanent foundations. Villa specializes in infill and “missing middle” housing and is a leading builder of detached ADUs. Prior to Villa, Alex spent a decade at Opendoor in leadership roles spanning business development and homebuilder partnerships, and helped grow the company from early-stage startup to a public real estate platform with over 270,000 transactions. He began his career in management roles at Anheuser-Busch InBev. Alex was named to Pro Builder’s “40 Under 40” list in 2022 and recognized by HousingWire as a 2024 Insider for his operational leadership. He holds a BSBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from Washington University in St. Louis.

  Villa Homes

  VP

  Alex Toth

  VP

  Villa Homes

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  Greg Skalaski

  As executive vice president of the West region at Shawmut Design and Construction, a leading $2 billion national construction management firm, Skalaski sets the strategy to ensure continued growth, executional excellence, and technical expertise. Under his leadership, the region—including the LA, Irvine, and Las Vegas offices—builds some of the most complex, iconic, and innovative spaces in the ground-up commercial, hospitality, education, life science, sports venues, and retail sectors. With 25 years of experience in the construction industry, Skalaski’s previous roles include vice president and director of operations, managing teams nationwide. He is a member of the Los Angeles Advisory Board for The Posse Foundation, on the ULI LA Leadership Council, and is an active member of LAEDC and LABC.

  Shawmut Design and Construction

  Executive VP

  Moderator

  Greg Skalaski

  Executive VP

  Shawmut Design and Construction

Scaling Modular for Southern California’s Housing Needs

Maximizing Speed, Time & Affordability Through Off-Site Innovation to Solve CA’s Housing Crisis

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  Jamie Hiteshew

  VP

  Harbinger Production

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  Michael Mathews

  Michael Mathews is the Founder and CEO of Assemblage Works, Inc. (AWI), a multi-disciplinary, vertically integrated architecture, construction management and development company that operates throughout the nation. We specialize in the creation, management and execution of sustainable urban infill multi-family, hospitality and commercial projects across the western United States. Mathews’ expertise as a senior development, design and construction executive spans all facets of complex and large-scale ($500MM+) real estate projects for a variety of prominent design, development and construction organizations nationwide, including executive roles with KB Urban, Forest City and Davis Reed Construction, among others. In these roles, he has delivered over 6,000 units to the markets in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Southern California, Texas, Seattle and Denver metropolitan areas. Mathews, a licensed Architect, is also an expert in off-site construction methodologies, including prefab, volumetric, panelized and mass timber construction. He has national experience in project due diligence, entitlement, design, finance, construction and construction management. Through the formation of AWI, Mathews has created a collective of experienced and dedicated design, construction and development professionals that believe in the use of modern methods of construction and progressive delivery techniques to provide clear and predictable outcomes to their clients and investors. AWI was created to understand the needs of development, investigate emerging technologies and collaborate with our construction partners, pushing the practice of architecture and development into the future. We eliminate unnecessary time designing systems that can be repeated, leaving more time to solve the unique design challenges of our clients, the environment and the places we design for.

  Assemblage-Works

  Founder & CEO

  Michael Mathews

  Founder & CEO

  Assemblage-Works

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  Konstantin Daskalov

  Konstantin Daskalov is an accomplished Senior Executive of Development & Construction with 16 years of diverse experience in all phases of the development process, leading professional teams through entitlements, design development, GC selection, budgeting, scheduling and construction execution of large ground-up, multifamily, affordable, mixed-use, hospitality and healthcare projects with full P&L responsibility. As the Vice President, US Operations, Konstantin is spearheading all the firm's Operations in the US, and Directing: Marketing; Sales; Business Development; Architecture / Developer / Construction Partners & Lenders; Project Entitlements & Approvals; Project Delivery; Product Erection & Assembly and Business Plan Execution. Previously, as Founder & President of Daskoney Properties, Konstantin led all operations for the firm, overseeing acquisitions, development and construction management staff with full P&L responsibility for multi-family projects, while he was also an Executive Consultant for SOLA Impact on their large multifamily and affordable housing efforts. Prior to that, as VP of Development & Construction with a major real estate investment & development company, Konstantin has directed all development and construction operations for a large portfolio of hotels and office assets across the US with annual development budget of over $75M. Previously, as VP of Development for a national condominium developer, Konstantin has directed and successfully completed several ground-up multifamily, high-rise projects in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Chicago with average construction cost of $200M each and delivered great investment returns expediting construction and unit sales. Konstantin started his career as a Project Manager for a General Contractor and later as Director of Construction successfully completed the construction of large multifamily projects in Chicago directing PMs, and Contractors. Konstantin Daskalov holds a M.S./MBA degree from Northwestern University, as well as, a BS in Civil Engineering and a BA in Business Management degrees from Calvin University. He is a proud member of Urban Land Institute (ULI), Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) and variety of other professional organizations in Real Estate and Construction Management, and is a speaker and participant for numerous professional panels.

  STACK Modular

  VP, US Operations

  Konstantin Daskalov

  VP, US Operations

  STACK Modular

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  Randall Thompson

  Randall Thompson is the Senior Preconstruction Manager at Nibbi Brothers General Contractors and NibbiPrefab. From preconstruction through project delivery, NibbiPrefab works directly with clients, design teams, modular manufacturers, and Nibbi operations staff to ensure the successful design, procurement, and construction of its modular projects. With over 20 years of construction industry experience, Randall excels at merging modern methods of construction with tried-and-true practices. His leadership at NibbiPrefab further demonstrates his dedication to advancing the construction sector through innovations in industrialized construction. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

  Nibbi Prefab

  Preconstruction Executive

  Randall Thompson

  Preconstruction Executive

  Nibbi Prefab

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  Matthew Haas

  Matthew Haas is SVP for Key Bank’s CDLI team covering CA, NM, AZ and NV. In this role, as a senior banker, Matthew works to advance community lending and investment opportunities with for profit and nonprofit developers of affordable housing for both LIHTC properties and workforce / missing middle housing. While at KeyBank over the past two years, he has financed over 2,000 units totaling almost $400mm in debt. In addition, he has advanced the growth of KeyBank’s equity syndications platform by identifying new partner investors for both debt and equity participations. Prior to Key Bank, Matthew Haas was the Director of Investor Relations for the Western US at Berkadia Affordable Housing Tax Credit Solutions, a national syndicator of affordable housing credits for 2 1⁄2 years and Director of Investor Relations and Fund Management for 8 years at Merritt Community Capital, a nonprofit CA-only syndicator. In these two positions, Matthew was able to raise over $600 million in equity for 63 properties financing over 5,000 units of affordable housing. Matthew has over 25 years of affordable housing and community development experience in three major markets of NY, Illinois and California having been employed by key organizations and companies involved in the planning, development and financing of affordable housing. He has held positions as Deputy Director of California Lending at the Low Income Investment Fund, a national CDFI; Multifamily Manager of LIHTC funds for Community Investments at Fannie Mae, a GSE; a VP and Client Manager for Community Development lending at Bank of America; a Senior Acquisitions Officer at National Equity Fund; and Senior Program Manager for Illinois Housing Development Authority. Matthew’s other professional positions have included Assistant Director of Senior Housing and Healthcare Development at St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation Corporation in Brooklyn, NY and Assistant Architect and Project Development Manager for the New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Matthew has an M.S. in Urban Planning from Columbia University and a B.A. in Architecture / Environmental Design from UC Berkeley. Currently, Matthew serves on the Board of Holos Communities and is a Project Review Committee Member for Innovative Housing Opportunities.

  KeyBank

  Senior Relationship Manager & Senior Banker

  Moderator

  Matthew Haas

  Senior Relationship Manager & Senior Banker

  KeyBank

Deciding if Prefabrication is Right For Your Next Project

Weighing Benefits, Limitations & Real-World Variables of Modular in Today’s Market

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  Brad Wagstaff

  Brad Wagstaff, with 20 years’ experience in real estate development, finance, investment, and acquisition, is the managing partner and owner of the hospitality-focused real estate development company, Mogul Capital. Prior to forming Mogul Capital, Mr. Wagstaff worked for seven years as Investment Analyst and Manager for Intel Capital, Intel Corporation’s venture capital investment fund. Mr. Wagstaff holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Brigham Young University and a Master’s of Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2005, Mr. Wagstaff formed Mogul Capital, a specialty real estate development company focused on opportunistic development and investment transactions. Since 2005, Mogul Capital has acquired, developed, and invested in over $325 million of real estate projects, including a $200M hotel development portfolio across five Marriott and Hilton brands, $60M of single tenant retail developments, $40M of multi-family apartment complexes, and a $20M car wash portfolio. In 2018, Mogul Capital opened a 354-key dual-branded Courtyard and TownePlace Suites in Hawthorne, CA. This project was Marriott’s first dual-branded modular project and Marriott’s largest modular project to date. Mogul Capital has over $350 million in assets under management and has over $300 million in modular hospitality and condo projects at various stages of development and construction in the Western US.

  Mogul Capital

  CEO

  Brad Wagstaff

  CEO

  Mogul Capital

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  Mark Janda

  As Senior Vice President of Development, Mark Janda is responsible for new development activity in the Southern California region. He joined the company in July of 2012. Mr. Janda has more than two decades of experience in the multifamily and mixed-use development business. Prior to joining AvalonBay, he spent 12 years at The Irvine Company, where he managed the development of over 13,000 multifamily units, including some of the largest and most capital-intensive projects ever undertaken by the company. Prior to The Irvine Company, Mr. Janda spent three years with The Macklowe Organization in New York, where his responsibilities included acquisition, finance, and development of the company’s multifamily, office and retail investments in Manhattan. He held an earlier position with Landauer Associates in New York, where his assignments included economic modeling, portfolio valuation projects and the underwriting of several REIT IPO’s. Mr. Janda started his career as a structural engineer, designing structural systems for large-scale projects, including Denver International Airport. Mr. Janda holds a Master of Science degree in Real Estate from New York University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering from Kansas State University. His professional affiliations include the Urban Land Institute and the California Building Industry Association.

  AvalonBay

  SVP Development

  Mark Janda

  SVP Development

  AvalonBay

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  Benjamin Levy

  Benjamin Levy is the Design and Brand Manager at Consolidated Investment Group (CIG), where he leads design strategy and brand integration across the firm’s real estate development portfolio. With over 15 years of experience spanning Private Equity, Venture Vapital, and Real Estate, Benjamin brings a multidimensional perspective to development, bridging financial insight and human-focused design. At CIG, he helps deliver high-quality, attainable housing across multiple markets, leveraging modular innovation and design efficiency to achieve meaningful affordability without compromising livability or aesthetics. His work champions a development philosophy rooted in thoughtful design, construction innovation, and the belief that well-crafted environments should be accessible to more people.

  Consolidated Investment Group (CIG)

  Design and Brand Manager

  Benjamin Levy

  Design and Brand Manager

  Consolidated Investment Group (CIG)

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  Ellen Morris

  Ellen Morris is the Director of Real Estate Development at Eden Housing, a non-profit affordable housing developer based in Hayward, CA. Since joining Eden in 2016, Ellen has managed a range of affordable housing projects, including new construction, resyndication/rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse projects. As a Director, Ellen supervises a team of project managers working on the acquisition, financing, design, and construction of projects in Eden’s growing portfolio. Prior to joining Eden, Ellen attained her master’s degree in city planning with a focus on affordable housing and economic development at MIT’s Department of Urban Studies & Planning.

  Eden Housing

  Director of Real Estate Development

  Ellen Morris

  Director of Real Estate Development

  Eden Housing

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  Ryan Lehman

  Senior Director, Development

  Logos Development

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  Mark Donahue

  As Design Director, Mark brings over 35 years of experience in architecture, leading the charge on a broad spectrum of project typologies ranging from small multi-family residential projects to large-scale, mixed-use developments. Among his notable projects, Mark was Design Director for The Jasper – a 39-story high rise; Truckee Artist Lofts – a 77-unit modular, affordable housing project; and Electric Lofts – a micro-unit, co-living, urban-infill apartment building.

  Lowney Architecture

  Principal

  Mark Donahue

  Principal

  Lowney Architecture

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  Vincent Polhemus

  Vincent Polhemus is Senior Business Development Manager at Clark Pacific, a leading design- manufacturer-builder of prefabricated building systems. Vincent’s experience in prefabricated building systems spans 20 years in Southern California and includes unitized curtainwalls, window walls, aluminum panels systems, architectural precast concrete, thin-shell concrete and GFRC. Starting as a project manager for a glazing contractor, Vincent moved to Preconstruction in 2016, and has worked on award winning projects throughout California, including the California New Natural Resources Building in Sacramento, 510 S Vermont in Los Angeles and One Westside in Los Angeles.

  Clark Pacific

  Associate Director of Preconstruction, Facades

  Vincent Polhemus

  Associate Director of Preconstruction, Facades

  Clark Pacific

• Moderator

  Demien Farrell

  CEO

  West Modular Manufacturing

Remarks from the Podium

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  Ravi Bhagavatula

  Mr. Ravi Bhagavatula serves as a Partner and Head of the Lower Middle Market at Innovatus Capital Partners, where he leverages his extensive manufacturing leadership experience as both a board member and strategic investor for Guerdon. His comprehensive financial governance and strategic oversight approach has established a robust foundation for the organization's continued growth and operational excellence. As an accomplished Industrial Engineer, Mr. Bhagavatula has a sophisticated understanding of advanced manufacturing methodologies and deep knowledge of the construction industry. This distinctive combination of expertise enables him to address the specialized challenges inherent in factory-built structures with remarkable effectiveness and precision. His analytical capabilities are further enhanced by his dual professional credentials—the Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Management Accountant designations

  Guerdon

  Principal

  Ravi Bhagavatula

  Principal

  Guerdon