Keynote Address & Opening Remarks

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  Van Johnson

  Mayor Van R. Johnson II serves as the official head of the City of Savannah. He presides at all meetings of the Mayor and Aldermen and performs all other duties of the office of the Mayor. As Executive Officer, the Mayor signs all motions, resolutions, and ordinances passed by the Savannah City Council and votes in all meetings of the Mayor and Aldermen. In times of danger or emergency, the Mayor may, with the consent of the Mayor and Aldermen, take command of the police and govern the city by proclamation, maintaining order and enforcing laws. Purpose, Passion, and People are the core principles that guide and drive the life of the Honorable Van R. Johnson, II, the 67th Mayor of the City of Savannah, GA. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, but with strong Savannah roots, Mayor Johnson is a New York City Public School System graduate who has earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Savannah State University and Georgia Southern University. As a former radio talk show host, political commentator, and former author of local weekly columns, Mayor Johnson has distinguished himself as an independent, thoughtful, and passionate voice on current events. As a nationally certified professional in Human Resources and a Georgia-certified Law Enforcement professional, Mayor Johnson has utilized his unique skill set as a sought-after trainer, speaker, and consultant in these areas. He is a graduate of Leadership Savannah and Leadership Georgia. In 2004, Mayor Johnson was elected First District Alderman for the City of Savannah. He was re-elected to 3 subsequent terms by the citizens of the District, averaging more than 75 percent of the total vote. During his tenure as an Alderman, Mayor Johnson served as Mayor Pro Tem and Vice Chairman of the Council. He consistently used this sacred platform to advocate for the least, the last, and the lost; and promote inclusion and equity for all of Savannah's citizens. Mayor Johnson also demonstrated leadership nationally as a Board member of the National League of Cities, the United States Conference of Mayors, and the African American Mayors Association. Mayor Johnson is nationally recognized as an innovator and thought leader in youth development and engagement through his service of over 27 years as the Director of the Chatham County Youth Commission. Since then, he has assisted cities and counties nationwide in developing governmental youth leadership programs, including co-founding the Savannah Youth Council in 2004. Mayor Johnson's dedication to children, youth, and families is evident in our local community. He has served as the President of the Board of Directors of the Wesley Community Centers of Savannah, past Board Chair of the Chatham County Department of Family and Children Services, and numerous local non-profit organizations. He is a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the International Fraternity of Delta Sigma Pi, along with countless other social and civic organizations. Mayor Johnson's leadership and humanitarian efforts have been recognized with numerous awards, honors, and distinctions, including a Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from Savannah State University and recognition as one of Georgia Trend Magazine's 100 Most Influential Georgians for the past three consecutive years.

  City of Savannah

  Mayor

  Keynote

  Van Johnson

  Mayor

  City of Savannah

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  Bert Brantley

  Bert Brantley began his tenure as President & CEO of the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 1, 2023, after more than two decades of service in various state government leadership positions. Bert and the world-class team at the Chamber and Visit Savannah are dedicated to ensuring economic opportunity spreads through the business community as the Savannah region enters a new era of growth and prosperity. He most recently served as Deputy Chief of Staff for the Office of Governor Brian P. Kemp. As a Senior Advisor, he managed the Communications, External Affairs, Legislative, Policy, and Constituent Services teams. Brantley also held the position of Chief Operating Officer of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, appointed to that role by Governor Nathan Deal in 2017. With more than 20 years of experience in state government, Brantley has held other roles in the Office of Governor Sonny Perdue, the Department of Driver Services, the State Road & Tollway Authority, and the Department of Transportation. He currently serves on the Savannah-Georgia Convention Center Authority, the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs Alumni Board, the Executive Oversight Committee of the Georgia High School Association, and the boards of Union Mission and SaMMI. Bert is married to Tonya Brantley, a recently retired elementary physical education teacher. They have two daughters, Kendall and Carson, who are both students at the University of Georgia.

  Savannah Chamber of Commerce

  President & CEO

  Bert Brantley

  President & CEO

  Savannah Chamber of Commerce

Savannah's Real Estate, Economic & Population Development

Corporate Trends, Migration Patterns And Economic Viability To Support Further Growth

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  Ben Brunt

  Mr. Brunt is a principal and chief investment officer responsible for leading a team of investment professionals to accomplish Noble’s strategic acquisition and development goals. This involves the sourcing and underwriting of all new investments encompassing individual asset and portfolio acquisitions, land and new development opportunities, market and investment analysis, and brand positioning. Prior to joining Noble in 2005, Mr. Brunt held senior investment roles at Songy Partners and Hardin Capital. He began his career in hotels with Homestead Village, a mid-scale extended stay lodging brand founded by Security Capital Group, and has nearly 25 years of hospitality industry experience. Mr. Brunt earned an MBA from Southern Methodist University and a BA from Trinity College. He is a former professional violinist and spent two years as a member of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Brunt currently serves as a board member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Midtown Alliance, and the Buckhead Coalition. He is also a member of the AHLA Lodging Investment Council and a member of the Urban Land Institute.

  Noble Investment Group

  CIO & Managing Principal

  Ben Brunt

  CIO & Managing Principal

  Noble Investment Group

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  Patrick Kassin

  Patrick is primarily focused on sourcing new development opportunities in the Georgia market. His responsibilities include: site selection, due diligence, pre-development planning, and oversight of consultants. Prior to joining Woodfield, Patrick worked in development with Gables Residential. He earned a BBA in Marketing from Valdosta State University and a Masters of Science in Real Estate from the University of Washington. Patrick is an active member of the Urban Land Institute Atlanta District Council and currently serves as Co-Chair for the Programs Committee.

  Woodfield Development

  Development Partner

  Patrick Kassin

  Development Partner

  Woodfield Development

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  Ryan Doyle

  Senior Director, Originations

  Nuveen Green Capital

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  Malaika Rivers

  Malaika Rivers is the Founder & President of Pontem Resources. She helps businesses and governments work together to imagine and build great places. She works with a wide variety of changemakers — from CEOs to city mayors — to find cost-sharing strategies for pressing development needs. With a focus on transportation, mobility, connectivity, and placemaking, Malaika’s work builds physical infrastructure as well as sustainable organizations to support it. Having worked for and with real estate developers, consulting firms, governments, and planning organizations, she crafts strategies that bring vision, process, funding, and politics together to achieve healthy ROIs. Malaika’s work includes the billion-dollar, sports-anchored, mixed-use development models of Centennial Yards (Atlanta Hawks) and The Battery Atlanta (Atlanta Braves). She is the foremost expert on Community Improvement Districts (CIDs). Having formed and led CIDs over decades, Malaika advises on how these development tools effectively channel infrastructure funding into commercial centers. Malaika is a 100 Influential Women to Know, a Georgia 500, and a 25 Power Women to Watch. She received her B.S. from Virginia Tech and her C.M.E. from Harvard Business School. She frequently contributes to various media outlets and publishes forward-thinking reports, including how CIDs may be positioned at the forefront of smart cities and digital transformation. Malaika’s drive to conquer challenging terrain for her clients extends to her personal life. Whether hiking mountains or exploring deserts, Malaika is in constant pursuit of the way forward.

  Pontem Resources

  President & Founder

  Moderator

  Malaika Rivers

  President & Founder

  Pontem Resources

Future Capacity in a Booming Industrial Market

Port Of Savannah's Impact On Land Sites, Availability And Leasing Performance

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  Stacy Watson

  Director, Economic & Industrial Development

  Georgia Ports Authority

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  Hilary Shipley

  Hilary Shipley has 15 years’ experience in industrial real estate. She joined Colliers in 2009 and has been involved in the sale of hundreds of acres of industrial land, and millions of square feet of industrial leasing and investment sales. She currently represents over 2 million square feet of warehouse space available for lease. Hilary is a graduate of the University of Georgia. She began her career at Legg Mason in Atlanta in its Institutional Equity SalesGroup. She then worked at CBRE in Atlanta before moving back to her native Savannah to join Colliers. Hilary is a licensed real estate salesperson in the state of Georgia and South Carolina.

  Colliers - Savannah

  Principal

  Hilary Shipley

  Principal

  Colliers - Savannah

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  Cassie Hanavich

  VP, Leasing

  Prologis

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  Scott Rogers

  Mr. Rogers is responsible for implementing all elements of development for the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub. Included in those responsibilities is land use planning, due diligence, marketing, leasing, asset management and dispositions. Mr. Rogers joined the company as an Analyst and has assumed roles with increased responsibility with Broe Real Estate Group. Prior to joining Broe, Mr. Rogers worked in brokerage, development, and asset management for Southern Visions Realty. Mr. Rogers holds a B.S. in Finance and Real Estate from the University of South Carolina and a Masters of Real Estate Development from Clemson University.

  Broe Real Estate Group

  VP, Development

  Scott Rogers

  VP, Development

  Broe Real Estate Group

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  Troy Adams

  Troy Adams is the Vice President of Real Estate at NFI and leads the site selection, leasing, development, and portfolio management of more than 70 million square feet. Troy joined the NFI team in 2013 and works closely with the NFI operating companies, our customers, and third-party brokers to structure creative real estate solutions and customized build-to-suits. Before joining NFI, Troy spent ten years in economic development roles with the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and Select Greater Philadelphia. Troy serves on the Board of Directors of the St. Joseph’s Carpenter’s Society (SJCS), a community development non-profit located in Camden, NJ. Since its founding over 30 years ago, SJCS has rehabilitated or developed more than 1,027 homes for sale or rent to qualifying families throughout East Camden and the surrounding community. Troy has an MBA with a finance concentration from Drexel University and a BA in Political Science from James Madison University. He resides with his family in Haddonfield, NJ.

  NFI

  Vice President of Real Estate

  Troy Adams

  Vice President of Real Estate

  NFI

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  Britton Burdette

  Britton is a Senior Managing Director in the Atlanta office of JLL Capital Markets, Americas. He joined JLL in 2017 to lead with his partners, the Southeast Industrial Capital Markets practice within the Capital Markets Group. Britton and his team focus on the disposition and capitalization of industrial assets and portfolios across the Southeast. They are part of JLL’s National Industrial Capital Market Team – a fully integrated national practice which executed over $23.4 billion of industrial disposition,equity placement and loan sales transactions in 2023. In the Southeast, Britton and his regional team have completed an aggregate transactional value of $12.25 billion, totaling over 117.2 million square feet since 2021. Over the same period in the Savannah GA market Britton and team have complete a market leading $1.76 billion of dispositions making up 19.6 million square feet.

  JLL

  Senior Managing Director

  Moderator

  Britton Burdette

  Senior Managing Director

  JLL