Boston Office of the Future

Mike joined LaSalle Investment Management in January 2018 as a Senior Asset Manager, responsible for managing the investment performance of pension client’s office assets in the Northeast U.S. Prior to joining LaSalle, Mike worked for two German global real estate fund managers, Deka Immobilien (Frankfurt) and GLL Real Estate Partners (Munich), overseeing their U.S. portfolios of office, high street retail and hotel assets on behalf of European institutional clients. Previously, Mike worked most of his career at JP Morgan, where he was responsible for managing $6.5 billion in office, retail and industrial assets and closing over $3.0 billion of sales transactions on behalf of U.S. commingled and custom account pension fund clients. Mike holds a M.S. in Real Estate Investment & Development from New York University and a B.A. in Economics from Princeton University.

As Senior Vice President of Trammell Crow Company, Mr. Leatherbee oversees mixed-use, multi-family and condominium projects in the Boston market. Mr. Leatherbee has over twelve years of experience working on large scale development, construction, and finance projects in the Boston area.

John Sullivan, AIA joined SGA in 2005, and leads the architecture studio managing the firm’s major commissions in the mixed-use, office, life science, and higher education sectors. Recent architecture commissions include Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ 50+60 Binney Street, Skanska’s Two Drydock, Boylston Properties’ LINX and Arsenal Yards, Cresset Development’s XMBLY at 5 Middlesex Avenue, and various ongoing commissions at higher education institutions, such as Vanderbilt University and Wheaton College. John currently resides in Norwell, MA, and received his Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degrees from Virginia Tech.

Ron Perry joined Avison Young as a Principal in 2016, bringing over 33 years of commercial real estate experience. Ron’s extensive career has been focused on advising quality tenants and landlords in the downtown and Greater Boston market as well as assisting companies across the U.S. and globally. Ron has advised many professional service and technology companies with their lease and space needs. Signature transactions include: State Street Bank’s 500,000 SF build-to-suit new development in the Seaport, Loomis Sayles 350,000 SF lease restructuring at One Financial Center, and Unum’s 200,000 SF build-to-suit in Worcester,MA. Prior to joining Avison Young, Ron spent more than 25 years at Colliers International, where he most recently served as President of the firm and head of its Boston brokerage operations. Ron was recognized as the Top Producer by Colliers in 2012. Additionally, he was awarded the Commercial Brokers Association’s Boston Downtown Office Deal of the Year Award in 2003 and 2007, and was also awarded the association’s Broker of the Year Award in 2004.

Reed Gilbert heads up the real estate team for Wayfair, one of the world’s largest online destinations for the home. Joining in 2015, Reed has spent the last three years leading the expansion of Wayfair’s physical footprint in North America and Europe. After starting his career as an investment banker, Reed joined Wayfair as the first member of the real estate team. With Wayfair’s emphasis on versatility, Reed is primarily focused on the expansion of Wayfair’s logistics network and corporate office space. He manages a portfolio of over 12 million square feet and has overseen the build out of 300,000 square feet of office space in the Back Bay. Reed holds an MBA from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and a B.A. in Public Policy from Duke University.

As an interior designer, Liz combines a data-informed approach to space planning with a strong aesthetic sensibility to design meaningful spaces. She brings a unique approach to each of her projects, seeking inspiration from multiple project typologies to envision solutions. Liz enjoys leading an iterative and collaborative design process with contractors, manufacturers, and craftspeople to create innovative features for client and project needs. She is particularly interested in understanding how people work together and how to design for interaction. Using a data-driven approach to space planning, Liz designs functional, flexible, and time-tested spaces for a variety of clients, while creating beautiful and memorable places. Liz has over 25 years of experience designing retail, restaurants, multi-family housing, and workplaces. Most notably, she led the building repositioning project at 125 Summer Street, and an office relocation and workplace strategy for Fish & Richardson while a Senior Associate at ADD Inc./Stantec.

As a social impact entrepreneur, Sal’s personal commitment to community engagement and corporate social responsibility is unparalleled. Sal’s approach to activism and involvement is defined by an optimistic determination to cause change that positively impacts the economic and social landscape in the community at large. His desire to contribute to the economic progress in the region is emphasized by the success Sal has shared with a number of local organizations and programs.

Lisa Nickerson, winner of the 2016 PRISM Award for Marketing Professional of the Year, is the true definition of an entrepreneurial businesswoman. Having earned The Nashua Telegraph’s 91 Progress’ Entrepreneur of the Year at 17 years old, Lisa is now the CEO and founder of Nickerson PR, an award-winning full-service communications agency that offers an integrated blend of public relations, social media, digital content, creative services, and events expertise. In June of 2018, Lisa was featured on Chronicle as Greater Boston’s Real Estate Expert. A multiple-industry award winner, Lisa is a well-respected, sought-after speaker and moderator, and a devotee of professional and community service. She is an active member of ULI | New England’s Advisory Board, ULI Women Leadership Institute Co-Chair and Communications Chair, American Marketing Association, Board Member & VP of Sponsorship, Boston Women in Media & Entertainment Board Member, former SIOR New England Board Member & Communications Chair, and a member of NAIOP and CREW. Lisa received her Bachelor of Science degree from Boston College in Marketing and Finance. She maintains her Massachusetts Real Estate License and is currently completing her Master of Business Administration at Babson College. Lisa received her Real Estate Certificate from Boston University. She resides in Wayland, MA, and is a proud mother of three outstanding teenagers – her two sons are highly decorated Eagle Scouts and her daughter is a competitive gymnast.

Michael is the Vice President of Real Estate and Development at Convene. Michael has a diverse background that includes working with landlords, private sector tenants, and state and local governments to successfully negotiate more than three million square feet of commercial office leases. He studied for his Masters in Real Estate Finance at Georgetown University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Villanova University. He spends his volunteer time working on disability issues and sits on the National Board of Trustees for United Cerebral Palsy.

Bill is the Cofounder/CEO of Workbar – a network of high-quality coworking spaces linking startups, entrepreneurs and large companies through use of Workbar’s friendly, flexible, convenient locations. Bill started Workbar in 2010 as a side project and personal want for a more collaborative and flexible approach to the office. Since then, Bill has been leading the effort to help people be productive, mobile and connected all across a metro region. His concepts are transforming the way people use spaces of all types - office, retail and residential - across urban and suburban landscapes. Bill has had an entrepreneurial career. He holds an electrical engineering degree from the University of Michigan and began working as a software engineer at MIT/Lincoln Laboratories. Beginning in the mid 90’s Bill cofounded a database marketing company called Interstep, which was acquired by internet conglomerate, CMGI, in the late nineties. Bill’s latest business prior to Workbar was PickupZone, a package pickup service, which in 2012 was acquired by ShopRunner. Personally, Bill lives in Boston and is a sailor and a dad.

Robert has over 40 years of experience in the design and management of a variety of project types including mixed-use developments, major office buildings, residential, retail, hospitality, academic facilities, and corporate interior design. He is a past President of the Boston Society of Architects and has served on the Back Bay Architectural Commission. Over the past 20 years, Robert has served as an instructor, active committee member, and Trustee at the Boston Architectural College. He has also been a critic at Harvard, Northeastern, Wentworth, and MIT.