Boston State of Office

Ryan is the co-founder and CEO of Convene. Convene has set out to change the way the world works by partnering with the largest landlords in commercial real estate to design and service the next generation office building – one that feels more like a full-service, lifestyle hotel. Convene’s integrated “workplace-as-a-service” platform gives building tenants and enterprise clients access to a growing network of premium meeting and event spaces, private workspaces, hospitality services, and curated experiences, all connected by Convene’s technology platform. Convene was recently named the #11 Best Workplace in New York by Fortune Magazine, and #30 on LinkedIn's annual list of Top Startups in 2017. Ryan has been recognized for his transformative achievements on Real Estate Forum’s 50 Under 40 list, Inc. Magazine’s “30 Under 30,” a list of America’s Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs, was named “Top Entrepreneur” by Crain’s New York, and a finalist in Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year® New York Awards.

William Abramowitz is a Director of Acquisitions and Asset Management with TH Real Estate, where he focuses on U.S. real estate equity. Prior to joining TH Real Estate in 2016, he was a Vice President at Ares Management on the U.S. value add real estate equity platform. Previously, Mr. Abramowitz was a Senior Associate at Equity Office Properties. Additionally, Mr. Abramowitz was an Associate and Analyst at Bear Stearns and JP Morgan, where he focused on commercial mortgage backed securities and real estate, gaming and lodging investment banking. Mr. Abramowitz holds a B.S.M. from Tulane University, and currently resides in Massachusetts with his wife and two daughters.

Jan Mark Holzer is a member of Red Hat's CTO office As a member of the CTO office he is leading the team responsible for Emerging Technologies In his role, Jan is helping Red Hat's large and strategic customers to adopt new and emerging technologies in their IT environments. In his capacity he also is the primary interface for customers into Red Hat's R&D organization and the CTO office. He is also the leader Red Hat’s Research and Development activities with Boston based universities He has consulted many of the Fortune 500 companies in helping them to build their next generation infrastructures and application architecture. Jan has more than 20 years experience as an IT/Datacenter Technologist/Architect and Senior Consulting engineer at Digital, Compaq, Hewlett Packard and Red Hat. He is a regular speaker at industry events covering a broad range of topics. He can be reached via email at jmh@redhat.com

Over a career spanning architecture and project management, Jonathan has worked with a wide range of companies like Google, Verizon, Bank of America, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and State Street Bank to become a leader in workplace strategy, client engagement, and client experience. In his current role as Leader of the Corporate & Commercial Studio at SMMA, he focuses on growing and building long-term, client relationships. Working closely with a variety of clients provides Jonathan with unique perspectives and insights on the connection between the physical environment and workplace experiences. Outside of his professional life, Jonathan spends his time with his wife, two children, and as a baseball coach

An award-winning interior designer, Steve believes that collaboration is critical to the success of every project. This passion and commitment to client engagement has netted enduring client relationships that span nearly three decades. Steve’s hallmark is his ability to strike a balance between pure design and its application in the final project. This nuanced and pragmatic approach yields groundbreaking workplace, residential, and commercial projects that make original and genuine statements about their users while simultaneously satisfying clients’ real world requirements. Steve is passionate about developing the next generation of great designers. As a visiting professor at The New England School of Art and Design (now part of Suffolk University), and a participant on juries, critiques, portfolio reviews at other local colleges, Steve has mentored and helped launch the careers of many interior designers over the last 30 years. He is an active member of IFMA and IIDA New England, where he led the redesign of the organization’s website while serving its Vice President of Communications.

Ryan Enright is an Executive Vice President on JLL's Downtown Boston leasing team representing both investors and tenants. Ryan has over 20 years of commercial real estate experience working for both public and private commercial real estate firms as well as private equity firms on maximizing the value of their real estate holdings. He is currently on the leasing team for premier Boston properties including 399 Boylston Street, 60 State Street, 131 Dartmouth Street and the Innovation and Design Building. Prior to joining JLL in 2014, Ryan worked for Equity Office/Blackstone for seventeen years as a Vice President of Leasing in their downtown office portfolio. Ryan is also actively involved in the community for organizations including Thompson Island Outward Bound, Joslin Diabetes Center and Hingham Youth Lacrosse. He holds a BSBA in Marketing from Stonehill College and an MBA from Suffolk University.

Jennie Pries Friend is an Executive Director of Morgan Stanley. Ms. Friend joined Morgan Stanley in 2001, where she is an officer in the firm’s real estate investing practice in New York. Ms. Friend currently oversees 5MM sf (~$4B) of Class A office and retail assets and has primary responsibility for the ongoing oversight and redevelopment of several regional malls. Ms. Friend leads Morgan Stanley’s investment activity in the Greater Boston market, executing ~$1B of acquisitions. She manages the platform’s long term investments in One Post Office Square and Rowes Wharf and has led the core fund’s expansion into the life science market, marked by its acquisitions of 200 Cambridge Park Drive and 733 Concord Avenue in Alewife. Prior to her role in the investing business, Ms. Friend was a real estate consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers in its Financial Advisory Services group providing clients with transactional support and servicing distressed portfolios. Ms. Friend completed her Bachelor of Science at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Maura Griffith Moffatt is Managing Director of Investments at Synergy Investments, a Boston-based real estate investment firm focused on the acquisition, repositioning and operation of commercial office buildings. Its current portfolio encompasses approximately 3.8 million square feet across 25 properties primarily in downtown Boston. In this role, Maura is responsible for acquisitions, dispositions, and portfolio management, including debt and equity relations. Prior to joining Synergy, she was a Director of asset management with Long Wharf Real Estate Partners LLC, the successor to the Fidelity Real Estate Group following its spin-out from Fidelity Investments. At Fidelity, Maura was a Director involved in similar activities, overseeing the development, marketing, leasing, operations, financing and disposition of a national portfolio of diversified value-add real estate investments. Before joining Fidelity, Maura was a partner at the law firm of Goodwin Procter LLP in the firm’s Real Estate, REITs and Real Estate Capital Markets practice group, where her practice encompassed a wide variety of commercial real estate transactions, with a concentration in the areas of real estate securities and capital markets, as well as real estate investment management, including property acquisitions, development, and debt and equity restructurings. Maura is an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), currently serving as the ULI Boston/New England District Chair and is part of their Advisory Board Leadership Team. Maura also serves as a Board Member for the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), and is a member of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, including the Real Estate Finance Association (REFA), Women in Real Estate Private Equity (WIRE), and Commercial Real Estate Women Network (CREW) (formerly NEWIRE).

Andrew Maher is a Founder and Managing Partner of Anchor Line Partners, LLC. He brings over 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry to the firm. Within the first three years, Anchor Line Partners has acquired nine buildings totaling 2.6 million square feet and $600 million of assets under management. Through creative repositioning over 1 million sf has been leased to date, including the Kronos headquarters’ 505,000+ sf the largest real estate transaction in Massachusetts in the last 10 years. In addition, Anchor Line Partners has managed $100+ million in construction. Prior to founding Anchor Line Partners, Mr. Maher served as Managing Director at Equity Office Properties a whole owned subsidiary of Blackstone. Mr. Maher oversaw the 12.5 million sf greater Boston area since 2007 which during his tenure he increased the portfolio’s NOI by 30%. Previous to Equity Office, Mr. Maher was a Partner at CB Richard Ellis where he was responsible for over $3 billion in leasing and sales transactions. Some of his notable assignments include the reposition of 125/150 CambridgePark Drive, One Boston Place, 33 Arch Street, 101 Arch Street and others; for clients such as the Blackstone, TIAA-Cref, SITQ, CBRE Investors, The Congress Group, Archon Group and the Boston Red Sox. Mr. Maher serves on the board of Heading Home and the dinner committee of American Ireland Fund. Mr. Maher is an active member of Waltham youth hockey. Mr. Maher holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Boston College. Mr. Maher lives in Weston, MA with his wife, Amanda and their three children.

John Conley is Senior Vice President of Portfolio Management at Equity Office Properties, a leading real estate investment, and operating company. Mr. Conley oversees the Boston Region Asset Management and Leasing. Previously, Mr. Conley held similar positions with Archon Group and Glenborough Realty Trust. Mr. Conley holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Boston University and an MBA in Finance from Boston College.

Deke is a senior executive at Rubenstein Partners responsible for spearheading the firm’s investment activities in the New England region. Since joining in 2008, key New England investments include 1000 Washington Street, The Center at Innovation Drive, Centerpoint, 55 Walkers Brook Drive and Crossroads Center. He is also a member of Rubenstein Partner’s Investment Committee. Before joining Rubenstein Partners, Deke spent ten years in various senior management roles at Clarion Partners with responsibilities encompassing acquisitions, capital markets, asset management and property management for multiple property types and risk profiles. He also served as co-chair of ING Clarion’s Sustainability Task Force which developed and implemented the firm’s Sustainable Growth Program promoting green building and smart growth best practices across its investment portfolio and corporate operations. Over this time period, he lead the acquisition of assets totaling in excess of $750 million and directed asset management for various portfolios of assets valued in excess of $1 billion. Deke graduated from Dartmouth College and earned his MBA from Rice University.

Land use planning, commercial real estate law, and environmental law are the focus of Bob’s practice. He is recognized for his experience in developing comprehensive zoning initiatives for mixed-use development projects and his expertise in environmental issues, including wetlands and Brownfield sites. His work on several projects has been cited by Massachusetts officials as examples of creative and responsive zoning. Bob’s projects have been featured in local and national publications, including The Boston Globe, Boston Business Journal, and The Wall Street Journal. He also has written articles for several publications and has spoken at forums on land use and zoning issues associated with commercial real estate development.