Downtown Houston

Nick plays a leading role in the strategic direction and leadership of Transwestern in the area of retail services on a regional and national basis. With his Houston team, he is responsible for overseeing and executing retail transactions in the greater Houston market place. A specialist in tenant representation, Nick’s client portfolio includes many national and local retail and restaurant tenants such as Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Eddie V’s, Yard House, Cheddars, and Bahama Breeze), Acme Oyster House, Lidia’s Italy, The Men’s Wearhouse, The Children’s Place, J. Alexander’s, Le Bilboquet, Ocean Prime, Mercantil Bank, Larry North Fitness, Star Furniture, Memorial Hermann, Voicebox Karaoke, Original Pancake House and Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar. Using his skills in the urban/lifestyle retail environment, Nick has been involved in Houston’s most high profile lifestyle/mixed use developments, including Market Street at The Woodlands, LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch, Sugar Land Town Square, CityCentre at Town & Country, West Ave at River Oaks and High Street. Nick currently leads a team that is working on Houston’s most dynamic mixed-use projects including River Oaks District, CityPlace at Springwoods Village, Imperial Market, Allen Center, Capitol Tower and The Shops at Houston Center.

Prolific interior design practice specializes in developing originative and fully integrated designs for F+B & hospitality concepts.

Ahrif Sarumi co-founded Aces of Taste in 2014 to elevate Houston’s blossoming food culture with interactive dining experiences. The company is known for its upscale pop-up events in unconventional spaces and has recently expanded into catering, hospitality staffing and coordinating private dining events. The Chicago-native holds a Bachelors of Journalism and Mass Communication at The University of Iowa and moved to Houston in 2010 to complete a Masters of Higher Education at University of Houston. After graduation, his passions for storytelling and community building led him down the entrepreneurial path of consulting for Texas-based small businesses. After a year of growing awareness and revenue for his clients, he focused his marketing insights on creating a modern hospitality brand of his own. Within two years, Aces of Taste had been featured in print magazines and digital media sites after working with James Beard Award winner Chef Hugo Ortega, and Food Network's Top Chef winners Shannen Tune, Justin Turner, and Evelyn Garcia. Having developed a trusted brand in the food & beverage industry, Aces of Taste has been tapped to execute multiple events for national companies/organizations including Bank of America, Mary Kay, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and several global liquor brands.

Jonathan Enav seamlessly bridges the gap between real estate investment and technology innovation. With a foundation in Engineering from Imperial College London and an MBA from Harvard Business School, he has successfully maneuvered his career across diverse landscapes. Jonathan's work involves directing strategic real estate investments across the U.S. and the Caribbean, as well as fostering the growth of regional tech startups. His balanced blend of academic grounding and practical experience fuels his ability to create value in each venture, championing a vision of sustainable growth and mutual success.

Raised in both Hawaii and San Diego, Troy Guard spent much of his youth in the ocean or the kitchen. His career started in college at the famed La Costa Resort in San Diego. At the age of 21, Guard began his tutelage under fusion legend Roy Yamaguchi in Hawaii. During their eight-year journey together, Chef Guard developed a distinct multicultural style that would lead him to executive chef positions all over the world; from acclaimed New York hotspot TAO and Doc Cheng’s in Singapore, to Richard Sandoval’s award-winning Latin-Asian fusion restaurant Zengo. Troy joined Yamaguchi for his next culinary adventure – the launch of Roy’s New China Max in Hong Kong. By age 25, he was responsible for several Roy’s outposts throughout Asia. Troy spent eight years working closely with Yamaguchi before taking the coveted post of Executive Chef at New York City hotspot, TAO. Leading a high- volume operation with a large kitchen staff prepared him for his next calling at The Raffles Hotel in Singapore—where, as Chef de Cuisine at the world-renowned Doc Cheng's restaurant, he developed his own unique Pacific Rim style. It was at Doc Cheng’s that Troy met Richard Sandoval, the visionary behind award- winning “Modern Mexican” concept restaurants across the United States. Together, Guard and Sandoval hatched the idea of creating Denver’s first Latin-Asian fusion restaurant, Zengo, in the city’s emerging Riverfront area. After life at Zengo, Troy led several other restaurants to success – including nine75 and Ocean. Still, the calling of owning his own restaurant beckoned – and 2 years later, TAG became that reality. Chef Guard opened his flagship restaurant, TAG, on Larimer Square in the bustling LoDo District of downtown Denver. A culmination of a life-long dream, TAG embodies Guard’s unique vision of Continental Social Food – a combination of his Hawaiian roots, his Pan-Asian expertise and fresh, local Colorado ingredients. Since the opening of TAG, Guard has created that of a restaurant empire across Denver with concepts including Los Chingones (“badass” Mexican), bubu (quick-casual), TAG Burger Bar (imaginative, handcrafted burgers), Guard and Grace (modern American steakhouse), Mister Tuna (American eclectic), HashTAG (breakfast/brunch) and FNG (neighborhood wood-fired eatery). In 2019, Guard will make his first move outside of Colorado with the opening of Guard and Grace in Houston, Texas.

Chris Tripoli has over 35 years of service in the hospitality industry as a designer, developer, owner and operator. He graduated from Phoenix College after completing Food Service Management and moved to Houston, Texas, where he assisted in the rapid expansion of a casual family restaurant chain. Later, Chris founded his first restaurant company and expanded it into a small chain. He has developed award winning restaurants and provided assistance on a variety of airport, convention center, parks, theaters, and retail center projects. Chris consults on concept development, operations, and growth related matters with a variety of chains (franchisors and franchisees) and independent operators. He teaches courses in “opening restaurants” and proper growth strategies at the Small Business Development Center of the University of Houston. Chris has written for “The Consultant,” “My Table” magazine, Restaurant Start-up and Growth and has been featured in various other trade publications. He is a guest speaker for a variety of hospitality meetings, seminars and a participant in industry workshops. Chris is currently providing one-day seminars on restaurant operations and growth strategies throughout the United States and Mexico. Chris remains active in the Foodservice Consultant Society International, National Restaurant Association, Texas Restaurant Association, the TRA Education Foundation, and is on the advisory board of The University of Houston Small Business Development Center.

Laurie Baker is Executive Vice President of Operations for Camden Property Trust. Baker is responsible for the oversight and strategy of Camden's portfolio operations and investment funds. During her 20 plus years with Camden, Baker has held several positions including Senior Vice President of Fund & Asset Management, where she led the creation and management of Camden’s first investment funds. Baker served as the executive sponsor for Camden's technology initiative during the 2000’s, which included $10 million in technology investments and the rollout of Camden's web-based property management software, revenue management, and several web-based solutions. Before joining Camden, Baker was Vice President at Walden Residential Properties and spent nine years at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, MD. She holds an MBA in Finance from George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Sam Houston State University. She serves on the Board of Directors Executive Committee for the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), is vice-chair of ULI's Multifamily Bronze Council, and a frequent speaker in the multifamily industry. Baker was the 2016 President of CREW Network, a Past President for CREW Houston and in 2012 was honored as one of the Top 15 Women in Commercial Real Estate in Houston. She is a licensed real estate broker in the state of Texas and was recognized by Real Estate Forum as a Women of Influence in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

For thirty-two years Robert M. Eury has served as President of Central Houston, Inc., a private, nonprofit corporation, formed to lead the planning and implementation of the redevelopment of Houston’s central city area—principally downtown. Mr. Eury is also the Executive Director of the Houston Downtown Management District, a special assessment district within downtown Houston. Mr. Eury was Vice President and Director of Research Development for Rice Center prior to starting Central Houston in 1983. During his nine years with Rice Center, his research focused on land use/transportation joint development, urban services delivery, development regulation, and environmental design. Prior to joining Rice Center in 1974, Mr. Eury served as Director of Community Planning Studies for the Urban Studies Center, University of Louisville, Kentucky.

With over fourteen years of experience in tenant representation, Jim Bell specializes in office lease acquisition, lease disposition, lease restructuring, workplace strategy and project management as a Corporate Managing Director at Savills Studley. His transaction expertise, attention to detail and commitment to excellence create bottom line savings and risk adverse real estate solutions that ultimately benefit his clients. In addition, he works closely with tenants to create a workplace that improves the quality of life for their employees and drives business performance. Activities & Achievements Jim is an active alumnus of St. John’s School and Trinity University. He is involved in the St. John’s Lacrosse program and continues to play at the club level. He is serving his second term on the St. John’s Alumni Board. He volunteers and coaches at Mission Squash, an intensive urban youth enrichment program that combines academic coaching, squash training, and community service into one all-encompassing experience for students, grades 6 to 12. Jim enjoys running, playing tennis and golf, history and live music. Education Jim earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science with minors in business and history from Trinity University.

Dan is Gilbane’s Southwestern regional office’s business unit leader responsible for overseeing sales, marketing, operations, and strategy with a focus on providing quality services and workmanship that promotes strong client relationships, customer satisfaction, repeat clients and new business growth. In 2009, Dan transferred from Gilbane Development Company to Gilbane Building Company with a dedicated focus on securing the Company’s regional presence and future growth in the corporate and commercial market. He led the marketing and sales efforts for Gilbane’s Southwest regional office where the Company has been responsible for high profile projects in downtown Houston such as the Hess Tower, Kinder Morgan Tower Renovations, Hines Block 58, Discovery Green Park, Hurricane Harvey Flood Relief, Houston First Flood Relief and the G.T. Mickey Leland Federal Building. Dan is an active member of the Houston community and is on the boards of the Houston of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, YES Prep Public Schools, the Greater Houston Partnership, and Houston Methodist’s President’s Leadership Council. He is active in the real estate community and is a member of the Urban Land Institute and the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties. Dan graduated from Brown University with a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and received his Master’s in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.

Alex is a design professional whose work and collaboration across the AEC industry span several years. Exploration, curiosity, and due diligence have been essential in his commitment to perpetually improve as a designer. Prior to his roles in construction project management, his career began in practicing traditional architecture, where he worked in industrial, commercial, mixed-use, civic, and institutional real estate projects. He believes that architecture lifts the human spirit and is a champion of goals that lead to knowledge diversification, consensus-building, and effective strategies that result in profitable, healthy projects. Bridging the worlds of architecture and construction led him to develop passion and build knowledge in steel design and construction. He is happy to share this passion to derive viable design options in steel with his community of project stakeholders to best position for the delivery of healthy projects. His accomplishments in his profession have garnered several industry awards, including recent recognition by Engineering News-Record 2022 Top 20 Under 40 Texas & Louisiana, The American Institute of Architects Houston Presidential Citation, and the Building Design & Construction 2021 40 Under 40 Award. As a firm believer of the “it takes a village” adage, Alex has championed the development of career mentorship programs in his industry, including within the teams and firms with whom he has been a part. He is an alumnus of Texas A&M's College of Architecture and currently serves as Associate Director on AIA Houston's Board of Directors as well as serving on the Board of Directors for the Building Enclosure Council Houston.