Hollywood Boom

Leron Gubler has been serving as the President and CEO of Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for the past 23 years. His tenure since 1992 continues to oversee the great comeback story of Hollywood. As President, Gubler assisted in the development of four successful business improvement districts and has successfully testified on behalf of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to bring new projects and revitalize Economic Development and Entertainment Industry in the Hollywood community. Gubler also stepped up to become the face of the Chamber at the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremonies promoting both the Chamber and Hollywood to the world. Gubler directed the advocacy organization through the process of successfully creating the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee in 2010 and the unique Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Community Foundation in 1993. Gubler has been recognized among his peers at Western Association of Chamber Executives as a great communicator and a mentor. Before coming to Hollywood, Gubler served as President of San Pedro Chamber of Commerce. Gubler graduated from Brigham Young University in Communications in 1975, took a year off and then went back to BYU to obtain Masters in Public Administration. A California native, Gubler was born in a small town called Woodlake and grew up in Porterville. He currently resides in La Crescenta with wife Audrey and has two young children Lauren and Seth.

Jan Karl spearheads Morley’s project development initiatives and marketing team bringing over 20 years of experience in real estate, development, and construction. Her focus is on guiding the company to its next era of successful high performance building through smart, strategic growth. She serves as Immediate Past President of the Los Angeles Headquarters Association, is a board member of the Los Angeles Business Council and Co-Host of the LABC Architectural Awards. She is a board member of Habitat for Humanity as well as the City of Hope LARE Council and actively participates as a past board member of the Urban Land Institute and CoreNet. She is also an active Host with Women on Boards 2020. Jan holds a Bachelor of Science from Iowa State University and an MBA from Villanova University. She also holds a Masters of Corporate Real Estate designation, is a California Real Estate Licensed Professional and is a LEED AP.

David Simon was appointed Executive Vice President, Southern California, in September 2014 after serving as Executive Vice President since March 2012 and is responsible for executing the development and repositioning of office and mixed-use projects, as well as identifying and acquiring value-add opportunities throughout Southern California. Mr. Simon was formerly a Managing Director at BRCP. Prior to joining BRCP in 2004, Mr. Simon was a Partner with Kearny Real Estate Company, a partnership originally established as a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds. Previously, Mr. Simon was with the Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds in Southern California, where he focused on acquisitions, asset management and dispositions of real estate across all asset types. Mr. Simon received a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Development from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Florida. He is a licensed California Real Estate Broker and a full member of the Urban Land Institute. He is a board member of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and a board member and trustee of the Oakwood School in North Hollywood. He previously served as a member of the board of directors and a trustee for the nonprofit Affordable Living for the Aging based in Southern California. In 2011, he established the Simon Family Drug Research Fund at the University of Alabama to promote drug research for neurofibromatosis.

Christopher Barton serves as Executive Vice President, Development and Capital Investments, where he oversees all of HPP’s redevelopment, development and capital improvement projects. Prior to taking on his current role and since HPP’s initial publicoffering, Mr. Barton served as Executive Vice President, Operations and Development. Prior to the formation of HPP, Mr. Barton served as Vice President of Construction and Development of HPP’s predecessor, Hudson Capital, LLC, where he was responsible for operations and development. Beginning in 1997 until joining Hudson Capital, LLC in November 2006, Mr. Barton served as First Vice President for Arden Realty, where he was responsible for conceptual development, land entitlements, financial analysis and construction management for all real estate developments. Before his tenure at Arden Realty, Mr. Barton was Project Manager at Beers-Skanska Construction Company where he managed large-scale construction projects in the southeast US. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and on the Board of Directors of Hollywood Freeway Central Park. Mr. Barton holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University and Master of Business Administration degree in both Real Estate and Finance from the University of Georgia.

Timan serves as Managing Director of DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners. Based in Los Angeles, Timan leads the firm’s investment efforts in Southern California, where he focuses on commercial and residential development and value-add opportunities. In addition to managing acquisitions, Timan is actively involved with design and entitlement efforts, sourcing and closing debt and equity financings, and asset management of DLJ’s portfolio. Prior to joining DLJ, Timan worked in the Real Estate Investment Banking group at Barclays, where he advised on nearly $2 billion of real estate acquisition, joint venture and financing transactions. Timan earned a B.A. in Business-Economics and a minor in Accounting from UCLA, where he later obtained his J.D. and M.B.A. degrees.

Founded by Behzad Souferian, The Souferian Group is a best in class, fully-integrated real estate investment, development and advisory company. The company is committed to creating value through a strategic plan dedicated to developing distinctive branded and designed lifestyle properties. The Souferian Group's successful track record spans acquisitions and developments in residential, retail, office and mixed-use properties. The privately held company acquires and develops projects through its own direct investments or joint venture partnerships. The company also works with third-party clients to deliver a comprehensive package of advisory services including project management, design oversight, marketing and branding strategy, master planning, construction management, and asset management. The primary focus of The Souferian Group's business strategy is value creation through branding, innovative design and the integration of services to enhance lifestyles. The success of this strategy is attributed to the company's disciplined, focused and fundamental approach toward identifying and capitalizing investment opportunities that others have undervalued or overlooked. The Souferian Group utilizes deep knowledge of urban cities on the West Coast to substantially mitigate financial risk while providing superior rates of return for its invested capital and those of its investors and partners. Its proven acquisition and development track record demonstrates the company's capabilities to value-add by extensive rehabilitation and repositioning. The Souferian Group cultivates an entrepreneurial environment with a passionate and dedicated team of professionals who value relationships. This culture is built on a reputation of transparency, accountability, quality and integrity in all business aspects. These qualities have made the company a trusted partner with its investor, lender, third-party client and community member relations. BEHZAD SOUFERIAN - FOUNDER & CEO Behzad Souferian is the founder, leader and visionary behind The Souferian Group brands, properties and company ventures. Behzad spearheads The Souferian Group’s concept innovation, design direction, acquisition, development execution and operational strategies. Actively involved in real estate development and investments for over 15 years, Behzad has a proven track record of success in the development of numerous residential, multi-family, mixed-use, nightlife, restaurant and office properties. Behzad’s unique ability to identify opportunities adds substantial value to each of his ventures. Behzad’s passion for real estate and entrepreneurship continuously propels him to deliver innovative and forward thinking projects. Prior to founding The Souferian Group, Behzad was the Vice President of Real Estate at Sbe (www.sbe.com), a prominent Southern California based hospitality company. Sbe has an established collection of award-winning hospitality and lifestyle destinations that are developed and managed through its Hotels, Restaurants, Nightlife and Real Estate groups. Behzad received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and graduated from their Entrepreneurial Program. He was also a member of the USC Men's Basketball team and spent numerous years playing professional basketball overseas in Israel and Germany. Behzad currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Alain M. R'bibo is a partner in our Century City office where his practice focuses on commercial real estate transactions. Alain’s practice covers a wide variety of real estate matters, with an emphasis on advising clients in the acquisition, disposition, leasing and day-to-day management and operation of commercial real estate across the country, including office, retail, industrial and multifamily properties. Alain has represented a diverse group of clients, ranging from private individuals and closely-held entities, to REITs, pension funds and institutional owners and investors.

Leo began his career in the tech space, but shortly thereafter was hired by GK Development to oversee the development of two medical office buildings in Beverly Hills. After several fruitful years with GK Development, Leo founded Grifka Realty in 2011, an independent real estate brokerage firm specializing in single family residential properties. Leo currently owns and operates Grifka Realty and has several agents working for the brokerage. In 2012, Leo was hired by HQ Development to facilitate their planned expansion of high end creative office developments throughout Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Hollywood, and Culver City. Leo wears many hats for HQ, but some of his main concentrations for the company are sourcing deals, acquisitions, underwriting and overseeing design, construction, and leasing of the current developments. Since Leo’s hiring, HQ has drastically expanded the portfolio from only three buildings, to the multiple buildings under management today.

Frank Stephan is a partner with New York-based DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners and its Los Angeles subsidiary Clarett West Development. He was formerly head of The Clarett Group’s West Coast Operations. Mr. Stephan is credited with leading the community focused entitlement, planning and development of Eastown, formerly known as Blvd6200, covering two city blocks on Hollywood Blvd adjacent to the famed Pantages Theatre. Mr. Stephan has worked in the real estate development and construction industry for 20 years. He has had senior-level project experience in over 1 million square feet of residential development, nearly 600,000 square feet of large-scale retail development, and has entitled and designed an additional 1.2 million square feet of mixed-use. All of this work has been done in the high-barrier-to-entry markets of New York and Southern California. Mr. Stephan is active in the community and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and the Hollywood Entertainment District Business Improvement District. He is also a member of the Urban Land Institute.

Jay Luchs joined Newmark Grubb Knight Frank in the West Los Angeles office in 2013 as an Executive Vice President. A leading national retail expert with a predominant focus on serving high-end fashion and luxury brands as well as the entertainment industry, Jay joined NGKF’s National Retail Advisory Services division to cater to the firm’s burgeoning roster of national and international retail clients. An advisor with a vast bicoastal reach, Jay brings among the most robust, expansive retail client lists in the industry, including fashion as well as non-fashion retail brands, restaurants, and office tenants. He also represents various landlords across Los Angeles, New York, and other major retail markets.

Joseph Mariani serves as both the Executive Director of the Sunset and Vine BID and the Associate Executive Director of the Hollywood Property Owners Alliance. As a native “Angeleno,” he has seen Hollywood change for the better, and considers himself privileged to work for one of the leading organizations behind Hollywood’s recent renaissance. Since joining the Business Improvement District’s (BID) staff in 2007 he has worked closely with property owners, investment trusts, commercial real estate brokers, and the city’s economic development team on strategic initiatives to further advance the revitalization of Hollywood. He is a proud University of California alumni with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and an MBA. In his free time he loves spending time with his family, going to local sporting events, and searching for Los Angeles’ best karaoke spot.

Sean Moghavem is the President of Archway Corp. (“Archway”), a privately held real estate investment group based in Beverly Hills, California. Archway through its affiliated and predecessor entities has been acquiring commercial real estate mainly in California, Arizona, and Texas since 1974. Archway has earned a reputation for repositioning well located assets into iconic architectural statements and providing refined amenities which in turn enable workspace productivity. This has resulted in multiple award winning projects and relationships with some of the most well regarded institutional tenants in the market.