Silicon Beach 2018

Jeffrey M. Sussman is Executive Vice President in charge of all leasing, building management and operations at Edward J. Minskoff Equities, Inc. Mr. Sussman is also instrumental in all new development and acquisition projects for the company. Currently, Mr. Sussman is responsible for the repositioning and leasing of 1166 Avenue of the Americas and 825 Seventh Avenue along with management and leasing of the New York office portfolio which includes 51 Astor Place, Federal Aviation Administration Regional Headquarters, 101 Avenue of the Americas, 270 Greenwich Street and 590 Madison Avenue. Mr. Sussman was an integral part of the acquisition team and now manages The Bluffs at Playa Vista, EJME’s newest acquisition, a 500,000 rsf office complex in Los Angeles. Mr. Sussman was responsible for the management/administration and leasing at such high profile New York office buildings such as 712 Fifth Avenue, 660 Madison, 450 Park Avenue, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, 150 East 52nd Street and 600 Third Avenue. He was also responsible for other properties owned by various members of the Minskoff family located around the country and included holdings of over 1.4 million square feet of space. Mr. Sussman started his career working for Mr. Minskoff at Olympia & York Properties as Assistant Project Coordinator of the World Financial Center project. His responsibilities included coordinating and directing development, design, construction and management of project’s public spaces. Mr. Sussman holds a Masters of City and Regional Planning degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies and Political Science degrees from Stanford University.

Alla Sorochinsky is the Managing Director of CWP and is responsible for acquisitions, financing and asset management. Since 2001, Alla was the Chief Financial Officer of Cypress Equity Investments where she developed and managed the company's asset repositioning and financial reporting infrastructure. Alla oversaw all aspects of the company, including acquisitions, finance, asset management and dispositions. Previously, Alla was the financial controller of several publicly traded technology companies. Alla graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a degree in International Economics and received a Master's degree from the University of Southern California. Upon graduation Alla joined BDO Seidman LLP where she received her CPA license.

Kent Handleman oversees all leasing activity for LPC West Los Angeles. With over 28 years of transactional experience encompassing over 10 million square feet of space, he manages a portfolio with 4+ million square feet of office projects, and represents ownerships that include LPC West partnerships, associated capital partners, and third-party owners throughout the South Bay, Playa Vista, Culver City, Santa Monica, downtown Los Angeles, Tri-Cities, and the San Fernando Valley. Prior to joining LPC West, Kent led leasing efforts for Thomas Properties Group in Southern California. This included City National Plaza, a 2.6-million square foot premier office complex in downtown Los Angeles, where he successfully leased approximately 2 million square feet as the project was repositioned in the market. Prior to this, Kent worked at CBRE where he represented tenants and landlords in the leasing, disposition and/or marketing of commercial office property. Kent’s tenure in the industry began in real estate acquisitions and financial analysis for a pension fund advisor. After completing his MBA at the USC Marshall School of Business, he joined MetLife Real Estate Investments and, in addition to hotel and multi-family projects, he oversaw leasing and asset management for a 3.5-million square foot office building portfolio, with 2.5 million square feet in downtown Los Angeles. In his capacity as an asset manager, Kent also directed property management, and was responsible for business/investment decisions regarding these office, hotel, and multi-family projects as owner’s representative.

David Freitag is a tenant representation specialist in CBRE’s West LA office specializing in providing real estate advisory services to clients on a local and national basis. David exclusively represents office occupiers, with a specialization in occupancy and growth strategies for law firms, technology, entertainment and media companies. With his background in technology and financial analytics, David has created cutting-edge systems that help his clients rapidly identify and solve complex challenges with precision. He also incorporates innovative methods for benchmarking, monitoring and forecasting data to aid his clients in making more strategic and proactive real estate decisions across their portfolio. David holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) where he played Division I Volleyball on the UCLA Men’s Volleyball Team.

Jennifer is a Senior Managing Partner and co-head of Watt Investment Partners, and is responsible for sourcing and executing real estate investment opportunities. Jennifer has nearly 20 years of experience in real estate investing with a emphasis on development, land use and the entitlement process. As such, she has spent considerable time at the intersection of finance, public policy, community engagement and law. More recently, Jennifer has focused on public-private-partnership opportunities and the use of innovative financial structures to address the affordable housing crisis. Prior to joining Watt, Jennifer was a Vice President at OneWest Bank where she managed a portfolio of distressed commercial real estate debt. From 2006 through 2009, Jennifer was a Vice President at Apollo Real Estate Advisors where she was responsible for West Coast acquisitions and completed the entitlement of a 1.0mm square foot development in Hollywood. Previously, Jennifer held positions at Arch Street Capital Advisors, an international real estate investment advisory firm, and at Deutsche Bank Securities in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group. Jennifer holds a Master of Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and German Literature from the University of Virginia. Jennifer has been recognized as a “California Woman of Influence” by Real Estate Forum and “40 under 40” by Southern California Real Estate. She is a member of the Urban Land Institute, a guest lecturer at Loyola Law School and the University of Southern California, and sits on the Boards of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce and USC Price Real Estate Affiliates. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.

Milan Ratkovich is a Senior Development Manager with The Ratkovich Company. Milan originally joined the company after graduating from UCLA in 1992, and rejoined the company in 2005 after spending nine years in the United States Marine Corps serving as a heavy helicopter pilot and flight instructor. Milan’s recent projects include the renovation of The Hercules Campus at Playa Vista, a 530,000 square foot project consisting of eleven nationally registered historic landmark buildings incorporating the former Howard Hughes offices and the 330,000 square foot hangar in which the “Spruce Goose” was built. Previous projects include The Alhambra where Milan managed the entitlement of 311 for-sale residential units as well as the development of a 50,000 square foot LA Fitness center and accompanying 760 car parking structure. Milan also was the Development Manager at 5900 Wilshire, a 31-story Class A office building located in the Miracle Mile. During his tenure there, 5900 Wilshire was awarded BOMA’s TOBY award. Currently Milan is the Senior Development Manager of both The Hercules Campus at Playa Vista and The Bloc in Downtown Los Angeles. The Bloc is a mixed use development consisting of 730,000 square feet of office space, 430,000 square feet of retail space and a 496 room Sheraton Grand hotel. Favorite TRC Project: The Wiltern Theater and accompanying Pellissier Building. Milan was fortunate to see the building prior to its purchase and renovation and was thoroughly amazed at its transformation. Favorite City: I am torn between two favorites. Los Angeles is home and has it all, while Kailua, HI was home for four wonderful years. Favorite Cause: Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation. They provide scholarships to children of fallen Marines and federal law enforcement officers.

Chris Go is a leader in creative hospitality and Head of Business Development & Partnerships for CTRL Collective, a rapidly growing coworking company with spaces in LA and Denver. During the revitalization of Downtown LA, he managed events and trade shows for the California Market Center and other venues around Downtown LA before joining a Beverly Hills events agency to plan multi-day events and conferences for YPO (Young Presidents' Organization). He began with CTRL Collective to help launch their second location, CTRL Collective Downtown LA, running their events business. As part of their executive leadership team; Chris now travels the US to spread the gospel of CTRL Collective, cultivating partnerships with brands across all industries that will help meet the needs of CTRL Collective members to thrive in both their businesses and their lives.