Los Angeles State of the Market

In his position as LA Metro CEO, Washington oversees an agency that transports 1.4 million boarding passengers on an average weekday, riding on a fleet of 2,000 clean-air buses and six rail lines. LA Metro also is the lead transportation planning and programming agency for Los Angeles County. As such, it is a major construction agency that oversees bus, rail, highway and other mobility-related building projects. Washington came to Los Angeles from Denver, where he was Assistant General Manager for nearly 10 years, prior to being named CEO in 2009. Washington has had numerous prestigious assignments and honors. He was appointed by the Mayor of Denver in 2007, to head the Host Transportation Committee for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. In 2009, he was appointed by Governor Bill Ritter to serve on the State of Colorado’s Workforce Development Council to help the State create a 21st century workforce. Washington was named 2013-2014 Outstanding Public Transportation Manager of the Year in North America by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). In 2014, he was selected by the editors of Engineering News-Record for special recognition as one of the Top 25 Newsmakers of 2013. He has testified before U.S. Congressional Transportation Subcommittees and was awarded a White House Transportation Innovators Champion of Change award in 2012. Originally from the south side of Chicago – the Chicago Housing Projects of Altgeld Gardens – Washington is a 24-year active duty veteran of the United States Army where he held the rank of Command Sergeant Major, the highest noncommissioned officer rank an enlisted person can achieve. He is a disabled veteran and retired from active duty being awarded the prestigious Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) for exceptional service to his country. He holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Columbia College and an M.A. in Management from Webster University. He is immediate past chair of APTA.

The Honorable John A. Mirisch was elected to the Beverly Hills City Council in 2009 and 2013. He is currently serving as mayor. A fourth generation Beverly Hills resident, Councilmember Mirisch lived abroad for a number of years, working as a film executive in marketing and distribution, before returning to his hometown. In 2013, he served his first term as mayor and in 2015 was vice mayor. Most recently Mr. Mirisch worked as an executive at Paramount Pictures, one of the world’s leading film companies, where he ran the International theatrical sales department. Prior to that, he oversaw international distribution for IMAX, the world’s most well-known premium movie-going experience. In addition, he worked with United International Pictures as the Managing Director of its Swedish and Austrian offices. While in Europe, he was selected to serve on the boards of the Austrian and Swedish Film Distributors' Associations, as well as the Swedish Academy Awards Selection Committee.

Sean Burton has over 15 years of experience in real estate and equity investments and has been with CityView since 2003. Burton manages CityView’s platform and operations and chairs the investment committees for CityView’s two Blackstone funds and its Los Angeles Urban Fund. Prior to joining CityView, Burton was vice president of corporate business development and strategy at Warner Bros. Before that, Burton was an attorney in the real estate and corporate groups of O’Melveny & Myers, LLP and served in the White House during the Clinton Administration. He is a graduate of University of California, Irvine and New York University School of Law.

Based in China since 1986, Jonathan has been instrumental in establishing and growing McKinsey’s presence in China. In addition to his work helping Chinese and other Asian businesses prepare for global growth, Jonathan is responsible for convening the Firm's work with city and regional authorities in more than 40 geographies around the world. He leads McKinsey’s Cities Special Initiative and co-chairs the non-profit think tank Urban China Initiative—a collaborative project of Columbia University, Tsinghua University, and McKinsey amp; Company—that aims to develop and implement solutions to China’s urbanization challenge. Jonathan is also the Asia-based Director of the McKinsey Global Institute where he leads research on productivity, urbanization, infrastructure, inequality and regional economies. An expert on energy, sustainability, and economic master planning, Jonathan’s public sector work is extensive. He has advised national governments in Asia on improving the environment for foreign investors, supported the development and drafting of national energy policy, and advised national and local government authorities on economic development. He has conducted more than 60 projects for local governments throughout China to support economic development and transformation. He actively serves urban authorities in the Middle East, Russia and North America on economic master planning and performance improvement. Jonathan works in the private sector as well, most often on topics related to corporate strategy, operations, and organization. He has served clients in industries such as energy, metals and mining, healthcare, telecommunications, and transportation. He has also worked extensively in real estate – specifically, on commercial revitalization – and advised on energy investment strategies and energy productivity opportunities among other topics. He supported the largest company in China in a fundamental restructuring that led to the then-largest foreign listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Jonathan actively participates in a number of international forums, particularly in the area of US-China relations, including the US-China Clean Energy Forum and the Joint US-China Coalition for Clean Energy. He lectures at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Business and the China-Europe International Business School Published widely in both Chinese and international publications, Jonathan has written five books on China, including Capitalist China: Strategies for a Revolutionized Economy (Wiley & Sons, 2003). He also co-authored, with Jimmy Hexter, the book Operation China: From Strategy to Execution (Harvard Business Press, 2007), with Jeffrey Towson, One Hour China (Towson Press, 2013) and with James Manyika and Richard Dobbs No Ordinary Disruption (Public Affairs, 2015). He currently has 3 Amazon international business bestsellers. A U.S. citizen, Jonathan is proficient in Mandarin, Spanish, and German.

As the U.S. leader of Lockton Insurance Brokers’ China Practice, Claudia is at the center of the investment flow from China into U.S. real estate. She and her Lockton teams help large and medium-sized Chinese developers and investors overcome the insurance and risk management challenges of real estate projects here. For example, she has drastically driven down insurance costs for her client SCG America (the U.S. branch of Shanghai Construction Group, one of the world’s largest contractors and developers) on its redevelopment project at Broadway at Fourth, a 400-condo unit revitalizing the historic core of downtown Los Angeles. Claudia advises clients in mitigating risks in real estate development, optimizes risk transfer strategies, develops and implements cutting-edge solutions, and holds carriers accountable for claims resolutions. She has 20 years of insurance industry expertise from life & health to property & casualty insurance, and received her MBA from USC. Claudia’s fierce dedication to client service is one reason why Lockton, the world's largest privately-held global insurance broker, has a 98+% client retention rate in the Pacific Region (over 13% higher than industry average). Driven by market-leading 10% organic growth for the past 50 years, Lockton now has over $1.35 billion in revenue and a stellar reputation for delivering top technical expertise for Mid-Market and Fortune 1000 companies, with particular strength in development, construction, and real estate management. Claudia and her real estate teams maintain a peerless commitment to providing five-star service and value-added consulting from the beginning stages of project planning and throughout the years-long cycles beyond the completed projects. Claudia is passionate about our Southern California communities, and in recognition of that was recently re-appointed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to a second term as a Commissioner of the L.A. County Arts Commission. She is equally passionate about helping Southern California businesses succeed and serves on various nonprofit and civil boards in the community.

Before starting at Wilson Meany, Greg worked at CBRE, Inc., where he was responsible for numerous large-scale retail developments including MGM Studios (China), Paramount Studios (Japan), Runway (Playa Vista, CA), Shoppes (Chino Hills, CA) and Crystals at City Center (Las Vegas, NV).

Matthew (Matt) Ahrens leads Rising's acquisitions activities, including sourcing, underwriting, financing, and closing transactions. Since joining Rising, Matt has closed more than 4 million square feet of opportunistic investments in Southern California with a total capitalization of nearly $1 billion. Prior to joining Rising, Matt worked for Principal Real Estate Investors, the real estate investment subsidiary of the The Principal Financial Group. While at Principal, Matt was involved in the securitization of more than 200 commercial real estate loans with a total loan balance of more than $1 billion. In a subsequent role, Matt provided investment credit analysis on a $7 billion portfolio of commercial mortgage backed securities. Matt has Bachelor of Science degrees in Finance and Accounting from Iowa State University, and a Master's Degree in Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California. Matt is an active member of NAIOP and the Pension Real Estate Association.

Kim Snyder is President of Prologis’ Southwest Region and is responsible for all regional activities including development, acquisitions and operations for Prologis. Key markets included in this region are Southern California, the Inland Empire, Las Vegas and Phoenix. A thirty-year veteran in the development business, he joined AMB (pre-merger) in 2005, bringing experience in real estate development and construction, acquisitions and dispositions, leasing, marketing and finance. As Managing Director and Senior Vice President during his tenure at AMB, Kim managed AMB's Airport Group, Mexico and Brazil operations. Prior to AMB, Kim served as President of Paragon Capital Corporation and CEO of Paragon Development, Inc. and was Managing Director for Insignia-ESG's Western region development operation. Prior to Insignia, he was a partner with Investment Building Group. Kim has a Bachelor of Science from Arizona State University, summa cum laude, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He is on the advisory board for the NAIOP-Inland Empire Chapter, and is a past President of the Chapter. Kim is also on the Technical Committee and Advisory Board of the Prologis Fibra (Mexico), a publicly traded real estate investment company based in Mexico City. He is currently serving on the Industry Advisory Board at the Drucker School at Claremont University, and is a Trustee on the Board of the Gooden School in Sierra Madre, California.

Patrick J. McRoskey is a Managing Director for CBRE, Inc. Mr. McRoskey leads CBRE’s leasing, property and project management on an award-winning, 4.5 million SF regional portfolio of Class A office properties. Those properties include the destination assets of 2000 Avenue of the Stars and Century Plaza Towers in Century City and Water Garden, a creative office campus in Santa Monica. As the CBRE team leader servicing this portfolio, Pat works closely with J. P. Morgan Asset Management – Global Real Assets, the advisor for investors who own the portfolio’s properties. Mr. McRoskey’s career experience has included providing advisory services and directing marketing and leasing activities for real estate portfolios totaling in excess of 10 million square feet. Prior to his current role at CBRE, Mr. McRoskey served for more than 16 years as Vice President of Leasing at MPG Office Trust where he was responsible for all brokerage and leasing transactions within the company’s nine million square foot downtown Los Angeles portfolio. Before his tenure at MPG Office Trust, he served as Director of Leasing for Hines in Los Angeles. Mr. McRoskey started his real estate career with CBRE in 1985. A graduate of the University of Southern California, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.

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.

As Partner, Development, Neils Cotter oversees Carmel Partners’ Southern California development projects with flexibility and creativity. He has 15 years of experience in identifying growth opportunities and executing focused business strategies. Prior to joining Carmel in 2012, Mr. Cotter was Vice President of Acquisitions and Asset Management for Matteson Companies, where he led acquisition, disposition, and asset management activities in Southern California, Las Vegas, and Denver. He was also the Acquisitions and Development Director for real estate developer, Intracorp Southern California. Previously, Mr. Cotter was a Captain in the United States Air Force. Mr. Cotter received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Duke University and a Master of Business Administration degree from INSEAD.

Dustin Smith is responsible for sourcing new investments and managing the acquisition and development process for Alliance in the Los Angeles market. With more than 15 years of construction and development experience in the multifamily industry, he has represented both public and private developers in the creation of rental and for-sale communities on the West Coast. He also has extensive experience with high-rise, mixed-use and transit-oriented development projects. Prior to joining Alliance, Mr. Smith worked with REIT Equity Residential overseeing all aspects of development, including land acquisitions, entitlements, design, construction and delivery. Before that, he developed urban in-fill condos for Intracorp. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management from Boise State University, an MBA from Northwest Nazarene University, and a Master of Science degree in Real Estate from the University of Denver.

Strachan Forgan has guided the direction and expansion of SCB’s high-rise commercial work since joining the firm’s San Francisco office in early 2012. Strachan brings a wealth of experience in a variety of building typologies, architectural vocabularies, and cultural discourses to his work with SCB. Strachan’s projects with SCB dot the West Coast and cross the Pacific Ocean, and include Anaha Tower in Honolulu, 150 Van Ness in San Francisco, and Atelier DTLA in downtown Los Angeles. A common thread connecting Strachan’s highly varied designs is his sensitivity to context—both environmental and cultural. Strachan co-chairs the Residential Research & Development Committee at the firm. Strachan has been the recipient of numerous design awards, including the AIA SF Design Award for Energy + Sustainability and the NIRSA Outstanding Facility award. He has presented extensively on a variety of industry topics at such institutions as the New York Academy of Sciences, United States Green Building Council, AIA San Francisco, and the 2009 AIA National Convention. Strachan holds a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Arts, both with First Class Honors, from the University of Nottingham, UK. He is an elected member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

California Licensed Architect -36 Years Experience. Mitchell has led his project teams to over 50 Design Awards and Commendations. He oversaw the work of his design studios in Los Angeles, San Diego, Beijing and São Paulo before joining HED. He lived a number of years in DTLA and has worked in DTLA since 1980 Mitchell’s strength is in guiding well-crafted design solutions, managing complex project teams, and working with local Governing Agencies to maximize the project’s potential and community benefit.

Henry Manoucheri’s successful real estate career spans over 30 years. Henry began his career at Marcus & Millichap in 1985 and became one of their top brokers, being recognized throughout California as well as nationally. He has brokered over $500,000,000 worth of transactions in apartment buildings, office buildings, industrial properties, shopping centers and land. After leaving M&M, Henry launched his own privately held acquisitions business, as principal. In less than six months the number of apartments owned grew 200% from 400 to 1,200 units. Having demonstrated a detailed knowledge of acquisitions, operations and construction, Henry was able to partner with Bank of America to acquire and renovate a large apartment community in Carlsbad, CA. The asset was acquired at a purchase price of $50,700,000 with $10,500,000 in equity from Bank of America and $1,200,000 of equity from high net-worth investors. After successfully renovating the property and enhancing day-to-day operations, Henry sold the property four years later for $78,000,000 generating a profit of nearly $9,500,000 for himself and his investors. From this point forward a career of buying significant, well located apartment communities in Southern California began, acquiring 100+ unit properties throughout Los Angeles, Inland Empire, Ventura and San Diego County. Trisail of Bank of America and Urdang Advisors completed 10 large transactions with Henry over a successful 10 year relationship with acquisitions ranging from 200 to 450 units on transactions of $20 million to $70 million. This provided the economic platform for Henry to grow the portfolio to over 4,000 units. Additionally, Henry continued improving and refinancing smaller apartment communities, delivering 400 – 800% total returns to his investors over time. Henry, supported by research and analysis, sensed a changing marketplace and began selling select assets at record prices and cap rates from 2006 to 2008. The vast majority of sales were not used in trade, but rather to fund future acquisitions during the next down-cycle and to provide returns to investors. With over 30 years of experience in the business, Mr Manoucheri has been able to successfully navigate the company through difficult times by focusing on value-add propositions, detailed operations, and favorable financing opportunities, thereby profiting even during down cycles. This devotion to discipline, hard work , continuous examination of operating results and a hands-on approach has enabled Henry to deliver an average return of 22% percent annually across numerous assets, based on cash flow, and a return of over 60% per annum on assets sold. Currently the company is engaged in expanding its current holdings by acquiring new, value-add opportunities from various sellers, troubled borrowers, and financial institutions alike. Henry holds a BS in Finance and Real Estate from Cal State, Northridge, CA.

Mr. Malamut serves as the Senior Vice President of Development at G.H. Palmer Associates and oversees the entitlement and development activities for the company. He has extensive experience in all aspects of real estate development, including mixed-use podium style multifamily, mid-rise, high-rise, urban infill, condominium, commercial (office, industrial and retail) and master-planned community housing.

Peter specializes in working with real estate owners owners to create operational efficiencies though technology. Peter has been with Honest Buildings almost since its inception and he's excited to be part of the continuous growth of CRE tech.

Marty is an experienced construction, design and and acquisitions professional who manages all of Golden Bee Properties’ design and construction efforts. In 2002, Marty started a real estate investment enterprise, buying single-family homes and “flipping” them. Total sales volume since inception has been approximately $50 million. As developer and designer, Marty has gained extensive knowledge in financing construction projects, working with architects and engineers, managing the entitlement process, overseeing construction projects and negotiating with real estate agents, buyers and sellers. Marty is also head design-build consultant for TDC Properties, a partner of Golden Bee Properties. Marty earned a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California.

Dave Wood is the Director of Business Development for Harman International. Based out of Orange County, CA he manages the team responsible for the Western US. Prior to Harman Dave was Regional Vice President for AMX. Before his time at AMX Dave spent 9 years in the field designing and overseeing projects for various Audio Visual integration firms and their clients. With over 20 years of Industry experience, he has helped 100’s of clients plan, implement and maintain effective collaboration spaces. High quality audio and video presentation has transformed from a “nice to have” to a necessary component of nearly every meeting space. With the growth of presentation systems comes the need to manage them correctly to maintain reliability and improve the in room experience. As the office environments have shifted toward remote based employees, open offices, and flexible work environments Dave has helped create spaces that will attract and retain top talent. Dave’s focus is on Harman's end user community to help solve their communication needs with Harman's best of breed brands like JBL, BSS, AMX, Crown, SVSI and more. Past projects have ranged from new construction of corporate headquarters, digital signage, video walls, and national roll outs of conference room standards. Dave works side by side with end users, architects, general contractors, consultants, and integrators to deliver on the client’s vision. He holds a Broadcast Degree from University of the Pacific.

Sal LaViña heads the Real Estate and Corporate Departments at Enenstein Ribakoff LaViña & Pham, APC. He has over 27 years' experience closing complex deals and providing strategic advice to his many successful clients. Since 2007, Sal has closed or supervised over $5 billion of transactions, including over $2B in the past two years. His areas of expertise include the following: Real estate deals, especially complex acquisitions and sales, multifamily, 1031 exchanges and TICs, JVs, real estate funds, and multi-state matters Corporate transactions, especially mid-market M&A, stock and asset deals, fund formation, syndication, private placements, outside general counsel for family offices, and representation of early stage company entrepreneurs and investors Strategic advising and business litigation, including complex workouts, crisis management, investor and LLC disputes, construction defect matters Sal started his career at O’Melveny & Myers after graduating from Columbia Law, and since then he has served in leadership positions, including as a department chair, managing partner of a business law firm, general counsel and a partner in a development company.