The Future of SoCal

Kevin Demoff

COO - Los Angeles Rams

Kevin Demoff is in his fifth year as Executive Vice President of Football Operations & Chief Operating Officer with the Rams. In this capacity, Demoff serves as a liaison to ownership on all operational matters.

Steven Sugarman

CEO - Banc of California

Mr. Steven A. Sugarman is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE: BANC), a publicly traded financial holding company, and its national banking subsidiary Banc of California N.A. Mr. Sugarman led the recapitalization of the Company in 2010. Mr. Sugarman also is Chief Executive Officer and Director of COR Securities Holding Inc., the parent company of COR Clearing LLC, a broker dealer and national securities clearing firm. Previously, Mr. Sugarman was the founder and CEO of COR Capital LLC, and a founding Partner of GPS Partners LLC, a $2 billion private investment fund specializing in high yield equity securities. He also founded Sugarman Enterprises Inc., a financial advisory firm specializing in real estate and asset-based loans as well as the Law Offices of Steven Sugarman. Mr. Sugarman began his career as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and worked at Lehman Brothers. Mr. Sugarman is a California Real Estate Broker and member of the California State Bar. He also is the co-author of "The Forewarned Investor: Don't Get Fooled Again by Corporate Fraud," published by Career Press. Mr. Sugarman is a graduate of the Yale Law School and Dartmouth College.

William Hecht

COO - Westfield

Bill was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Westfield US in October 2015. Prior to this role, Bill was Senior Executive Vice President of US Development, responsible for all development activities. Bill commenced his employment with Westfield in 2006 as Senior Executive Vice President US Leasing and was responsible for operational and development leasing, tenant coordination, and lease administration. He started in the business in 1986, with Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate in New York City and then went to work with Shopco Management Corporation New York, The Rouse Company in Columbia, Maryland, and Hecht Properties, in Baltimore Maryland. Bill is a graduate of Colgate University with a BS in Economics, and New York University, with a Certificate in Real Estate.

Lynn Owen

COO - TruAmerica

Ms. Lynn Owen is the Chief Operations Officer of TruAmerica Multifamily and brings over 29 years of multifamily and commercial property management experience to her role. Ms. Owen is responsible for overseeing all asset and construction management and portfolio operations functions and is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. Ms. Owen has expertise in managing multifamily and commercial properties of varying investment criteria and business objectives. Prior to joining TruAmerica Multifamily, Ms. Owen was Senior Director of Real Estate at Greystar. Before joining Greystar, Ms. Owen was a Principal/Owner and the Director of Business Development and Marketing at Glacier Real Estate Services, where she had an integral role in selling to Greystar in 2010. Prior to Glacier, Ms. Owen held senior positions at Etico Property Management Company, Allied Group, Lexford NW, New Ventures and C.G. Rein Company. Ms. Owen attended The University of Minnesota, majoring in Business Administration with a focus in Marketing. She holds a real estate broker license in Washington State and has served on the Board of Directors for the Washington Multi-Family Housing Association. Ms. Owen is a frequent speaker at regional and national industry-related events and was named one of Real Estate Forum’s Women of Influence in 2015. Ms. Owen is dedicated to fundraising for charities that support children’s health and well-being, non-profit organizations that teach job skills to homeless individuals, and organizations that assist victims of domestic abuse.

Adam Tartakovsky

SVP - Crescent Heights

Adam Tartakovsky is the Executive Vice President overseeing West Coast development for Crescent Heights, focusing on Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles and the implementation of in-house R&D innovations in sustainability, community collaboration and urban design. He attended the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Wharton School of Business. He received bachelor's degrees in Environmental Science and International Politics & Economics at UC Santa Barbara and Tel Aviv University. Adam is a board member of various civic organizations, including the Urban Land Institute, the Housing Action Coalition, the SF Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), and the Friends of the Hollywood Central Park.

Jaime Lee

CEO - Jamison Services

Tyson Strutzenberg

COO - Rising Realty Partners

Tyson Strutzenberg leads Rising Realty Partners asset management and development activities, including leasing, construction management, and interfacing with investors. Tyson previously worked for Kennedy Wilson where he acted as an asset manager for a portfolio of office assets totaling more than two million square feet throughout California. While at Kennedy Wilson, he also resolved a $125 million portfolio of non-performing loans. Prior to Kennedy Wilson, he worked on the acquisitions team at RREEF in San Francisco. Tyson received his MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University and a Master of Science degree in Aeronautics from Stanford University. Tyson is a member of the Urban Land Institute and is a board member of the UCLA Ziman Center Real Estate Alumni Group

Steve Fifield

Co-Founder - Century West Partners

Steven Fifield has been recognized as a prolific and successful office and residential developer in Los Angeles and Chicago. Known as an industry trend setter, Fifield developed over 50 mid and high rise apartment and office towers in the last 30 years. In the last decade, Steve has become a major developer of urban infill residential buildings. In total, he’s built more than 5,000 high-rise and mid-rise residential units in Los Angeles, Chicago, Southeast Florida, Las Vegas and Waikiki. Fifield is a member of numerous real estate organizations and an active contributor to civic and charity groups. He is an Indiana University trained mathematician with an MBA from the University of Chicago.

I-Fei Chang

Founder - Urban Link

Even before earning her master's degree in architecture at Yale, I-Fei Chang had found the real estate industry alluring, with its ability to stimulate the economy and promote employment. The former Greenland CEO, who now works as a consultant, says the most rewarding part of her career is the opportunity to cooperate with other professionals around the world to invest in the development and reshaping of cities. Seeing projects she has initiated as she walks down the streets of Tokyo, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai, St. Petersburg, Los Angeles and Brooklyn makes the hard work worthwhile. She makes a point to explore the cities where she travels for work. I-Fei tells us a welcome challenge is continually finding new opportunities for urban development and growth.

Clare DeBriere

COO - The Ratkovich Company

The desire to inspire people through building is what first led The Ratkovich Co EVP and COO Clare DeBriere to commercial real estate. While taking a history of architecture class as a UCLA undergrad, she learned cities and architecture "could be inspiring as well as oppressive and collaborative as well as segregating." After working for an architectural firm for a year, she took a job at Ratkovich and has never looked back. Her career has been filled with many "proud moments," including standing in the new lobby of 5900 Wilshire and walking through the sycamore cathedral at the Hercules Campus, she says. However, she says her biggest joy has involved the people she works with, citing "the joy of promoting an employee who started with our company" as an example. She says the industry has its challenges, among them NIMBYs that have made the process of developing real estate increasingly difficult. When she's not working, she enjoys visiting restaurants with her husband, a chef, and traveling the world.

Sterling Johnson

VP - Mosaic Real Estate Investors

Sterling Johnson is Vice President of Investments at Mosaic Real Estate Investors (“Mosaic”) and is tasked with originating, underwriting and closing investments made through Mosaic’s debt platform – Mosaic Real Estate Credit (“MREC”). The fund’s strategy is designed to address the needs of real estate borrowers not currently being met by traditional lenders. MREC’s focuses on providing debt capital to real estate entrepreneurs aiming to add value to their assets over a 1-3 year period and can take the form of a first mortgage loan, as well as mezzanine or preferred equity structures. Over the span of his career, Sterling has closed real estate transactions representing over $2 billion in aggregate value across all major asset classes, including over $500 million in ground-up development. Before joining Mosaic, he served as a Vice President at Quantum Capital Partners. Previously, he was a Director in the Real Estate Group of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, a Director at Alliance Residential and a Senior Associate at The Picerne Group. Sterling holds a Master’s Degree in Real Estate from New York University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California. He is an Eagle Scout and a member of Urban Land Institute.

Jay Newman

COO - The Athens Group

Jay Newman joined The Athens Group in 2000 as Chief Operating Officer where he focuses on the company’s financial affairs and development opportunities. He has more than 32 years of experience in commercial real estate including development along with entitlements and design, acquisitions, joint ventures, finance and dispositions. Jay is primarily responsible for managing the acquisition and financing of many of The Athens Group's projects including the raising of equity capital. In addition, Jay was primarily responsible for the development and financing of the mixed-use Montage Beverly Hills in California and the acquisition, re-entitlement and redesign of the West Hollywood mixed-use Edition project and is currently engaged in the planning and entitlement for the re-development of the Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica. In 1993, Jay was one of the founding members of the national real estate law firm of Pircher, Nichols & Meeks based in Los Angeles where he was a managing partner and a real estate transactional attorney. In 1995, he joined Highridge Partners in Los Angeles as Senior Vice President of the Summit Commercial Properties Division, where he focused on the purchasing, repositioning, leasing, management and sale of shopping centers and office buildings on both a one-off and portfolio basis. Jay was one of the founders of Lend Lease Development (US) in 1996, where he focused on the development of resorts (including The Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, California), shopping centers and office buildings. As Senior Vice President of Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, Inc., and a member of the Lend Lease Lodging Group, he focused on the development of new hotels and resorts throughout the United States and was primarily responsible for the creation of the Resort Development Program. Jay received his undergraduate degree in applied economics (summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of California at Berkeley in 1978, and his MBA and Juris Doctorate degree from Stanford University in 1982. He is a guest lecturer at the UCLA School of Public Policy and Planning and a frequent speaker at ULI, Meet the Money, Bisnow, the Southern California Development Forum and CLE International. Jay sits on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Directors of the Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau, and the Board of Directors of Beverly Hills Rotary. Jay is also actively involved in Imagine LA. Jay and his family reside in Los Angeles, California.

Randy Jefferson

Executive Director - LT Global

As the Executive Director of Project Development Randy Jefferson brings over 35 years of experience to the LT Global team having led A/E development teams in the delivery of large, complex projects in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Central America. He has a proven success record as the Principal and Partner responsible from program development through the completion of construction and occupancy of projects that include high rise commercial office, hotel, conference center, corporate office, museum, performing arts, government office and law courts. His experience includes all aspects of architectural design, building system design and development, project and team management, contracts, operations management and firm management. Randy Jefferson’s career has been defined by his ability to analyze, conceptualize and execute extraordinary and complex architecture in precise detail. He has collaborated with many of the most renowned architects of our time in the development of projects that are notable not only for their architectural merit but for their technical innovation and their advanced use of 3D technology as a means of communicating coordinated detail to the construction team. He was a Partner with Gehry Partners (1992-2004), Langdon Wilson Mumper Architects (1984-1992) and Arthur Erickson Architects (1972-1984) and served as the Managing Partner with each of them.

Ken Kahan

CEO - California Landmark

Ken Kahan is Founder and President of California Landmark (or "CLG"), a real estate development and investment company. Since its inception in 1988, California Landmark has invested in or developed all types of real estate from residential (including single family as well as low and high rise multi-family) to commercial (including hospitality, office and industrial). The company has developed in excess of 3,000,000 million square feet of various products. CLG has distinguished itself in Southern California as an innovative problem solver in both the design and development of dozens of multi-family communities. The firm is currently one of the largest private multi-family developers in West Los Angeles with over 500 units in various stages of construction or development, including R3 and D1 in the Marina Arts district, 3838 in Culver City and the Enclave at Century Woods in Century City. Recently completed projects include three high profile mixed use projects including the bw (Wilshire at Barrington), the hw (Hollywood Blvd. near Crescent Heights) and the LC (Larchmont at Melrose and Camerford). Past projects include modern townhomes and industrial "hard" lofts in the Marina Arts District, high-rise condominiums along the Wilshire corridor, California courtyard buildings in Westwood and Brentwood, art deco apartments in West Hollywood, and Mediterranean style villas in Century City. Ken is passionate about all aspect of urban planning and development. He is a frequent speaker on matters pertaining to entitlements, zoning, multi family/mixed use projects and urban development. California Landmark has been involved in the City of Los Angeles implementation ordinance of SB1818 and has delivered several mixed income housing projects throughout the region. A native of Los Angeles, Ken obtained both his bachelor of arts and juris doctor degrees from UCLA.

Bill Allen

President & CEO - LAEDC & The World Trade Center Association LA

Rusty Hicks

Secretary Treasurer - LA Federation of Labor

Rusty Hicks is the Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO (Federation). His election to the post makes him one of the youngest leaders and the first post-9/11 war veteran to lead one of the nation’s largest labor federations. The Federation is comprised of over 300 local unions that represent over 600,000 workers in every sector of our economy.

James Butts

Mayor - City of Inglewood

The Mayor has a combined 39 years in public safety, municipal government and education. He holds a Bachelor of Science (California State University at Los Angeles) and a Masters Degree in Business Administration (California Polytechnic University at Pomona). Mayor Butts has served as a general manager or assistant general manager of large and complex municipal organizations for the past 27 years. The Mayor served the residents of Inglewood for nearly two decades as an Inglewood Police Officer, ultimately rising to the rank of Deputy Chief of Police. Between 1980 and 1990 he was promoted 5 times. In 1991 James Butts was selected to become Chief of Police for the City of Santa Monica where he served for 15 years. During his tenure in Santa Monica as Chief, crime fell 64% to its lowest level since 1956. Citizen complaints also fell by 50% and police liability payouts dropped by 99% as well. Mayor Butts retired as one of the longest serving police chiefs in the County of Los Angeles to serve as an Assistant General Manager (Deputy Executive Director)of the Los Angeles World Airports (which includes LAX) system responsible for Public Safety and Counter-Terrorism. He was responsible for a budget of 116 million dollars and 1100 employees. From 2006 to 2010, the Mayor was directly responsible for the safety of 60 million passengers that travel through LAX. In less than 4 years LAX went from being ranked near the bottom in airport security to being named the most secure airport in the United States by the Transportation Security Administration. On January 11th, James T. Butts, Jr. was elected as the 12th mayor in the history of the City of Inglewood.

Suzanne Fuentes

Mayor - City of El Segundo

Suzanne Fuentes has served as Mayor of the City of El Segundo, Calif., since April 2014. She was originally elected to a four-year term on the City Council in April 2010 and was re-elected in April 2014. El Segundo is a small coastline community in southwestern Los Angeles County that is renowned for maintaining a quaint, small town atmosphere as well as a thriving business environment that caters to some of the region's most prestigious corporations. Suzanne is a lifelong resident of El Segundo and still lives on the street where she grew up. As a City Council member, she is focused on financial stability, economic development, emergency preparedness, preserving El Segundo’s unique character and retaining Los Angeles Air Force Base. She represents the City Council on the South Bay Cities Council of Governments, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. and the Los Angeles Jobs Defense Council. Suzanne also serves on the El Segundo City/School Affairs Subcommittee, Reach Out Against Drugs (ROAD) and Park Vista Senior Housing Board.

Scott Gable

CEO - CityLift Parking

With over 28 years of real estate and business operations experience, Scott serves as CityLift’s Chief Executive Officer. Prior to creating CityLift, Scott served as Chief Operating Officer for Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust where he played a key role in establishing the single family rental industry as an institutional asset class—eventually taking the company public in 2014. Previous to this, Mr. Gable was with Wells Fargo Bank where he helped create the home equity lending business and ultimately served as its EVP of Operations across the United States. Scott began his career with Booz Allen & Hamilton where he consulted on operations and strategy for consumer products, entertainment, and retail companies—eventually becoming a principal. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an AB in International Relations from Stanford University.

Paul Zeger

Partner - Polaris Pacific

For over 30 years, Paul Zeger has been the definitive source of information for new construction sales and marketing in the Bay Area. His leadership in identifying and capitalizing on residential development opportunities is unparalleled. Paul’s client relationships include some of the most successful real estate development firms on the west coast – TMG Partners, Emerald Fund, Lennar Urban and Wilson Meany to name a few. Paul believes in making commitments to his clients, and building trust by delivering on his commitments. Paul earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics at Colgate University and a Masters in Business Administration from the Darden School at the University of Virginia.

Matt Levy

VP of Investments - Laramar Group

Mr. Levy is the Vice President of Investments for The Laramar Group and is responsible for acquisitions and asset management throughout the western United States with a primary focus on California markets. Mr. Levy joined Laramar after 6 years as Vice President of Acquisitions & Development at Frost/Chaddock Developers, LLC, a Los Angeles based multi-family investment, development and management company where he was responsible for all aspects of acquisitions, feasibility, design development, entitlements and structured financing. Prior to joining Frost/Chaddock, Mr. Levy was the Acquisitions & Project Manager for Beverly Hills based Casden Properties, LLC. At Casden, Mr. Levy was involved in the acquisition and development for more than 3,000 residential units and 500,000 square feet of commercial space throughout Southern California. Additionally, Mr. Levy was a Deputy to Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge where he managed city-wide capital improvement projects, infrastructure development and land-use planning. Mr. Levy received his B.S. from the University of Southern California and a Master of Planning from the University of Southern California.

Jonathan Lopez

Project Design Director - Retail Design Collaborative

Jonathan leads project visioning and design with a diverse range of architectural, interiors and planning experience at Retail Design Collaborative. He has designed numerous award-winning and published projects of various building typologies both nationally and internationally. His transformative projects includes a range of small scale, large scale, mixed-use and master planning centered on a contextual, concept-driven design process. As a design leader for Retail Design Collaborative, Jonathan contributes to innovative architectural interiors and strategic programming with a focus on creative workplace, specialty retail, cultural and strategic branding. Jonathan has created unique spaces for Apple Beats Campus, Equinox, and the new 32,000 SF urban office for his firm Retail Design Collaborative in downtown Long Beach. In addition to his notable work within the profession, Jonathan has taught as an adjunct professor at Orange Coast College instructing Design Studios + Architectural Theory and Drawing + Design Visualization and continues to retain involvement as a design critic at OCC. He holds his Bachelor of Architecture from California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo.

Greg O'Conner

Howard Building - Howard Building Corporation

Greg O'Connor has previously partnered with owners, tenants, architects, and property managers to provide a comprehensive approach to project delivery, giving him a deep understanding of the various relationships needed to successfully bring a project together from start to finish.

Joe El Rady

Executive Managing Director - Rosano Partners

Joe El Rady is an Executive Managing Director at Rosano Partners.  He is an executive in charge of market research.  He is a specialist in the credit markets and special situations expert with significant capital raising and restructuring experience across a wide variety of industries. Mr. El Rady began his investment banking career at Houlihan Lokey, the top financial restructuring firm on Wall Street. Houlihan Lokey advised on 23 of the 25 largest bankruptcies in history, including Enron, WorldCom, and Tower Records. During Mr. El Rady’s time at Houlihan Lokey, the firm restructured General Motors, Lehman Brothers, and the Government of Iraq.  During his tenure at Houlihan Lokey, Mr. El Rady focused on private placements of debt and equity securities in connection with restructurings, refinancing’s, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, growth capital, and acquisitions. After Houlihan Lokey, Mr. El Rady managed a $2.2billion private equity portfolio for Frontier Group, a Private Equity Firm founded and chaired by Frank C. Carlucci, former US Secretary of Defense and former Chairman of the Carlyle Group. He later served as Senior Director and Co-Head of the Capital Markets Group at Rosano Partners. Mr. El Rady has led numerous financing, buy-side, special situation and principal investment transactions. Mr. El Rady is a frequent writer, blogger, lecturer, and speaker on financial and economic issues. He teaches economics and finance at the University of California, Los Angeles, and is working on his first book. Mr. El Rady holds an undergraduate degree with honors from Stanford University and an MBA in finance from the Wharton School.

Dave Wood

Director of Business Development - Harman International

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.

Edward Marek

Manager - West Bay Capital

Since starting in the real estate business in 1979, Mr. Marek has built a track record of success as an investor, developer, broker, lender, and manager of commercial real estate. After working at the Charles Dunn Company for seven years and a brief stint with Sycamore Financial Group, Mr. Marek, along with Mr. McBride formed Capital Lending Resources (“CLR”) and Capital Real Estate Advisors (“CRA”) in 1994. Since the formation of these two companies, Mr. Marek has participated in over $1 billion dollars worth of real estate and finance transactions. Additionally, Mr. Marek has been actively involved in numerous real estate investment and development projects as an owner and managing partner. Mr. Marek’s broad range of experiences in both the investment and financing arenas provide him with a unique and balanced perspective when analyzing and structuring loans. Mr. Marek’s clients include such national firms as Rite Aid Drug Stores (as a preferred developer), Chicago Title, American Golf, Regency Centers, and Wachovia Securities (now Wells Fargo Bank). Mr. Marek is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), Urban Land Institute (ULI), California Mortgage Association (CMA), and Rainmaker U. His charitable affiliations include the California Heart Center Foundation, Maryvale, Catholic Big Brothers, and his alma mater Crespi High School, where he previously served on the Board of Directors. Mr. Marek resides in Westlake Village with his two children. Mr. Marek has an undergraduate degree from California State University, Northridge, and a graduate degree from the University of Virginia.

David Cramp

Director of Project Services - Swinerton

Dave is responsible for managing four teams within the Orange County and Los Angeles office locations, including Virtual Design and Construction, MEP, Scheduling, and Quality Control. During his time with Swinerton, his roles have included Project Manager, VD&C/BIM Manager, MEP Coordinator, and Design Engineer. A registered Professional Mechanical Engineer, Dave is also a LEED AP and DBIA certified. As Director of Project Support Services, he oversees each internal group while also teaming closely with clients, architects, and subcontractors. Embracing a whole team approach with great attention to detail, he continues to research innovative technologies to help maintain a competitive edge.

Fernando Villa

Partner - Allen Matkins

Fernando Villa is a partner in the firm's Los Angeles Office. His practice focuses on land use, environmental law, local government matters, and real estate dispute resolution. He represents clients in land use entitlement, California Environmental Quality Act, and local government law matters involving a broad scope of entitlements for a variety of development projects, including mixed-use, industrial, residential, retail, master-planned, and commercial developments. Fernando also represents clients in federal and state environmental cost recovery actions such as those under CERCLA, RCRA, and the California Hazardous Substance Account Act, and toxic tort litigation involving claims for real property damage arising from alleged hazardous substance disposal. Concentrating much of his practice on Brownfield development projects, Fernando combines his environmental, land use, real estate, public agency law, and litigation expertise to entitle his clients’ development projects and help them manage environmental risks. Fernando handles a variety of real estate and related commercial disputes, including claims of breach and fraud involving purchase and sale agreements, commercial lease actions, business fraud involving oil and gas leases, and real estate based securities, and vendor-vendee actions. He is experienced at every phase of dispute resolution, from pre-litigation counseling through ADR and trial or arbitration. Prior to joining Allen Matkins, Fernando was a partner at Pircher, Nichols & Meeks.

Brian Good

CEO - iBorrow

As the CEO of iBorrow, former real estate lawyer, real estate owner and adept businessman, Brian has a vast array of knowledge in the commercial real estate sector, specifically structuring complex deals. Borrowers and investors alike turn to Brian because of his ability to underwrite deals quickly while adhering to a high standard of ethics and due diligence. Not only is Brian well-positioned in understanding every aspect of the deal process – including what is vital and what isn’t – but he goes beyond the numbers by taking a comprehensive and strategic approach to each deal. Brian first founded Eagle Group, LLC in 2001, as a fully-integrated real estate company that handles all aspects of commercial real estate including finance, loan servicing, management and advisory services. In 2012, Brian branched off to create iBorrow (formerly Eagle Group Finance), a dedicated lender specializing in private loans for commercial properties in the Western U.S. Prior to iBorrow, Brian was a real estate transactional attorney at the law firms of TroyGould and Kulik, Gottesman & Mouton, where he represented real estate investment trusts, publicly traded real estate companies and high-net- worth individuals. He also served as President and Board Member of TenantDirect.com, the developer of the first web-based property management software system for the real estate industry. Brian earned his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his J.D. from Loyola Law School. He also has an MBA from Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business. Brian is a licensed California real estate broker and a member of the State Bar of California. He has taught multiple courses at UCLA Extension, and currently serves as Vice President of the Guardians, Board Member of the Southern California Golf Association Foundation and Member of the Real Estate Council of the Federation.

Jerry Neuman

Partner - Liner LLP

Gary Weiss

Principal - LA Realty Partners

Gary Weiss is one of the founding Principals of L.A. Realty Partners and has been an active broker in the Los Angeles area since 1987. He started his career at Studley, specializing in the West Los Angeles submarket, focusing on tenant representation. After 13 years at Studley as one of their consistently top-producing brokers, Mr. Weiss left in 1999 to start up the commercial brokerage division of Wall Street investment bank, Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, headquartered in Century City. Shortly after DLJ’s takeover by Credit Suisse First Boston, Gary left CSFB in January 2002 and joined the JH Snyder Company as Senior Vice President, concentrating on new development, acquisition, and leasing. From there, he opened Madison Partners in Century City in March of 2004, with three other partners. Gary has made his reputation by representing many high profile tenants and has select high end landlord assignments. He has completed over 8 million square feet of transactions, and to date, has negotiated over 460 separate real estate transactions. Additionally, he has represented over 4 million square feet of law firm, entertainment and media companies, and over 2.5 million square feet of transactions in Century City alone. EDUCATION AND AFFILIATIONS:  B.S. in Business Management, San Diego State University (1979);  Board of Directors, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s LA Chapter (2010 – 2015));  Chairman, Los Angeles Regional Counsel, San Diego State University (2013 – Present);  Board of Directors, Wags & Walks(2015 – Present).

David Shimkin

Litigator - Cozen O'Connor

David A. Shimkin is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Cozen O'Connor, an international law firm consistently ranked among the top 100 law firms in the country. His litigation practice includes complex commercial matters, with a focus on representing hospitality, construction/real estate, and food and beverage clients, and David was recently named co-chair of the firm's Food and Beverage industry team. A former Bronx prosecutor, David has briefed more than 40 appeals in the state and federal courts, and has tried numerous cases. David was also an adjunct professor at New York Law School, and sits on the board of a major nonprofit organization. David was a John Kluge Scholar as an undergraduate at Columbia University, from which he graduated in 1993. He earned his law degree in 1997 from Cornell Law School, where he was a general editor of the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy. David was chosen as a 2013 Rising Star by the New York Law Journal and named as Cozen O'Connor's 2016 Fellow with the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.

Sal LaViña

Department Chair - Enenstein Ribakoff LaViña & Pham

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.

Daniel Martin

Senior Partner - Paolucci Salling & Martin

Daniel has spent nearly two decades developing integrated brand campaigns for a wide spectrum of clients within the place- making industry. From some of nation’s most prominent homebuilders including The New Home Company and Lennar, to master developers such as Wilson Meany and the west coast’s largest mixed-use development Metropolis in Downtown Los Angeles, Daniel’s role at the agency puts him at the forefront of strategizing high-impact marketing solutions across all paid and earned mediums. In addition to his work with private builders and developers, Daniel has been intimately engaged in resort, travel and destination marketing campaigns for the Mexican Tourism Board and Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes as well as a wide variety of economic development programs on behalf of cities such as El Segundo, Riverside and Redondo Beach. A graduate of University of California Los Angeles, Daniel is a member of the Eagle Scouts of America and resides in Hermosa Beach with his wife Kerry, their little baby girl Elle and the family’s mini-labradoodle Pepper.

Jan Karl

VP - Morley Builders

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 President of the Los Angeles Headquarters Association, is a board member of the Los Angeles Business Council and actively participates as a past board member and officer of the Urban Land Institute and CoreNet. 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 LEED AP.