Philadelphia State of the Market

Mr. Thomson is a Senior Managing Director and co-head of the HFF Philadelphia office with more than 10 years of experience in commercial real estate. He is primarily responsible for originating investment sales and equity placement transactions throughout the northeastern United States, in addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations of the firm’s Philadelphia location. Mr. Thomson has executed more than $3 billion in commercial real estate transactions in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Mr. Thomson joined the firm in December 2013. Prior to HFF, he was Vice President of Investments and Director of Marcus & Millichap’s national multi-housing group specializing in the sale of multi-housing assets in the Mid-Atlantic region. Prior to his departure, his team was the highest producing multi-housing team in the Mid-Atlantic.

Lauren Gilchrist is the Executive Vice President and Market Leader of the Greater Philadelphia Region. Gilchrist oversees Newmark Real Estate’s (Newmark’s) full suite of service offerings, managing strategic planning, revenue growth and profitability, recruitment and business development in the company’s Philadelphia, Wayne, Southern New Jersey and Delaware offices. Based in the Philadelphia CBD office, Gilchrist holds appointments to the Board of Directors for the Philadelphia Facilities Management Corporation/Philadelphia Gas Works, Philadelphia Orchestra, Old City Community Fund, M&T Bank Advisory Board and the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of NAIOP—where she served as Chapter President from 2019 to 2020. In addition, Gilchrist has been recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal as a 40 Under 40 honoree and a Woman of Distinction, and a Philly Power Woman by Bisnow. Prior to joining Newmark, Gilchrist was the Managing Director of Research at Longfellow Real Estate Partners, where she directed research strategy, content creation and thought leadership, and provided market research to drive project underwriting and execution. Previously, Gilchrist also held roles as Senior Vice President of Research at JLL, Manager of Research & Analysis at the Center City District and Program Manager at the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness.

Bob has been a top loan originator with a 20-year career in the commercial real estate finance industry with Berkadia and its predecessor companies; GMACCM and Capmark. Bob’s extensive loan origination experience includes, construction loans, interim loans, permanent mortgages, tax-free financing, participating mortgages, and equity investments. During his career in commercial real estate finance, Bob has originated transactions totaling more than $8 billion with more than 50 different capital sources including life insurance companies, banks, credit companies, investment banks, REITs and pension funds. Under Bob’s leadership, the Philadelphia Branch has established itself as a dominant capital markets provider and intermediary both in the region and nationally producing over $22 billion in new financing over the last decade.

Brian is one of two Managing Directors responsible for Ensemble’s East Coast development and investments (in partnership with Mark Seltzer), and he is a member of the Leadership Team. Brian is passionate about creating sustainable projects that enhance lives and currently guides the planning and development at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia and other properties in the region. Prior to Ensemble, he spent 19 years in several key roles for Liberty Property Trust, most recently as Vice President and Market Officer of Liberty Property Trust’s Philadelphia office where he had P&L responsibility for a 4.5 million square foot portfolio of urban office, industrial and flex space, including the Navy Yard. Brian obtained a Bachelor of Science in Real Estate from the University of Pennsylvania and holds a Pennsylvania Real Estate Broker’s License.

Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Dean S. Adler is CEO and Co-Founder of Lubert-Adler Partners, L.P., a real estate equity firm with over $7 billion in equity and $17 billion of assets under management. Dean is Head of the Investment Committee, and is responsible for leading the strategic direction of the team. Lubert-Adler invests on behalf of, among others, 30 major university endowments, state pension funds, and major foundations. Prior to Lubert-Adler, Dean graduated magna cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a J.D. degree with honors from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and was an instructor at the Wharton School between 1981 and 1983. Subsequently, he worked at Ernst & Young, Baker and Hostetler and CMS. Currently, he is an Executive Committee Member and Research Sponsor for the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center of The Wharton School and currently serves on the board of directors of Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY). He has been a keynote speaker for national real estate organizations such as the Urban Land Institute and the International Council of Shopping Centers. Dean has served on numerous community boards and has served on the City of Philadelphia's Economic Development Summit.

Matthew Pestronk is co-founder of Post Brothers, a real estate investment, development and management company with singular and unique expertise in urban real estate development. Matthew serves as President of the company, engaged in the sponsorship of Class-A multifamily, mixed-use and retail development projects comprised of over 7,000 units that are operating, under development or disposed plus, over 400,000 sf of commercial space, with a total capitalized cost in excess of $2.5 billion. Matthew shares strategic leadership of the company with his brother, Michael, and is engaged in asset management, financing, and project and capital formation. Matthew has worked in real estate capital transactions for his entire 20+-year career and was previously a real estate financing executive in New York City prior to forming Post Brothers. Matthew is also very active in his community and has board service experience for multiple charitable organizations including the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation, Beat the Streets Philadelphia, West Nottingham Academy, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and is the Immediate past Chair of Jewish Federation Real Estate.

As President, Michael Markman oversees acquisitions, leasing, financing and development for BET Investments, a real estate management and development company that owns, manages, develops and leases shopping centers, office buildings and apartment complexes throughout the United States. Mr. Markman was formerly general counsel of a publicly traded New York Stock Exchange real estate investment trust (REIT) with over $500 million in assets where he managed all legal matters. He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and the Temple University School of Law and is member of the Pennsylvania Bar. He is a Commissioner in Abington Township, Pennsylvania, past chairman Abington Township Planning Commission, a member of the Board of Directors of the John A. Robbins Company and on the Board of Trustees at Ursinus College. Mr. Markman is a frequent speaker on industry topics and serves on the boards of various charitable groups.