The Future of Fort Worth

Susan Gruppi started M2G Ventures in 2014. Susan is responsible for Development, Strategy and Value Creation at M2G. Prior to starting M2G, Susan was with Trademark Property Company for 7 years, where she served in many roles including Analyst, Manager, Director of Finance and Vice President. M2G strives to be the chosen visionary platform in innovative mixed-use and industrial assets through investing and select consulting. The company also has an integrated approach to social impact with their mental health initiative. Susan serves on the board for the Cultural District Alliance in Fort Worth. She is also a member of The Greater Fort Worth Real Estate Council and the International Council of Shopping Centers. She received her BBA in Finance with a Real Estate Concentration and a Minor in Spanish from Texas Christian University.

Jessica Miller Essl is the co-president of M2G Ventures, a commercial real estate private equity and advisory development comp any based in Fort Worth, Texas. Guided by the leadership of Jessica and her partner, Susan Gruppi, the fast-growing company carefully invests in distinctive mixed-use and industrial development projects located in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex and the Austin Central Texas region. Jessica is responsible for business development, strategy, marketing, leasing and overseeing the company’s landlord advisory practices at M2G. Under Jessica’s leadership, the company continues to push the envelope with innovative ways to create places users want to be. Jessica possesses a relentless drive in truly creating value-add opportunities for all of the projects the company touches. Prior to starting M2G, Jessica was with Open Realty Advisors. During her tenure there, Jessica was instrumental in the company’s landlord consulting platform. She led the strategy and execution of the real estate roll out for Tesla and Spanx across North America. Jessica also played a key role in the site selection and execution of other major brands, such as J. Crew, Apple, Restoration Hardware, Diane Von Furstenberg, and Abercrombie & Fitch, to name a few. She negotiated transactions with every major retail owner in the United States during her time there. Prior to joining Open Realty, Jessica was Senior Leasing Representative at Trademark Property Company, where she specialized in the leasing strategy, execution, and project management of super-regional malls and upscale mixed-use centers. Jessica is credited with bringing some of the nation’s most premier specialty retailers to Trademark’s projects during her four years there. Jessica serves on the Real Estate Council of Greater Fort Worth, the TCU Center for Real Estate Advisory Board, the Board for the TCU M.J. Neeley Entrepreneurial School, and the Small Development Council for Urban Land Institute. Jessica was named Top 40 under 40 in 2017 as well as received the Strong Partner Award from Girls Inc. of Tarrant County. She is a graduate of Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Real Estate with a Concentration in Leadership.

A 35-year veteran of commercial real estate, hospitality and casino gaming, Craig Cavileer delivers a rare depth and breadth of experience in high profile, highly successful retail and resort projects. Craig serves as CEO of Silverton Casino Hotel in Las Vegas and as EVP of Majestic Realty Co. in Los Angeles. Since joining Silverton in January 1998, Craig has been responsible for the strategic development and operations of the resort, as well as the development of its 100-acre mixed-use, entertainment/gaming/retail destination. Craig has directed the investment of more than $300m at the resort, including multiple expansions of the casino, restaurants, entertainment, the award winning 117,000-gallon saltwater aquarium attraction and the 165,000 sf flagship Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World. Innovative in its design, Silverton remains the only award winning casino/resort where large format lifestyle retail is seamlessly integrated into the gaming/entertainment experience. Recent developments at Silverton include the development of a $90m, 400-unit timeshare-hotel property located at the resort. This 4 Star all-suite resort added to the broad offerings of Silverton. Other recent developments include the addition of Panera Bread, Cracker Barrel, Blaze Pizza and Starbucks. Opening in August 2019 is the new $50m-150 room Hyatt Place Hotel. Craig’s additional accomplishments and career highlights include: • Served on the design and development team for Staples Center in Los Angeles on behalf of Majestic Realty Co. • Served as EVP at Majestic since ’93 where he has developed more than 2.5m sf of retail and entertainment projects. • Currently leading the development of the $120m Fort Worth South Business Park in Texas. • Currently leading the development of a $200m mixed-use, retail, office and Autograph Collection hotel in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District. • Currently leading the development of the new Silverton Ranch / Marriott Hotel in Pahrump, NV located at the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch. Craig is an active member of the community serving in a variety of leadership roles. In addition to being a board member and treasurer of the Nevada Ballet Theatre, he is a Trustee of the UNLV Foundation, a member of the Leadership Council for the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, Nellis AFB Support Team (NST) board member, Honorary Commander of the 820th Red Horse Squadron, a member of the Nevada Resort Association and is a frequent speaker for the Urban Land Institute, G2E and ICSC. Craig holds a BBA in Marketing from Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.

Aaliyah Haqq, Vice President at Dominus Commercial partners with C-level executives, entrepreneurs and business leaders to explore the relationship between office space, strategy, purpose, culture, and staff retention. After spending nearly two decades in leadership development and health & human services, Aaliyah has consistently used her super powers to create the conditions for leaders, organizations, and communities to be at their best. A strong advocate for serving the community, Aaliyah is a past Board Chair for Promise House and the National Family Preservation Network. She currently serves on Dallas CASA’s Board of Directors, is a member of the Promise House Executive Support and Assessment Team, and is a member of Hofstra University’s School of Health Professions and Human Services Dean’s Advisory Committee. To support the demands of being a corporate athlete, she plays soccer, practices yoga, and is a marathoner. Aaliyah holds a BS from Hofstra University in Community Health and is a Licensed Texas Realtor. Her professional affiliations include CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women), NTCAR (North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors), and Conscious Capitalism. She is currently the Chair of the CREW Dallas Smart Growth Committee and is a member of CREW Network’s Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force.

Born and raised in South East London, Adam has always been a ken sportsman; representing his high school in Soccer, Rugby and Cricket. He started his working life as a Police Constable in Central London and then moved on to becoming a “Mens Grooming Expert” (which led to him appearing on The Times, The Telegraph, The Independent & GQ). This career path bought Adam to Dallas, Texas where he met his wife and decided to settle down. In Texas, Adam chose to start over or “re-tool”, and pursued a Management Degree at SMU. Once his studies were complete, Adam moved into sales of HVAC where he touched many commercial construction projects. Adam loves the thrill of new challenges, and meeting new people and can't wait to start his career with Bisnow in Dallas.