NY Life Sciences Expansion: Unlocking Opportunity

JERRY SALAMA has been a Principal of The Janus Property Company since 1998. The Janus Property Company is a recognized leader in the transformation of New York City's obsolete buildings and underutilized land areas into dynamic structures and vibrant neighborhoods. Prior to Janus, Mr. Salama was Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Acting General Manager of the New York City Housing Authority and Counsel to the Deputy Mayor of New York for Finance and Economic Development. Earlier in his career, Mr. Salama was a real estate attorney with the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Mr. Salama received a J.D. from Harvard Law School, a Master in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from the University of Pennsylvania. For the last 19 years, he has taught a course at the New York University School of Law entitled "Land Use, Housing and Community Development in New York City.

Nishta has extensive and specialized expertise in research, biotech, startups, entrepreneurship and academic partnerships with the goal of translating technologies to commercially viable therapies and products. Most recently, she served as Senior Director of Scientific Operations at Kadmon, a biotech startup based in New York City that focuses on discovery, development, and commercialization of small molecules and biologics. A molecular biologist by training, Nishta has scientific experience both in academia and industry.

Peter Schubert, FAIA is a Design Partner at Ennead Architects. Peter has spent over thirty-years designing award-winning office, commercial life science, vertical laboratories, R&D and innovation centers, academic science, mixed-use residential, hospital and hotel projects in the US and around the world. Fusing a passion for urbanism with iconic architecture that integrates local culture, history and context, he creates purposeful buildings and civic spaces. His work includes: Center East: The New York Blood Center, on the Upper East Side; The Cove Jersey City, a 3,000,000 SF commercial science-led mixed-use development; DIVCO West’s Parcel U project at Cambridge Crossing in MA; and the Alexandria Center for Life Science at East River Science Plaza, the first ground-up commercial lab project in New York City. Ennead has close to 5,000,000 sf of ground-up commercial lab projects across the Northeast. The firm is responsible for projects in the New York area as diverse as The Standard Hotel Highline, the new Koch Research Center at MSK and The Rose Planetarium.

Eugene R. Diaz is the founder and principal partner at Prism Capital Partners. Prism, began in 2002 with a mission of strategically investing and developing solely in the Tri-State area, across a broad spectrum of asset classes and transaction sizes. Today, the firm employs more than forty (40) professionals providing construction, development, investment, and property management services to its many institutional partners and investors. Through his stewardship, the firm remains one of the state’s most active and respected redevelopers focusing on adaptive re-use and repurposing of excess corporate facilities and turn of the century industrial buildings. The firm actively develops from the ground up for multi-family, office, industrial and retail investments as well, and purchases both stabilized and un- stabilized income producing assets. The firm has exhibited a strong investment discipline and a corresponding track record that attracts joint venture equity capital from some of the most venerable global investment management firms. Prism is leaving an indelible mark on the New Jersey landscape with such notable redevelopments and adaptive reuses project like Parkway Lofts in Bloomfield, NJ, the 361 unit apartment conversion of the former 100 year old GE BoilerWorks Building on the Garden State Parkway, as well as the 333 unit apartment conversion of the 100 year old historically designated Thomas A Edison Battery and Invention Center in West Orange, NJ and the redevelopment of the 116 acre former Roche Pharmaceutical headquarters known as ON 3, which houses the prestigious Hackensack-Meridian Seton Hall College of Medicine. Previously, Diaz worked for Cushman & Wakefield and held several leadership positions at Gale & Wentworth, including chief investment officer responsible for directing and overseeing all aspects of the company's investment activities. During his tenure he grew the firm's owned investment portfolio from 500,000 square feet to more than 12 million square feet in eight states. Throughout his career, Diaz has been responsible for the acquisition and capitalization of more than 20 million square feet of commercial real estate with total transaction value in excess of $2.5 billion.. He is frequently quoted in many industry publications as well as topical pieces in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. He earned a master's degree in Real Estate Investment & Development from New York University, where he has frequented as a guest lecturer and stand-in professor. Diaz received undergraduate degrees in Economics and Political Science from Northwestern University. Early in his career Diaz was honored by Commercial Property News as one of their "Stars to Watch." and is regularly ranked by NJBIZ as one of New Jersey’s most influential real estate people ranking him 3rd out of the 75 most influential leaders. He is a past member of the Board of Trustees of Englewood Hospital and an Honorary Foundation Board Member of the Bergen Performing

John Pennett is the Partner-in-Charge of the Life Sciences Group and Technology Group. He has 30 years of public accounting experience, with a strong emphasis on public and private life science and technology companies. John is a frequent writer and speaker on topics related to issues impacting businesses in the life sciences and technology space. He is the publisher of Catalyst, a magazine focused solely on issues related to life sciences and pharmaceutical companies. John supports entrepreneurial organizations around the country with content and program development, and serves as a mentor to several early-stage companies. John has led the accounting, auditing and strategic advisory work for more than a hundred IPOs, private financing and mergers and acquisitions with an aggregate valuation in excess of $2 billion. In addition, he has served as the interim lead of the firm’s Risk Advisory Practice, leading internal audit, contract compliance and Sarbanes-Oxley implementation and testing. He is deeply involved in the firm’s Outsourced Accounting Services practice and the International Services Group. John previously worked as an Audit Partner for an international accounting and consulting firm.