Global Leaders in Real Estate Summit

Eric is a managing director responsible for the origination, evaluation and execution of real estate credit and structured credit investments on behalf of Manulife’s real estate credit platform. Prior to joining Manulife, Eric was a vice president at Prospect Ridge where he was responsible for originating private and public real estate credit investments. He was a vice president at Affinius Capital (formerly Square Mile), where he was responsible for real estate credit investments across the Northeast and Midwest regions as well as life sciences investments throughout the country. Eric served as a vice president in the construction balance sheet lending group at J.P. Morgan. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Eric was an associate in the commercial mortgage-backed securities group at Cantor Commercial Real Estate.

Leo Jacobs is a commercial litigation and bankruptcy attorney and the founder of Jacobs, P.C., a boutique law firm known for finding creative, direct, and expedient solutions to complex and high-profile issues.

Leo tirelessly and zealously works to build trust and long-standing relationships with his clients, who rely on his counsel, representation, negotiation, and advocacy to forge speedy, practical paths to move forward.

Leo's core competencies: investment management, asset management, real estate, corporate law, business counsel, acquisitions, leasing, commercial litigation, dispute resolution, negotiation, administrative law, compliance, corporate governance, analysis, and outside counsel management.

Sara Queen is a Managing Director and Head of Equity Strategies for MetLife Investment Management’s (MIM) Real Estate group. She is responsible for leading MIM’s direct property investment platform and investing on behalf of the MetLife general account and third-party institutional investors.

Prior to joining MIM in March 2021, Sara was Head of North American Business at Mapletree Investments and Head of Asset Management for the U.S. office portfolio at Brookfield Property Partners. She also held a variety of asset management and portfolio management roles at Clarion Partners and started her asset management career at MetLife.

Sara earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Economics and History from Wellesley College.

Frank is a Trust Partner at PwC in the Risk Modeling Services practice, bringing over 20 years of experience in Risk Management and Management Consulting. He co-leads the national Climate Risk practice and contributes to the One Firm ESG Strategy. Frank oversees the Climate Risk modeling team, which includes 12 PhD climate scientists and approximately 20 model developers. This team focuses on both qualitative and quantitative impact measurement for assets, inventory, and business interruptions, including those affecting key suppliers.

Frank holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Management Science from University College Dublin, Ireland.

Daniel Ross Berman counsels developers, investors, lenders and operators in a range of real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, development deals, preferred equity investments, loans, leases, recapitalizations and restructurings. His work spans hospitality, industrial, health care, entertainment, retail, office, multifamily and mixed-use properties.

Dan has a national practice that includes acquisitions, dispositions and joint venture development deals across the country as well as a localized practice with an emphasis on complex development deals. For example, Dan is currently handling numerous redevelopment projects in New York City involving various religious and charitable institutions, each with different deal structures. These include ground leasing the land during development and dividing the ownership of the completed building between the developer and the institution by converting the property to a commercial condominium.  

Dan is a member of Kramer Levin’s Pro Bono, Ethics and Technology committees.

Shaunak Tanna is an executive director at PGIM Real Estate. Based in New York, Shaunak is responsible for sourcing, underwriting, and structuring real estate investments including senior and mezzanine loans and preferred equity transactions for the eastern U.S. 

Prior to joining PGIM Real Estate, Shaunak was Head of Structured Investments for Basis Investment Group, LLC, where he was responsible for the firm’s mezzanine and bridge lending, and originated a range of investments across stabilized, development and transitional value-add properties. Before Basis, he was with Terra Capital Partners, LLC and its affiliate The Greenwich Group International, LLC. 

Shaunak has a Bachelor of Commerce in accounting and taxation from the University of Mumbai and a Master of Business Administration in real estate from Baruch College. Shaunak is also a Chartered Accountant, and an active member of the Advisory Board for Steven Newman Real Estate Institute of Baruch College.

Scott Darby is an Executive Director in the Securitized Products Group. He sits on the Primary CMBS trading desk, responsible for the pricing, structuring, origination, and syndication of subordinate commercial real estate debt including mezzanine loans, B-notes, subordinate CMBS bonds & risk retention interests, as well as the pricing and syndication of J.P. Morgan-originated mortgage loans. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Darby was an Associate at Nomura on the flow volatility trading desk. He is a 2012 graduate of the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, earning a B.S. in Business Administration with a major in Finance.

DIEGO HODARA is the founder and CEO of Titanium Realty Group, a real estate investment and development company focused on mix-use and residential real estate assets in transit oriented emerging markets within the metropolitan area of New York. 

Titanium Realty Group has close to 2,000 under development or completed units in Jersey City NJ and Port Chester NY, representing a total development cost of more than 800 million dollars. The projects are mainly mix-used ground-up buildings ranging from 50 to 420 units per building. Titanium Realty Group holds the certification of a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE).

Prior to founding Titanium Realty Group, Diego was involved as a senior manager in several large-scale developments including ground-up projects not only in the NYC but also in Latin America such as Sheraton Hotel in Montevideo Uruguay, a 25-story building with post-tension concrete slab system.

Diego holds a Master’s degree in Real Estate Finance and Investment from NYU. He also holds a degree in Architecture and Urban Planning, and an MBA from the University of Uruguay. He is an Academy Board Member and Professor at ORT University in Uruguay for the Real Estate Certificate program. He is also a Board Member of Jersey City Apartment Owners Association and a Member at Urban Land Institute.

Mr. Negari is the Co-Founder and EVP of Sovereign Capital NYC. Michael’s duties include joint venture relationship-management, sourcing, due-diligence, underwriting, financing, capital markets and asset management. Prior to Sovereign, Michael spent 11 years in the mergers and acquisitions sector. While at Oberon Securities, he assisted corporate client acquisitions, divestiture and capital raising efforts as a generalist leading deal teams. Prior to this, Michael was a Senior Associate at Duff & Phelps’ Valuation Advisory Services group focused in M&A – clients served include D.E. Shaw & Co., Fortress Investment Group LLC, Apollo Management L.P., Conversus Capital L.P., Newcastle Investment Corp., The Carlyle Group, among others. While pursuing his MBA in Corporate Finance at Fordham University, Mr. Negari spent two years as an M&A Associate at David N. Deutsch & Co. (boutique investment bank). Prior to obtaining his MBA, Michael was a Financial Analyst within AIG’s Global Investment Group managing $11.9Bn (AUM).

SUSAN MORTH is the CEO of the Energy Improvement Corporation, a NY State C-PACE program administrator. Ms. Morth leads overall operations, including the development and implementation of OPEN C-PACE, a public/private partnership that provides commercial property owners innovative financing for energy efficiency and renewable measures. Ms. Morth is the Founder and Chair of the EIC Advisory Committee, a national C-PACE working group which includes large commercial property managers and specialty finance companies. Ms. Morth has over 20 years of capital markets experience including the development of new financial products. Prior to EIC, Ms. Morth was a Partner at Empirical Research Partners and Sanford C. Bernstein & CO LLC.

Aundre, Managing Partner at AoRa Development, is a construction disruptor with expertise in offsite construction and sustainable development. He oversees the firm's portfolio, from identifying undervalued acquisitions to raising capital. His visionary approach to architectural design and holistic view of deal-making have positioned AoRa as a leader in efficient, sustainable development. His commitment to innovation is evident in his use of cutting-edge technologies, ESG friendly building materials, creative financing and acquisitions strategies. AoRa's strategic use of renewable energy, PropTech solutions, and PACE financing not only benefits the environment but also boosts investor returns.

Aundre has certifications from Cornell’s Commercial Real Estate and Columbia’s Construction Finance Management. He also chairs the Offsite Construction Council with the National Institute of Building Sciences and the finance committee for EIC NY PACE. His innovative prowess was recognized when he won the NYC DOB "Hack the Building Code" contest, creating a solution to expedite permit approval and generate significant revenue for NYC. Aundre's disruptive approach and holistic perspective make him a valuable voice in ESG discussions and a key player in the future of sustainable development.

Trond Rokholt is a Managing Director at NY Green Bank on the Investment and Portfolio Management Team. He is responsible for investing NY Green Bank's capital in clean and sustainable energy projects in the State of New York, and he manages a portfolio of investments across various renewable energy asset classes.

Trond has more than 30 years of experience in providing corporate and project finance, M&A advisory and restructuring services to the renewable and conventional energy, and the maritime transportation sectors. Prior to joining NY Green Bank, Trond served as a managing director in the investment banking arm of DVB Bank SE focused on capital raising and M&A for transportation and energy clients globally. Trond has been a senior member of the maritime transportation and energy teams at Pareto Securities, Jefferies, Fortis Capital and BancBoston Robertson Stephens. Trond began his banking career specializing in shipping and oil & gas at ING Bank and Manufacturers Hanover Trust in New York.

Trond holds an MBA in finance from McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas and B.S. in finance from University of Utah.

Nick Hoffman is a partner in the Real Estate Practice Group in the New York office of Haynes and Boone. Nick regularly represents investment banks, commercial banks, and foreign and domestic private equity clients in sophisticated real estate transactions, including structured loans, mezzanine loans, construction financing, preferred equity investments and joint ventures. Nick devotes a significant portion of his practice to capital markets and syndication work in the debt space including note sales, intercreditor arrangements and participations. Nick also has experience with debt restructurings work-outs, and single asset and portfolio acquisitions and dispositions.

Before joining the firm, Nick was a senior executive with the Ruben Companies, a Manhattan based developer, and was involved in all aspects of the management and development of its office and residential portfolio in New York, Washington, D.C. and Boston.

John Randall joined PCCP in December 2009 and leads East Coast originations for the Firm out of New York. Since joining PCCP, Mr. Randall has originated over 100 equity and debt transactions aggregating in excess of $2 billion including hotel, retail, office, condo, multi-family and industrial investments and including senior debt, mezzanine, preferred equity and joint venture equity.  Prior to PCCP, Mr. Randall spent six years and invested over $1 billion in real estate debt and preferred equity positions within the Real Estate Private Equity group of Lehman Brothers. Prior to Lehman Brothers, Mr. Randall was a Vice President with Deutsche Bank, originating and underwriting mezzanine investments for the DB Real Estate Mezzanine Investment Funds. Mr. Randall's experience also includes work at Daiwa Securities originating and structuring conduit loans for their CMBS group.  Mr. Randall started his career with Arthur Andersen and Jones Lang Wootton where he valued over $1 billion of real estate in the U.S. and Latin America. Mr. Randall has over 25 years of real estate experience and holds a B.A. in Economics from Bowdoin College, magna cum laude, and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Steve Gordon, based in New York, NY, US, is currently a Managing Director at Pearlmark, bringing experience from previous roles at Hunt Companies, Inc, HPS Investment Partners, LLC, Sorin Capital Management and MKP Capital Management, L.L.C.. Steve Gordon holds a 1993 - 1997 BS in Finance @ Penn State University. With a robust skill set that includes Fixed Income, Portfolio Management, Bloomberg, Alternative Investments, CMBS and more, Steve Gordon contributes valuable insights to the industry.

Paul M. Fried, Executive Managing Director and Head of Equity Capital Markets, is responsible for leading Greystone’s equity capital placement services. Paul’s team advises on structuring creative equity solutions and capital strategies and sources institutional equity on behalf of real estate owners and developers nationwide across all commercial asset classes.

Paul joined GBG from L&L Holding, where he was a Managing Director and head of Equity and Debt Capital Markets. Paul’s experience spans over two decades and numerous economic cycles, providing clients with a unique perspective on successfully managing the equity capital markets. Projects at L&L, alone, encompassed over $4 billion in strategic acquisitions, equity recapitalizations and development projects, such as 425 Park Avenue in Manhattan. Prior to L&L, Paul oversaw the Real Estate Banking and Restructuring Group at Traxi LLC.

Paul was a Director at Deutsche Banc Mortgage Capital and a member of the Investment Committee, and co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of mezzanine lender Allegiance Capital. He was an attorney with Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy.

Paul has a JD from Rutgers (Newark), where he was an Editor of the Law Review, and a BA from Rutgers College (New Brunswick; History) where he was a Henry Rutgers Scholar. He is a Council Member of the Urban Land Institute.

Leo Jacobs is a commercial litigation and bankruptcy attorney and the founder of Jacobs, P.C., a boutique law firm known for finding creative, direct, and expedient solutions to complex and high-profile issues.

Leo tirelessly and zealously works to build trust and long-standing relationships with his clients, who rely on his counsel, representation, negotiation, and advocacy to forge speedy, practical paths to move forward.

Leo's core competencies: investment management, asset management, real estate, corporate law, business counsel, acquisitions, leasing, commercial litigation, dispute resolution, negotiation, administrative law, compliance, corporate governance, analysis, and outside counsel management.

Craig Deitelzweig joined Marx Realty as its President and CEO in 2017 and has been responsible for growing the company as well as streamlining the company’s strategy by focusing on value-add office investments in three core markets: New York City, Washington D.C. and Atlanta. Craig is also charged with repositioning Marx’s entire portfolio as well as growing the Marx team and profitability. Over his 25-year career, Craig has vast experience in every aspect of the real estate industry and believes in a very hands-on approach.  

Prior to Marx, he held senior roles at both private equity and private development companies, including redeveloping over 50 assets in major markets across the country with a particular emphasis on NY and DC. Craig’s projects have received various awards from industry groups such as NAIOP, BOMA, Globe St., Crain’s, Washington Business Journal and AIA. He has been interviewed as a thought and innovation leader in several features in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, CNN, CBS, Bloomberg and on CNBC, and was selected as one of the Real Estate Forum’s Best Bosses of 2019. Under Craig’s leadership, Marx was selected to Crain’s Best Places to Work in 2020, 2021, and 2022. 

Craig graduated Cum Laude from Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business (where he currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Advisory Board) and earned a J.D. at Fordham University’s School of Law. Craig serves on the Mixed-Use Council of the Urban Land Institute as a ULI mentor; on the Strategic Advisory Council of Shadow Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in PropTech investments; and on ULI's New York Awards Selection Committee.

Mr. Raisner is the Founder and CEO of The Raisner Group (formerly Proteus Capital Management), a real estate private equity firm headquartered in New York City.

Initially, The Raisner Group purchased distressed apartment buildings auctioned off by banks. Since then, it has made instrumental contributions to the rebirth of Brooklyn.

Under his leadership, Proteus has raised capital domestically and internationally since 2009. It has been active in non-performing notes and fee simple transactions, and focuses primarily on value-add, residential and mixed-use real estate investments in New York City. Most of the firm’s acquisitions have taken place in the outer boroughs, with an emphasis in the emerging Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Starting 2013, The Raisner Group also became involved in PropTech, through its affiliate Raisner Tech Ventures, and made seed round investments in such startups as TheGuarantors, Enertiv, RealCrowd, LeasePilot, Nooklyn and PlotBox.

Prior to creating his company, Mr. Raisner worked as an equity trader for a hedge fund in New York and as a private equity investor in Argentina.

In conjunction to being an entrepreneur, Mr. Raisner has been a contributor to numerous international and domestic media outlets since 2011. His articles have been featured in publications including Forbes, Le Monde, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Observer and The Huffington Post (U.S., Canada, France, Italy and Mexico editions) and have been published by think tanks such as The Berggruen Institute, The World Economic Forum and The Urban Land Institute.

Mr. Raisner graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he wrote a thesis on the Economic Impact of Yugoslavia’s Political Evolution.

He holds a MBA from Columbia Business School with Dean’s List honors, and attended Universidad de San Andres in Buenos Aires. He is a CFA Chartherholder, a Foreign Trade Advisor to the Government of France and a Founding Member of the Transatlantic Forum of the French-American Foundation.

He is a frequent lecturer at universities and conferences, and is involved in various New York City organizations committed to ending homelessness and economically empowering lower-income communities.

He grew up in Paris and played professional basketball prior to his career in business.

Mr. Lewis is Chairman, President and Founder of Wharton Equity. Since its inception in 1987, he has overseen the expansion of the firm’s investment reach across different asset classes and strategies. As Chairman of the Real Estate Investment Committee, Mr. Lewis drives the direction of the firm as it executes its disciplined strategy of recognizing and capitalizing on emerging trends.

Among other initiative over the course of his leadership of Wharton Equity, Mr. Lewis established the firm’s industrial, multifamily, self-storage, homebuilding, hospitality and venture capital platforms resulting in $2.5 billion of transactions.

Mr. Lewis has had a diverse career having been employed in investment banking, commercial banking and tax accounting prior to forming Wharton Equity.  Besides his real estate activities, he is an active venture capital and private equity investor.  Mr. Lewis received his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his Master in Business Administration from the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University. He is a frequent guest lecturer in real estate, and is involved in a number of philanthropic endeavors.

Randy provides advisory services with a focus on occupiers and investors of real estate as they enhance their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy. He helps PwC clients cut through the complexity to set the vision, foundation, and reporting plans for clients to achieve their environmental & decarbonization goals Randy holds a Doctorate in Engineering Management from Southern Methodist University, an MBA from Marquette University, and a BS in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Texas, a Certified Energy Manager, Certified Measurement & Verification Professional and a Six Sigma Master Blackbelt.

Ailey leads the firm’s sustainable investing strategy across equity and debt real estate investments. With over 10 years’ of ESG experience, she is responsible for developing and implementing BGO’s sustainable investing approach to integrate ESG considerations in investment decisions. Ailey holds a Master of Environment & Sustainability from Western University, a Bachelor in Environment & Business from the University of Waterloo. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Canada Green Building Council.

Elana Lipchak is a Director on the ABS strategy team at BofA Global Research. Her research includes credit, prepayment, structure, and relative value analysis for various sectors in the ABS market. Elana also leads Sustainability Research for US securitized products, covering environmental, social and governance themes for US ABS, MBS, CMBS, and CLOs. Areas of focus include the green transition, climate risk analysis for real estate, and the exploration of social themes with respect to equitable access to homeownership and affordable housing.

Elana joined Bank of America in 2011 and has been covering both consumer and commercial ABS since 2015. She launched coverage of Sustainability for Securitized Products in 2021. She has bachelor’s degrees in Finance and International Studies from the Pennsylvania State University and is a CFA charterholder.

Curtis Probst is CEO of New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation: a green bank that finances energy efficiency and clean energy projects in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, with a focus on disadvantaged communities. Before joining NYCEEC in 2018, he was a Managing Director and the Head of Sustainable Finance for RMI, a global clean energy think tank. Previously, Curtis worked in investment banking for over 24 years, most recently, as a Managing Director and the Head of Corporate Structured Finance at Goldman Sachs. Curtis received a BComm from University of Calgary, an MPA from Columbia University, an EdD from University of Pennsylvania, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Ms. Moore is a Senior Vice President and serves as the Director of ESG and Corporate Operations. She joined the firm in 2007 and previously served as Vice President of Asset Management. Ms. Moore graduated from Texas A&M University.

Mr. Woodard is a Managing Director based in the Connecticut office.

Prior to joining the firm in 2011, Mr. Woodard was a Vice President in the Commercial Real Estate Department at CIT Group, Inc. Before joining CIT, Mr. Woodard was an Acquisitions Associate at Lexington Realty Trust.

Mr. Woodard holds a B.A. in Economics from Union College and an M.P.S. in Real Estate Finance and Investment from Cornell University.

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Philip J. McAndrews serves as Chief Strategy Officer of RXR Realty, LLC. Mr. McAndrews is recognized as a transformational C-suite leader with extensive managerial and investment experience refining enterprise-level global investment strategies and pivoting large organizations poised for growth and commercialization. With experience as both a Chief Investment Officer and a Chief Strategy officer, he offers a unique contextual perspective on the nuances of international capital deployment, investor relations, and growth-oriented enterprise management across private markets.

At RXR Mr. McAndrews works closely with the firm’s partners developing and executing corporate strategic initiatives and expanding the investment management offerings for both our stakeholders and clients. He is charged with evolving and curating an expansive, dynamic platform of investment products including Prop Tech, infrastructure, and real estate. These products are tailored to a diverse array of international and domestic investor/client needs in both the institutional and retail channels. He is the only non-partner member of the RXR Investment Committee.

Over the course of a 26-year career at TIAA (Nuveen) a $1.3 trillion financial service company headquartered in N.Y, Mr. McAndrews served in multiple leadership positions and guided the Global Real Estate platform through several meaningful pivot points and real estate cycles.  As Global Real Estate Chief Investment Officer, he charted a new course in the pursuit of AUM growth through both organic and inorganic means. During his tenure as CIO, the global real estate portfolio grew from $40 Billion to $90 billion. In 2013, this transformation was fully realized when TIAA’s Global Real Estate team acquired Henderson Global Investors’ $24 billion real estate business. All TIAA real estate functions reported to Mr. McAndrews as CIO-Global Real Estate. He was a member of TIAA’s Investment Committee with approval over real estate, alternatives, fixed income and private placement debt and equity.

Following TIAA/ Nuveen, Mr. McAndrews was responsible for the build out of Aegon Asset Management USA’s real estate equity team. Aegon N.V. is a $380 billion Dutch life insurer and pension fund headquartered in the Netherlands. He built new funds, brought on new clients, and positioned the legendary Transamerica Pyramid block for sale, its first change in ownership since 1969. He was a member of the Aegon Real Assets Investment Committee. He has a B.S. in Finance from the State University of New York and a J.D. from the University of Toledo, College of Law.

James has over 17 years of real estate investment and asset management experience in various property sectors, across the entire capital stack in the US, Europe, and Asia.  He recently joined Macquarie and focuses on the sourcing, execution, and management of MAM Real Estate’s investments in the Americas.  Prior to joining Macquarie, James worked for 11 years (2011-2022) at Starwood Capital Group where he led investments in the Tri-State area after successfully starting Starwood’s investments in Australia and helping to grow their European business.    

His experience includes over US$7 billion of acquisitions of residential, industrial, office, student housing, and retail.  Additionally, he has significant experience in buying performing/nonperforming debt and originating debt / preferred equity.  James started his career in the large loan originations team at Lehman Brothers. 

Mr. Fogarty graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts (Cum Laude B.A.), History and a Minor in Urban Real Estate from the Wharton School. 

Toll Brothers (NYSE) is a $10 billion Fortune 500 company (ranked #394) founded in 1967. It's currently the 4th largest homebuilder in the U.S. by revenue and one of the largest land and community developers. Toll is also a major player in multifamily rental apartment development and is Investment Grade rated by all three major credit rating agencies.

Operating across 24 states and 60+ markets, Toll's projects range from urban and suburban for-sale homes to rentals, student housing, high-rises, condos, 55+ communities, single-family build-to-rent, and large master-planned developments. These projects span from $10 million to over $1 billion.

Fred Cooper is the Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Toll Brothers. His role involves expanding domestic and international equity and debt relationships, as well as fostering institutional partnerships to support the company's growth in areas such as homebuilding, rental apartments, land development, and build-to-rent communities. He also engages with lenders and investors to collaborate on repositioning and repurposing distressed property and loan portfolios.

Fred has been with Toll Brothers since 1993, initially founding and leading its Finance and Investor Relations departments. Over the years, his team has raised over $30 billion through various channels and advised on project structuring, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and large property deals. He also played a key role in creating Toll Brothers City Living, which has developed over 6,000 urban high-rise condos, and Toll Brothers Apartment Living, with $4 billion in rental assets.

Fred holds a Bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a Master of Public Policy degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School, focusing on finance and international development. He serves on several boards, including the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board and the University of Wisconsin’s Graaskamp Center Real Estate Advisory Board. He is also an active mentor, lecturer, and participant in graduate-level real estate programs and is involved with various organizations focused on affordable housing in emerging markets.

Alex Schaefer is Vice President, Transactions for AXA Investment Managers. AXA-IM is part of AXA Group, the Paris-based multinational insurance firm.  AXA-IM is the largest real estate asset manager in Europe and one of the largest worldwide.  At AXA-IM, Alex focuses on investments across the risk spectrum and across property types in institutional markets throughout the country where AXA typically invests alongside proven, vertically-integrated sponsors.

Before AXA, Alex worked for TKF Real Estate Investment where he focused on value creating investments in office and mixed-use assets located in urban centers throughout the east coast.  Previously, he was Head of Acquisitions for ALTO Real Estate Funds, a NY based private equity fund that invested in value-add assets across the country alongside veteran local operating partners. Before ALTO, Alex was a Director of Acquisitions for VEREIT, a publicly-traded REIT that owned over 4,000 properties in 49 states. He found himself at VEREIT after working for American Realty Capital in various capacities before eventually transitioning over to a publicly-traded investment vehicle that was merged in to VEREIT. Alex graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.S. in Accounting before working for Cushman & Wakefield.

Nicholas Baccile is a Director within the Real Estate Investment team at Canyon. Mr. Baccile joined Canyon in 2018 and primarily focuses on sourcing, underwriting, due diligence, structuring and executing debt and equity investments in the Northeast U.S. region. Prior to joining Canyon, Mr. Baccile worked at RXR Realty, where he was responsible for asset management of equity and debt investments. Previously, Mr. Baccile worked at Ares Management, where he was responsible for underwriting, due diligence and ongoing asset management of new equity investments. Mr. Baccile is a graduate of Cornell University (B.S., Applied Economics and Management with a minor in Real Estate).

Shila brings over 15 years of professional expertise to RE Tech, specializing in organizational management.

Prior to her tenure with RE Tech, she held a prominent role on the Executive & Leadership team at Sustainalytics, contributing significantly to the company’s growth. As a pivotal member of the team, she played a crucial role in guiding Sustainalytics through a successful acquisition by Morningstar, where she assumed the position of Head of Organizational Integration.

Following her tenure with Morningstar, Shila established Radiant Global Advisory, an advisory practice dedicated to assisting organizations in achieving growth and sustainability. In her philanthropic endeavors, Shila serves on the board of Chefs for Impact, a non-profit focused on food sustainability. She is also the founder of SustainableMe!, a platform designed to bring sustainability education in the context of daily life. Additionally, Shila contributes to Fast Company’s Impact Council, sharing her insights on sustainability through various articles.

Shila holds an MBA from DePaul University, with a concentration on Financial Analysis and Strategic Valuation, along with a Masters in Physiology from Finch University, and a BS in Biology & Health Management from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Kelly Souza leads the Sustainable Finance & Advisory (SFA) group at Wells Fargo’s Corporate & Investment Bank, focusing on delivering thought leadership and financing solutions to help Commercial Real Estate (CRE) clients meet their sustainability goals. She collaborates with CRE leaders to create and advance client-focused sustainability strategies that address both environmental and social dimensions.

Since joining Wells Fargo in 2004, Kelly has held various roles within CRE, including managing director of the Real Estate Managed Assets Group and Multifamily Capital, as well as serving as a market manager in Real Estate Banking. She has been a strong advocate for diversity, having held leadership roles on CRE’s Diversity Council and championing the Women’s Initiative to enhance gender diversity in Wells Fargo’s real estate business.

Outside of her professional role, Kelly is actively involved with the Bronze Multifamily Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and serves on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound. She enjoys fitness, travel, and outdoor activities with her partner and son.

Kelly earned her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from the University of San Diego.

Ms. Cappola serves as ESG Manager on the Portfolio & Asset Management team, with primary responsibility for Madison’s ESG initiatives. Prior to joining Madison, Ms. Cappola held positions including Sustainability/ESG Manager at Empire State Realty Trust,  Sustainability Manager at Jones Lang LaSalle, and Associate Sustainability Project Manager at Jones Lang LaSalle.  Ms. Cappola graduated from Freeman College of management at Bucknell University, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. 

Ms. Johannes is an investment professional in the Real Estate group, where she serves as a managing director.  She works across the commercial real estate, structured finance and corporate securities sub-groups, where she focuses on investments in the greater New York area and the Southeast region of the US, as well as residential investments on the East Coast.  Prior to joining Oaktree in 2008, Ms. Johannes was an associate in the Real Estate group at Morgan Stanley, where she focused on advisory assignments for investment banking clients and principal investing opportunities.  Before that, Ms. Johannes was a project manager on the Hudson Yards team at the New York City Economic Development Corporation.  Prior to that, she spent two years at UBS Warburg as an investment banking analyst in the Global Industrial group.  Ms. Johannes graduated with a B.A. degree in economics and Latin American Studies magna cum laude from Wellesley College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.  She then went on to receive an M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.  Ms. Johannes is a member of WX and sits on the Stanford Alumni Real Estate Council.