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Speakers 
 Richard Abboud,
President,
Forum Leasehold Partners
Founder and president of Forum Leasehold Partners, Richard has over 18 years of real estate experience in the areas of acquisition, development, financing and corporate services. Richard directs the firm's activities including acquisitions and development projects.
Richard began his real estate career in 1989 in the area of corporate real estate advisory and brokerage. An accomplished entrepreneur, Richard established and built a corporate real estate services and brokerage company between the years of 1996 and 2001 with offices in Toronto and Montreal. Since 2002, his focus has been to establish Forum Leasehold Partners as a Canadian leader in single tenant acquisitions and development. The company has acquired a portfolio of more than 800,000 square feet (excluding development pipeline) and established four public private partnerships, totaling more than $300 million in commitments. He has led acquisitions and dispositions, and developments totaling more than $500 million since 2002.
Richard has served in various community service roles including board positions with Big Brothers of Toronto, The National Club, The Salvation Army - Ontario Central Division, and The United Way Community Initiatives Allocations Committee
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 Mr. Andrew Allen,
Head of Research & Strategy,
Cordea Savills
Andrew is responsible for Cordea Savills’ house view of property markets and for identifying themes and sectors of future out-performance. This research is used to make strategic decisions both in the management of client portfolios and for the development of new products. Andrew has extensive research experience in the commercial property sectors and has formulated the investment cases for both UK and continental European investment vehicles, which have been successfully launched. Andrew and his team also focus on the residential market and its sectors. Cordea Savills’ residential research is undertaken on a fully comparable basis with the analysis and forecasting process for the commercial sectors.
Andrew sits on the Cordea Savills’ Investment and Risk Committee. He is also member of the Investment Property Forum (IPF) and the Society of Property Researchers (SPR).
Andrew joined Cordea Savills in January 2004. Previously Andrew was at Henderson Global Investors, where he managed a team of four specialist market analysts.
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 Neil Bane,
Director,
The Carlton Group
Neil B. Bane is a Director at Carlton Advisory Services, Inc. Neil has over 17 years of combined real estate and finance experience. His responsibilities at Carlton include complex debt and equity placement, investment sale and loan sale transactions. Neil is focused on expanding Carlton's office, retail, hotel and multifamily finance and advisory business nationwide and into international markets including Canada, Mexico, Latin America and Europe.
Prior to joining Carlton, Neil was involved in over $1 Billion of Conduit and Agency financing transactions through his various senior origination and underwriting positions while at ARCS Commercial Mortgage, LLC, and PW Funding, Inc. two leading Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Mortgage Banking firms, as well as, Citicorp Securities and Lehman Brothers, two leading conduit lenders.
Mr. Bane holds an MBA from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management, a M.S. degree in Real Estate Valuation from New York University (Graduated with Distinction) and a BA from Yeshiva University. Neil is a licensed real estate broker in New York. Neil is an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), and the Cornell Real Estate Council.
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 Mr. Barmak Besharaty,
Managing Director,
Almas Capital
Mr. Barmak Besharaty is the Managing Director of Almas Capital headquartered in Dubai. Mr. Besharaty has worked in the real estate and property financing industry for the past 18 years. He has extensive working
experience in residential and commercial property transactions.
Mr. Besharaty has owned and managed a financial intermediary firm in California that specialized in residential and commercial real estate lending. He was a Vice President for Commercial Banking with Jackson Federal Bank, a subsidiary of Prudential PLC. The
institution was subsequently purchased by Union Bank of California. Upon transferring to the Middle East, Mr. Besharaty worked in the UAE's booming property sector with one of the largest regional property developers. He founded Almas Capital Training Services with the purpose of assisting property developers, real estate investors, and financial institutions in the emerging GCC
markets.
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Michael Buckley,
Director,
Columbia University MSRED Program
As President of Halcyon Ltd, a Development Advisory firm, Michael Buckley has an international reputation for Mixed-Use Retail and Strategic Planning for under-utilized sites such as Washington’s SE Federal Center, Moscow’s Manezhnaya shopping complex, San Juan’s new Knowledge Corridor, and the revitalization of Coney Island.
Buckley is currently advisor to IMC on a mixed-use complex in Quindao China, and for the Science and Technology Trust on a new Science City in Puerto Rico. Buckley has advised Fortune 50 Corporations on disposition strategies such as Citibank, AT&T, PPG and Pitney Bowes, and for international Pension Funds such as KLM, and Phillips.
Michael Buckley is Director of Columbia University’s Masters in Real Estate Development Program, and heads the Center for High Density Development , a new Columbia research initiative to prove the benefits of Density. Prof. Buckley is responsible for curriculum development, managing the MSRED Faculty and teaching four core courses in Asset Repositioning, Real Estate Trends, High Density Research, and the new innovative Case Study Studio.
A Former ULI Trustee and Chairman of ULI’s Urban Mixed-Use Council, Buckley ran the ULI Program Committee, responsible for all sessions at the bi-annual ULI Conferences. He is a Member, and former Chairman, of the Real Estate Roundtable’s Research Group. He is also a Board Member of Interlink Group, a resort developer.
Prof. Buckley is a frequent speaker on Trends for the ULI, AIA, NAREIM, and ICSC in the USA, for MIPIM in France, for Columbia MSRED Program in Berlin, for CODI in Costa Rica, and for BOMA in New Zealand. He holds BA and BSc Degrees from Rice University, and a Masters Degree in Advanced Studies from MIT. Author of numerous articles on Retail Mixed-Use and Urban Revitalization, he was chosen Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and was recently named Fellow, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
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Ph.D Rajnish Changrani,
Vice President,
Red Fort Capital
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 Stanley Ching,
Head of Real Estate Group,
CITIC Capital
Stanley Ching is a Managing Director and the Head of Real Estate Group of CITIC Capital Holdings Limited. Stanley was instrumental in setting up the Debt Capital Markets Division and Real Estate Group of CITIC Capital. Stanley was also a key figure in the establishment of CITIC Capital China Property Investment Fund L.P. in March 2005 and CITIC Capital Vanke China Property Development Fund L.P. in March 2006.
Before joining CITIC Capital, Stanley worked for HSBC Group, Société Générale Asia Limited and The Industrial Bank of Japan Limited. Stanley began his career in 1990 as a management accountant in the U.S.
Stanley has a Diploma in Chinese Laws; Master of Science (Finance) and Bachelor of Arts (Accounting)
CITIC Capital is a leading China-focused investment management and advisory firm, with over US$1.3 billion of assets under management. Our core businesses include Private Equity, Asset Management, Real Estate and Structured Finance. CITIC Capital is affiliated with CITIC Group, the most comprehensive financial services provider in China. The firm currently has over 100 employees based in its offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo and New York.
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 Skip Conover,
Director,
Bhavana Developers Pvt. Ltd.
Before becoming a Director of Bhavana Developers Pvt. Ltd., Skip Conover co-founded a multifaceted international BPO firm with a major presence in India. CBaySystems Holdings Ltd., was recently listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. Prior to his 15-year involvement with India, Mr. Conover spent five years in Tokyo, where he founded a subsidiary of an American engineering company. Mr. Conover has also served on the staff of The Committee on Small Business of the U.S. House of Representatives and on the faculty of The University of Maryland Graduate School, University College, where he chaired the Finance track of the Master’s program. He is an attorney in New York and the District of Columbia, and holds an M.B.A. from The William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration.
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 Mr. Chris Corpuz,
Strategic Initiatives,
MacFarlane Partners
Chris Corpuz is responsible for identifying, developing and launching new investment initiatives for MacFarlane Partners, including the sourcing and structuring of private-equity investments in existing real
estate companies and the development of real estate hedge funds.
Chris has 19 years of real estate and private equity investment experience, including a previous tenure with MacFarlane Partners as the firm’s chief financial officer. Most recently, he was a partner with and the chief
financial officer for Olympius Capital, a private-equity firm offering fundof- funds investment vehicles to institutions and individuals. While there, he helped raise capital and manage a $140 million fund of hedge funds.
During his real estate career, Chris has worked as a consultant in addition to holding investment management and operating roles. He helped co-found the real estate consulting practices of CB Richard Ellis, Arthur Andersen and Deloitte Haskins + Sells. While with CB Richard Ellis, he directed the strategic planning and integration of the firm’s real estate investment management unit with a similar division of the Trust Company of the West to create what is now CB Richard Ellis Investors. As a consultant with Arthur Andersen, he helped manage the $1.6 billion real estate
portfolio of Ameritech’s pension plan.
Chris also has been a high-tech entrepreneur. Having begun his business career as a software engineer
before turning to real estate, he co-founded InterNex.net, one of the first Bay Area companies to
commercially deploy ISDN technology, in 1993 and later served as a senior executive or board member for several other technology and Internet start-up firms.
Chris currently serves on the board of Sansum-Santa Barbara Medical Foundation Clinic and on the
investment committee of the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation. He is a former member of
the California Advisory Board of the Trust for Public Land and a former board member of Rhapsody
Fund, L.P., a fund of hedge funds. Chris holds a master’s degree in city and regional planning from Harvard University and a master’s degree in management, with a specialization in finance, from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
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 Seth Freeman,
Managing Director,
EM Capital Management
Seth Freeman focuses on complex U.S. and Emerging Markets situations requiring expertise and creativity in both business management and finance including: insolvency and restruc-turing and/or capital formation. He advises attorneys, funds, investors, creditors, lenders, directors and management in identifying and resolving sensitive international business prob-lems. He is a recognized expert in cross-border/cross-cultural business practices and nego-tiation, due diligence, insolvency, conflict and dispute resolution, litigation support, corporate governance and fraud detection and response. Experience ranges from stand-alone busi-nesses and corporate units to $billion portfolios of non-performing debt held by Central Banks. Mr. Freeman serves as Interim CEO, CFO, Trustee, Receiver and Assignee under a General Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors.
In addition to serving clients, he manages a proprietary network of offices and representa-tives in major emerging markets and serves on the Executive Committee of EM Capital Management, LLC a hedge fund manager and its EM Capital India Discovery Fund, L.P.
EM Capital India, with offices in New Delhi, is managed by Mr. Dhruba Gupta, former Deputy Treasurer of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Sumant Batra, Esq., Managing Partner of Kesar Dass and a member of the INSOL Executive Committee is Chairman of the Board of Advisors of EM Capital India.
EM Capital México is managed by Mr. Raul de la Cerda Cerisola, a former Méxican banking executive and holds an MBA from University of Texas- Austin. EM Capital México serves both U.S. and Mexican firms with cross-border interests and is active in the Mexican hospi-tality industry.
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 Claudio Giannotti,
Association Professor of Banking,
Università LUM Jean Monnet
Prof. Claudio Giannotti is an Associate Professor within University LUM Jean Monnet of Casamassima (Bari – Italy). He is the Director of the Real Estate Finance Center within Ph.D in Banking and Finance of the University of Rome Tor Vergata. He holds Ph.D. in Banking and finance from the University of Rome Tor Vergata (Italy). He was Program Manager of the Master in Saving Management (from 2000 to 2004) and he’s teaching Real Estate Finance at the Master in Real Estate Economy and Management (University of Tor Vergata).
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 Michael Grupe,
Executive Vice President,
NAREIT
Michael R. Grupe is executive vice president for Research and Investor Outreach at The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT). NAREIT is the worldwide voice for real estate investment trusts (REITs) and listed real estate companies with an interest in the U.S. property and investment markets. At NAREIT, Michael directs all research and investor outreach activities related to industry information, the analysis of industry performance, the design and implementation of membership surveys, communication with investors, the media, policymakers and the public, and support for the association’s Policy & Politics agenda. He also acts as liaison to the press on technical issues involving REIT industry experience and practice.
Michael earned his Ph.D. degree in business-statistics from The University of Wisconsin. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute, the American Real Estate Society and the Advisory Board of the Real Estate Research Institute.
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 Prakash Gurbaxani,
CEO,
QVC Realty
Prakash Gurbaxani is the founder and CEO of QVC Realty. Prakash has over 20 years of experience in a wide variety of industries including real estate, construction, BPO and technology.
From June 2005 to Jan 2007, Prakash was the CEO of TSI Ventures (www.tsiventures.com), a joint venture between Tishman Speyer, USA and India’s ICICI Venture. TSI Ventures is a fully integrated real estate investment management and operating company with a mandate to identify, invest in and develop properties with a cumulative asset value in excess of USD 2 billion over the next 5 years. As CEO, Prakash’s responsibilities included directing all aspects of the business such as strategy, business development, design and construction, acquisition, sales and marketing, investor relations, finance and property management.
Prior to joining TSI Ventures, Prakash was CEO of TransWorks Information Services Pvt. Ltd (www.transworks.com), one of India’s leading BPO companies with almost 4,000 employees. As CEO of TransWorks, Prakash had the distinction of being the first Indian representative on the COPC Global Standards Committee, global experts in contact center certification, training and consulting, the COPC Global Standards Committee and a Policy Board comprise of representatives from leading companies such as Microsoft, Motorola, L.L. Bean, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Convergys and ClientLogic.
One of the finalists for the Entrepreneur of the Year 2001 awards sponsored by Ernst & Young India, Prakash has a series of key accomplishments to his credit. He successfully launched India’s First Internet Media Company, Micromedia, in December 1997. In April 2000 he co-founded 24/7customer.com, a leading outsourced CRM services company based in Bangalore, India, and was CEO until December 2001.
Prior to returning to India, between 1983 and 1997, Prakash worked in various senior management positions in the construction industry in the United States.
Prakash holds a Master’s Degree in Construction Management from New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Newark, NJ, and a B.S. (major in Civil Engineering) from Regional Engineering College (REC), Nagpur, India.
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 Marc Halle,
Managing Director,
Prudential Real Estate Investors
Marc Halle is a Managing Director for Prudential Real Estate Investors where he is an executive partner in the Global Merchant Banking Group and is responsible for global public real estate securities. Mr. Halle is also a Portfolio Manager for the PRECO series of real estate private equity funds and is the Senior Portfolio Manager for all global real estate securities funds.
Mr. Halle joined Prudential in 1999 from Alpine Management & Research, LLC where he was the Chief Operating Officer and Portfolio Manager of the Alpine Realty Income & Growth Fund. Mr. Halle was also the Co-Portfolio Manager for the Alpine U.S. Real Estate Equity Fund.
Prior to forming Alpine, Mr. Halle was the Senior Real Estate Analyst and Associate Portfolio Manager with Evergreen Asset Management, Inc., where he was jointly responsible for research, investment analysis and portfolio recommendations for all real estate securities. Previously, Mr. Halle was Senior Vice President of W&M Properties, Inc, a national real estate investment firm, where he was responsible for acquisitions, property operations and development.
Mr. Halle serves on the Board of Directors of several privately held real estate companies. He is also a member of National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), and is affiliated with the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI).
Mr. Halle also has been widely quoted in the financial media including CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Barron’s and The Institutional Real Estate Letter. Mr. Halle holds an M.B.A. degree in Finance from New York University’s Executive M.B.A. Program and a B.S., Magna Cum Laude, from Tufts University College of Engineering.
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Sumit Jha,
Deputy Director,
National Real Estate Development Council
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Mr. Richard Johnson,
Managing Director, Real Estate,
Istithmar
Richard has 20 years experience in real estate investment, development and financing in many of the world’s major markets. He was appointed Managing Director of Istithmar, responsible for real estate, in 2006. Previously Richard was an International Director of Jones Lang LaSalle based in China, Singapore and London. Before that he was a Partner of St Quintin in London. Richard has an MA in Law from Oxford University, an MSc in Property Investment from City University, London and is a Chartered Surveyor.
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 Richard Katzman,
Managing Director,
HVS Global Hospitality Services - Mexico
Richard Katzman, Managing Director, HVS Mexico City: Mr. Katzman has been involved in hotel and real estate advisory services in Mexico and other Latin American countries since 1992. At that time, he formed Grupo Inmobiliario Inova, a real estate advisory boutique sold in 2001 to Insignia/ESG, then among the most prominent real estate service companies in the world. Later, in 2003, Mr. Katzman formed a new real estate service company platform that now anchors HVS’s activity in Mexico. Mr. Katzman’s professional experience includes positions with Laventhol & Horwath (now Horwath Consulting), and with Fischer-Macleod Associates, a New York based developer of regional shopping centers. Subsequently, he joined The Yarmouth Group (now Morgan Stanley) where he executed acquisitions of office buildings, regional shopping centers and hotels, and managed real estate portfolios on behalf of US and Japanese institutional clients. In addition, he participated in establishing the firm’s presence in Europe, opening an office in Paris and overseeing investment and asset management assignments in Germany, Spain and the U.K. Mr. Katzman was born and raised in Mexico City. He completed his undergraduate studies at Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration, and an MBA at The Wharton School. He is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Mr. Katzman serves on the Board of Trustees of The American School Foundation, A.C.
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 Tim Kelley,
Chief Operating Officer,
IMI Group
Tim Kelley has over 12 years experience in Financial, Real Estate and Construction in Mexico. Having lived in Mexico for nearly 10 years Mr. Kelley is fully bilingual and an avid supporter of Hispanic Culture. Mr. Kelley is a U.S. citizen with extensive international experience having lived and worked in Chile, Portugal, Spain, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Israel and Mexico. In 1995 Mr. Kelley entered Mexico as an International Trade Representative for the State of Arizona. Substantial relationships with government officials on both sides of the boarder resulted. Mr. Kelley was later recruited by Pioneer International Ltd. and certified in Tel-Aviv Israel as a Certified International Financial Consultant specializing in Global Asset Consolidation for High Net Worth individuals. With operational headquarters in Guernsey he was able to structure consolidations of Real Property through off shore companies and trusts to minimize taxation and probate concerns. In 1997 Mr. Kelley was recruited by CB Commercial through their affiliated construction management group EDC to begin their Construction Management division in Mexico. After training in the U.S., Mr. Kelley began the organization in Mexico and built a substantial clientele of companies such as Marriott Hotels and Hilti. Structural limitations of the Mexican entity led to the opportunity for the creation of an independent real estate and construction management group.
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Ms. Azita Moinaddini,
Anwar Global Properties
Azita is a dynamic, entrepreneurial and results-oriented professional with over 5 years experience in the Financing & Lending Industry. She brings a wealth of knowledge in both Commercial and Residential aspects of real estate financing. With a Bachelor's degree in Science and a Human Resources Diploma and Designation, she brings a strong strategic view to all facets of operations at AGP Inc. While she will be involved in the overall operation and goals of the organization, Azita's main focus will be Finance/Lending and Special Projects. Azita is fluent in English and Farsi (Persian). As a member of Anwar Global Properties Inc., she also conducts various sales training sessions held by AGP Inc, in addition to her role as Vice President. Before joining AGP Inc., she had 13 years of experience practicing as a Human Resources Professional for various prestigious companies and financial institutions. During that time, her focus was on training and development aspects of Human Resources, in addition to her other day to day activities. She has a wealth of knowledge in training facets for adult learners and has conducted numerous resource training sessions. She has also recently obtained her Canadian Real Estate License. She is an active member of Canadian Real Estate Association, Ontario Real Estate Association, Real Estate Council of Ontario and The Toronto Real Estate Board. This is a great addition to her already impressive portfolio.
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Rene Nunez,
Vice Chairman,
Texas Permanent School Fund
Rene Nunez is a member of the Texas State Board of Education. This board has constitutional authority over the Texas Permanent School Fund. Rene was first elected to the State Board of Education in 1988, and was re-elected in 192, 1994, 2002 and 2006. Nunez is a Texas Real Estate Broker and owner of El Paso Sunwest Realty & Investments, Inc. He also serves as a business and educational consultant.
He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at El Paso and a Master of Arts degree from Chapman University in Orange, California. He is fluent in Spanish and has spent extensive time working with issues concerning the border.
Nunez is past president of the National Association of State Boards of Education. He is past president of the University of Texas at El Paso Alumni Association and past chairman of its fund raising committee. In addition, Nunez serves as founder and chairman of the Hispanic & Business Alliance for Education, a Texas based 501.3C scholarship foundation.
Nunez currently serves as vice chairman of the State Board of Education’s committee on School Finance/Permanent School Fund. Previously, he served as chairman of the committee on Permanent School Fund from 1995-97. He currently represents the board on the Texas Growth Fund. In addition, he currently serves as a moderator and speaker for a number of conference events, both in the United States and in the global arena.
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 Stephen Roulac,
Chief Executive Officer,
Roulac Global Partners
Stephen E. Roulac is the world's leading authority on the economic productivity and strategic importance of the places in which we live and work. He is the CEO of Roulac Global Places, LLC, a strategy and financial economics firm, with offices in Hyderabad, India; San Francisco and Atlanta, USA; and Cluj Napoca, Romania; that has worked in 20+ countries.
Dean Dilip Gasgupta, of the IFCAI Institute of Financial Studies, observed, “Dr. Roulac is to finance as Einstein is to physics.”
Retained by some of the smartest, most sophisticated, and highly successful companies and entrepreneurs in the world, Roulac Global has created billions of dollars of value for its clients. Roulac Global Places Fund, investing in the best property companies in the best places in the world, has a four year track record of returns averaging in excess of 30%. On behalf of OptiMix, subsidiary of ING, Roulac India Investment Advisory Pvt. Ltd. oversees Thematic Property Securities, the first investment fund to invest exclusively in public real estate securities in India.
Dr. Roulac has been described as “The thought leader’s thought leader,” and the “inventor of the strategic side of the real estate business.” In addition to his entrepreneurial accomplishments, he is a leading academic, currently Distinguished Professor of Global Property Strategy at the University of Ulster in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Past president of American Real Estate Society, he is recipient of numerous awards for innovations that have transformed the property sector and his pioneering research, including the James A. Graaskamp Award for iconoclastic thinking that advances real estate paradigms and the Warner Bloomberg Award for promoting a vision of the future established on principles of social justice. He was named a Millennium Real Estate Award Honoree by the University of California, Berkeley, recognizing those 100 individuals who had the greatest impact upon the real estate industry in the 20th century.
Author of some 20 books, many of which are considered landmarks, he has written over 350 articles. Much in demand as a professional speaker, he has delivered keynote presentations and training sessions to some 600 organizations. His credentials include BA, Pomona; MBA, Harvard; JD, University of California, Berkeley; and Ph.D. in strategy/finance from Stanford; plus the CPA and CMC designations.
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 Mr. Bryan Shaffer,
President,
IRETO-The International Real Estate Trade Organization
Over his 20-year real estate career Bryan has executed highly profitable investments, management revisions, turn-around strategies and sales for over 300 assets. Bryan's past successes include repositioning and selling a portfolio of 85 properties valued at $1.5 Billion USD for Mitsui Real Estate, a subsidiary of Japan's largest real estate company. He also had huge success in acquiring hundreds of properties, repositioning them for large California Developers' Arnel and Goldrich & Kest as well as served as a California Superior Court-approved Receiver and Administrator for over $200M of non-performing assets.
He frequently is called upon to serve as an expert panelist at international real estate conferences, speaking at over 50 high-level real estate conferences each year. Bryan is the real estate expert for CNBC's World Business Review; hosts internet radio shows on Global Real Estate Radio; publishes two real estate magazines and was the instructor for the Learning Annex' class on global investing and forecast. He is also an active member of ULI, NAREIT, NAIOP ICSC and FIABCI, and was the Hope Committee Chairman for the American Cancer Institute. Bryan graduated from the University of Arizona and is a licensed California Real Estate Broker and Approved Expert Witness and Receiver.
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Mr. Parry Singh,
Managing Director,
Red Fort Capital
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 Robert Stern,
Managing Director,
Perry Capital/Perry Real Estate Partners
Mr. Stern is a Managing Partner of Perry Capital and co-founded Perry Real Estate Partners in June, 2002. Perry Real Estate Partners is the real estate investment arm of NYC-based, Perry Capital, a private investment management firm with approximately $13 billion under management. Perry Real Estate Partners’ charter is to make equity investments in real estate assets, portfolios and operating companies, purchase discounted notes and sub/non-performing debt and securities, and provide mezzanine and bridge financing. The venture has an opportunistic and flexible investment approach, capitalizing on inefficiencies in the real estate market.
Prior to founding Perry Real Estate Partners, Mr. Stern was a Managing Director with Blackacre Capital Management where he was responsible for a national real estate investment portfolio comprised of equity, debt and operating businesses. From 1996 to 1998, he was Director of Asset Services at BDG, Ltd., a privately held Long Island – based commercial real estate firm, where he was responsible for the Asset Management division. From 1989 to 1995, he was associated with Kemper Corporation where he served as a Director and Senior Asset Manager in Barcelona, Spain and Chicago, with responsibility for the financing, management, administration and disposition of real estate investments, as well as a real estate development business unit. A significant portion of his time at Kemper was devoted to resolving operating company, joint venture and property specific financial, marketing, legal and operating issues.
Mr. Stern earned a MBA at Columbia University and a BA at Connecticut College.
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 Ubbe Strihagen,
International Director,
Aberdeen Property Investors
Ubbe Strihagen is the International Director at Aberdeen Property Investors responsible for the firm’s business development, strategy and investor relations.
He is responsible for geographic expansion into new markets, towards new real estate investment markets and investors.
Ubbe is a frequent speaker at international investment management events and seminars.
He is a member of the Executive Board at Aberdeen Property Investors.
Ubbe Strihagen has more than 15 years experience in international business, specialising in strategy development and financial services. Before joining Aberdeen, he was a co-founder of Strategic Management Institute, a strategy firm, where he was an active partner for six years.
Ubbe Strihagen holds a Civilekonom degree (~MBA) from the School of Business at University of Stockholm. He has lived in Paris, Jakarta and Los Angeles in addition to Stockholm where he is presently located.
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 Bill Tsai,
Managing Partner,
Longridge Capital
Mr. Bill Tsai is an experienced banker in financial markets in Asia, North America, and Europe. Currently, Mr. Tsai is the Managing Partner of Longridge Capital Advisors, a private equity fund focusing on real estate including distressed real estate, in the greater China region. Currently, the fund focuses on properties in Southern China, Macau and Hong Kong.
Mr. Tsai’s background is in distressed asset and real estate investment, capital market and derivative trading. A veteran of the banking industry, Mr. Tsai was in charge of acquisition of over USD 1 billion of portfolios of non performing loans in China for private banking clients and subsequently his own firm of LCT Development. Prior to his work in China, Mr. Tsai worked on structured investments at the HVB Group, a banking group based in Munich, Germany. During the 1990s, he traded Asian currency and interest rate products in Hong Kong at Bankers Trust. After that, he arranged structured investments for corporate and institutional clients in Hong Kong and Taiwan at Schroders Asia. Mr. Tsai holds an MPPM from Yale University.
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George Wang,
CEO,
AIMS Real Estate Funds Management
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 Mr. Marc Weidner,
Managing Director,
Franklin Templeton Real Estate Advisors
Marc Weidner has over 15 years of investment experience in sourcing, valuing, structuring and transacting global real estate. Mr. Weidner joined Franklin Templeton in early 2002. Prior to joining Franklin Templeton, he worked in the investment banking group of DLJ/Credit Suisse First Boston in London and New York where he originated, structured and underwrote real estate private equity funds in Europe and the United States. Prior to joining DLJ/CSFB, he was with Security Capital Group in London where he worked on origination and business development for the private equity fund of Security Capital. Mr. Weidner holds an M.B.A. from Cornell University where he was a Fulbright scholar. He holds a Master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations, magna cum laude, and a B.A. in Business Management, magna cum laude, from Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Mr. Weidner is a member of INREV and PREA, and is a faculty member in the M.S. in Real Estate Development at Columbia University.
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Zheng Xiaoping,
Principal,
BAZO Investments
Zheng Xiaoping, founder and partner of BAZO, has over 21 years of real estate related experience of which 12 focused on the China market. Zheng’s unique track record in real estate project development, large-scale urban development as well as project financing brought his team numerous industry awards.
Since year 2000, Zheng has been leading BAZO in :
- Working with top tier developers such as Capitaland, New World and Beijing Capital in completing over 1 millions square meters high end real estate projects development consulting.
- Providing urban development consulting for a total of 800 square kilometers in 12 cities including Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan.
- Advising and collaborating with over 18 international investment, consulting and conference groups in entering China market and working with China projects.
- Working with local developers and international capital in structuring real estate investment projects.
Zheng is a frequent speaker at international conferences on subjects of large project development strategies and real estate investment in China. Under his direction, BAZO has becoming the official China partner for top tier real estate investment conferences including “Real Estate Investment World China” from Terrapinn. His innovative China project showcase was regarded as the unique bridging between foreign capital and China potential projects by industry professional.
He is the author of the acclaimed book “Creative China City”, which creates new standards for large scale urban development in China by emphasizing a balance process of positioning – planning – promoting – financing.
Zheng graduated from the VPI&SU (USA) in 1986 with a professional degree in Architecture. He had worked in the USA, Singapore and Hong Kong before he relocated to China in year 2000.
Zheng serves on the board of the expert committee of the China Commercial Real Estate Union, on the China expert panel for the International Real Estate Trade Organization IRETO. He is the visiting professor of the China Urban Institute. He teaches at the Qing Hua University Real Estate CEO class and at the China Executive Leadership Academy where aspiring city mayors practice urban development theory.
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 Mr. Ruifen Xu,
Global Real Estate,
Dow Portfolio Investment
Ruifen Xu, Global Real Estate Investment, works in the Private & Alternative Investments group of Dow Portfolio Investments. In this role, she manages investments on behalf of the Dow Employees’ Pension Plan and the Union Carbide Employees’ Pension Plan. Ruifen’s responsibilities include managing the existing real estate portfolio and building the international and emerging markets real estate investments. Ruifen has 10 years real estate and finance experience in the markets of Asia, United States, Germany and now more in Global Markets. She started her career at China Shanghai Real Estate Management Bureau in the real estate joint project with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH. She has a Master’s in Real Estate from Columbia University, an MBA from Hongkong University and Fudan University Joint Program, and a Bachelor degree in Civil Engineering from Shanghai Tongji University.
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 Mr. Dennis Yeskey,
National Director, Real Estate Capital Markets,
Deloitte Services LP
Mr. Yeskey is the National Director of our Real Estate Capital Markets Practice and, in the past, was the head of our Tri-State/New York City Real Estate Services Practice. Mr. Yeskey has played a pivotal role in the development of both of these Practices since joining the Firm in 1995, and both of these Practices have successfully grown more than 20% annually over the past eight years and have become one of the strongest in their respective arenas. He is also a Senior Managing Director of our National Real Estate Services Practice and is based in our New York office. In these roles, he is responsible for developing and delivering all of our professional services to major domestic and global real estate investors including opportunity funds, private equity players, banks, insurance companies, pension funds, endowments and foundations, along with family offices and other types of investors and owners (e.g., large developers, non-real estate corporations).
Mr. Yeskey is a frequent speaker and a primary author of many of the Firm’s special real estate studies and publications including recent reports such as the Real Estate Capital Markets Top Ten Issues -- Fall 2007( publish 9/07), Institutional Real Estate Trends, and Strategic Cost Reductions. In this role, he oversees our research efforts in the Real Estate Capital Markets arena. In addition, Mr. Yeskey plays a key real estate leadership role for Deloitte & Touche’s National and Global Financial Services. He is extremely active in the European and Asian Practices, having both lived and worked extensively in these regions.
Over the past decade, Mr. Yeskey has also been our Group Managing Director with marketplace responsibilities for our Real Estate, Private Equity, Investment Management and Insurance market units in the New York office. Prior to joining our Firm in 1995, he was a Senior Managing Director with Kenneth Leventhal & Co. from the mid-1980s and responsible for developing their institutional practice with an emphasis on financial advisory and workout/bankruptcy services. His representative clients included workout/bankruptcy work for Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel, E-II Holdings, Rockefeller Center, O & Y, The Bank of New York, DeBartolo, Citibank, Mutual Benefit, Bally’s Hotel and Casinos and The Trump Organization. Financial advisory clients include TIAA-CREF, New York Life, Turner Construction, Prudential, Travelers, the New York Common Fund as well as advisors such as JMB and VMS, along with significant engagements for the Resolution Trust Corporation.
In the decade from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, he worked with two international management consulting firms within their business strategy and M&A units, while practicing in the United States, Europe and Japan. During this period he also worked for two engineering consulting firms that specialized in difficult technical design issues and construction management.
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 Richard Yue,
Chief Executive Officer,
ARCH Capital Management
Richard Yue is CEO of ARCH Capital Management (“ARCH”), a boutique real estate private equity fund management company. ARCH is a joint venture with the Ayala Group of the Philippines. Its first Fund will target opportunistic real estate investments in Asia outside of Japan and the Philippines. Its initial focus is on China, Macau, Thailand and India.
Mr. Yue has over 18 years experience in real estate investment. He and his team bring a wealth of experience in regional investment acquisitions. Prior to forming ARCH, Mr. Yue was Director of Investment at AIG Global Real Estate which has a portfolio of over US$ 6.0 billion in value and over 15 million square feet of property under management. Mr. Yue’s focus has spanned from investment in completed and development projects to corporate restructuring, mergers & acquisitions, recapitalization, securitization, REIT’s, corporate finance and mezzanine financing.
Prior to AIG, Mr. Yue spent ten years at Citigroup in their Real Estate Group and Debt Capital Markets Group.
Mr. Yue received a Bachelor’s Degree in Structural Engineering and Construction Management, and an MBA in Finance and Urban Land Economics from University of British Columbia in Canada.
With the ARCH team’s international investment underwriting experience combined with the Ayala Group’s substantial experience in developing and managing properties across all asset classes, ARCH is uniquely positioned in Asia’s real estate private equity fund management arena.
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