Program Overview

Greg Fitzpatrick is the Business Development Leader for IoT and Integration at Cochrane Supply and Engineering, where he supports end users, consulting engineers and systems integrators in the area of IoT, Integration and Enterprise Software. With over 25 years in the Building Systems and Controls business, he helps clients match new technology for Smart Buildings through specification writing, technology presentations and design assistance. Greg is also Executive Director for the Real Estate Cyber Consortium (RECC) focused on promoting cyber security awareness for operational technology.

Jim Whalen serves as SVP and CIO/CTO responsible for the direction and implementation of technology and applications at Boston Properties, a fully integrated real estate investment trust and one of the largest owners and developers of Class-A office properties in the United States. Over a 27-year IT career, Jim has supported real estate operations ranging from residential, construction, public housing, commercial office and retail.

Founder of Realcomm Conference Group, an education organization that produces Realcomm, IBcon and CoRE Tech, the world's leading conferences on technology, automated business solutions, intelligent buildings and energy efficiency for the commercial and corporate real estate industry. As CEO, Jim interacts with the largest companies globally pertaining to some of the most advanced and progressive next generation real estate projects under development.

Andres Rodriguez is the Director, Building Connectivity and has over 15 years’ experience in IT/OT environments in healthcare, finance, oil and gas and real estate. At QuadReal, Andres works to deploy networks that serve as the platform to build their digital building operational environments and amenity initiatives.

Ken Kurz brings over 20 years of leadership and operational experience in cybersecurity, network technologies, information systems, risk mitigation and remediation, and technical project management to COPT. Supporting COPT as CIO since 2016, he has prior experience as the CISO for the University of Delaware, CISO for the University of Oklahoma, and CIO for the US Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation. He has also held various technical and leadership positions within the Department of Defense.

Helane Stein is SVP, CIO of Brixmor responsible for the overall technology vision, strategy, systems and infrastructure that support business operations. She leads the implementation of transformational solutions that drive organizational efficiency, increase productivity, enhance collaboration and deliver results. Brixmor owns and operates a high-quality, national portfolio of open-air shopping centers. Its 632 retail centers comprise of approximately 64 million square feet of prime retail space in established trade areas.

Greg Fitzpatrick is the Business Development Leader for IoT and Integration at Cochrane Supply and Engineering, where he supports end users, consulting engineers and systems integrators in the area of IoT, Integration and Enterprise Software. With over 25 years in the Building Systems and Controls business, he helps clients match new technology for Smart Buildings through specification writing, technology presentations and design assistance. Greg is also Executive Director for the Real Estate Cyber Consortium (RECC) focused on promoting cyber security awareness for operational technology.

Fred Gordy is a Smart Building industry expert and thought leader with 20 years of experience in secure control system development and implementation for Fortune 500 companies throughout the US and abroad. He is one of the first in the Smart Building industry to address the inherent risk that control system technology poses. He has authored and participated in over 100 articles on building control cybersecurity with industry magazines as well as the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and Healthcare publications. In addition to publishing articles, for almost a decade he led control system cybersecurity workshops and has been a passionate speaker and teacher on the subject of building control cybersecurity.

Thano Lambrinos has over 15 years’ experience in the construction and building technologies space, and leverages digital transformation learnings across vertical markets to drive innovation and change in commercial real estate. At QuadReal, Thano works to deploy advanced technologies that redefine the way buildings are designed, built, managed, and how the occupants experience their environments. As Senior Vice President, he leads the Digital Buildings, Customer Experience & Innovation teams, and is focused on the development and execution of the digital strategy across a global real estate portfolio.

As an information technology leader, Michael MacMahon has more than 18 years of experience pioneering and managing complex IT solutions. Through a history of collaboration with Fortune 500 companies, he is accomplished in providing technology consulting, training, strategic fiscal planning, and implementation.

Gary Hopewell is a Cyber Security Advisor (CSA) with the DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Formerly, Gary was an FBI Computer Scientist for 10 years, investigating national security, and cybercrime for the Cyber task force in Orlando and St. Louis. He retired a US Navy Commander who began his career as a Surface Warfare Officer and retired as an Information Professional.

Cecilia Li has more than 20 years of experience as a proven technology strategist and business transformation expert. She is currently the SVP, CIO of Urban Edge Properties, a REIT that focused on management, acquiring, development and redevelopment of retail real estate in urban communities. Urban Edge owns 77 properties totaling 16.2 million square feet of gross leasable area.

Howard Berger has over 30 years of experience in technology and commercial/investment real estate. As Realcomm's SVP Programs, he manages its US and international conferences and CIO programs. Previously, he was with The Jamesan Group, which specialized in strategic technology consulting for the commercial real estate industry and prior to that, he was with TRW Real Estate Information Systems where he developed real estate information systems for the mortgage, appraisal and title insurance industries.

Sunder Pappu has more than 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is currently the SVP Head of Technology Strategy at Inland Real Estate Group and is responsible for leading project management and application development for the IT department, while ensuring Inland’s technology strategy is aligned with businesses and that technologies are available to meet each entities’ unique business demands.

Soheil Pourhashemi is currently EVP, Business Technology and is responsible for establishing and executing the commercial real estate IT strategy, vision and roadmap for the office sector. He has a keen focus on data and analytics, automation, IoT and partnering with the business in executing new innovations across the portfolio. Brookfield Properties develops and operates more than 650 properties and 325 million square feet of high-quality, sustainability-focused real estate assets around the globe. It provides integrated services across all property investment strategies of Brookfield Asset Management, a global alternative asset manager with over $600 billion in AUM.

Helane Stein is SVP, CIO of Brixmor responsible for the overall technology vision, strategy, systems and infrastructure that support business operations. She leads the implementation of transformational solutions that drive organizational efficiency, increase productivity, enhance collaboration and deliver results. Brixmor owns and operates a high-quality, national portfolio of open-air shopping centers. Its 632 retail centers comprise of approximately 64 million square feet of prime retail space in established trade areas.

Michael Izzo is the firm’s Senior Vice President, Carbon Strategy responsible for leading Hines’ efforts to assess its carbon emissions and develop the strategy to set and achieve the firm’s science-based targets. He engages regularly with the firm’s global teams to provide strategic leadership and ensure continuity and the successful progression on the firm’s strategy and commitments and help lead the industry’s carbon emissions response.

Nada Sutic is the Vice President, Sustainability, Innovation and National Programs at Epic Investment Services. In this role, Nada is responsible for strategy and implementation of sustainability, digital building transformation and numerous operational programs with a focus on implementation through building operations and performance across the company’s diverse portfolio. With 15+ years of experience in commercial real estate, focused on sustainability, operational excellence and property management, Nada leads with a drive for successful implementation and critical measurement.

Marc Petock is a pioneer in leading the Intelligent/Smart Buildings and M2M movements pushing the industry forward and has contributed to transforming and changing the Intelligent Buildings and M2M (now IoT) industries. As Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for Lynxspring, Marc leads corporate and product marketing, strategy, brand management, public relations and communications that support the company’s strategic and growth initiatives.

Having spent most of his career within the Distech Controls organization with 15 years of experience in the industry, Ryan Sen most recently served as Director of Sales where he was in charge of the sales channel for the entire Canada. He has previously held a multitude of management roles within the organization. Ryan has also performed Business Development for the Distech Controls Energy Services division and briefly supported the Canadian Market in a Regional Sales Management role.

Jonathan (JP) Flaherty is the Director of Sustainability at Tishman Speyer, one of the leading owners, developers, operators and fund managers of first-class real estate worldwide. In this role, he manages sustainability certificates, investor communications, worldwide performance tracking, and technological innovation implementation.

Lauren Brust Moss is the Senior Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer at Vornado Realty Trust, where she oversees the company’s industry-leading sustainability programs including initiatives focused on energy efficiency, green cleaning, waste diversion, technology and infrastructure, and healthy environments. Lauren has more than 20 years of experience managing sustainability, energy and capital improvements for large-scale buildings and portfolios, and is recognized as an industry thought leader and advocate on green policy, regulation and compliance.

Joe Brown is responsible for enhancing technology, innovation, resiliency and sustainability, driving value across KingSett's real estate portfolio of over $16 billion of assets under management. He began his career consulting on energy projects and building commissioning and has spent the last 15 years in building technology and operations through various roles.

Fred Gordy is a Smart Building industry expert and thought leader with 20 years of experience in secure control system development and implementation for Fortune 500 companies throughout the US and abroad. He is one of the first in the Smart Building industry to address the inherent risk that control system technology poses. He has authored and participated in over 100 articles on building control cybersecurity with industry magazines as well as the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and Healthcare publications. In addition to publishing articles, for almost a decade he led control system cybersecurity workshops and has been a passionate speaker and teacher on the subject of building control cybersecurity.

Donny Walker leads Newcomb Boyd's Intelligent Building Systems group. He has over 20 years of engineering, project management, and partner-in-charge responsibilities in communications, security and integrated building automation systems. His experience includes aviation facilities, health care buildings, judicial facilities, advanced technology developments, military installations, data centers, mixed-use developments, performing arts facilities and college campuses. With prowess designing technologically sophisticated campuses, his background encompasses over 150 projects specializing in an integrated design with network-enabled systems.

Sergey Gutkin a proven leader, specializing in business development, operations management, and master system integration. He has successfully structured and executed various strategic programs across many large enterprise portfolios. In addition, he is responsible for continuously improving and growing the IBIS firm. Sergey Gutkin continues to bridge the gap between technology and business requirements to successfully exceed client expectations.

Leon founded Bueno in 2013, with a vision of using technology and his engineering expertise to improve building energy performance. His vision has seen rapid growth and success. Prior to Bueno, Leon worked as an Energy Efficiency Consultant in the Australian commercial property sector and was involved in the development of the world’s first legislated Building Performance Standard (NABERS).

McGee is the Founder and CEO of WattCarbon. Prior to WattCarbon, McGee was the CTO at Recurve, an energy efficiency startup. McGee founded two previous companies, MeterHero and H2OScore while also earning tenure in the Political Science department at Marquette University. He is the author of Developing Interests: Organizational Change and the Politics of Advocacy.

Talia Fine is the SVP, Information Technology, responsible for the strategy and oversight of technology at Tanger. Prior to joining Tanger, Talia worked at Brookfield in both the office and retail sectors. She has over 15 years of experience in the real estate industry.

Ken Kurz brings over 20 years of leadership and operational experience in cybersecurity, network technologies, information systems, risk mitigation and remediation, and technical project management to COPT. Supporting COPT as CIO since 2016, he has prior experience as the CISO for the University of Delaware, CISO for the University of Oklahoma, and CIO for the US Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation. He has also held various technical and leadership positions within the Department of Defense.

Ilan Zachar is currently Chief Technology Officer at Carr Properties, a privately held REIT known for its portfolio of trophy-quality properties in the Washington D.C. In this role, Ilan leverages vision and foresight to cross-pollinate best practices, processes, systems and resources across corporate operations/affiliates. Under his leadership, this has resulted in improvements in bottom-line costs, top-line business growth/scalability, operational sustainability and high performance and overall, strengthening his company’s role as a market leader. For over 20 years, Ilan has been executive business leader and innovative technology strategist for multinational real-estate and property development companies worldwide.

Russ Holton leads the Building Management System design, integration, project management, commissioning, retro commissioning, functional testing, service and support for the Bedrock Detroit and the Bedrock Cleveland Real Estate Portfolio. The portfolio currently has 55 commercial and residential sites approaching 15 million square feet of integrated properties.

Brian Turner, CEO of Buildings IOT, is leading the disruption of how mart building systems are viewed, maintained, and reported. For more than two decades, he has worked with some of the world’s largest property owners and facility managers in developing lasting strategies for complex integrations and enabled solutions to the problems found, fuels his passion for making smart buildings as they should be to show the world what they can be.

Michael Izzo is the firm’s Senior Vice President, Carbon Strategy responsible for leading Hines’ efforts to assess its carbon emissions and develop the strategy to set and achieve the firm’s science-based targets. He engages regularly with the firm’s global teams to provide strategic leadership and ensure continuity and the successful progression on the firm’s strategy and commitments and help lead the industry’s carbon emissions response.

Nada Sutic is the Vice President, Sustainability, Innovation and National Programs at Epic Investment Services. In this role, Nada is responsible for strategy and implementation of sustainability, digital building transformation and numerous operational programs with a focus on implementation through building operations and performance across the company’s diverse portfolio. With 15+ years of experience in commercial real estate, focused on sustainability, operational excellence and property management, Nada leads with a drive for successful implementation and critical measurement.

Trent Morano is currently SVP at Power Designs. With more 20 years in the construction industry, he is a highly accomplished Fortune 500 executive leader with exceptional vision, strategy and sales acumen complemented by proven results in business transformation models. With his unique background in construction, electrical, mechanical, and IT, Trent brings forward financial models to executives that impact the bottom line.

Clayton Broemsen is VP of IT Infrastructure for Cousins Properties, a REIT based in Atlanta, GA. He is responsible for all aspects of Cousins’ IT Infrastructure as it applies to the Corporate Office and Property Infrastructure including Networks, End User Devices, Security, Data Centers and Disaster Recovery.

Bill Masse is the Vice President of Digital Building Projects at QuadReal Property Group. With 20+ years’ experience in building systems, construction, integration, and technology. Bill leads the execution of QuadReal’s global digital strategy. With a diverse set of technical and real estate expertise, he oversees the unification of the aspirational use-cases and desired business outcomes with a practical application and implementation of technology – turning the ideas into reality. Bill’s career has seen him go from being “on the tools,” to leading a technology integration firm, to being COO of a software company – which lends to his exceptional ability to navigate many different skillsets in an effort to digitally transform real estate.

Ana Rawson is the Director of the Facilities Technology and Innovation Division in the Office of Facility Management for PBS, overseeing critical programs such as smart buildings, computerized maintenance management, operational excellence, advanced metering and the Green Proving Ground.

Ali Hoss is Triovest’s Chief Sustainability Officer responsible for advancing ESG performance and innovation for a portfolio of $12B of commercial properties. He has over 20 years of work experience in sustainability and energy management and is regarded as a strategic builder of unique products and services for design and implementation of energy conservation and GHG emission mitigation projects.

Founder of Realcomm Conference Group, an education organization that produces Realcomm, IBcon and CoRE Tech, the world's leading conferences on technology, automated business solutions, intelligent buildings and energy efficiency for the commercial and corporate real estate industry. As CEO, Jim interacts with the largest companies globally pertaining to some of the most advanced and progressive next generation real estate projects under development.

Karen Jalon is Cadillac Fairview's Vice President of Sustainability, Energy & Smart Technology and is responsible for the company’s award-winning approach to sustainability, climate, and energy management as well as its smart building technologies strategy and execution. Karen is an industry-leading pioneer in establishing Green Building standards and sits on many of the guiding committees that set the sustainability standards to which the global real estate industry adheres.

Lauren Brust Moss is the Senior Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer at Vornado Realty Trust, where she oversees the company’s industry-leading sustainability programs including initiatives focused on energy efficiency, green cleaning, waste diversion, technology and infrastructure, and healthy environments. Lauren has more than 20 years of experience managing sustainability, energy and capital improvements for large-scale buildings and portfolios, and is recognized as an industry thought leader and advocate on green policy, regulation and compliance.