Unmatched depth and breadth of expertise

Dr. Cole is the Lynn Eminent Scholar Chaired Professor of Finance at Florida Atlantic University. After earning his PhD in Business Administration from UNC, he spent ten years in the Federal Reserve System and oversaw development of the Fed’s primary offsite bank-monitoring system and its 1993 Survey of Small Business Finances.

He has advised the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and central banks in developing countries on stress tests, financial stability indicators and monitoring systems. His widely cited research covers commercial banking, corporate governance, financial institutions, real estate and small-business finance, with work published in leading finance and real estate journals.

Geoffrey Hirt is Professor Emeritus of Finance at DePaul University and formerly chaired finance departments at DePaul and Illinois State University. He is a past president of the Midwest Finance Association, former editor of the Journal of Financial Education, and former Senior Vice President for Strategy and Planning and Director of Equity Research at Mesirow Financial.

He is the author or co-author of leading investment and financial management textbooks translated into 14 languages. He earned a PhD in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an MBA from Miami University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Ohio Wesleyan University.

Paul has more than 30 years of commercial real estate experience. As President and COO of Brookfield Property Partners’ U.S. Office division, he had responsibility for a $27 billion, 60 million-square-foot portfolio, oversaw more than 30 million square feet of leasing, managed over 700 employees and an annual operating budget exceeding $1 billion in NOI.

He holds an MBA from American University and a BS in Business Marketing from the University of Maryland. He has served the Economic Club of Washington, Urban Land Institute, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Robert H. Smith School of Business and advisory boards including Megalytics.

Steve is a lecturer, researcher and Industry Chair of the MIT Center for Real Estate’s Real Estate Technology Hub, and Managing Partner of MET Fund II. He previously led industry relations at the MIT Center for Real Estate and founded the MIT Real Disruption conference series, now part of CREtech.

He serves on the MIT Technology Review Global Insights Panel, the CREtech Climate Leadership Board and multiple real estate technology advisory boards. He earned graduate degrees in real estate development and city planning from MIT and a JD from Suffolk University Law School.

Lynn is Founder and President of Citrine Investment Group and brings 25 years of institutional real estate investment experience. Her career includes more than $10 billion in transactions and senior roles at GEM Realty Capital, The Carlyle Group and Goldman Sachs.

A magna cum laude Wharton graduate and University of Pennsylvania trustee, she has held leadership and board roles with the Urban Land Institute, Chicago Furniture Bank, EMBARC, Soham Dance Space and the Annenberg Center.

Hiren is a strategy and M&A executive with more than $2 billion in capital markets transactions spanning IPOs, acquisitions, spin-offs, capital raises and restructurings, and has led more than 40 acquisitions.

He holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, an MEM from Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois. He advises the North-South Foundation, Megalytics and Kellogg’s MMM program.

Eliot is a leader in brand strategy, design and innovation with experience on both the client and global consulting sides. His award-winning work has served Fortune 500 organizations, and he is a published writer and frequent speaker.

He earned a JD from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brown University.

David is Founder and President of Harrington Brown LLC, a boutique commercial real estate firm serving Chicago and Evanston. He brings 40 years of experience spanning asset management, development, leasing and sales, and serves as a Managing Director at investment banking firm The Peakstone Group.

His prior leadership experience includes Jones Lang Wootton, Jones Lang LaSalle, Lehman Brothers and ORIX Real Estate.