Program Speakers

Francisco Acoba is a principal at Ernst & Young LLP with more than 24 years of global experience providing management consulting services to Fortune 500 companies and the world’s largest public sector entities.

Ryan Allbaugh has over 20 years of experience in the IT industry. Currently, he leads highly knowledgeable and collaborative teams to design and implement technical solutions for Wells Fargo’s corporate properties group. As the former CIO of the largest private commercial real estate developer in the southeast, Ryan applied his extensive knowledge to implement technology solutions impacting the real estate industry, such as his role in the development of one of the most technologically sophisticated buildings in the world, the Duke Energy Center in Charlotte, NC.

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.

Lincoln Bleveans has been an executive in the global energy industry for nearly 30 years and currently leads Stanford University’s mission-critical operations and world-leading innovation in sustainability and resilience, utilities, and infrastructure. He is a committee member of the Board of Oversight of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and is active as a mentor and board member for technology start-ups in North America, Europe, and India.

Brad is the Sales Director for Abound & Digital products at Automated Logic, a division of Carrier Global Corp, a leading provider of innovative building automation, IoT, and energy management solutions. Brad has over 14 years of HVAC & BMS industry experience across all sectors of the business in various roles in global and domestic, sales, product management, and business development responsibilities.

Frank Cuevas is Vice President Global Real Estate and General Manager of McKesson Real Estate. His real estate experience spans more than 30 years working for some of the worlds most respected companies in global leadership capacities with responsibilities for leading real estate teams and portfolios in more than 120 countries representing companies such as DXC, IBM, and Deloitte. His leadership was instrumental in the planning and successfully executing significant enterprise transformations including the corporate real estate function itself.

Emmanuel Daniel is currently leading digitization at the Engineering Procurement & Construction (EPC) Center of Excellence (CoE) in Microsoft CO+I where he is focused on accelerating the Design, Build and Turnover of Data Centers through Technology. Prior to this he led the Digital Transformation work for Microsoft’s East Campus to make it Smart, Connected, Sustainable, Accessible & Secure and was the global leader for smart building & human experiences in physical space. Emmanuel has designed and built smart buildings across the world, collectively he has worked on over 200 engagements across 30 Countries. His customer-lens, real estate and business sense, and technical expertise make him a global thought leader on how buildings, campuses and cities can (and must) be transformed with digital technologies and innovation.

Jacques de Chalendar is an Adjunct Professor and a researcher affiliated with Stanford’s Energy Science & Engineering department. He develops mathematical and computational tools for energy engineering problems, with a special focus on making the energy consumption of multi-zone commercial buildings more efficient and flexible using automation, low-cost distributed sensors, and methods to make decisions under uncertainty. The unique experimentation testbed developed at Stanford for in-the-wild “stress tests” of multi-zone commercial buildings has generated data and insights that now fuel an ambitious research program to unlock new energy efficiency and flexibility opportunities.

Edi Demaj is one of the Co-Founders of KODE Labs and is a key contributor to the vision and roadmap for the company. He is responsible for helping bridge the gap between technology, product and other areas within the company. Prior to KODE Labs, he was the Co-Founder of Rocket Fiber, top three fastest internet providers in America and a Managed Services provider.

Drew DePriest is a Director of Real Estate Operations Technology at McKesson. Prior to joining McKesson, Drew worked as a Facilities Management Technology for a large technology client at CBRE, where he previously led Digital Solutions globally for the firm's workplace experience platform, Host. Prior to CBRE, Drew headed the global Collaboration Services team at Aon, led business development at workplace technology startup Comfy (acquired by Siemens), and spent 12 years operations and business development at building automation firm Automated Logic.

Kira Dickson is a Technology Program Manager within Google's Real Estate and Workplace Services organization (REWS). She is responsible for evaluating and delivering technologies to enable REWS objectives, with a specific focus on Workplace Utilization. Prior to this, Kira was the Intelligent Environments Lead at the Google R+D Lab for the Built Environment, and an early employee at Comfy-Siemens (previously Building Robotics). Kira is passionate about leveraging data and innovation to transform our built environment.

MJ Doctors Rajashekhar is the Head of Strategic Planning within Meta’s Facilities, Culinary, and Security (FCS) organization. She oversees the development and implementation of FCS’s strategic plan and key global initiatives, working closely with FCS senior executives and cross-functional stakeholders. Previously, MJ was on Meta’s Strategic Response team and led strategy and execution of the company’s COVID-19 response and return-to-office initiatives. She has a background in consulting and social entrepreneurship.

Brett Fisher is a Senior Manager in Deloitte Consulting’s Real Estate Strategy & Sustainability Practice. Brett is a real estate technologist, with a decade of experience in identifying and deploying innovative solutions to help clients manage their real estate portfolio. He leads some of Deloitte’s most complicated real estate technology implementations.

Robert Fitzgerald is the Regional Technology Director for JLL Technologies. In this role, Robert helps clients shape their digital transformation strategy. He and his team provide advisory and consulting expertise to clients to help identify, select, implement, and sustain workplace technologies, bringing fit for purpose solutions that deliver targeted business outcomes supporting workplace experience, portfolio optimization, operational efficiency, and carbon footprint reduction. Prior to his current role, Robert held several leadership roles with Nokia Workplace Resources helping transform their portfolio, organization and digital landscape globally.

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.

Craig is currently the Vice President and Managing Director of the Occupier division of MRI Software. He leads a global team with operations across APAC, EMEA and North America and is responsible for a suite of products from mid-market to enterprise solutions. Prior to joining MRI Craig led the Real Estate and Workplace Solutions division at Trimble.

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.

As a key member of Stanford University’s Sustainability and Energy Management (SEM) team, Gerry Hamilton oversees the department’s long-term energy use planning; designs, implements, and directs assessment and outreach for sustainability programs; oversees business systems and analytics initiatives; and steers academic integration to aid program implementation.

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.

Sabine Lam brings the digital building vision to the forefront of Google's Facility Operation teams, enabling a secure, integrated and scalable platform that delivers next generation services to realize 2030 sustainability commitments, operational efficiency, and support healthy and productive spaces for Googlers. Her responsibilities include leading the development of a Workplace Platform to efficiently integrate building systems, facilitating the transition to a digitized and connected real estate portfolio, and collaborating with industry leaders to inspire and enable industry transformation.

Nick Lamel has a background in organizational behavior, psychology and cognitive science. He's worked for the last 10 years in Google's Real Estate and Workplace Services department, studying how Googlers work, the role of the physical space in supporting work, and providing evaluation of the office spaces and services Google provides.

Dr. Henning Roedel is the Robotics Lead at DPR Construction, a forward-thinking international general contractor specializing in technically complex and sustainable projects. He serves as an innovation leader and expert in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and High-performance materials for DPR, helping craft the implementation strategy of those technologies across the company.

Francisco Ruiz is the Global Director of Digital Transformation Services and Infrastructure Strategist for Real Estate and Facilities at Oracle. He leads a global team that’s responsible for the strategy, design, implementation and security of enterprise IoT Solutions across a 26 million square foot Real Estate Portfolio. Francisco is a recognized as a thought leader and subject matter expert in all things Real Estate Digital Transformation and is a frequent speaker on related areas of expertise.

With 35 years of experience, Kay is a recognized expert on workplace design and strategy issues. She is an award-winning designer who has worked with several Fortune 500 companies to optimize their global real estate portfolios and create innovative work environments. She is director of HOK’s WorkPlace team, a practice that supports organizations undertaking multiple projects in various locations, and a member of HOK’s Board of Directors.

Maya Setchkova is a Managing Director at Cushman & Wakefield, San Francisco, in charge of a global account spanning all service lines. She has over 20 years of experience in real estate investment, asset management, finance, brokerage, property and facility management, project management, and lease administration. Maya is passionate about introducing innovative technology to the traditionally conservative real estate sector. She has piloted/implemented a large number of new PropTech solutions in various property portfolios. Maya also serves as CFO/COO/CSO advisor to startups in the real estate and healthcare space. She is an established PropTech expert and has spoken at PropTech forums and published articles on the subject.

Tom Shircliff is a co-founder of Intelligent Buildings, a smart real estate service firm founded in 2004. Intelligent building provides services for technology strategy, vendor risk management and portfolio decarbonization.

Thru Shivakumar is the CEO and Co-Founder at COHESION, a real estate software company that creates intelligent buildings and enhances human experiences by connecting people and systems in a single, comprehensive platform. She is responsible for leading COHESION’s alignment and execution of its strategic vision, as well as, delivering shareholder value. Thru has 15+ years of experience in private, public, and civic sectors of the economy holding positions across finance, business strategy, M&A, entrepreneurship and business development.

Dave Sumi is VP of Marketing at Airvine where he brings his considerable experience in wireless to the team. Prior to joining Airvine, Dave was head of the Kyocera-AVX Antenna division, responsible for over 1000 people in design centers and factories around the globe. As VP of Marketing at Siklu from 2018 to 2021, he promoted and drove the adoption of 5G mmWave technologies into the international wireless marketplace, while being responsible for all of the company’s marketing activities. Before joining Siklu, Dave worked for several wireless companies as SVP Engineering, SVP Marketing and PLM focusing on video surveillance, small cell backhaul, and Internet solutions.

Steve Turner is a commercial real estate generalist helping global enterprises create Workplace Experience solutions that produce greater outcomes when reimagining workspaces. Steve engages with architect + design firms along with corporate real estate advisors to unlock greater occupancy insights and capabilities for their clients. A key industry operator in real estate technology stacks including IoT, PoE, collaboration devices, digital twins, smart buildings and other projects that transform their built environment. Previously a sales and industry leader for owners, occupiers, service providers & builders at Oracle and IBM, he began his career at the Trammell Crow Company in Dallas.

As Managing Partner, SVP of Strategy & Business Development, Lisa Woods is responsible for developing Realcomm's strategic relationships with the technology companies that participate in the company's conferences, seminars and CIO events. Prior to joining Realcomm, Lisa spent 10 years working with building owners and managers, providing technology solutions in telecommunications, access control and security.

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).

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.

Stephanie Ziegler is a seasoned Real Estate professional with extensive experience in strategic planning, financial analysis, and portfolio optimization. Currently at Uber Technologies, she oversees global portfolio strategy. Prior to Uber, Stephanie worked in retail real estate strategy at Sephora Americas, where in addition to leading strategic initiatives within the store portfolio she oversaw Lease Administration. She is passionate about data as the driving force behind all key decisions.