Wordpress Header Retail & Hospitality Forum
In-person

Retail & Hospitality Forum

June 18, 2026 @ 8:00AM – 12:30 PM EST Paramount Club, 1301 6th Ave, New York, NY 10019
Register
2025 Agenda
ALL EVENTS

Speakers

Jordan Bargas Retail & Hospitality Forum

jordan Bargas

Executive Vice President, Development

Related Ross

Ken Bernstein Retail & Hospitality Forum

kenneth f. bernstein

President & CEO

Acadia Realty Trust

×

Kenneth F. Bernstein

President & CEO, Acadia Realty Trust

Kenneth F. Bernstein is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Acadia Realty Trust, which he co-founded in 1998. Acadia Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust specializing in the acquisition, redevelopment and management of open-air retail properties. The company currently owns and operates a portfolio of properties valued at approximately $5 billion throughout the United States.

Acadia manages a core real estate portfolio of approximately $3 billion of open-air retail properties dominated by street retail properties in key markets throughout the United States. Acadia also operates an investment management platform that manages a series of institutional joint ventures and discretionary investment funds. Acadia has recently completed its investments on behalf of Fund V, acquiring approximately $1.5 billion in retail properties. The company has also completed two separate account joint ventures with institutional partners.

In addition to his responsibilities at Acadia, Mr. Bernstein is a former Trustee of the Board of Trustees for the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), where he also served as the Chairman for 2017/2018. He is a member of the World President’s Organization (YPO-WPO), where he was the founding chairman of the Real Estate Network. Mr. Bernstein currently serves as a Global Governing Trustee for the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Golub Capital (NASDAQ: GBDC).

Previously, Mr. Bernstein served as Chief Operating Officer of RD Capital until its merger with Mark Centers Trust in 1998, creating Acadia Realty Trust. Prior to that, Mr. Bernstein was an associate with the New York law firm of Battle Fowler, LLP.

Mr. Bernstein received his BA from the University of Vermont and his JD from Boston University School of Law.

Jeff Dvorett Retail & Hospitality Forum

jeff dvorett

President

Midwood Investment & Development

×

Jeff Dvorett

President, Midwood Investment & Development

Jeff Dvorett is the President of Midwood Investment and Development where he is responsible for overseeing development, marketing, operations, and asset management for the company’s national portfolio. Midwood’s portfolio comprises over 140 residential, retail, and office properties across the United States, including developments like The Shops at Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City, The Residences at Sportsmen’s Lodge,150 East 78th Street, and 210 South 12th Street. Dvorett, who joined Midwood in 2017 as Executive Vice President of Development, previously served as head of development for Kuafu Properties and senior vice president of Development at Extell Development Company. At Extell, he oversaw the development of over two million square feet of mixed used, residential and hospitality projects including ONE57, which features 94 ultra-luxury residences above a 210-key flagship Park Hyatt Hotel. Jeff received his MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Science with Departmental Honors from Northwestern University.

%name Retail & Hospitality Forum

nima fazeli

SVP, Development

The Hwood Group

×

Nima Fazeli

SVP, Development, The Hwood Group

Nima Fazeli is Senior Vice President of Development at The hwood Group, where he leads the company’s real estate strategy, business development, and construction pipeline across its growing hospitality portfolio. With nearly 20 years of experience in the industry, he has built and invested across hospitality platforms spanning advisory, private equity, family office, asset management, and ground-up development.

Before joining hwood, Nima served as EVP of Real Estate and Development at SBE, overseeing all real estate, transactions, and development activity for the global lifestyle hospitality company. Earlier in his career, he led major hospitality acquisitions and developments, at Tarsadia, and later PINN Investment, both family offices based in Newport Beach, CA.

His prior roles include working for JLL’s Hotel Strategic Advisory and Asset Management team, Barclays Global Investors in London, Booz Allen Hamilton, and a private family office.

Nima holds a bachelor degree from American University, a Masters from the London School of Economics, and an MBA in Real Estate Finance from Cornell University.

Stephanie McGowan Retail & Hospitality Forum

stephanie mcgowan

 Managing Director, Real Estate

Blackstone

×

Stephanie McGowan

Managing Director, Real Estate, Blackstone

Stephanie McGowan is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group where she is currently focused on the asset management and oversight of Blackstone’s U.S. retail and office
investments. Ms. McGowan joined Blackstone in 2014 and currently serves on the Board of EDENS. She is also Co-Chair of Blackstone’s Women’s Initiative.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2014, Ms. McGowan worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the Real Estate Gaming & Lodging Investment Banking group.

Ms. McGowan received a BS in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she attended in the Honors Program, graduating with Highest Distinction and Phi Beta Kappa. She serves on the Board of Part of the Solution (POTS) Bronx.

Danielle Lesser Retail & Hospitality Forum

MODERATOR

danielle lesser

Partner & Chair, Business Litigation

Morrison Cohen

Tad OConnor Retail & Hospitality Forum

MODERATOR

Paul “Tad” O’connor III

Partner

Loeb & Loeb LLP

×

Paul "Tad" O'Connor III

Partner, Loeb & Loeb LLP

Paul M. (“Tad”) O’Connor is a seasoned trial and appellate litigator with over 30 years of experience in complex commercial and real estate litigation. Tad’s clients have included, among others, TPG, Fortress Investment Group, InterContinental Hotels Group, SL Green, JDS Development Group, Hilton, Aman Resorts, RFR and Alexandria Real Estate Equities.

Tad has extensive experience representing private equity firms, financial institutions, real estate developers and owners, hotel operators, multinational corporations and high net worth individuals in federal and state courts around the country and before arbitration tribunals in the U.S. and Europe.

Tad also litigates major real estate disputes involving commercial and hotel properties nationwide, including representing hotel operators in disputes with owners. His work as a litigator has led to court appointments as a bankruptcy trustee and as a director overseeing a facility administering large product liability settlements.

Tad’s representations in this area have led to numerous awards and recognitions for him and his group.

What You Need To Know

The retail and hospitality markets have continued to evolve and give rise to a new defining class of shopping centers and next level placemaking. From shifts in consumer demands and tenant strategies to retail and restaurants as the reigning amenities in urban centers, the future of retail is being written in real time. Consumer expectations are changing the way retail and hospitality brands scale, transforming the entire business of retail real estate and what it means to create a memorable shopping experience.

Don’t miss your opportunity to hear from major retailers, restaurateurs, hospitality chains and the real estate industry’s preeminent leaders as they share key strategies for stabilizing the industries that have been tackling constant twists and turns in an ever-changing market.

Get direct access to the market’s most dominant players as they share:

  • Executive insights on what’s driving the retail and food and beverage industries, including:
  • The trends defining the next generation of shopping centers
  • How consumer demands are shifting and what is means for retail real estate
  • The critical role that mixed-use is playing in elevating urban centers and critical business corridors
  • How retail tenants and owners are creating dynamic shopping experiences and destination developments
Website Collage Retail & Hospitality Forum

Agenda

Keynote
Retail Repositioned: State of the Market & Emerging Strategies for the Next Generation of Shopping Centers
Meeting Consumer Demands: How Tenants are Curating their Real Estate Strategies to Scale
Experiential Retail & Hospitality: Entertainment, Wellness & the Future of Destination Developments
Survival of the Super Fit: How Restaurants are Powering Foot Traffic & Urban Revitalization

About the Venue:

The Paramount Club is a private club exclusively for tenants of Paramount buildings. Located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan at 1301 Avenue of the Americas, our expansive 32,000-square-foot space offers expertly curated dining, wellness, conferencing, and entertainment experiences tailored to meet the needs of today’s professionals.

Retail & Hospitality Forum

June 18, 2026 @ 8:00AM – 12:30 PM EST
Paramount Club, 1301 6th Ave, New York, NY 10019
$225 – Early Bird Rate
Register Now

Who Should Attend

  • Retail and Hospitality Owners and Developers
  • Mixed-use Owners and Developers
  • Retailers: Online & Brick and Mortar
  • Restaurateurs
  • Civic and Tourism Organizations
  • City Agencies and BIDs
  • Architects
  • Brokers
  • Lenders
  • Investors
  • Government Agencies & Public Officials
  • AEC Professionals
  • Service Providers
  • Consultants

Host Sponsor

Paramount Club Logo Long 50Black Final Retail & Hospitality Forum

paramount club

Sponsors

LL Horizontal Retail & Hospitality Forum

loeb & loeb llp

Loeb & Loeb is a premier law firm focused on helping organizations and individuals innovate, grow and evolve in a changing world. Our market leading practice and industry teams deliver practical insight and strategic solutions in complex deals, high-profile disputes, cutting-edge regulatory issues and other matters critical to our clients’ success. The firm has approximately 450 lawyers across eight offices in the United States and Asia.

MG Engineering Retail & Hospitality Forum

mg engineering

MG Engineering is an MEP/FP consulting engineering firm with more than 35 years of experience in the AEC industry, also providing lighting design, commissioning, sustainability, and technology design
services. The firm’s work spans healthcare, education, residential and mixed-use developments,
hospitality, corporate interiors, restaurants, retail, and base building infrastructure. MGE has been named
one of the top 500 design firms nationwide for over a decade and one of the Best Places to Work in NYC
by Crain’s New York.

Morrison Cohen Logo Retail & Hospitality Forum

morrison cohen

OlshanLogoNames CMYK Retail & Hospitality Forum

olshan frome wolosky llp

Olshan is a leading New York law firm representing clients ranging from public companies, hedge, venture capital, private equity and other investment funds to entrepreneurs and private companies. We have been consistently recognized for our expertise in corporate and securities law, shareholder activism, real estate, litigation, intellectual property, advertising and marketing, tax, and bankruptcy. In addition, we have significant practices dealing with employment matters and insurance coverage. Although based in New York, our lawyers represent clients nationally and internationally.

At Olshan, the mix of clients combined with the range of our practice groups and an extremely collegial atmosphere result in a tremendous advantage. Our attorneys work closely with each other and in teams to find solutions for our clients. We offer broad and specialized services for large clients while at the same time serving smaller clients effectively on business transactions and litigation.

Olshan attorneys and practices are nationally and internationally recognized by client and peer-reviewed by Chambers USA, Legal 500 U.S., Best Lawyers®, Best Law Firms®, Lawdragon, Super Lawyers and Martindale-Hubbell.

For more information please visit https://www.olshanlaw.com/.