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In-Person

National Retail & Hospitality Forum

June 24, 2025 at 8:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET Paramount Club 1301 6th Ave, New York, NY 10019
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Keynote Speakers

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Mike O’Neill

Vice Chair

Cushman & Wakefield

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Mike O'Neill

Vice Chair, Cushman & Wakefield

Michael J. O’Neill joined Cushman & Wakefield’s Retail Services group in 2002 and provides brokerage services to retailers and landlords on both a local and national level. His focus is on strategic planning and the development and execution of leasing strategies for several multi-national retailers and landlords.

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Alex smith

Vice President of Real Estate, Americas

Kering Americas, Inc.

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MODERATOR

SURI KASIRER

President

Kasirer LLC

Speakers

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NOURI BEESEMER

Senior Director of Hospitality Strategy

Related Companies

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 Lee Block

President

RTL

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DAYSSI olarte de kanavos

President & COO

Flag Luxury Group

Daniel Lesser National Retail & Hospitality Forum

daniel lesser

Co-Founder, President & CEO

LW Hospitality Advisors

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Kevin McCrain

Managing Partner, Real Estate

Brookfield

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STEPHANIE MCGOWAN

Managing Director

Blackstone

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João Oliveira 

 Director of Business Development 

Restaurant Associates

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João Oliveira

Director of Business Development, Restaurant Associates,

João Oliveira is the Director of Business Development for Restaurant Associates, where he leads strategic growth initiatives. With a career spanning two decades across the U.S., U.K., and Portugal, João brings deep operational expertise in high-end culinary and hospitality environments. He began his journey as a Chef and steadily advanced through leadership roles within Compass Group, ultimately serving as Vice President in major markets like New York, Chicago, and Washington DC.

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peter ripka

Co-Founder/Partner

RIPCO Real Estate

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Peter Ripka

Co-Founder/Partner, RIPCO

Peter Ripka co-founded RIPCO Real Estate LLC in 1991 with his close friend and current partner, Todd Cooper. Since that time, RIPCO has grown to eight offices in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, Miami and Tampa.

Peter has been instrumental in leasing over 3 million SF of retail space throughout New York City for a number of developers including Forest City Ratner, Related Companies, Vornado, and Equity One. He has also leased retail properties throughout metro NY including Westchester, the Hamptons, and New Jersey. Peter has completed deals with diverse retailers such as Apple, Barneys, Sephora, H&M, Williams Sonoma, and Legoland Discovery Center.

RIPCO has an active NYC and metro NY tenant representation business that assists in the real estate site selection process for a number of retailers including Target, Best Buy and TD Bank.

Peter has been a multiple winner of the Retail Deal of the Year award from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY). He is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Peter holds a B.A. from Northwestern University and J.D. from Hofstra Law School.

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Joel rOSEN

President

GFI Hospitality LLC

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Jeff Rosen

President, GFI Hospitality LLC

Bringing more than 50 years of experience in hotel development, operational management and asset management, Joel leads GFI’s hotel group. Prior to joining GFI
Hospitality, Joel was a partner at Geolo Capital, a private equity investment group focusing on hotel and resort investments. He has asset managed and provided advisory
services to hotels and resorts ranging in size from 77 rooms to 1,600 rooms and over$3.0 billion in value in Canada, the US, Mexico, Caribbean and Asia. Joel was a founding partner of Horwath HTL (Canada) and its Chairman and CEO for over 20
years. Before launching Horwath HTL, he was Vice-President of Marketing & Sales for Delta Hotels & Resorts where he was responsible for brand management, national and international sales and its guest loyalty program. He commenced his career at Laventhol & Horwath (Toronto), where he was partner in charge of the hotel management services team and was a partner leading the hospitality consulting
practice of Price Waterhouse (Canada), where he worked with major hotel brands, lenders and developers.

Joel is a graduate of Michigan State University’s School of Hospitality Business.

GFI’s current hotel portfolio includes: The Beekman, a Thompson Hotel, Thompson Central Park, Hotel Seville Nomad a member of the Unbound Collection by Hyatt, Ace NY, Ace Brooklyn and Hilton Greenville (SC). The company also has several properties in various stages of development.

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Michelle Schrank

Strategy & Design Director

Journey

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Michelle Schrank

Design Director, Journey

As a studio director at Journey, Michelle leads a team of experience strategists and designers on major projects for international developers (Hines, Vornado), entertainment clients (TSX, Pophouse, GoodCompany, Resorts World), global professional services (JP Morgan Chase, CliftonLarsonAllen), and healthcare institutions (MD Anderson Cancer Center). Michelle holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is a licensed architect in the United States. She has been a featured speaker as an experience specialist for several engagements including the Fast Company Festival and the Elevate Miami conference.

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 Joseph Delli Santi

Chief Investment Officer

MCR

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Brandon Singer

Chief Executive Officer & Founder

MONA Retail Holdings, LLC

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Harrison Sitomer

Chief Investment Officer,

SL GREEN Realty Corp.

Jonathan A. Adelsberg National Retail & Hospitality Forum

MODERATOR

Jonathan A. Adelsberg

Partner; Co-Chair, Real Estate Department; Chair of Leasing

Herrick, Feinstein LLP

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Clara Feldman

MODERATOR

Clara Feldman

Partner

Blank Rome LLP

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Clara Feldman

Partner, Blank Rome LLP

Clara focuses on all aspects of commercial real estate and corporate transactions, with particular emphasis on complex commercial leasing, corporate transactions, financing, acquisitions, and sales. She counsels CEOs of multinational and global luxury brands, owners, developers, tenants, and private equity funds, including Fortune 500 companies, in the negotiation and drafting of intricate retail, office, ground, and restaurant leases, purchase and sale agreements, licensing, wholesale, financing documents, and general corporate contracts. Clara has distinguished herself by representing numerous European and global emerging and internationally acclaimed brands looking to expand their footprint in the United States.

As a trusted advisor, Clara’s clients turn to her for counsel across a wide variety of business and legal issues because of her broad-based and holistic approach and her knowledge gleaned from years of experience. For example, she often counsels’ clients with early corporate structure discussions, term sheet negotiations and strategy, lease execution, construction design, collaboration, and beyond. She works tirelessly to help the brands she works with navigate the opportunities and challenges in today’s marketplace.

Clara has also counseled clients in the hospitality industry, including the negotiation and drafting of partnership, shareholder, joint venture, license, operating, management, acquisition, sale, employment, and lease agreements for bars, restaurants, nightclubs, hotels, casinos, and other food, beverage, and entertainment facilities.

While in law school, Clara served as a senior staff member for the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review and an intern for the Honorable Reinaldo E. Rivera at the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, Second Department.

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MODERATOR

Danielle Lesser

Partner & Chair, Business Litigation

Morrison Cohen

Abe Schlissefeld Headshot National Retail & Hospitality Forum

MODERATOR

ABE SCHLISSELFELD

National Real Estate Industry Leader

CBIZ

What You Need To Know

With restaurant reservations becoming harder to get, hotel bookings selling out with a resurgence of tourism, and the most sought after brands benefiting from both brick and mortar locations as well as e-commerce, retail and hospitality seem to have found their stride after several years of turbulence. What is driving this retail resurgence? Placemaking, exclusivity and location seem to be among the top indicators of brand success for these consumer-driven industries. 

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.

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Agenda

Exiting Retail Recovery & Entering a New Era of Growth
Meeting Consumer Demand
Retail Brands Investing in Real Estate Ownership
The Resurgence of Retail & Hospitality – What’s Catching Financiers Attention Today
The Expansion of F&B: From Food Courts to Private Dining Clubs, How D&B is Enhancing Real Estate Opportunities Across Sectors
View Past Agenda

National Retail & Hospitality Forum

Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 8:00 AM- 12:30 PM ET
Paramount Club 1301 6th Ave, New York, NY 10019
$250
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

About The Paramount Club

The Paramount Club is one of New York’s newest private club. Located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan at 1301 Avenue of the Americas, the 32,000-square-foot space offers expertly appointed dining, wellness, conferencing, and entertainment experiences. 

Host Sponsor

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Paramount Club

Paramount CLUB

Sponsors

Blank Rome National Retail & Hospitality Forum
Blank rome

Blank Rome LLP

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CBIZ

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Cushman & Wakefield

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Herrick Feinstein LLP

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Kasirer LLC

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MONA Retail Holdings, LLC

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Morrison Cohen

MORRISON COHEN

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RIPCO Real Estate

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RTL

RTL