Named the highest-ranking woman and 4th overall Top Real Estate Influencer to Follow by Entrepreneur.com in 2017, Desirée Patno is a leader helping women establish strong economic foundations for the future. With over 26 years in real estate and championing gender equality, the CEO and President of Desirée Patno Enterprises, Inc. (DPE) and the National Association of Women in Real Estate Businesses (NAWRB) has left her mark on diverse real estate sectors, selling over 6,000 properties, providing relocation services for major Fortune 100 companies, and connecting entrepreneurs to billions of dollars in business resources.

Patno is a national speaker and commentator featured at several agencies, organizations and publications including the White House; MBA’s Annual Convention & Expo and Summit on Diversity and Inclusion; CIFS Financial Services Expo; National Women’s Business Council (NWBC), a nonpartisan advisor to the President, Congress and SBA; Million Women Mentors and others.

She resides on the Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) Leadership Advisory Council and Enterprising Women Advisory Board. In 2016, she was honored with HousingWire’s Women of Influence award and was selected the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Women in Business Champion of the Year.

In 2012, Patno won the prestigious Enterprising Women of the Year award as well as HousingWire’s Women of Influence award for the first time. NAWRB is honored to be one of only 11 organizations listed as a Women’s Entrepreneurship Partner for the SBA.

Since 2010, NAWRB has raised awareness of diverse opportunities, supporting the Office(s) of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) which is tasked with the development and implementation of workforce and supplier diversity standards for the multi-trillion dollar housing sector. NAWRB contributes greatly to the success of the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program which presently awards $19.67 billion of federal small business contracts to women-owned small businesses.

Patno is the Publisher of NAWRB Magazine—winner of the APEX Award for Publication Excellence in 2015, 2016 and 2017—and is a monthly contributor to RISMedia’s Real Estate Magazine, National Mortgage Professional Magazine and various industry publications.

Share

Ohad is a managing partner at Copia Agro & Food, an Israeli impact fund that invests in proven technological projects developed in Israeli research institutes. Copia matches to each project suitable industrial partners and transforms the technologies into commercial products and processes.

Ohad gained his experience in management and business during 18 years at Zeraim Gedera, an Israeli leading seed company, 8 of them as its CEO. He transformed it from local family company to a multinational company, initiating its successful sale in 2005 to Markstone Capital and in 2007 to Syngenta.

In 2009 Ohad co-founded UniVerve, which developed and patented a highly efficient microalgae biomass production technology. Ohad still acts as the Chairman of the company, which is active in Israel, Asia and the US.

Ohad holds a joint Executive MBA degree from Kellogg Management School, Northwestern University of Chicago and Recanati School of Business, Tel Aviv University, as well as a B.Sc. in Agriculture from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

As a seasoned and visionary leader, with a proven track record, Ohad is a board member of various Israeli Agricultural and Hi-tech private and public companies. He contributes from his experience in implementation of innovative business models, driving profit and growth as well as governance issues.

Share

David Cohen is the Founder and co-CEO of Techstars. David has been an entrepreneur and investor for his entire life. He has only had one job interview in his career, successfully got that job but then quit shortly thereafter to start his first company. Since then, he has founded several companies and has invested in hundreds of startups such as Uber, Twilio, SendGrid, FullContact, and Sphero. In total, these investments have gone on to create more than $80B in value.

Prior to Techstars, David was a co-founder of Pinpoint Technologies which was acquired by ZOLL Medical Corporation (NASDAQ: ZOLL) in 1999. You can read about it in No Vision, All Drive. Later, David was the founder and CEO of earFeeder, a music service that was sold to SonicSwap. He also had what he likes to think of as a “graceful failure” in between.

David is the co-author (with Brad Feld) of Do More Faster; Techstars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup. David also enjoys reading non-fiction books and playing tennis. He is married to the coolest girl he’s ever met and has three amazing kids who always seem to be teaching him something new.

You can find David tweeting at @davidcohen and blogging on the web at DavidGCohen.com.

Share

Eyal is a Managing Partner at COPIA Agro & Food, an Israeli impact fund that invests in proven Ag & Food technologies developed in Israeli research institutes. COPIA leads the transition of the technologies into commercial products and processes all in cooperation with prominent industrial partners.

Eyal has more than 18 years of hands-on experience in managing companies, leading local and global sales, business development, strategic planning, project management and marketing.

He was the founder and CEO of MEA Testing Systems (www.meatesting.com), leading the company from the proof of concept stage to a company with solid technology and products, successful sales and a global network of hundreds of customers.

As a VP Business Development of APM (acquired by Emerson) Eyal led APM’s business development with companies such as ADM, Cargill, Bunge and Louis Dreyfus while cooperating with prestige universities, such as Stanford, MIT and the Technion, to prove the ROI of APM’s systems for these companies.

At another station of his career, Eyal was VP Business Development and Sales of Ellara, whose technology was used in a variety of markets such as security, aviation, automotive, residential, industrial, infrastructure, and agriculture. He managed Ellara’s world-wide sales and product development process and supervised the company’s robust IP portfolio of over 25 patents.

Mr. Cohen holds a Bachelor of Computer Science and Economy degree from Tel Aviv University (Summa Cum Laude, and recipient of Dean Awards) and an MBA from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.

Share

Cesar Castro is one of the leading talents in the fields of exponential technologies, artificial intelligence,  blockchain,  and digital currencies among other leading impacting technologies changing the business and consumer dynamics.

Cesar has spent his career as a strategic driver of corporate expansion at Microsoft, Nokia and America Movil. Along the way, he has delivered profitable growth, and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in shareholder value. Cesar has an extended record of success in Telecom, Mobility, Internet-led business, Consumer Electronics, and Cloud Services.

​Today, he advises leadership teams, board of directors and founders on trends, innovation and strategies for growth, value creation, and business transformation. He is particularly focused on exponential organizations, digital transformation, and the application of new business models and accelerating technologies such as IoT (Internet of Things), Blockchain, Mix Reality and AI (Artificial Intelligence).

Cesar is the Founder and Managing Partner at Escalate Group; a Consultancy firm specialized in envisioning, accelerating and scaling disruptive innovation and digital transformation for customer organizations and leaders seeking to remain relevant during today’s non-linear market. He is in the board of advisors in several corporations as well as non-profit organizations.

​He led the Phones Business Unit for Latin America at Microsoft Devices Group and was the General Manager for Microsoft North Latin America – Mobile Devices based in South Florida. In his roles, he contributed to creating more personal computing in a “Mobile First and Cloud First World”. Before this assignment, Cesar spent 3 years in Sao Paulo heading the Mobile Phones Business Unit for the Americas at Nokia.

Share

Joshua Levin is a cofounder at OpenInvest, an innovative San Francisco-based investment advisory firm dedicated to helping individuals and institutions align their investments with their values. OpenInvest provides deep customization, transparency, real-time divesting/investing, monitoring of ESG impacts, and even the ability to vote in shareholder resolutions with a swipe on your smartphone. Joshua spent the prior six years at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), where he managed the Sustainable Finance Program. Josh has worked in the past with the Rainforest Alliance, Root Capital, and Conservation International in various capacities. He holds an MBA from NYU Stern, where he was a Catherine B. Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship, and a BA from Harvard University. He lives with his wife and two sons in Berkeley, CA.

Share

Anna-Marie Wascher represents the Wascher family, a Single Family Office based out of Belgium. Primary areas of interest are Biotech in Israel and cross-industry European Investments.The Wascher family has placed a significant focus on direct investments, with recent investments including Lyft, Neuroderm, Omerix, Nyxoah and Cue. Anna-Marie Wascher has also worked as a member of investment teams for several family offices and investment firms in the US and Europe, with over a decade of experience evaluating investment opportunities in venture and hedge funds. She is also the founder and CEO of Flat World Partners. Anna-Marie previously served as a Director at Cantor Fitzgerald as a senior member of the capital introduction team. She is a venture partner to Aera, a venture fund investing in high growth early stage ventures defined by both purpose and profit. Anna-Marie started her career with Accenture as a financial consultant in their London investment banking practice as well as supporting Accenture’s socially responsible business arm. In 2009, Anna-Marie left Accenture to become cofounder and COO of Malaika For Life, a non-profit based in Tanzania. She has an MBA in corporate finance from Boston College, graduating with honors and an BA in finance from University of Miami, graduating with honors.

Share

All Princeton University graduates, international celebrity musicians and entrepreneurs, Sean, Lauren and David Carpenter founded Carpenter Fine Violins & Collectibles in 2010 and has become the leading fine stringed instruments firm in the world, venturing into fine art these past few years. The Carpenter siblings have been profiled in the New Yorker, NY Times, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg TV and Fox Business News discussing musical instruments as alternative investments. Recently, they performed the “Most Expensive Concert in History” at Sotheby’s where David, considered by many as the world’s leading viola soloist, played on the $45 Million “MacDonald” Stradivari viola while their orchestra, the Salomé Chamber Orchestra, performed on 7 other Stradivari violins.  The Salomé Orchestra, based in New York City, has performed charity concerts with John Legend, Rufus Wainwright, and Alan Gilbert helping raise over $4 Million for its partner non-profits over the last three years, which include the FEED Foundation, American Cancer Society, Camfed, and Children’s Hospital of LA.

Share

EXPERIENCE
Lori is the Office Tax Managing Principal for the West Palm Beach office. She has more than 20 years of public accounting tax experience, concentrating her practice extensively on closely-held businesses and their owners, high net worth individuals, complex multi-generational families, trust and estate planning and private and operating foundations. Lori serves clients in various industries including real estate, family office, manufacturing and distribution, health care providers, law firms, professional athletes, high net worth individuals and nonprofit organizations. She works closely with her client’s team of attorneys and financial advisors to provide strategic tax designs. Lori has participated in various roundtable discussion groups with numerous trust and financial institutions and has been quoted and recognized in local newspapers and magazines.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Florida Bar, Real Estate Property section member
East Coast Estate Planning Council
Palm Beach County Estate Planning Council
Palm Beach Tax Institute, Past President
Advisors for Philanthropic Impact, Treasurer
Jewish Women’s Foundation, Trustee

EDUCATION
B.S., Accounting and Economics, Babson College, Wellesley, MAJ.D., Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Share

Madeline has over 20 years of tax experience in public accounting and significant knowledge in US federal, state, and international tax. Her responsibilities include tax planning, research and compliance for multi-nationals clients in the public and private sector. Her diverse industry experience includes telecommunications, services, pharmaceutical, technology, distribution, real estate, and manufacturing. In addition, Madeline has extensive knowledge in mergers and acquisitions, global tax outsourcing, business consulting and ASC 740 with a focus on SEC reporting.
Madeline is a frequent lecturer on ASC 740 and various corporate and business tax matters, and a publisher of tax-related articles. She has significant experience doing business in Latin America and the Caribbean and serves as the Tax Co-Lead for the America’s Desk. Madeline is fluent in both English and Spanish.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting
Beacon Council
Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce
University of Miami Accounting Advisory Board
Women Executive Leadership

EDUCATION
M.B.A. Tax, University of Miami
B.B.A., Accounting, University of Miami

Share

EXPERIENCE SUMMARY
Kevin Anderson is a partner in the National Tax Office of BDO USA, LLP, where his practice is focused in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, S corporations, C corporations, consolidated returns, leasing, capitalization and cost recovery, and related tax accounting issues. He has advised corporate clients for many years in their formation, conversion, operations, compliance, reorganization, and sale. He provides technical leadership to the firm and its clients in the area of corporate tax, and previously served a leading role in the development and implementation of the firm’s national tax training efforts. He was recently appointed as the firm’s technical practice leader for corporate tax matters. Mr. Anderson was a member of the Treasury Department Office of Tax Legislative Counsel. He also has law firm and Big Four public accounting experience, and several years as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law School. He has served in a variety of leadership roles in the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, including as a member of the Council, Chair of its Tax Accounting and Capital Recovery and Leasing Committees, Vice Chair of its Pro Bono Committee, and a member of its Nominating and Government Submissions Committees. He is also the Immediate Past Chair of the S Corporations Technical Resource Panel of the Tax Division of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Certified Public Accountant in Wisconsin, Maryland, & The District of Columbia
State Bar of Wisconsin

EDUCATION
J.D., University of Michigan Law School
B.B.A. University of Wisconsin, Whitewater

Share

Share

Craig Baker is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cigar Break Asset Management. He is a private credit expert. Cigar Break is a specialty finance company with unique expertise in wheelchair accessible vehicles, inventory financing, non-prime auto and real estate finance. Cigar Break provides consistent superior returns because it controls the origination and servicing verticals. Previously, Craig founded Integrated Finance Company, and Mobility Acceptance, (now the verticals of the firm).

Craig has over 25 years of financial management and lending experience. Before creating Cigar Break and its verticals, he worked for Sargent Investors. Sargent Investors was a privately held community bank holding company.  Craig ran the auto, and mortgage lending units and the retail branch network. Prior to that, he worked for Ernst and Young in the Boston Massachusetts office.

Craig graduated Cum Laude from the Questrom School of Business  at Boston University with a Bachelor Science degree with a dual concentration in Accounting and Finance. He also received his MBA from Boston University and has graduated from the Ritz Carlton Leadership program. Craig was a varsity soccer player, appearing in 2 NCAA tournaments. He also trained with Atletico Minero in Belo Horizante, Brazil.

Craig is a member of YPO Virginia Chapter and the AICPA. He is an honorary Board member of the RI Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce and has received numerous civic awards from Progressive Latino, the Alzheimer Society and the Autism Project. He has also served on several civic boards such as the Narraganset Bay Commission and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

Share

Ido Sadeh Man is the Saga Foundation Council President, as well as Co-Founder & Partner of The Singulariteam Technology Group. Ido spent the last decade leading product and technology organizations, including at Odysii (sold to Gilbarco Veeder-Root, NYSE: FTV), and at Mobli where he was COO.

Share

Joseph Napoli is the Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor for the Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD), responsible for assisting the Aviation Director with all administrative, financial and operational activities. Mr. Napoli also manages long-term special projects and helps shape Departmental policies. His responsibilities include direct oversight of MDAD’s Communications, Fine Arts and Cultural Affairs, Governmental Affairs, Professional Compliance, Protocol and International Affairs, and Public and Customer Relations divisions.

Mr. Napoli brings an impressive depth of senior leadership experience and organizational management knowledge to the post. Before joining MDAD, he held the position of Senior Associate and South Florida Lead at the Miami office of Booz Allen Hamilton, a leading national strategy and technology consulting firm. Previously, he completed a distinguished career in the U.S. Army, achieving the rank of Colonel during his nearly 30 years of service. During his time in the military, Mr. Napoli held numerous top-level leadership positions with a focus on Latin America, including: Operations Manager of the U.S. Embassy/Military Group in Caracas, Venezuela; Military Group Commander/Senior Defense Official at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Chief of Staff/Deputy Director Strategic Effects of the Multinational Force in Iraq; and Senior Executive Advisor at the U.S. Southern Command in Miami.

Mr. Napoli earned his undergraduate degree in Engineering at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and holds Master Degrees in National Security Studies from the U.S. Army War College and in International Relations from Columbia University.

Share

Joe Lambert started as a broker with E.F. Hutton & Co. in 1979 where he was recognized as a top level producer while managing and training brokers. Over his career he has worked for several major Wall Street money management firms that had in excess of $10 billion of assets under management. At those firms he served on the investment committee providing analysis and research, managed portfolio’s, and oversaw marketing efforts. Those firms included Winrich Capital Management, Mellon Bank’s subsidiary Laurel Capital Advisors, Marty Zieg’s Avatar and Associates, Investco’s National Asset Management, Singular Research and Santa Barbara Securities. At Mellon Bank he was successful at raising $400 million in 18 months from a start up operation.

Joe has served in positions as Chairman of the Board, President, Treasurer, and on the investment committee to non-profit organizations including the SG Foundation and Operation Outreach. He has traveled globally to provide due diligence to these organizations to ensure that the funds being granted were utilized for their intended purposes. A sought-after public speaker, Joe has conducted several hundred seminars related to investments for Foundations and Endowments, High Net Worth individuals, and Public Employee Retirement Systems both domestically and internationally.

Share

Keith Singer, JD CFP is a well-known financial advisor in Florida. Mr. Singer is both a Certified Financial Planner™ and a licensed Florida attorney. Keith Singer is the host of the daily radio program “Prosper!” which airs on several stations throughout Florida and has been extensively quoted in and featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Money Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, Business Week, CNBC, ABC and NBC. Mr. Singer also serves as an expert witness in FINRA arbitration proceedings concerning industry conflicts.
Mr. Singer graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a Finance degree and also graduated cum laude from the University of Miami, School of Law. Mr. Singer received his CFP certification from the Board of Certified Financial Planners in 2000.

Share

Igor Shoifot has a PhD from the Russian Academy of Sciences, has managed, founded and co-founded Microsoft WebTV’s largest gaming site in 1990s, Epsylon Games (72 games), a large photo-sharing site, Fotki.com (25M users in early 2000s) and sold vInternship.com system to Manhattan Institute of Management. He also taught at UC Berkeley, New York University, University of San Francisco and other top schools, and co-developed a Stanford graduate course, “Recreating Silicon Valley”. Igor also chaired startup incubators/accelerators in Europe and Asia and consulted ICOs of Sambank and Imperius, consulted numerous large financial institutions and venture funds and spoke at dozens of Silicon Valley, New York and European trade shows, conferenced and startup events. Igor wrote a chapter in “Masters of Corporate Venture Capital” book. He lives in San Francisco.

Share

Eduardo spearheads the operations of the EVR Group, a private investment company based in Miami. EVR was launched in 2011 in response to a need for active management of his family’s patrimony, which was generated from the sale of their participation in Panamerican Beverages. EVR has developed a significant focus in direct investments in private equity (investing exclusively with family-owned businesses) and real estate. Eduardo started his career with Carrelton Asset Management, a boutique hedge fund headquartered in Coral Gables, FL, that invested in precious metals mining and renewable energies, until 2010 when he left to focus on his family’s endeavors. He has a BA in government and international relations and an MBA with a focus on international business, from Clark University in Worcester, MA. Eduardo spends his time mostly between Colombia and Miami, where he lives with his wife and two dogs.

Share

Born on Miami Beach, Dan Gelber was raised to believe in public service. His father, respected former Miami Beach Mayor Seymour Gelber, and his mother, Beach High Spanish teacher Edith Gelber were models of that service. Dan lived these principles through service as a federal prosecutor for nearly a decade, handling public corruption prosecutions, and eventually becoming a decorated top deputy. Dan was then appointed by former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn as the Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the prestigious U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations – a position previously held by Bobby Kennedy – where he worked on counter-terrorism issues and combated fraud in government.  Dan returned home and served Miami Beach as a Florida State Representative and Senator where he was unanimously elected the House Democratic Leader. Dan has been a Big Brother in the Big Brothers program for decades, and co-founded a camp for kids with cancer where he volunteered most summers. Dan practices law with the firm of Gelber Schachter & Greenberg PA and is listed in Best Lawyers in America, and Chambers. Dan is married to Joan Silverstein, a federal prosecutor, and they have three teenagers and a dog named Buddy.

Share