Mike Bennett

Mike BennettAs a Senior Vice President in the Business & Economic Incentives group at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), Mike Bennett leads the execution of national and global site selection services with a focus and expertise in incentives negotiations and overall strategy.

Mike has over 15 years of experience in local and regional economic development, business attraction, location-based decision support, prospective site due diligence, as well as labor market evaluations.

Mike’s professional background represents a balance of public and private sector experience.  Prior to joining JLL, he was with Cushman & Wakefield Global Consulting where he was responsible for managing corporate site selection projects primarily in the warehouse, distribution and manufacturing sectors.

In addition to his work at Cushman & Wakefield, Mike was in community and regional economic development with the City of Glendale, Arizona and worked closely with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.  He is recognized as a key resource for state & regional economic development organizations looking to understand how to position their communities to compete for national projects.

Born in São Paulo and holding both Brazilian and U.S. citizenship, Mike spent 18 years in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, the Philippines and Singapore before relocating to the United States for university studies.  His international project experience includes work in Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Panama and Singapore.

Mike earned a bachelor of science in Regional Development from The University of Arizona in 1999.  In 2004, he completed The University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute program. He is also involved with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.  Mike has been a JLL “Young Gun” since 2013 and earned Gold Achiever honors in 2014.

Chris Schastok

Chris Schastok

Chris Schastok is a vice president of CBRE’s Location Strategy & Incentives practice. This advisory group assists clients globally with site selection and economic incentive negotiations, in conjunction with the overall strategy and execution of corporate real estate initiatives. Aligning location decisions with business strategy, Chris has negotiated more than $1B in incentives and has vast experience representing clients on corporate headquarters, shared services, food processing, heavy manufacturing and warehouse/distribution center projects.

Prior to joining CBRE, Chris was a part of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Business and Economic Incentives Group, where he focused on site selection, economic incentive negotiations and overall real estate strategy. Prior to joining Jones Lang LaSalle, Mr. Schastok served as an Associate at SmithBucklin, where he acted as the liaison between professionals from a large Mergers & Acquisitions association and lead decision makers from national Private Equity Groups to enhance M&A capabilities.

Chris has contributed to several business publications, including Area Development Magazine and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs 2012 Foreign Direct Investment study. As a guest speaker, he has addressed many professional organizations including the Dallas Regional Chamber, the Missouri Partnership, the North Alabama Industrial Development Conference and Area Development’s Consultants Forum in Florida and Texas.

Chris is a Licensed Illinois Real Estate Broker, a Six Sigma Green Belt, a Reserve Media, Inc. Advisor, a Member of the State of Michigan’s 2013 Location Advisory Board and a Board Member of Women’s Global Education Project.

Chris received his Bachelor of Arts in History from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.

 

Jeff Pappas

Jeff PappasAs a principal at Cresa in Dallas, Jeff Pappas represents corporate clients on a national and international basis, managing their global real estate strategy through location advisory and labor market analytics. Jeff assists companies in identifying, evaluating, and selecting the optimal location for their capital investments. Such projects cover a wide array of related factors, including sites, infrastructure, labor demographics, state and local taxes, and incentives. With over 22 years of experience, Jeff has conducted site analysis projects in every region of the United States and Canada, as well as multiple markets within Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. Jeff’s skills include location screening, in-field site evaluations and negotiating economic incentives for a wide range of clients, particularly in the contact services, BPO and technology industries.

Jeff’s areas of analysis include offshore and outsourcing partnerships, national market segmentation / sizing, and economic analysis and Jeff has written extensively on the call center market in Latin America. His specific experience includes location analysis, economic research, financial analysis, site evaluation, real estate negotiations, strategy assessments, and marketing analysis.

In 2011 and 2012, Jeff was named by Nearshore Americas to its prestigious Top 50 Latin America Power Ranking list, which list reflects the very best in Americas-focused outsourcing services leadership. From 2010 through 2013, D CEO Magazine honored Jeff as a Power Broker of the Year. Also, the Dallas Business Journal recognized Jeff as a 2013 Top Broker in DFW.

Jeff writes widely on site selection issues and methods, labor market analysis and economic development; recent topics include: labor market evaluation, labor force trends and emerging international BPO markets. He has spoken before many professional groups including the Denver Economic Development Partnership, Metro Hartford Alliance, Caribbean Investment Forum and the Nicaragua Investment Forum.

Jeff earned a Bachelor of Behavioral Science degree in Communications from Hardin Simmons University, where he also played collegiate soccer. Aside from being an active writer and speaker, he devotes a significant amount of his personal time to coaching girls’ select soccer, focusing on skill and player development for the D’Feeters Soccer Club of Dallas. As a patron of the arts, he is also active with the Nasher Sculpture Center’s Avant-Garde Society and AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Center Circle.

Also, Jeff is an active committee member for both St. Monica Catholic School and Thomas Jefferson High School alumni board in Dallas, Texas.

Brad Migdal

Brad MigdalBrad Migdal is an Executive Managing Director in Transwestern’s Location Advisory and Economic Incentives Advisory Services practice. Brad has experience managing corporate site selection engagements, business incentives projects, and economic development consulting assignments.  His expertise is in the areas of domestic site selection and location analysis, economic incentives research and acquisition, and demonstrating the economic and fiscal impacts of a wide variety of projects to both corporations and governments. He specializes in working with state agencies and local municipalities in connection with negotiating incentive packages. Brad’s prior successful negotiations have included financing assistance and grants, job credits, training grants, sales and use tax benefits, property tax abatements, and other in-kind benefits.

Prior to joining Transwestern, Brad was a Managing Director in the Global Corporate Services, Consulting Division at Newmark, Grubb, Knight Frank. Brad also was a manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Deloitte Tax LLP.

Brad is passionate about politics and social services. He supports Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE). He has also been an honored speaker at the North Eastern Strategic Alliance – South Carolina, NAIOP Wisconsin, Missouri Economic Development Council, Michigan Economic Developers Alliance, Mid America Economic Development Council and the Kansas City Area Development Council. Brad has also testified in front of legislative bodies regarding various economic issues. Brad serves on the Area Development Magazine Editorial Advisory Board and is an Advisor for Consultant Connect.

Brad received his Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, his Juris Doctor from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, IL and his Masters of Law (LLM) from the Boston University School of Law.

Kate-McEnroeKate McEnroe formed her consulting company in 1993 in Chicago, and then relocated the business to Atlanta in 1994. From the start, Kate’s intention has been to keep the business small so that she can personally deliver the services she sells. Kate’s focus has been on corporate site selection assignments with expertise in labor-sensitive projects. She often monitors and evaluates her clients’ entire portfolio of locations with an eye toward determining the best opportunities to implement expansion and consolidation strategies. Kate also works with economic development organizations helping them refine their understanding of and presentation of workforce information and on optimizing their marketing efforts.

Prior to Kate McEnroe Consulting, Kate was vice president and principal with Fantus, the company that founded the field of location consulting. While at Fantus, she conducted corporate site selection studies and economic development projects in both New Jersey and Chicago. At the time, the norm was for location consultants to remain at arm’s length from the real estate transaction for the purposes of objectivity and that is the business model that Kate continues with today.

Kate is a Midwesterner, raised in Chicago and suburban Detroit, where her family still lives. She and her husband live in Atlanta, but enjoy downtown living in Chicago. She enjoys reading, quilting and a car-free lifestyle.

Kate attended Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan where she earned a business administration degree in economics and business. She then moved east to earn her masters of business administration at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in Philadelphia.

David Brandon

David Brandon David Brandon is Senior Vice President of Site Selection Group, managing the company’s industrial and economic development business practices. Brandon brings more than 30 years of location advisory experience to the company with an extensive understanding of workforce analysis, assessment and pragmatic decision making in the investment location process.

Brandon was previously a senior vice president and principal of The Pathfinders, an economic development advisory firm. Prior to joining The Pathfinders, Brandon was the executive director of the State Departments of Commerce in Delaware and Texas, where he managed global business recruitment programs. Throughout his career, he has completed more than 1,000 economic development and corporate location advisory projects for clients, including AIG Insurance, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and UPS.

Brandon is a recognized national expert in the areas of location advisory, labor analysis, economic adjustment, reuse of military bases and project marketing. He received a master’s degree in economics from the University of Delaware, a bachelor’s degree in business from Wilkes University and a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Pennsylvania.

Rajeev Thakur

Rajeev ThakurAs Senior Managing Director of Location Strategy with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, Rajeev Thakur is focused on market entry strategy, domestic and global location strategy, portfolio optimization and real estate advisory services. Rajeev has managed and completed location strategy and site selection engagements for clients across many industries including manufacturing, financial services, life sciences, back office and call centers and headquarters in North America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. Select clients include eClerx, Enbridge, Entergy, Citigroup, Capital One, Nordic Windpower, Computershare, TriZetto, Starwood, Hancock Bank, Soitec, American Express, Bank of America, Pfizer, Cadila Pharmaceutical (India), Booz Allen Hamilton, Aon Insurance, Deloitte (India), and American Red Cross. Rajeev is also engaged in developing target industry and business attraction strategies for economic development agencies across the United States.

Prior to joining NGKF, Rajeev was a management consultant in Deloitte’s Global Strategy & Operations practice. Prior to becoming a consultant, Rajeev had a career as an architect and urban planning consultant and managed large commercial mixed use development projects in South and Southeast Asia.

Rajeev received his Masters of Business Administration from Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University, Netherlands, concentrating in corporate finance. Rajeev also received a Master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with concentration in economic development, and a Bachelor of Arts from School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi, India, with focus on urban design.

Amy Gerber

Amy GerberAmy Gerber is an Executive Vice President in the Business and Economic Incentives practice, a consulting division of Jones Lang LaSalle. Amy specializes in state incentive and tax negotiation and implementation. She utilizes her state and local tax background when working with economic development teams to interpret and change tax statutes that generate significant operating and tax savings for her clients. Amy is also the practice expert in the renewable and sustainable energy disciplines.

Amy Gerber has led and managed numerous multi-state incentive negotiation engagements for both office and industrial projects for clients including, Fiserv, Rockwood, CSC, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Owens Corning, New Belgium, Under Armour, Materne, Cisco Systems, and Bed Bath & Beyond. Amy comes to Jones Lang LaSalle as a Staubach Company legacy employee. Prior to joining the Staubach Company Amy worked at KPMG, LLP.

Amy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Montana State University. She is a member of the Georgia Traditional Manufacturers Association and a Board member with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. Amy is a top producer within Jones Lang LaSalle and received the 2011 Industrial Deal of the Year award in Atlanta.