How Virtual is Redefining Real Estate

Ashkán Zandieh is the Head of Strategic Acceleration and Expert in Residence at REACH Commercial. Zandieh leads the strategic acceleration across multifamily, office, retail, brokerage, construction, and industrial real estate.

A leading expert in commercial real estate tech, innovation, and venture capital, Ashkán's research and insights have been sourced by nearly every venture capital investor, media outlet, and commercial real estate organization, globally.

A real estate tech veteran and founder of the modern real estate technology movement in 2012, Ashkán hosted the world's first Real Estate Tech Demo Day and Real Estate Tech Hackathon in partnership with the Urban Land Institute (ULI), helping to usher in innovation in the built world.

An entrepreneur and commercial real estate expert, Ashkán is the founder of RE:Tech (acquired by CREtech) a global proptech-venture capital research and advisory firm,  a member of the Board of Advisors at CREtech, co-founder and former co-chair of the ULI New York Real Estate Tech Council, co-founder of Sonoture, and insights advisor to leading real estate organizations.

Mr. Zandieh is a frequent source for leading business publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, New York Times, The Real Deal, Estate Weekly, Business Insider, GlobeSt, Commercial Observer and more.  In 2012, Mr. Zandieh was named the "Tech Whisper" by the Commercial Observer.  He has also been published in Forbes for his research on the Sociology of Tech, a TEDx speaker on the Biology of Cities, and a founding member and co-chair of ULI New York's Real Estate Tech Council.

Caren Maio is the Chairwoman and Co-Founder of Funnel Leasing (formerly Nestio), the industry's leading leasing and marketing software for multifamily professionals. Prior to starting the company, Caren lent her business expertise to corporate sales positions at powerhouse brands Nike and The Wall Street Journal. Caren graduated from New York University. She has been named one of the 3 Female Entrepreneurs to Look Out For by Metro, one of the 15 Women to Watch in Tech by Inc.com and won the Leading Entrepreneur award with Women in PropTech in 2019.

Kitty is an investor with JLL Spark, JLL’s strategic venture fund that invests in early stage real estate technology. She previously worked at carpooling startup Scoop, LinkedIn, and management consultancies Bain and The Monitor Group. She is passionate about mentoring and collaborating with startups of all sizes on strategy, business ops, and growth. She has a B.A. from Bowdoin College and an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

Thomas Byrne is the General Manager, Retail Solutions and Data at VTS. Tom has been an active real estate technology evangelist, thought leader, investor, and business leader within the real estate technology sector for almost 20 years. Thomas was most recently the CEO of PropertyCapsule/RealNexus until its acquisition by VTS.

Prior to PropertyCapsule/RealNexus, Thomas spent 10 years building and managing LoopNet, Inc. into one of the fastest-growing and most profitable companies on the NASDAQ, before its strategic acquisition in 2012. He also served as Group Vice President of NextCard's Secured Card business unit and held management positions at McKinsey & Company and Prudential Investments working in various investment capacities, including the Prudential Real Estate Group, in both commercial real estate and mortgage loan workout groups.

Thomas holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and has a B.S. of Electrical Engineering, with highest honors, from Georgia Tech.