Leah Waldrum
Partner
PwC

Leah is a partner with PwC with 20 years of experience in PwC’s Asset and Wealth Management practice. Leah has specialized in the real estate industry throughout her career, leading audits for public real estate companies and lending institutions, real estate investment trusts, real estate investment funds, and various other real estate developers and managers. Leah is a certified public accountant in Texas and a member of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

 

Susan Hill
Senior Managing Director
JLL Capital Markets, Americas

Susan is a senior managing director in the Houston office of JLL Capital Markets, Americas. She joined JLL as part of the HFF acquisition with more than 31 years of experience in commercial real estate. She is primarily responsible for originating debt and equity placement transactions throughout the southern United States across all property types. Over the course of her career, Susan has completed in excess of $11 billion in commercial real estate transactions.

 

 

Jim Carman
President - Houston Region
Howard Hughes

Jim Carman is President of the Houston Region at Howard Hughes. He is responsible for leading the residential and commercial development, leasing, and operations of three award-winning master planned communities: The Woodlands, Bridgeland and The Woodlands Hills.

 

Mr. Carman joined Howard Hughes in 2012, and most recently served as Senior Vice President of MPC Commercial Development, overseeing vertical development on projects located within The Woodlands and Bridgeland. Mr. Carman was responsible for leading multiple teams in the 79-acre development of Hughes Landing, Houston's premier mixed-use urban center on Lake Woodlands.

 

Mr. Carman has over 20 years of construction and development experience on projects valued at over $3 billion. His work includes mixed-use and commercial projects such as The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, The Hughes Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida.

 

Mr. Carman received his Bachelor of Science as well as Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University. Mr. Carman proudly serves within the community as a Board Member for Montgomery County Food Bank and Interfaith of The Woodlands.

 

Anna Deans
Vice President, Investment and Development
Midway

Deans joined Midway in 2018, bringing a strong background in architecture and mixed-use development to the firm’s Investment and Development team. Deans’ expertise lies within the efficiency of design, functionality, underwriting, and project management. She is passionate about collaborating and developing the initial vision for a project while also understanding the implications of cost, constructability, phasing, project restraints, and requirements necessary to make a concept reality.

 

As Vice President and Investment Manager, one of Deans’ primary focuses is Midway’s East River project, 150 acres of carefully designed, multi-phase, mixed-use development that transformed Houston’s waterfront east of Downtown into a new economic center. Deans oversees all commercial and multifamily development for East River, from inception to delivery of the vertical, to ensure the entirety of the project is aligned with Midway’s investment strategy.

 

Prior to joining Midway, Deans developed mixed-use properties for Thor Equities and, earlier in her career, was a design architect for Gensler. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Texas, Austin, and is a LEED-accredited licensed architect in the state of Texas.

 

Zachary Harris
SVP Loan Officer & Houston CRE Manager
Amegy Bank of Texas

Zachary Harris (“Zack!”) currently serves as a Senior Vice President/Loan Officer and Manager of one of two Houston Commercial Real Estate Groups at Amegy Bank of Texas (offices at Amegy Tower in Houston, TX). Zack’s team is responsible for managing a portfolio of over $500MM in loan commitments covering all CRE asset classes and both construction and term loans. A native Texan and Houston resident for over 25 years, Zack attended North Shore High School in east Houston before graduating from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. He began his career at Comerica Bank in their formal Credit College and Commercial Lending Training Program (rotational training program, similar to Amegy’s Banker Development Program) with a Senior Analyst specialization in Commercial Real Estate. As a Vice President and Loan Officer in both Comerica Bank and Hancock Whitney Bank’s Real Estate Groups, Zack was in responsible for sourcing and underwriting credit facilities for all property types including single and multi-family residential, land and lot development, office, industrial, retail and mixed-use projects.

 

During his career, Zack has made a conscious effort to provide financing for new projects not just in Houston and surrounding areas, but also in the east Houston community where he grew up. He has been active in various real estate trade organizations including the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, Urban Land Institute (“ULI”), and the International Council of Shopping Centers. Zack enjoys being a Houston “foodie” (following the Houston restaurant scene), training dogs, and running or cycling with his wife, having completed the Texas BP MS 150 the past eleven years (150-180 mile bike Texas ride in 2 days), and many Houston Half Marathons.