At a Crossroads: The Future of Luxury Residential and Hospitality
2:50 PM - 3:40 PM | Aldrich Hall | Breakout Session
Panel Director: Alfredo Gurmendi, HBS ‘26
This panel will bring together leading experts on luxury development, architecture, and design to explore the future of luxury real estate, focusing on the intersection of residential and hospitality real estate, emerging design and amenitization trends, and the future of sustainable luxury development.
Moderator and Panelists:
Moderator: Fred Cooper
Senior Vice President - Strategic Partnerships | Toll Brothers
Fred Cooper is Senior Vice President - Strategic Partnerships at Toll Brothers. He focuses on developing and expanding new and existing domestic and international relationships for equity and debt, as well as establishing institutional-level relationship opportunities to help drive the growth of Toll’s various platforms. In addition, he works to identify and engage with lenders, owners, and investors with whom Toll Brothers can collaborate to reposition or repurpose challenged sites, property, and loan portfolios. Fred joined Toll Brothers in 1993 to launch, lead and grow its Finance and Investor Relations Departments. As Senior Vice President - Finance, International Development, & Investor Relations for over 30 years, he has led teams that raised more than $30 billion in corporate and project finance capital from the public, institutional, and bank markets and from domestic and international institutions to fuel the firm’s growth from a regional homebuilder with $200 million in revenues to a national residential developer with over $10.5 billion in revenues. Fred is a graduate of Brown University and holds a Master of Public Policy degree in Finance and International Development from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Jeffrey Weinhaus
President & Chief Development Officer | Equinox Group
Jeffrey Weinhaus is the President and Chief Development Officer at Equinox Group, where he leads global real estate development activities across all brands.
Matthew Petrie, AIA
Senior Project Manager | Beyer Blinder Belle
Matthew Petrie is an award-winning architect with over 30 years of experience. Based in Boston since 2001, he is a Senior Project Manager at Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners (BBB), a New York based firm with offices in Boston, Washington DC, and Miami. Matthew specializes in residential, mixed-use, adaptive reuse, interiors, lab, and office projects. He is currently working to grow BBB’s residential practice in Boston and New England. He has helped shape Boston’s architectural landscape, with projects including 212 Stuart Street Residential, the Victor Luxury Residential, Nouvelle at Natick, the MIT Media Lab Addition, and the Hasty Pudding Theater restoration and addition at Harvard University. With expertise in design, management and detailing, he contributes to improving projects through introducing technical standards and review systems and is committed to the mentorship of young architects. Matt is actively involved in Real Estate through the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board (HAREB) and the Urban Land Institute and serves on the Board of Advisors for the Charles River Conservancy. Matt has a Master of Architecture from Harvard University Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Michigan.
Michael Liu, AIA NCARB
Senior Partner + Design Principal, Emeritus | The Architectural Team, Inc.
Michael Liu is an architect and urban planner with over forty-five years of professional experience. Formerly Senior Partner and Design Principal at The Architectural Team, Inc., he was responsible for overseeing the firm’s design and recruitment efforts and personally led the design and master planning of projects in the nineteen states in which he was a registered architect, including Massachusetts where he has been a registered architect since 1984. His experience reflects a command of a wide range of program types including luxury hospitality, recreation, multifamily, mixed-use, and commercial. His design work has been honored with awards from notable professional and trade associations, including the American Institute of Architects, the Boston Society of Architects, and the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Actively committed to professional and community service, Michael serves on the Board of Directors for Habitat of Humanity Greater Boston, has chaired the State Designer Selection Board for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, served as a Trustee of the Boston Architectural College and as a Director on the board of the Boston Society of Architects.
Peyman Askari
Founding Principal & CEO | PAN Partners
Peyman is a founding principal at PAN Partners, a boutique consulting firm with expertise in building design, construction, real estate investment, and development. With decades of experience in leadership roles, Peyman has successfully managed internationally-renowned building construction projects with a focus on innovation and sustainability. Peyman actively serves on the boards of the Tall Building Institute and the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH, New York Chapter).
Will Adams
Regional Director, New England | Toll Brothers
Toll Brothers Apartment Living is one of the nation’s leading apartment development companies headquartered in Pennsylvania with regional development offices throughout the country. Toll Brothers’ regional office based in Needham, MA has a development pipeline of approximately 3,000 units with an approximate total development cost of $1B. Will leads the development efforts for Toll Brothers Apartment Living in the New England region.