In many ways, the workplace has come full circle over the past 300 years: from local communities where people worked, learned and grew food together, to today’s vibrant city quarters.

COVID-19 has played a major role in pushing us all to rethink office space as we know it today, and will continue to require us to find new ways to accommodate spatially conscious design.

What should we expect our workplaces to look like in the short and medium-term, and how will Corporate Real Estate Strategy need to adapt in order to meet the new employee-focused environmental needs?

Join us for a discussion on one of the most exciting topics since the start of the pandemic, with panelists of highly respected individuals representing the different stakeholders involved in space-making in Silicon Valley, in collaboration with Urban Community.

This type of discussion will require more than ever a cross-disciplinary collaboration to accommodate the next-generation of workers.

Co-Host

Panelists

Scott Ekman

As Sr. Director, Scott oversees Corporate Real Estate Strategy & Planning at Adobe with its 22,000 employees in 70+ office locations. He has over 25 years of experience in Global Corporate Real Estate, including managing and leading all aspects of the CRE lifecycle; portfolio and workplace research, planning and design, acquisition, implementation, and operations throughout the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Throughout his career, Scott has developed and managed innovative and effective work environments, meeting the needs of the business and supporting key work activities of employees, resulting in the savings of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Sam Nunes

Sam is a Founding Partner at WRNS Studio which works with today’s most transformative organizations, such as Microsoft, Dolby, Google, Airbnb, Facebook, Princeton University, and the University of California, to name a few. The firm consistently earns a top ten spot in Architect magazine’s annual ranking of firms across sustainability, design, and business, including the #1 in 2018. With numerous high-profile projects throughout the Western United States, Sam has been widely recognized for his ability to encourage diverse perspectives while maintaining a critical architectural position for each project. He is a member of the AIA Public Architects Committee, League of California Cities, and Urban Land Institute.

Jeff Arrillaga

As Vice Chairman at Newmark Knight Frank, a major commercial real estate advisory firm, Jeff has earned an impressive professional reputation, specializing in the leasing and sales of R&D and office property of over 20 million square feet, leading to his induction into the Association of Silicon Valley Brokers (ASVB) Hall of Fame in 2012. Being a Stanford Alumn himself, the Arrillaga family is considered to be the largest donor to Stanford University. As Co-Founders of Urban Community, Jeff and Gary are redefining urbanism and community equity while pragmatically experimenting with "Smart City" initiatives, and as stated by local Silicon Valley media are spending as much as Google on downtown San Jose.

Gary Dillabough

Gary has spent two decades bringing people together and challenging the status quo at the intersection of real estate, technology and sustainability. Currently Managing Partner at Navitas Capital and an independent real estate investor with a focus on Net Zero projects, Gary focuses on sustainable performance and people-centered design in the built environment. Previously a Managing Partner at The Westly Group, Gary led the Smart Buildings and Energy Efficiency practice; investments included Tesla and View Glass. Gary is a former Sustainability Executive at eBay where he created the first environmental strategy and sustainability team and spearheaded investments in solar and fuel cell technology.