Big Builder Speakers

Keynote Speaker: Dan Ariely
Behavioral economist and author of Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions—a New York Times best seller—Dan Ariely will kick off the event on Nov. 3 with unique insights into buyer psychology. The first and only person to hold joint appointments at MIT’s Media Lab and the Sloan School of Management, Ariely’s work has appeared in Business 2.0, the Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, CNN, and NPR.

Speaker: Eric Belsky
Eric Belsky is Executive Director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University and Lecturer in the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Dr. Belsky has more than twenty years experience conducting research on a wide range of housing and urban topics for public and private sector organizations and clients. He currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Housing Research and Housing Policy Debate, the corporate boards of Champion Enterprises, Inc. and BMHC, and the research advisory committee of the Center for Responsible Lending.

Speaker: Tom Block
L. Thomas Block, Senior Vice President Government Relations, currently works with JPM Corporate Research on political and public policy issues and strategy. Prior to his current assignment he was responsible for managing the firm’s lobbying relationships with the US government, state and local governments and built a government affairs program for J.P. Morgan in Europe. He is a member of the Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy of the U.S. Department of State and a trustee of Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest . Block holds a B.A. degree in Political Science from the American University.

Speaker: Ara K. Hovnanian
Ara K. Hovnanian is President and Chief Executive Officer of Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. is the parent company of K. Hovnanian Homes. Hovnanian joined the company in 1979 following the completion of his joint undergraduate and graduate work at The Wharton School in Philadelphia. He graduated summa cum laude with degrees in accounting, finance and real estate. Hovnanian serves as a Member of the Advisory Council of PNC Bank and served on New Jersey’s Council on Affordable Housing for Governor Thomas Kean in 1985 and for Governor James J. Florio in 1990. Hovnanian has served on the boards of numerous charitable organizations.

Power Panel: Diana Olick
Following a seven-year tenure with CBS News, Emmy Award-winning journalist Diana Olick joined CNBC as its real estate correspondent in 2002. Looking ahead, Olick anticipates consolidation on the horizon and expects smaller builders to be the first to go. Although the earnings reports of many larger builders are shaky to say the least, she believes that many are positioned well enough from a cash flow perspective to ride out the storm. Look for Olick on Nov. 4—Election Night—as she moderates the Big Builder ’08 Power Panel: Who Owns Tomorrow?

Power Panel: Sheryl Palmer
Sheryl Palmer became the President and CEO of Taylor Morrison in August 2007. With more than 20 years of experience in the home building industry, she leads a highly experienced leadership team in key North American markets. Palmer previously served as Executive Vice President for the Western region of Morrison Homes. Prior to Morrison, Palmer spent nearly six years with Pulte Homes, ultimately serving as the Nevada area President, supervising all aspects of operations for its Del Webb and Pulte communities. Palmer also spent eight years with Blackhawk Development Corporation in Northern California.

Speaker: Margaret Whelan
Margaret Whelan is Managing Director in JPMorgan’s Real Estate & Lodging Investment Banking Group and a senior partner of the Homebuilding coverage team. Prior to joining JPMorgan, Whelan worked at UBS Investment Research as Managing Director and Global Head of Homebuilding. Whelan will share JP Morgan insight on money matters--where will capital come from and who will have access to it. Be there to get the answers.

Speaker: Jerry Shrair
Workshop Consultant & Facilitator
Boiling Point, a nationally known consulting firm, will facilitate a practical, interactive problem-solving workshop entitled Blueprint for Improved Profitability. The workshop will address recovery and growth in five crucial areas: Operations, Purchasing, Marketing and Sales, Land and Design, and Finance. Using a team based problem solving method, each group works collaboratively to identify and evaluate possible solutions to the industry’s biggest hurdles. All attendees will leave the conference with an individual blueprint and copies of the best plans in each discipline.

Boiling Point consultants have helped powerful brands like GE, American Express, AT&T, Merrill Lynch, Pepsi-Cola and International Paper identify challenges, clarify their mission and grow. They are specialists in on-site, guided workshops designed to reveal the native brilliance and problem-solving creativity that already lies within an organization.