to joining GSP, Davies was an award-winning developer, having
built more than $320 million worth of properties. Because of
his developer expertise, he also leads the firm’s involvement in
financing development projects, be that new construction or
value-add redevelopment. In 2009, Davies co-founded the
PEERS Organization, which stands for Philanthropy,
Entrepreneurism, Environment, Relationships and Social
Endeavors. The initiative has raised more than $1.5 million for
various charities.
TAWAN DAVIS, 36
Chief Investment Officer
Peebles Corp.
New York City
Tawan Davis is recognized as one of New
York’s emerging economic, social and politi-
cal leaders. Newsweek compared Davis’ lead-
ership potential with Bill Clinton’s. He
began his career as an investment banker
with Goldman Sachs and was an investor with Prudential
Investment Management. He later became a vice president of
real estate transactions for New York City under Mayor
Bloomberg, where he executed transactions that brought
nearly $1 billion to city coffers, created more than 5,000 jobs
and initiated several billion dollars in economic activity. Davis
is now the president of Peebles Capital Partners and chief
investment officer of the Peebles Corp., a $6-billion national
real estate firm. He also serves as an adjunct professor at New
York University. His published works have appeared in Harvard
Business Review, among many others. Davis earned a BA degree
with honors from Georgetown University, an MS from
England’s Oxford University (where he was a Rhodes
Scholarship national finalist) and an MBA from Harvard
University’s business school.
ERIN DiPAOLA, 37
Senior Vice President
Fifield Cos.
Chicago
As the youngest senior vice president of
acquisitions, finance and asset management
for Chicago-based Fifield Cos., Erin DiPaola
is a dominant force in the apartment acquisitions, asset management and financing
arenas. During her career, she has directed the acquisition,
disposition and financing of more than $1.3 billion in commercial properties. DiPaola has focused on analytics to quantify the value of floor plan design to maximize rent, leasing
velocity and tenant retention, and developed a mathematical
demographic tracking system to layer over floor plans which
has influenced floor plan design for all Fifield projects. She
plans to add new projects to the pipeline in neighborhoods to
improve rental options for Chicago residents in River North.
DiPaola is also working with the organization behind the proposed “Cap the Kennedy” project, a 15-acre cap over the
Kennedy Expressway in Chicago that would be occupied by
parks, restaurants and developable space, creating a more
functional connection between the West Loop and the Loop’s
central business district.
