TODAY’S NOUVEAU TECHNOLOGISTS
THE EXPONENTIAL TOP 20 UNDER 40
RYAN SHEAR
As a Principal of Property Markets Group, Miami-native Ryan Shear is primarily responsible for general company operations, with a concentration on PMG’s Southeast portfolio. Ryan was personally trained by PMG founder Kevin Maloney and celebrated his 10-year anniversary with the firm in 2016. He currently manages a growing portfolio of over $4B worth of real estate assets. The current developments Ryan oversees include Echo Aventura, Echo Brickell, Muse Residences in Sunny Isles, Sage Beach in Hollywood, and Vice, a rental building in Downtown Miami which are in various stages of development. In addition to these projects, Ryan also oversees the recently purchased parcel at 300 Biscayne Blvd, which will have a planned launch of early 2018, and Riverfront, a luxury rental project on one of the last remaining waterfront development sites in downtown Fort Lauderdale. An alumnus of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, Ryan graduated from the Goizueta School of Business with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Ryan joined PMG to assist with development, analysis, management, and has since become a leading Principal at PMG.
“PMG strives to stay ahead of the game with innovation and state-of-the-art technologies incorporated in all of our luxury projects. Autonomous luxury and technology are pivotal factors for us to be able to successfully complete projects and provide residents with an elevated experience, which is why we’ve included things like biometric technology, nano glass, intelligent shade systems and other advanced smart home features throughout Muse, Echo Brickell and Echo Aventura.” propertymg.com
SAMANTHA GALLACHER & RENATA VASCONEZ
IG Workshop is a design lab based in Miami Beach Florida that specializes in the design of residential and commercial spaces as well as product development for both IG Workshop and their sister company, Art & Loom. Founded by Samantha Gallacher and Renata Vasconez, IG workshop takes a full conceptual approach to the reinvention of a space from construction development down to the final styling of a bookcase. Along with their team, these designers try to recreate the wheel for each client from customized millwork to a one of a kind hand drawn rug. Their eclectic global outlook adds a fresh style to the Miami design scene. Art and Loom, IG Workshop’s own bespoke rug company, is known for their uniquely 
drawn or painted designs that are conceptualized in Miami and hand knotted in India. They utilize all available materials from wool, silk, jute, bamboo to recycled Indian sari’s. Art and Loom also work with some of Miami’s other top design talents to create unique flooring for all types of projects. igworkshop.com
JON PAUL PEREZ
Before joining The Related Group in 2012, Jon Paul Pérez worked for The Related Companies in New York for six years. There he oversaw all aspects of the development process for more than 900 units, with direct responsibility for financial modeling, design programming, and construction management. He also participated in securing capital for the firm’s $900 million distressed opportunity fund. When The Related Companies purchased 425 unsold condominium units in Fort Myers, Florida, in 2009, Mr. Pérez was instrumental in selling all of the units within eighteen months. He also originated a $31 million construction loan for a 400-unit apartment development in Orlando, Florida, in 2009. Mr. Pérez graduated from the University of Miami in 2007 with a degree in business and recently received his MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
“Works of art open a dialogue between the viewer and the artist. Pieces will evoke strong emotions and memories from different individuals, and this very personal interaction often leads to intense connections with the surrounding space. We take this unique dynamic into consideration when curating our collections and work to create truly memorable experiences for our residents and visitors.” relatedgroup.com
DAAN ROOSEGAARDE
Dutch artist and innovator, Daan Roosegaarde is a creative thinker and maker of social designs which explore the relation between people, technology, and space. Roosegaarde has been driven by nature’s gifts such as light emitting fireflies and jellyfishes since an early age. His fascination for nature and technology is reflected in his iconic designs such as Smart Highway (roads which charge from sunlight and glow at night), Waterlicht (a virtual flood) and Smog Free Project (the largest outdoor air purifier in the world which makes jewelry from smog).Roosegaarde graduated from The Berlage Institute with a master in architecture. He founded Studio Roosegaarde in 2007, where he works with his team of designers and engineers towards a better future. Together they develop ‘Landscapes of the Future’ building smart sustainable prototypes for the cities of tomorrow. Roosegaarde is a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum and named Artist of the Year 2016 in The Netherlands. Roosegaarde has won the London Design Innovation Medal, the INDEX Design Award, the World Technology Award, two Dutch Design Awards, the Charlotte Köhler Award, and China’s Most Successful Design Award. He exhibited at the Design Museum in London, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Tate Modern, Tokyo National Museum, Le Musée des Arts Décoratifs Paris, Victoria & Albert Museum and various public spaces in Europe and Asia. Selected by Forbes and Good 100 as a creative change maker, Daan Roosegaarde shares his visionary ideas frequently at conferences across the world such as TED and Design Indaba.
“People should be part of the solution instead of the problem.” studioroosegaarde.net
JOHN WILLIAM BARGER III
St. Petersburg native John William Barger III is the fourth generation to join his family businesses, Barger Builders & Developers and Barger Real Estate. A keen industry insider with a finger on the pulse of the area, he is an expert at identifying high-return acquisition and development opportunities for hungry investors both large and small while simultaneously working with homeowners and homebuyers to buy and sell the home of their dreams. The unique style and elevated taste level of his luxury homes derive from a very different passion: Fashion. John William also runs a successful consulting firm that offers business development services to international luxury brands. “At the end of the day, it’s not just about clothing or sales or houses, it’s the whole lifestyle. I know the market and I understand the luxury consumer, their tastes, their habits, their wants, and needs.” “I’m crazy about couture!” says John William, who makes a twice-annual pilgrimage to Paris to attend the haute couture shows with his mother. “A fashionable life is the only life worth living,” and it’s that uber-chic sensibility and tongue-in-cheek charm that has won John William syndicated air time on NBC Daytime, as well as features on television shows around the world and a key spot in the 2013 Vox documentary on Karl Lagerfeld.
John William will debut his latest 3-year labor of love, an exhibition he has curated titled Dalí & Schiaparelli, which opens at the Salvador Dalí Museum October 14th with a grand gala and haute couture fashion show… the first time in history haute couture will be shown outside Paris! The exhibition runs through January 2018 and is the first of its kind to explore the collaborative friendship and influence of Salvador Dalí and Elsa Schiaparelli in the period between the two World Wars, when the avant-garde was de rigueur, and with over 100 original pieces dating to the 1920s 30s and 40s, this exhibition is not to be missed for any art or fashion lover.
For more about Dalí & Schiaparelli, please visit: www.thedali.org/schiaparelli jwbarger3.com
JON HARARI
CEO & Co-Founder of WindowsWear.com, the world’s fashion windows & displays online in real-time. Jon co-founded the company with Mike Niemtzow (Chairman and President) and Raul Tovar (Creative Director). The company has an amazing team headquartered in NYC with a client base of global retailers and brands including Ralph Lauren, Harrods, DVF, Tory Burch, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Ann Taylor, Nordstrom, and more. Jon also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at Baruch College and serves as a board member of Berkeley College’s Fashion Advisory Board, and several charitable non-profit organizations in New York City. WindowsWear’s extensive, one-of-a-kind visual database dates back to 1931, and includes 700 different brands of the world’s fashion capitals including New York City, Paris, Milan, London, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Berlin, Mexico City. The site serves as the world’s largest fashion window and in-store display database, and includes the largest community of visual creative’s in the world. WindowsWear also has the retail industry’s leading store real-time communication.
For tours, use promo code “JewishVoice” (http://www.windowswear.com/tours).
“Fashion is an expression of one’s identify, and technology is the biggest change to impact our individual identities and the ways we express them. The ways we are personally expressing ourselves in today’s digital era is similar to how fashion brands have always expressed themselves. As we digitize our bodies and data analyzes our body size and our skin completion, then personalized, customized clothing will be printed for us. Fine, personalized tailoring used to be a thing of the past, but it will become part of the mass manufacturing process of the future.” windowswear.com
MICHAEL J. CIRINO
Michael J. Cirino is the founder and creative director of a razor, a shiny knife, a New York-based entertainment company that specializes in high-impact experiences and compelling multi-platform storytelling. A razor, a shiny knife was created in 2007, with the goal of creating adventurous and innovated productions with industry-leading geniuses, cutting edge technology and organizations around the world.
“Technology is a tool to bring creativity from our minds into tangible being. I look at bleeding-edge tech not as a solution but as inspiration for new and novel ways to bring people together. Through multi-platform storytelling and theatrical events, the technology and innovation serves to bring us together to have richer connections and experiences.” arazorashinyknife.com
MICHAËL HARBOUN
First attracted by product design, then by interaction design, today he would like to marry both in what he calls ethical design. Believing that design is more than ever in the heart of our society and human interactions, Michaël is fascinated by the impact of design on human culture and psychology. In his projects, he enjoys exploring and questioning these new values. By bringing to life thought-provoking concepts and experiences, he aims to make people react and debate about our future lifestyles. An ethical design, in which form and function now walk next to meaning and purpose, is the design he is craving for. His award-winning concept designs have been exhibited throughout France, Korea, Spain, and Monaco. Michaël is currently working as a Project Lead and Interaction Designer at IDEO in Chicago.
“If design is commonly described as the union of emotional and rational processes by bringing the aesthetic and the functional together, I believe it has evolved into something much deeper today. Now have to be considered new values inside the design process, which are the psychological and the philosophical.” michaelharboun.com
LIUBASHA ROSE
Rose Ink Workshop is a multidisciplinary firm that specializes in hospitality interiors. Whether working on luxury or fun economy, we place extra emphasis on crafting unique branded experiences. We create art directed spaces and tell stories. A beautiful hotel lobby should have a terrific luggage cart rolling through it, and the bellman maneuvering it should don a great look, the smell in the air should illicit buried memories. From the moment of arrival through the progression of spaces public to private, we design a tactile and emotional experience in 360. Led by Liubasha Rose, RIW is a group of creatives from different areas of hospitality design including interiors, branding, graphics, fashion, OS+E and a crew of project by project stylists.
In 2017 Rose Ink Workshop was a finalist at the Hospitality Design Awards for the Riviera, Palm Springs in two categories: Midscale Public Spaces and Lifestyle Public Spaces. Liubasha won the prestigious Wave of the Future award from Hospitality Design Magazine in 2015. Rose Ink Workshop has been featured in a selection of leading publications Wallpaper, Elle Decor, My Domaine, Hospitality Design, Boutique Design, A’Design Awards, Architectural Digest, Lonny and now ELEVATE ITALKRAFT. roseinkworkshop.com
IRIS VAN HERPEN
The latest Haute Couture collection presented in Paris on July 3rd 2017, titled Aeriform, Iris van Herpen examines the nature and anatomy of air and the idea of airborne materiality and lightness, creating negative and positive space with shadow and light. Van Herpen also drew inspiration from the Danish underwater artists Between Music who challenge the relationship between the body and its elemental surround, in a subaquatic environment where air is absent.
Between Music have collaborated with deep sea divers, physicists and neuroscientists over many years to develop a hypnotic biophonic sound sculpture which they perform on custom-built instruments while submerged in water. Their work transcends and transforms the conventional and natural relationship between our bodies and the elements.
“Their liquid voices and the subsonic darkness from Between Music overwhelmed me. It motivated me to dive into the contrasts between water and air, between inside and outside, between darkness and lightness.” irisvanherpen.com
“I’m doubly fascinated: I feel so free in the water – and at the same time I feel a slight hint of terror. Water is a fantastically exciting element because of its dual nature.” – Leila Skovmand, Between Music
Air and water are the structural and visual components of the eighteen elaborate silhouettes of the Aeriform collection and have influenced the development of both the textiles and garment construction, which is reflected in their volumes, rippling patterning and translucent layering. Biomorphic structures include a feathery-light metal lace of geodesic floral patterns in collaboration with Philip Beesley, which float around the body like a silver cloud. Echo waves of mylar bonded cotton ripple across the skin mapping the surface of the body and painting its contours.
PETER R. MAZZEO
Mazenti is helmed by Peter Mazzeo who has lead his teams in South Florida and the New York area to effectively deliver client projects on time and on budget. His experience spans multiple relevant facets including construction management, real estate development, and project management, all focused on providing individual and investor clients with their desired results. His success has earned him the commendation of clients and trades alike.
“Effortless automated living is not a dream far off in the future; it is available to us now. Unlike artisanal millwork, or the finest masonry, however, technology does not age well. It is quickly outmoded and requires updating. It is always getting better. Technology is, in this respect, a unique component in the home designer’s plan, presenting unique challenges—challenges we encounter frequently at Mazenti. How do we help the client avail themselves of new standards in home technology, without curtailing the home’s longterm elegance? By thinking about technology in the early conversations between the client and the project’s designers and architects, by considering the possible from the ground up, we find that technology can become as much a part of the home’s aesthetic—as much an expression of the client’s taste—as the treatment of the façade or the art chosen for the walls.” mazenti.com
MANNY VARAS
Varas is a well-known South Florida business leader whose accolades include being named one of the Top 100 Entrepreneurs in the Nation and having run one of the fastest growing Hispanic businesses in the country. He is the President and CEO of MV Construction Group which has acquired deals on many of South Florida’s most iconic and well-known developments, totaling nearly 900,000 sq. ft. of construction and $300 million in real estate value.
Manny Angelo Varas is an alumnus of Harvard University Graduate School of Design, he also holds a Master’s in Business Administration MBA, is a state licensed General Contractor, Roofing Contractor, Real Estate Broker, as well as a LEED Accredited Professional by the U.S. Green Building Council. Varas’s business achievements began over a decade ago, when he was appointed by U.S. President George W. Bush to the Presidential Business commission and then made history in 2004 by becoming the youngest President/CEO and sole owner of a Hispanic business to be ranked 255 amongst Hispanic Magazine’s Business 500. From multi-million-dollar residential and commercial projects to high-end condominiums, MV Group offers full-service, turnkey results that are unparalleled in the industry. mvgroupusa.com
BECCA MCCHAREN
Becca McCharen-Tran is the founder and creative director of the architectural womenswear line CHROMAT. Chromat designs garments as tools and utilizes technology to create clothing that adapts and responds to the body and environment. Raised in Lynchburg, VA, the UVA School of Architecture graduate fuses a technical background with a focus on the body as site to create architectural pieces for boundary-breaking women like Beyonce, Madonna, and Nicki Minaj. A Forbes 30 under 30 pick for “People Who Are Reinventing the World”, McCharen-Tran is focused on bridging the worlds of technology and fashion through collaborations with engineers, artists and scientists. chromat.co
GRACE AMES
Grace Ames embarked on a career in architecture because of its unique ability to affect the lives of people through the built environment. She earned her bachelor’s degrees in Architecture and Environmental Design at Ball State University and a master’s of Urban Design from the University of Michigan seeking to focus on environmental design and large-scale urban development. Grace began her career working on schools and libraries in the Chicago suburbs and then leveraged her experience in environmental design and BIM technology to move into mixed-use high-rise design. She has become skilled in LEED certification, creative prototyping and high-rise building design and construction.
Beyond using architecture and urban design to shape neighborhoods and the lives of inhabitants through mixed-use projects in Chicago, IL (515 units in Coast at Lakeshore East), Miami, FL (400 units in Miami Midtown 5, and 447 units in Miami Midtown 6), Somerville, MA (400 units in the Union Square Development), and Austin, TX (hotel and residential building), Grace seeks to impact those around her through volunteering. She has partnered with Engineering Ministries International (EMI) on a recent trip to Ndola, Zambia to develop a 20-year masterplan for Mobile Mission Maintenance, a ministry that provides vocational education to young adults seeking to develop a career in construction administration. She also volunteers with Bed’s Plus, who seeks to stabilize vulnerable individuals in the Chicago suburbs by providing shelter and housing support.
In addition to practicing architecture, Grace, now an Associate Director at bKL Architecture, dedicates time to cultivating the next generation of architects, mentoring students from her alma maters and providing opportunities for shadowing and observation. bklarchitecture.com
HASIER LARREA
Hasier Larrea is a founder & CEO of Ori Inc., a family of intelligent, responsive robotics systems that enable the effortless transformation of interior spaces. In 2017, Larrea was included in the Manufacturing & Industry category of Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list, an honor the publication calls “the most definitive gathering of today’s leading young change-makers and innovators in the U.S.” A frequent speaker on technology and design, Larrea delivered two TEDx talks at which he turned the orthodox conception of space on its head and described the impact of future technology on interior spaces.
Powered by Ori Technology, the intelligent Ori systems combine robotics, architecture and design with limitless adaptability, inspiring applications in residential, office, hospitality, retail, education, medical and other urban settings. Ori derives its name from origami, the Japanese art of folding paper to create beautiful and remarkable objects that takes many kinds of forms and functionalities with elegance and beauty.
Before Ori, Hasier led the Architectural Robotics research area at the MIT Media Lab, which focuses on creating a new generation of hyper-efficient and responsive urban spaces by combining the disciplines of Architecture and Engineering. His work on the CityHome and CityOffice projects has been featured in The New York Times, Time, Fast Company, Wired, and TechCrunch among others. His team at Ori is now taking these ideas from the laboratory to the market, with pilot systems being showcased during the second half of 2017 by leading North American real estate developers located in ten metropolitan cities throughout the United States and Canada. Hasier holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Navarra, Spain and a Master’s in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT. orisystems.com
J. DAVID WEISS
J. David Weiss is President and Founder of Designova Creative + Associates Innovation Consultancy. He is an internationally active and award-winning designer, who was recently named one of the leading “Industry Disruptors” by BOAT International’s first annual “Future Yachts” book. Most of David’s career has been spent designing large custom yachts and superyachts.
Our legacy is front line international experience in a very wide array of high level creative endeavors: superyacht design, transportation design and marketing, luxury product and branding creation, software UI/UX development, consumer product development, feature film production, brand identity & creation, and creative team management. David has contributed or led design for more than 30 privately owned vessels either in build or completed engaged by clients in the EU, Russia, Africa, Asia, and Gulf States, as well as a growing clientele in the US.
“I was asked several years ago as a designer in an interview whether hand drawings and digital design were mutually exclusive, and I told the interviewer that I feel analogue and digital worlds are overlapping more now than ever before. I responded similarly to the query on harmonizing and integrating technology in galleys on board boats. – I believe that there is actually more overlap between the art of cooking in an analogue sense, and the boost that digital tools and assets give us than ever before. As we start to become more comfortable in ‘smart galleys’, we will see a rise in both the leveraging of tech in that space, as well as a rise of creativity once the responsive cooking environments chefs work in gain momentum and begin building a more natural trend.” designovacreative.com
NATASHA CASE
Natasha Case founded Coolhaus in 2009 with Freya Estreller after she was working in architecture at Walt Disney Imagineering. They launched their architecturally-inspired, unique ice cream sandwich company from their barely driveable postal van at the Coachella Music Festival to an audience of 100,000. They built a loyal following over the festival weekend and returned to LA to an abundance of viral press, a rapidly building social media following, and an eager foodie audience. Named a Forbes 30 under 30 Food & Beverage, and Zagat 30 Under 30, to name a few of her achievements, the company has become one of the leading innovative small dessert businesses growing significantly nationwide. Moreover, consumers can now find Coolhaus’ pre-packaged ice cream sandwiches, hand-dipped bars, and hand-packed pints in 5,000+ gourmet grocery stores nationally, including Whole Foods and Gelson’s, and larger retailers like Meijer and Safeway, and now internationally in Asia and the Middle East.
The inspiration for Coolhaus started when co-founder Natasha was exploring the concept of “Farchitecture” – or, Food + Architecture – in her graduate architecture program. The concept originated with the broader notion that design could enhance one’s eating experience, and, by the same token, that food could bring awareness to the design field, especially during the recession. In fact, the name of the company (which is the first project under the Farchitecture umbrella) is a triple entendre:
- Bauhaus, an influential modernist design movement of the 1920’s and 30’s.
- Rem Koolhaas, a famous Dutch architect and theorist.
- “Cool house,” or what you’re eating when you bite into an ice cream sandwich…right?
“We are inspired by architecture because architecture is very about telling a story and expressing priorities through design – and that’s exactly how we approach the visuals for our brand. Design is super dependent on the senses – not just visual, but related to sound, texture, temperature, smell… all of it is formed into an individual perception to create our experiences and memories of spaces. And this is where semiotic relationships come into play – together they create not just a building or a space, but an environment… and the associations and visual language at play with these elements make how we interpret architecture really personal and unique.” cool.haus
ZOE GOLDEMBERG
Gaining notoriety with her Spring 2015 collection from a Miami Publication feature, Zoe Goldemberg is an emerging fashion visionary. She was a recent speaker at TEDxYouth@Miami and was awarded gold medals for the very prestigious Scholastic Arts & Writing National Awards in a ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York. Her pieces have been featured in numerous magazines, newspapers, TV appearances on Channel 7, Univision Miami “Despierta America” and “Al Rojo Vivo”, and RCN National TV in Bogota, Colombia. Zoe also exhibited at Parsons School of Design, Jewish Museum of Florida, Miami Children’s Museum, Frost Science Museum, and Wynwood Art Galleries among others. Goldemberg was invited to contribute a 3D printed shoe design for “The Art of Fashion Show” exhibited during Art Basel Miami at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. This young starlet is one to watch out for!
“Ever since I was a toddler, I have discovered my incredible interest towards the arts, and then later incorporated it into my passion for fashion design, creating my very personal hybrid of both. I am a firm believer in D.I.Y., (do it yourself) and I believe that anything is possible if you set your mind to it, no matter how extravagant or difficult it may be. I like to incorporate new and advanced technologies to enable my designs since I feel that technology will enlighten the new era of fashion design and the arts and it is important to continuously learn and experiment with different ways of designing. As well as technology, I am also interested in the use of recyclable and non-conventional materials in my designs, as it is always important to use all the resources that are available and incorporate them to my fullest capability.” zoegoldemberg.com
EMMANUELLE BERNARD
A French interior designer combined her passion for furniture, photography, and art, in a new place she just opened in Wynwood Miami. L’Appartement is a unique concept store with a soul that offers an exclusive range of home décor pieces, furniture, tableware, lighting, jewelry, fashion accessories and art. Every item sourced by Bernard
creates a conversation of a personal narrative that conveys a true Parisian flair.
“I truly believe that art whatever its shape or its origin can be a magical translation of one’s imagination. Interior design is the perfect scene to perform one’s taste in art.” lappartementstore.com
YURY BETTONI
Yury Bettoni is a former Italian/American professional tennis player with a unique entrepreneurial mind and a huge love for construction. Since 2014, he has been a business partner in Italkraft successfully closing several prestigious developments and partnerships for the company. In parallel, he is developing the “Y brand” an innovative, visual- based tennis and training system to share his passion and experience.
“I am forever re-imagining my limits. My life has been an amazing journey. As a boy, I experienced living on the edge of the Serengeti National Park with exotic animals as my neighbors, as well as surviving the intensity of the competitive scene at Grand Slams. I’ve seen the stars in the African Savannah and the bright lights in major cities worldwide.
It is a life in which grit and determination have allowed me to turn my complex ideas into ways for clients and individuals to architect their bodies, spaces, and minds. I am honored to be a part of Elevate and the world of Italkraft.” yurybettoni.com