DFC Leadership Summit on
Technology & Applied Innovation
Game Changers

Henry C. (Peter) Beck III has been associated with Beck and its affiliates since 1978. The Beck Group is an integrated builder offering project finance, design, construction and development services through nine offices across the United States and Mexico. The firm completed transactions in excess of $976 million in 2008. Among other distinctions, The Beck Group has been recognized as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by Fortune Magazine. Beck’s mission is to integrate the building disciplines, through unique processes and technologies, resulting in order of magnitude improvements in design, cost and schedule. Peter currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Southwestern Medical Foundation, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Citizens Council, Design Futures Council, and the Civil and Environmental Engineering Advisory Council at Princeton University. Peter received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Princeton University in 1977 and his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1981.

Cory Brugger is an architect and designer based in Los Angeles and the Chief Technology Officer at HKS.

Daniel is a researcher concerned with the relationship between people, space, and design technology. Originally trained as an architect in New Zealand, Daniel later did a PhD in computational design at RMIT University in Australia. He is currently a researcher at Hassell and was previously the Director of Research at WeWork and a consultant on Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Família. Daniel's research has appeared in a variety of publications including Architect Magazine, Wired, Fast Company, and the Harvard Business Review.

As a licensed architect with over 15 years' experience in all phases of development, design, construction and operations, Tyler takes a holistic approach to the improvement of the construction industry, targeting technologies, processes, and tactics, and recombining them strategically to create productivity-driven improvements and generate tangible returns on investment. He received an M.Arch from the department of Architecture and Urban Design at UCLA, and a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural History from Reed College.

Laura is an international voice for integrated design education, practice and research. Her work focuses on the development and implementation of integrated strategies and collaborative programs between the academy, government, industry and the profession. She has lectured globally on issues concerning the relationship between design education, policy, practice and research. For many years, Laura has served on award juries and has been an accreditation chair, advisor and an international consultant for numerous academic institutions and professional organisations. Laura was the 16th "Adelaide Thinker in Residence" in South Australia, a program inviting global experts and leaders in their field to generate actionable and visionary recommendations for the government. Currently, as a systems innovation designer to address complex challenges, Laura works as an advisor and consultant for institutions and organisations globally including the United Nations and the European Commission. She is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council and has received many awards, grants and honours.

Heath May AIA is Principal and Director of HKS Laboratory for INtensive Exploration. He leads a design team responsible for projects awarded local and state AIA design awards, including future:GSA, a net-zero renovation solution and 2012 WAN Commercial Building of the Year, and Sustainable Urban Living, a winner of the 2010 Chicago Athenaeum Green Good Design Award. An avid interest in passive solar design drives his research in analysis and implementation of data-driven parameters for optimization of complex facades for daylighting and solar performance. In April of 2013, he was named recipient of Building Design + Construction’s 40 under 40. Heath currently teaches an advanced graduate design studio as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at University of Texas Arlington, CAPPA, School of Architecture.

Alastair Parvin is a systems designer and entrepreneur. He is co-founder of Open Systems Lab, a non-profit R&D company developing digital technologies to transform housing, construction, planning and cities in the 21st century. Their current projects include WikiHouse, Plan✕ and Affordable Land. He also writes, speaks and advises widely on housing, land, digital innovation, and the political implications of the fourth industrial revolution, including 'A Right to Build' (RIBA Award for research 2011) and 'Scaling the Citizen Sector' (2016), and sits on the Scottish Government Task force for Digital Planning.

Alexandra Pollock, AIA, is Principal and Chief Technology Officer for FXCollaborative, providing leadership and strategy on the firm's approach to Digital Practice and Technology. She has a particular interest in the intersection and overlap of disciplines and how they inform each other. Alexandra feels that technology plays an important role in these relationships and has the ability to create a more informed and integrated process. Alexandra is a registered Architect in New York, previous co-chair of the AIANY Technology Committee, has lectured and taught academically, and participates as a guest speaker at industry conferences.

John SanGiovanni has more than two decades of experience as an entrepreneur, strategist, and inventor. John has authored or co-authored more than 20 patents in the areas of mobile UI, wearable hardware systems, and augmented reality, many of which have subsequently been licensed or purchased by Apple, Microsoft, and others. In addition, John has led product teams which have shipped more than 30 top-tier Apps for iOS/Android, 10 of which achieved top-5 in their respective App Store category, and have won major digital/interactive awards on behalf of American Express, General Motors, NBC, and others. Between ventures, John served as a Technical Evangelist for Microsoft Research, where he led external academic research funding in the areas of mobile technology and augmented reality, and co-invented Microsoft’s Tile-based homescreen metaphor, now used on more than a billion devices worldwide.