Anirban Basu is Chairman & CEO of Sage Policy Group, Inc., an economic and policy consulting firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland with offices in Pennsylvania and Cambodia.  The firm provides strategic analytical services to energy suppliers, law firms, medical systems, government agencies, and real estate developers among others. 

In 2014, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan appointed him Chair of the Maryland Economic Development Commission.  He also serves as chairman of the Baltimore County Economic Advisory Committee.  He is also the Chief Economist to Associated Builders and Contractors and Chief Economic Advisor to the Construction Financial Management Association.  He serves or has served similar functions for Visit Baltimore, Maryland Realtors, and Marcum LLP.  

He lectures at Johns Hopkins University in Global Strategy and has also taught international economics, urban economics, micro- and macroeconomics at Hopkins. His radio show can be heard weekdays on 88.1FM, WYPR, Baltimore.   

In both 2007 and 2016, the Daily Record newspaper selected Mr. Basu as one of Maryland’s 50 most influential people. The Baltimore Business Journal named him one of the region’s 20 most powerful business leaders in 2010.

Mr. Basu has been on many boards over time, including First Mariner Bank, the Baltimore City Public School System, Port Discovery, the Baltimore School for the Arts, and Union Memorial Hospital.  He is currently on the boards of St. Mary’s College, the University System of Maryland Foundation, the Center for Emerging Media, the Lyric Opera House and the Archdiocese of Baltimore School System.

Mr. Basu earned his B.S. in Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 1990.  He earned his Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and his Master’s in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park.  His Juris Doctor was earned at the University Of Maryland School of Law.  His doctoral work is in health economics and has taken place at UMBC.

Mr. Basu presentation supplies detail discussions regarding, global, national, and regional economic performance using the most current data available. Special attention is devoted to certain aspects of economic life, including the performance of financial, labor, real estate, and construction markets.

As Regional Managing Partner, Michael Balter oversees Firm services to all Marcum clients in Florida and Tennessee and is also responsible for operations in the region’s five Marcum offices. Additionally, he is partner-in-charge of Florida Assurance Services and is a member of Marcum’s Executive Committee.

Mr. Balter joined Marcum in 2014 with over 25 years of client service experience in the construction, manufacturing, distribution and service industries.

Mr. Balter holds an MBA from Florida Atlantic University and a BS in Accounting from the University of Florida, where he serves on the Accounting Advisory Board. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA), and the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) – South Florida. He is also a Board member and past president of the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) and is the chairman of the FICPA Construction Conference.

Mr. Balter authored the Financial Management section of The Contractors Manual for Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and recently completed his term as financial counsel for the South Florida Chapter of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America. He also is a regular contributor to industry journals including Construction Focus, Construction Ink, and Building Florida.

Malcolm Butters is president and co-founder of Butters Construction & Development, Inc., a privately held real estate firm engaged in construction, development, investment, management and leasing of office, industrial, retail and hotel properties. Over the past 30 years, Butters Construction & Development has built over 18 million square feet. Malcolm and his brother Mark, currently own commercial space in several cities in Florida and Georgia. Notable projects include the Boca Village Corporate Center containing over 600,000 square feet of office and retail, Hillsboro Technology Park, a 1,000,000 Square Foot Business Park in Deerfield Beach and Marriott Residence Inn, Coconut Creek, Florida.

Over the past decade, Butters Construction & Development, Inc. has been listed as one of the most active commercial developers in Florida. In fact, just over the last five years, Butters has put together over 200 acres with a potential build out of 3 million square feet of industrial space, in Dade County alone, to become one of Miami’s leading industrial developers. Butters Construction & Development has won the National Association of Office and Industrial Property’s South Florida Chapter “Developer of the Year” award six times and, as well as being inducted into the Florida International University, Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame.

Malcolm Butters is considered one of the most innovative and creative developers in the state. He was one of the pioneers in elevating the architectural standards for Commercial buildings resulting in aesthetically pleasing, award winning facilities.

Malcolm Butters is also active in a number of community and non-profit organizations. He’s a board member for the Real Estate Advisory Board for the University of Miami, as well as founder of the “Malcolm & Catherine Butters Real Estate Scholarship” award for the Florida International University Hollo School of Real Estate.

Butters earned a Master’s Degree in Real Estate from Florida International University in 1983 and a Bachelor in Finance from the University of Miami in 1982.

Guillermo Doria currently serves as Vice President and ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) Practice Leader at BankUnited, where he is dedicated to helping bankers and their privately held clients evaluate the benefits of selling stock to an ESOP and therefore creating liquidity for the owners in the transaction. He also assists them with understanding ESOP-related issues throughout the lifecycle of an ESOP, including newly established and mature plans. Prior to joining BankUnited, Guillermo worked as an Associate at Veritas Financial Partners where he focused on asset based loan underwriting and portfolio management.

Guillermo frequently participates in community affairs and serves as a Board Member of the ACG (Association of Corporate Growth) and is the former Chairman of the ACG’s South Florida’s Young Professionals Group, a group established to connect young professionals in the middle-market industry with the resources needed for professional growth and development.

Guillermo received a B.S in Finance from Florida State University and an M.B.A with a concentration in Finance from the University of Tampa.

Steve has extensive experience in transactions involving employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). He has represented ESOP plan sponsors, shareholders selling to an ESOP, and ESOP trustees in transactions establishing and amending ESOPs, increasing ESOPs’ share ownership, using ESOPs to acquire other businesses, and terminating and buying out ESOPs. He is also experienced in designing and implementing other forms of equity compensation plans such as stock appreciation rights, phantom stock plans and stock option plans. Steve is frequently brought into transactions as special ESOP counsel by clients’ corporate counsel. He has also served as an expert in litigation related to ESOPs in state and federal court.

Prior to focusing his practice on ESOPs, Steve practiced business and transactional law for more than 20 years. He works with clients in a variety of industries and has been involved in every phase of clients’ businesses. Steve advises on organization structuring relationships among founders, investors and joint ventures, and on negotiating, drafting and administration of agreements. He also provides access to other resources, such as trustees, valuation advisors, lenders, accountants, investment bankers, financial advisors and attorneys to help his clients achieve their objectives.

He has received an AV® Preeminent™ rating from LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest rating for legal ability and general ethics.

Adam Handfinger is Co-Managing Partner of the firm’s Miami office. He is certified by the Florida Bar as a Construction Law Specialist and focuses his practice on construction law and commercial litigation matters, representing construction professionals in issues relating to construction defects, contract negotiation, project management, payment, bond claims, and the project closeout process, as well as the litigation of disputes.

Mr. Handfinger’s experience includes settlement negotiations at all stages of construction projects, and he has worked to resolve disputes with vendors and suppliers, subcontractors, payment and performance bond sureties, liability insurers, lenders and owners. Mr. Handfinger often advises clients before, during and after construction to minimize the risk of claims for construction defects and has extensive experience managing, defending and shifting the risk of unavoidable construction defect claims. Mr. Handfinger also works with Peckar and Abramson’s Employment Law Group, defending employment practice liability claims, including discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation and wage claims. He has successfully defended class action Fair Labor Standards Act Claims brought by construction laborers.

A significant portion of Mr. Handfinger’s practice includes on-site counsel and advice to clients during construction projects. Mr. Handfinger assists in solving problems when they arise in order to immediately resolve them, reduce their impact to the project and avoid litigation. Mr. Handfinger regularly meets with project management staff to address issues in real time, which has proven to be an extremely effective way to resolve disputes that could otherwise be the subject of protracted and expensive litigation.

Mr. Handfinger has authored several articles on construction law and is a frequent lecturer at seminars on construction-related topics.

Ken Kohl, President and founder of Stratus Data Solutions, has more than 40 years of experience specializing in Construction Industry IT. He is also currently consulting and serving as IT director for Miller Construction Company.

Ken was the first Sage Timberline dealer in the country in 1979, delivering accounting and estimating solutions to South Florida firms, including providing first time solutions to some of the top local construction companies of today. He is an advocate of migrating to modern technology that is scalable, affording smaller companies enterprise applications and security.

Additionally, Ken provides technology assessments and provides a roadmap for clients through a collaborative process. He promotes elevating IT at General Construction firms, giving IT “a seat at the table” for important future technology decisions. Ken understands how to deliver a successful IT Strategy to any size construction firm.

Kenneth J. Pia, is a partner and the leader of the Business Valuation Industry group. With more than 25 years of professional business valuation and litigation support experience, Mr. Pia has developed a national reputation working on a wide range of complex valuation engagements. He has performed valuations of businesses and partial business interests for a variety of purposes including, but not limited to, family law matters, employee stock ownership plans, business damages, buy-sell agreements, shareholder litigation, estate and gift tax matters, and buying and selling businesses.

Mr. Pia is heavily involved with the American Society of Appraisers (ASA). He is Chair of the ASA’s Business Valuation Committee, is a member of the National Business Valuation Education Committee, and teaches nationally for the ASA’s accreditation program. Mr. Pia is also a charter member of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Foundation’s Forensic & Business Valuation Division and was recently named to the American Academy for Certified Financial Litigators Advisory Board for New York and Connecticut.

Mr. Pia is a frequent speaker on business valuation topics on the national and local levels for numerous professional organizations, including the American Bar Association, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and National Center for Employee Ownership. In addition to teaching for the ASA’s accreditation program, he previously instructed for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Certificate of Educational Achievement (CEA) program in business valuation. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Quinnipiac University. Mr. Pia has technically reviewed publications on divorce finance and taxation for the American Bar Association, as well as several books on business valuation. In 2007, he was appointed as one of two appraisers to the State of Connecticut’s Eminent Domain Task Force, established to determine the methodologies to be used in the calculating lost intangible economic value of businesses due to the state exercising domain rights.

Mr. Pia has been qualified as an expert witness in Federal District Court and the State Courts of Connecticut and New York, as well as various arbitration proceedings. He has also rendered extensive services relating to court testimony. Mr. Pia is on the State of New York Courts’ list to receive court appointments in the following counties: New York, Kings, Richmond, Queens, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester. He has received court appointments in New York and Connecticut.

Anderson Pinto is a Brazilian-American businessman with strong family values, a great passion for extreme sports, and community involvement. This passion was the main force that drove him to achieve a Second-Degree Black Belt in Jiu-Jitsu, a Brazilian style martial art, and to become a teacher. He also utilizes his teaching skills to train women and children in self-defense during his free time. One of the requirements to receive such an achievement is for an individual to have a higher discipline. This is what he has utilized to develop his business life, which has also helped him continue to grow Hartzell Construction for the last 19 years.

As a concerned citizen Anderson continues his education on organic and green products. Hartzell deploys several crews, providing all sorts of construction-related service to our communities and businesses alike, some of whose services include: Renovations, Concrete Restoration, Painting, Impact Resistant Hurricane Windows & Doors, and so much more. Anderson has a saying that he constantly uses inside the company, “We at Hartzell bring life to our projects and make it become a reality to our customers”.

Andrew is a partner at Alliance Solutions Group, a national provider of construction software solutions.  He originally operated his family’s construction business in Michigan prior to his move to Florida in 2001.  In 2001, he started Apex Solutions Group, which became Intuit’s largest reseller of Master Builder.  Upon Sage’s acquisition of Master Builder, Apex merged with Alliance Solutions Group to become Sage’s largest reseller in North America. 

Mr. Rashid is certified in Sage 100 Contractor, Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate, Acumatica and Sage Intacct.  He is a member of the Construction Financial Management Association and recently was given the MVP award for a second year with Acumatica Software.

Doug Simms has more than 30 years of accounting and financial management experience, including 25 years in the construction industry. He started in 1994 as a controller for C.F. Jordan Construction in El Paso, Texas. Four years later, he moved to Florida to join Balfour Beatty Construction, then known as Centex Rooney, where he advanced from Controller to Vice President of Finance and ultimately to CFO. During his fifteen-year tenure at Balfour Beatty Construction, he managed a finance and accounting staff of up to 26, and managed risk programs for projects in Florida, California, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Colorado, Hawaii, Bahamas, and Trinidad. As a member of the executive team, his focus was on maintaining internal controls as the division grew from $250M to $800M.

As CFO, Doug is responsible for all aspects of the accounting and financial functions of Kaufman Lynn Construction including developing and maintaining effective accounting, financial and treasury systems, risk as well as maintaining the relationships with the accounting firm, law firms, financial institutions, lenders, and bonding company.

At age 46, Lee Weintraub was the youngest recipient ever of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Florida Bar’s Construction Law Committee. Mr. Weintraub is also an adjunct professor of law at Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law teaching construction law. In 2009 and 2013, Florida Trend magazine named him one of Florida’s Legal Elite, an honor bestowed on only the top 2% of Florida lawyers.

In the 2020 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, Mr. Weintraub was recognized as Lawyer of the Year in Construction Litigation, an honor only bestowed upon one attorney for each specialty practice and location. Additionally, he has been voted by his peers as one of the Best Lawyers in America© every year since 2006. He has also been selected by Florida Super Lawyers every year since 2007, which names Florida’s top 5% of lawyers as chosen by their peers. Mr. Weintraub has been recognized by Chambers USA – America’s Leading Business Lawyers every year since 2003. Chambers USA noted he focuses on licensing and construction defect litigation, but is particularly renowned for his expertise in the Construction Lien Law.

Mr. Weintraub is Board Certified in Construction Law by the Florida Bar and serves as Vice Chair of the Firm’s Construction Law Practice Group. Since passing the construction law board certification exam, he has served as a board certification exam course instructor every year the course has been offered. He is a certified arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and, as a lawyer, represents owners, developers, contractors, subcontractors, design professionals, bond sureties and other commercial entities in litigation, arbitration and transactions. He is a frequent lecturer statewide, nationally and internationally on construction related topics.

The Firm’s Public, Private Partnership (P3) practice team is led by Mr. Weintraub along with Vice Chair Jennifer Drake. This multi-disciplinary team of professionals is experienced in development, construction, government, real estate, corporate, finance, procurement, and land use. Mr. Weintraub helped draft, negotiate and advocate for the P3 legislation that became law in Florida in 2013 and all its subsequent amendments. He is a frequent lecturer and author on the nuances of how to structure P3 projects. He is also a founding member and former Chair of the Florida Council for Public/Private Partnerships, a non-profit consortium of public and private sector organizations working together to further P3 opportunities. In 2019, Mr. Weintraub was invited by the United States Department of Commerce Commercial Law Development Program to travel with them to Asia to train the governments of eight Asian countries in public/private partnerships. His experience included a day meeting with the Parliament of Nepal and he has been invited back to meet with the President of the Maldives and his cabinet for further training.