The 2026Investor Summit

Saagar Parikh has over 15 years of experience on Wall Street, working at J.P. Morgan, KeyBanc Capital Markets, and Cohen & Steers. He joined Green Harvest Capital and Spark GHC as a Principal in April 2023, focusing on strategic vision, finance and development, and investor relations.

Saagar grew up in Northeast Ohio and attended The Ohio State University where he double majored in Finance and Economics. He lives in New York City with his wife and two kids.

Michael Smith has over 25 years of general management, supply chain, and consulting experience with Exxon, PricewaterhouseCoopers, IBM, and Textura. He founded Barnett Advisors in 2010, a business consulting organization.

Michael attended the University of Illinois (BSc Engineering), Washington University in St. Louis (MBA), and Cleveland State University (Real Estate Finance and Development). He is also a Six Sigma Green Belt and lives in Fairlawn, Ohio.

Amit Patel has over 15 years of hospitality experience as an owner and operator of select service hotels in the Northeast Ohio region.

He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Business & Management Information Systems and has 4 years of Strategy Management Consultant experience from IBM.

Bhavesh Lad has over 15 years of real estate experience and over 8 years in hospitality. He is an experienced leader with over 15 years of technology infrastructure and automation background working at The Walt Disney Company, Dell, EMC and Amazon Web Services.

Bhavesh grew up in Manchester, England, and attended California State University, Northridge (BSc Computer Science) and Mount Saint Mary’s University (MBA, Organizational Leadership). He lives in Solon, Ohio.

Ankit has over 10 years of experience in fields ranging from hospitality to manufacturing. He graduated from Penn State with a BSc in Supply Chain Management and minors in Spanish, International Business and Finance.

After university Ankit joined Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati to manage custom solutions for Gillette, Old Spice and Head & Shoulders. He now manages and owns businesses across hospitality, manufacturing and STEM serving automotive, healthcare and design engineering.

Bhavin Patel has over fifteen years of comprehensive business management experience and an exceptional record of accomplishments in operations, with expertise in real estate M&A.

He attended the University of Akron (BSc Business Administration — Marketing) and Ashland University (Executive MBA — Entrepreneurship). He is an Executive Committee Member on the Board of the Northeast Ohio Apartment Association and a member of the Greater Akron Chamber Board.

Matt Soble graduated from Ohio University with a double major in Marketing and Management Information Systems. After an initial role at Hyland Software he joined his family business, Diamond Shine, contributing to its growth and eventual acquisition.

Matt is the founder of BrandDog, Chief Communications Officer at GHC, and Principal at GHC Industries. His session covers how brands earn visibility in the AI era — being seen, cited and chosen.

A Baldwin Wallace graduate in Public Relations and Marketing, Nicole brings experience from Eaton Corporation and nearly a decade of agency work to her role at BrandDog.

She leads content strategy and thought leadership, helping clients build authentic brands that show up with clarity and purpose.

John has experience across investment management and real estate capital markets, with roles at Merrill Lynch, Cerity Partners, and The NRP Group, where he focused on raising debt and equity capital, underwriting market-rate multifamily developments, and closing complex transactions.

He is focused on growing the GHC Living platform, building relationships with partners and investors, and sourcing and executing new investment opportunities. John holds an undergraduate degree from John Carroll University and an MBA from The Ohio State University.

An Ohio State University graduate, Eliana is a marketing and content strategist with experience across both agency and in-house teams. At BrandDog, she focuses on website and branding projects, blending creative execution with strategic thinking.

With a background spanning marketing, people operations, and communications, she brings an audience-first approach to every project she takes on.

Sam has over 15 years of real estate investment experience in acquisitions, development, asset management, and strategy with private equity funds, public and private REITs, sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, and domestic and offshore high-net-worth individuals and family offices. He has previously held senior roles at Mission Hill Hospitality, Driftwood Capital, and Solid Rock Group.

Sam graduated from Baylor University (Bachelor of Arts), Florida International University (Master of Science in Hospitality Management with Real Estate specialization), and Cornell University (Certificate in Hotel Real Estate Investments and Asset Management). He lives in The Woodlands, Texas with his wife.

Terry Herman brings over 30 years of experience in hospitality, having served as General Manager for both Marriott and Hilton branded properties. He studied at The Ohio State University and has spent his career leading hotel teams across Ohio and the Midwest. Terry has earned multiple industry awards for operational excellence and top performance across all key metrics.

His leadership style is hands-on and people-first. He believes the foundation of any successful operation is its team. As Spark GHC grows, his expertise will keep our operations efficient, accurate, and strategically aligned. Terry lives in Lyndhurst, Ohio.

Nate Dodds serves as Senior Vice President of Business Development at GHC Industries, where he focuses on building relationships, identifying growth opportunities, and connecting customers with technology and services that solve real operational challenges.

Prior to joining GHC Industries, he served as General Manager of Re-Sources, an IT infrastructure company focused on point-of-care technology. His experience also includes data science, software development, and marketing at FEMC, as well as founding and leading Hallway. He began his career in financial services as a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch.

Nate earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business.

A Baldwin Wallace graduate with both her undergraduate degree and MBA, Kelsey is a digital marketing professional specializing in content strategy, brand voice, social media, and influencer partnerships.

With experience in both agency and in-house roles, she’s led campaigns across email, web, and social, bringing creativity, clarity, and care to every project. Her approach is equal parts strategic and relational, always focused on connecting brands with their audiences in meaningful ways.

Zack is a marketing strategist with deep experience in SEO, digital advertising, and growth. At BrandDog, Zack leads SEO and digital advertising strategy, combining big-picture thinking with hands-on technical work to help clients increase visibility, generate leads, and get better results.

Zack likes digging into how a business operates, uncovering opportunities others may have missed, and finding practical solutions. Outside of work, he recharges by reading, meditating, working out, listening to podcasts, and spending time with his wife and their dogs.

No matter how complex the brief, Matt stays anchored in what actually matters to the audience. For more than 15 years, that focus has shaped his work across brand strategy, go-to-market planning, and cross-functional marketing in healthcare, MedTech, and complex B2B environments.

At BrandDog, he helps turn that understanding into sharp positioning, meaningful differentiation, and stories that perform. He is especially energized by the return to emotional storytelling and brands that lead with depth, humanity, and authenticity. Outside of work, you’ll find him on a trail, listening to a good podcast, or shooting baskets with his kids.