Paola Martinez is an Analyst for The Retail Connection in the San Antonio office. She will help support the San Antonio team in originating and executing financing transactions while handling financial modeling and conducting market research.

She interned at the Bitterblue Group, focusing on sales of real estate development and marketing.

Paola earned a Bachelor of Business in Finance focusing on Real Estate from the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University. While at TCU, she participated in several student organizations, was secretary and vice president of ALPFA, and was involved in the Real Estate Club and the Environmental Club. She expanded her global perspective during her junior year by studying abroad in Madrid, Spain.

In her free time, Paola loves to stay in shape with yoga and other types of fitness. As a world traveler, she enjoys exploring different cultures and food and meeting new people.

the addition of Zane Smith as Vice-President for the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Zane will play a crucial role in sourcing and closing both new acquisition and development opportunities, overseeing asset and property management, and driving the overall growth of Brennan in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.

Prior to joining Brennan Investment Group, Mr. Smith served as the Vice-President of Investments at MoxieBridge in Dallas, where he participated in the sourcing, underwriting, capitalization and closing of more than 3 million square feet of shallow bay light industrial properties totaling more than $300 million in transaction volume. Prior to MoxieBridge, Zane served as a Senior Analyst at Colony Industrial, which later sold to Blackstone, where he was responsible for the analytical support of the asset management platform for a portfolio of over 350 industrial assets totaling over 40 million square feet in 20 different U.S. markets.

“We are delighted to welcome Zane Smith to our team,” said Troy MacMane, Managing Principal of Brennan Investment Group’s Texas region. “Zane brings valuable industrial real estate experience and relationships that will greatly benefit the Brennan team. Zane’s proven track record of executing real estate transactions and exceptional leadership ability make him a key addition to our organization.”

“Brennan Investment Group continues to expand its platform into high growth markets throughout the United States,” said Kevin Brennan, Chief Investment Officer of Brennan Investment Group. “We are pleased to have Zane leading our investment efforts in Dallas-Fort Worth and are confident that his addition to the Brennan team will allow us to continue to grow our portfolio of distribution and manufacturing facilities in top tier U.S. cites.”

Cushman & Wakefield welcomes Anissa Sabawala as Senior Director of Project & Development Services for Central Texas, based in Austin. She will lead all aspects of our project management service line, including client relations, project execution, business operations and financial management.

Anissa is a construction industry veteran with over 35 years of experience spanning site due diligence, design, construction, FF&E, and occupancy. As Senior Director, she is a strong thought leader focused on developing and maintaining long-term client relationships through best-in-class program oversight and project delivery. Her portfolio spans low to mid-rise ground up and interior fit-outs and her expertise in design, construction and project management combine to give her a strategic advantage in serving our clients.

A passionate mentor and dedicated leader, Anissa consistently provides clarity and delivers excellence to her clients, colleagues, and project teams.

BKV Group, a multidisciplinary design firm, added Shaney Mullen as Development Managing Partner for its Dallas practice site.

An industry veteran with more than two decades of experience, Mullen will support BKV Group’s continued growth in the Sunbelt while also expanding the firm’s national hospitality platform. 

Mullen brings 20-plus years of experience to BKV Group, most recently working as an Associate Principal with WDG Architecture, where he focused his efforts on client development and engagement, project acquisition, and execution—from conceptual planning through occupancy—for urban multifamily, mixed-use and hospitality projects.

His design portfolio includes prominent developments in numerous markets, including the Marriott Nashville, a 20-story, 442-key hotel in Nashville, Tenn.; Willamette Tower, a 23-story, 343-unit mixed-use development in Portland, Ore.; and the Marriott Uptown, a 14-story, 255-key hotel in Dallas that won a LIV Hospitality Design Award in 2021.

Royal Electric Company, a leading subcontractor for electrical and underground projects throughout the Central and Western United States, is pleased to announce the addition of Talin Sonata Espinoza as Chief Strategy Officer. Espinoza has twenty years of experience in the AEC industry.

“Royal’s leadership and culture exemplifies and prioritizes innovations, integrity, and a relentless commitment to excellence. I consider it a privilege to join this team of industry leaders who are driving the Royal Electric mission. Together we will build people, relationships and world class projects.” – Talin Espinoza

She is past president of the Southern CA Chapter of the Construction Management Association of America. Espinoza is a co-founder of the Beavers’ Women in Heavy Civil, and was recently recognized by the San Diego Chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar, with its 2023 Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award.

Please join us in congratulating her on this new role!

Venkat joined Pagewood in 2022 as an advisor and is now the firm’s Chief Technology Officer. In this role, Venkat is responsible for building and leading the teams to bring successful technology-driven solutions throughout Pagewood’s business processes. Venkat’s initial core focus is developing, executing and integrating The Lighthouse, Pagewood’s proprietary and unique machine learning, time series predictive, algorithm-based market research platform. Before his advisory role at Pagewood, Venkat headed the technological strategy and digital transformation for Stream Realty Partners as their Chief Information and Digital Officer. There, he led the firm’s technology and digital transformation agenda across multiple business functions and geographies nationally.Prior to Stream, Venkat was the Executive Vice President of Technology at The Howard Hughes Company for eight years. In his role, he was responsible for all aspects of the company’s technology solutions.