Ms. Gross (“Sylvia”) joined Dermot’s Board in 2024 and is a senior executive with over three decades of real estate experience in real estate advisory, investments and management. She also currently serves as Senior Advisor to PIA Residential focusing on the structure and operations of PIA’s multifamily funds and supports the company in their capital markets and marketing activities. Ms. Gross is an Adjunct Professor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she is also active with the Wood Center for Real Estate with a responsibility for the national MBA development case competition and the ICSC-sponsored case competition. Until 2021, Ms. Gross was one of the managers at HQ Capital Real Estate, a privately held real estate advisory firm she joined in 2003. Ms. Gross was a member of the firm’s Investment Committee and the Executive Committee responsible for the overall strategy of the company. As Head of Capital Markets and Investor Relations, Ms. Gross was responsible for solutions, product development, financings/restructurings and all capital markets activities and also led the marketing, reporting, and client service teams, as well as the coordination of the firm’s global fundraising efforts. Prior to joining HQ Capital, Ms. Gross was Vice President of Finance at Louis Dreyfus Property Group, in charge of financing activities and managed the company’s relationship with financial institutions and investors. Previously, Ms. Gross established the real estate lending group within BHF-BANK (NY) creating a loan portfolio in excess of $1 Billion. Ms. Gross started her career at Deutsche Bank as an Associate in the Real Estate Group. From 2022-23, Ms. Gross was the Chair of the Board of AFIRE (Association of Foreign Investors in U.S. Real Estate) and continues to be a member of the Executive Board since 2019. Ms. Gross is a member of WX (Women Executives in Real Estate), where she is active in the Mentorship Committee. Ms. Gross was previously a member of the board of Foundry Commercial and is currently a trustee of The Children’s Village and a member of the board of CV Institute. Ms. Gross holds a B.A. from Bucknell University and an MBA. from New York University's Stern School of Business.