Who Writes Miami’s Next Chapter? The 2050 Leaders Forum Names Its First Speakers

Executives from Miami DDA, Terra, Microsoft, and the business and creative communities will discuss the decisions shaping South Florida's economic and urban future.

Miami’s growth has created real wealth and real strain. Sustaining it is now the harder task. On November 18, Experience Club US and the Miami Downtown Development Authority (Miami DDA) will gather executives, entrepreneurs and civic leaders at the Miami 2050 Leaders Forum to examine the choices that will decide how the city grows.

The event arrives as Miami DDA advances its Downtown Miami Master Plan 2050, which sets direction for infrastructure, mobility, economic development and quality of life in the urban core. Whether South Florida keeps attracting companies, capital and talent will depend on how it handles expansion and environmental pressure, and on whether the conditions for long-term investment hold.

The First Confirmed Speakers

Michaeljohn Green, Acting Executive Director of Miami DDA, speaks for the institution steering Downtown’s development. His agenda covers economic growth, business attraction and the strengthening of the urban core, and he sits where the 2050 objectives meet the priorities of businesses, residents and investors.

David Martin, CEO and co-founder of Terra, has built a multibillion-dollar portfolio of residential and commercial properties with internationally recognized architects and designers. He is known for championing sustainable development, resilient construction and projects that tie real estate to transit and public space.

Barbara Soalheiro, founder of Mesa Company, is the Brazilian entrepreneur behind the Mesa Method, which puts multidisciplinary teams to work on complex business problems. Her experience with global companies makes her a voice on turning collaboration into concrete results.

Marlon Hill, Partner at Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman, advises businesses, entrepreneurs and nonprofits across corporate law, economic development and community initiatives. A longtime figure in Miami’s civic life, he can speak to how growth reaches the city’s diverse population and its local businesses.

Mauricio Ferreira, Global Go-to-Market Leader at Microsoft, draws on an international career in marketing and enterprise solutions. His focus is how artificial intelligence and digital transformation are redefining what companies need to compete.

More speakers will be announced before the event.

Why this room, and why now

Developers, regulators, technologists and lawyers rarely share a table. Their decisions still land on the same blocks. Infrastructure and housing decide where a company opens its doors. Technology sets the pace of productivity. Access to opportunity decides whether talent stays. And Downtown keeps shifting from a business district into something richer, with homes, offices, hotels and cultural institutions sharing the same streets.

Experience Club US built the forum for exactly that overlap: people who usually work on different sides of the same question, finally in the same conversation.

If you have a stake in where Miami goes next, this is the evening to be in the room. The Miami 2050 Leaders Forum takes place on November 18 at 6 p.m., with the participation of Miami DDA and the support of Delta, Wheels Up, BB Americas Bank and Microsoft.