Jeffrey Kohn is a Real Estate affinity group leader for Wharton So Cal.  He is a Partner with UBM Law Group LLP in Los Angeles.

Jeffrey Kohn has significant experience with transactional law matters including acquisitions/dispositions, equity and debt financing, real estate, technology, energy and general commercial contracts.  Mr. Kohn has represented a wide variety of clients including publicly traded companies, private companies and family offices.  Prior to joining UBM Law Group, LLP, Mr. Kohn worked as an attorney with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP and Halling Meza LLP as well as serving as in-house counsel.

Mr. Kohn earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from UCLA.  Mr. Kohn is also a licensed California real estate broker.

Jeannie Vu is a Real Estate affinity group leader for Wharton So Cal.  Jeannie is Chief Financial Officer for JRK Property Holdings in Los Angeles.  JRK Property Holdings is a real estate investment and management firm that has amassed a commercial portfolio throughout the United States valued in excess of $5 billion. The company’s portfolio consists of over 35,000 multifamily units, luxury and flagged hotels, and over 2 million square feet of office, industrial, and storage space. JRK’s time-tested ability to identify attractive investment opportunities has allowed them to deliver tremendous returns to investors and outstanding products for residents.  In 2013, JRK was recognized as the 20th largest owner of apartment properties according to 2013 NMHC rankings.

Nicholas Benedict is founder and current leader of the C Circle, an invitation-only group within Wharton So Cal for CEOs, direct reports, and their equivalents who have P&L responsibility over at least $2M in revenue.  Its focus is on peer advising and problem-solving as opposed to business development or supporting executives in transition.  Nick is an experienced C-level executive with deep expertise in marketing, strategy, and managing disruption across industries.  He is passionate about the impact of digital technology and about systems to manage and hold digital marketers accountable.  He is  Chairman of the Board of Directors of Heaven Tea Co., and a current Advisory Board Member of several companies including The Classic T-Shirt Co., awarenow, and BRP Pharmaceuticals.

Nick is Managing Director at King, Edward, First, a Board and C-Level advisory firm focused primarily on marketing and strategy.  He has led a strategy offsite and catalyzed a consumer products company’s successful US market entry, redesigned a digital products company’s pricing and product strategy, leading to a 31% revenue increase.  He has also served as interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for a consumer products client and interim Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for a pharmaceuticals client.  He also has additional expertise in finance and operations.

Simona Shao is the Wharton Club of Southern California Media & Entertainment Affinity Group Leader.  Simona, an LA native musician, graduated from Wharton in 2019. While at Penn, she was the Director of Events for the Wharton China Business Society and a Global Marketing Strategy department research assistant.  In her free time, Simona is a professional recording artist, singer-songwriter, and studio musician.  A classically trained pianist, she began studying music at the age of 4.  As a studio musician, she has recorded demo tracks produced for Rihanna by John Feldmann.  In 2015, Simona was invited to participate in The Voice of China.  Simona is also a Pasadena Tournament of the Roses Royal Court Princess, reigning during the 2014-2015 year.

She is currently a banking analyst in the J.P. Morgan Los Angeles Private Bank, specializing in the development of client relationships as part of an integrated team that helps clients reach their financial goals through banking services, lending, investments, and trust and estate planning.  Prior to joining the Private Bank, Simona worked at Morgan Stanley Shanghai and the Hurun Report, China’s equivalent to Forbes.