Advantages of Using a Retail Real Estate Consultant
1. Consultants bring more experience than employees.
Because consultants work with many shopping centers and mixed-use developments, they bring a broader knowledge of development trends, industry challenges and expertise than internal employees who usually appreciate guidance and a fresh approach from outsiders.
2. Consultants provide an objective perspective.
Internal team members often tend to take fewer risks and shy away from making bold decisions whereas consultants call it as they see it.
3. Consultants are less expensive because they don’t become part of your ongoing payroll and benefits package.
When you hire a consultant, you pay only for the assignment you contract and for a reasonable period to complete that assignment, which results in substantial savings over hiring an expert.
4. Existing team members become more productive.
Consultants break through your company’s processes, procedures and bureaucracies to deliver industry-leading solutions with dispatch. Once senior management buys into a consultant’s recommendations, your team takes the consultant’s suggestions and implements them with efficiency using internal and external resources.
Meet Our Industry-Leading Experts
Far too often companies hire internally when they should hire a consultant to solve a problem. Woodcliff Realty Advisors offers you the alternative. In advancing your company, you have needs that can be best served by outsiders on a non-recurring basis; experts with unmatched skill sets that you can put to work at full throttle on any important project. In curating our team of consultants, we sought four qualities that each team member would excel in: experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. Every Woodcliff consultant is the leading authority in his or her field. Each has gained expertise through years of experience and has built a reputation of being trustworthy throughout their career.
At Woodcliff, our consultants can help you craft action plans, accomplish goals and complete tasks to support your team. We do it with industry leading experts that have mastered their skills in such areas as development, construction, operations, asset management, finance, lease accounting, research, leasing, marketing and public relations. We help retailers, landlords, lenders, economic development officials and other industry service providers tackle issues and leap over near-term hurdles so they can devote their energy and internal resources to do what they do best: running and growing their companies and adding value to their real estate. Meet our team of highly focused experts.
Rudolph E. Milian, CRRP, CRX, CSM, CMD
Rudy Milian is president and CEO of Woodcliff Realty Advisors, LLC where he oversees the team of consultants as well as working directly with clients on maximizing the asset value of their real estate. In addition to consulting work, Mr. Milian is an investor and has equity ownership interest in a mixed-use property in Washington, D.C. and an open-air community center in Maryland. Prior to Woodcliff, he was senior vice president of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the retail real estate industry’s member-based organization for the advancement of marketplaces. During his tenure at ICSC, he played a major role in the high-growth trajectory and innovations of the global trade group comprising more than 70,000 members in 100-plus countries. Mr. Milian’s involvement and oversight of many facets of ICSC gave him the opportunity to interact with, learn from and build relationships with the movers and shakers of the industry. In many respects he became one of the most recognizable faces of ICSC through his leadership in the association’s many conventions, conferences, committees, educational and certification forums, publications, green building initiatives and volunteer programs. Prior to becoming an ICSC senior executive, Mr. Milian was a vice president of Simon Property Group’s predecessor, Youngstown, Ohio-based DeBartolo Realty Corp., which merged with Simon, and where he rose through the ranks from general manager to regional to ultimately assuming corporate level responsibilities in property management, asset management, real estate tax administration and local leasing for a vast multi-million-square-foot-portfolio. Before DeBartolo, he served as a marketing director for Atlanta-based Cousins Properties Inc. He has authored two books, The RetailGreen Agenda (2008) and Green Tactics from Retailers and Shopping Centers (2010). Mr. Milian has also held various volunteer officer positions including chairman of the board of trustees, president and CEO of the American Advertising Federation (of Greater Miami), trustee of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, assistant corporate secretary for the ICSC Foundation and Project REAP (two non-profit organizations for the benefit of real estate professionals). He has also served ICSC as a volunteer in numerous positions including Texas state operations chairman, Ohio state director, Maxi chairman, member of the Certified Shopping Center Manager (CSM) Admissions and Governing Committee, and faculty member at ICSC John T. Riordan Schools and the University of Shopping Centers. He was graduated from Miami-Dade College, and was a former member of Youngstown State University board of advisors in the College of Business Administration, where he was named a Williamson Fellow in the 1990s.
G. Lamont Blackstone, CRX
Mr. Blackstone brings to Woodcliff expertise in public-private partnership formation and urban development planning with an emphasis on alternative financing methods, including tax increment financing. He is currently the principal of Mount Vernon, New York-based G. L. Blackstone & Associates, LLC, a national commercial real estate services firm that facilitates the development and redevelopment of urban real estate assets. With strengths in underwriting, crafting public-private partnerships, negotiating joint ventures, conducting site analyses and development, Mr. Blackstone offers tactical solutions for the redevelopment of urban locations. He has worked on many urban retail and mixed-use projects and development proposals including the development of a major supermarket in New York's East Harlem; the City Heights Urban Retail Village, a public/private partnership effort in San Diego, and the Regency Centers-developed Juanita Tate Marketplace, a 77,096-square-foot outdoor retail center in South Los Angeles situated on the 6.5-acre site of a former scrap-metal plant. In addition, Mr. Blackstone conducted the market and financial feasibility analysis of a 700,000-square-foot industrial park proposed for a brownfield site in New York State's Hudson Valley region. Prior to that he was the chief investment officer of The Retail Initiative, Inc., widely recognized as the first national commercial real estate equity fund to focus on inner-city retail development. Active over the years in various real estate industry leadership roles, he has served as chairman of Project REAP (a non-profit group aimed at advancing diversity and inclusion in real estate), charter member of the ICSC Certified Retail Property Executive (CRX) Admissions and Governing Committee, ICSC Eastern division alliance co-chair, and dean of the School of Economic Development at the ICSC University of Shopping Centers, all of which helped earn Mr. Blackstone the ICSC Trustees Distinguished Service Award. He obtained his master of business administration degree in finance and real estate from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
George Caraghiaur, LEED AP
Mr. Caraghiaur can offer Woodcliff clients extensive experience in planning, reassessing and managing their property energy consumption, help calculate energy use of different proposed lighting systems to improve efficiency as well as assist with sustainability reporting to senior management, board of directors, investors, stakeholders and third-party benchmarking systems that measure the sustainability performance of real estate companies, such as the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB). Mr. Caraghiaur is the managing member of Indianapolis-based Energy & Sustainability Services LLC, which provides consulting on energy efficiency and sustainability projects for real estate companies, energy service companies (ESCO) and contractors. Immediately before, he was vice president of sustainability for Simon Property Group responsible for managing the procurement of over $500 million annually in energy, waste handling, and supply chain services. While at Simon he increased net operating income by $200 million from cost savings involving the delivery of energy and operation services, including electricity, water and sewer, natural gas, HVAC chilled water and waste handling services to tenants and parking services. His efforts helped Simon achieve the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT) annual Leader in the Light Award for eight consecutive years, which honors NAREIT member companies that have demonstrated superior and sustained sustainability practices. Prior to Simon, he held significant energy efficiency related positions with Excelergy, QC Group LLC, and FPL Energy Services, Inc. (an affiliate of Florida Power & Light Company/NextEra Energy Inc.). Mr. Caraghiaur is the senior fellow at PACENow, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing, and a member of the board of advisors for the Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy (LCRE). He authored A Guide To Energy Service Companies (2001). Mr. Caraghiaur was graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a master of science in economics and received his bachelor degree in civil, geological and mining engineering from Université de Montréal - École Polytechnique de Montréal. Mr. Caraghiaur is well traveled and speaks six languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian).
Suzanne K. Cayley, CLS, SLD
Ms. Cayley offers an array of services for Woodcliff clients relative to specialty leasing and extra income opportunities involving short-term occupancy, which includes specialty tenant representation, specialty leasing evaluation, pop-up retail and swing shop leasing, retailer development programs and visual merchandising. She is vice president of specialty leasing at Aurora Realty Consultants Inc., headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with offices throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. Her focus there is on specialty leasing and pop-up/swing shop opportunities for retailers, developers and consumer brands where she has developed a solid reputation and extensive long-term relationships. She began her career in the shopping center industry with Brookfield Properties Corporation predecessor Olympia & York working at Queen's Quay Terminal where she was introduced to the then burgeoning discipline of specialty leasing. She joined Ivanhoe Cambridge in the mid 1990s where she conceived and created the specialty leasing and partnership department that she developed into one of Canada's most respected and highest revenue-producing programs. She incubated and nurtured thousands of retailers over her 20 years with Ivanhoe Cambridge where she advanced her expertise in pop-up in-line retailing. Ms. Cayley is today considered a leading authority in specialty leasing in Canada and the United States. She has been an active member of ICSC and served on the Certified Leasing Specialist (CLS) Admissions and Governing Committee, Specialty Retail Conference program planning committee, Fall Conference program planning committee, and has been an integral part of the ICSC Schools faculty and a speaker at many industry events. She was inducted into the ICSC Specialty Retail Report magazine hall of fame receiving the specialty leasing director of the year award in 2011. Her programs have been recognized numerous times with the Specialty Retail Report’s Visual Victories awards. Following her undergraduate studies at the University of Waterloo where she majored in urban and regional planning, Ms. Cayley further honed her business and leadership skills at the Ivey School of Business at Western University in London, Ontario.
Rene F. Daniel, CLS, CRX
Mr. Daniel can assist Woodcliff clients with re-merchandising and leasing of underperforming regional shopping centers and devise the optimum strategy for a property, whether it is a newly acquired asset, a long-term hold or a candidate for disposition. He is the founder of the Daniel Group, LLC, a Baltimore-based company that specializes in leasing open-air shopping centers, regional malls, lifestyle centers, specialty centers and mixed-use developments. Additionally, in his role of partner of real estate brokerage firm Trout, Daniel & Associates, he is also a tenant representative for a small number of specialty retail tenants to help them plan expansion strategies and negotiate lease terms with landlords. Mr. Daniel is a recognized expert in the merchandising and leasing of regional and specialty centers throughout the United States, and has consulted for some of America’s largest shopping center developers. Prior to starting his consulting practice, he served as senior vice president of leasing for Monumental Properties, where he directed the leasing of 19 regional malls, many of which are considered the trophy malls of today. He sits on the editorial board of Shopping Center Business magazine. Mr. Daniel, a longtime instructor at ICSC Schools in the United States and other countries, has served as a member of the charter Certified Leasing Specialist (CLS) Admissions and Governing Committee. He has contributed as a writer for leasing textbooks, and served as dean of the School of Leasing and Specialty Leasing in the ICSC University of Shopping Centers. He is a recipient of ICSC Trustees Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Daniel holds a master of business administration degree from Columbia University and a bachelor of arts degree from Hunter College.
Alberta Davidson, CMD
Alberta Davidson is the managing partner of Davidson+Powers, LLC, a real estate strategy firm specializing in retail and mixed-use properties, based in San Diego, Calif. Ms. Davidson offers Woodcliff clients decades of experience having worked on a diverse range of projects, providing strategic marketing with a proven track record in growing market share and owner value. She is uniquely skilled in providing marketing services for corporate marketing, grand openings, leasing objectives and center consumer marketing. She has led innovative marketing and branding initiatives directing both strategic and creative development. Skills are comprehensive across a range of platforms including social media, advertising, sales promotions, public relations, special events, sponsorship, market/consumer research, and location and digital data analytics. Her present and past clients include notable industry leaders, such as Caruso, Federal Realty Investment Trust, CBRE, Craig Realty Group, the Irvine Company, Shea Commercial Properties, Inc., Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc., Donahue Schriber Realty Group Inc., Regency Centers Corporation, Wilson Meany, and Gerrity Group International. Previously she spent 23 years at The Hahn Company (later known as TrizecHahn), where she rose through the ranks to become chief marketing officer responsible for significant new development projects, such as the iconic Hollywood & Highland shopping mall and entertainment complex. She initiated and led the corporate branding efforts wherein 2001 the team successfully branded the Kodak Theater (now the Dolby Theater), home of the Academy Awards ceremonies (the Oscars). She managed all corporate communications, advertising and the comprehensive redevelopment and development marketing efforts for the TrizecHahn portfolio of dominant retail and mixed-use properties. Ms. Davidson is well known in the retail real estate industry and is regarded as a leader specializing in corporate and property-level marketing including the application of modern platforms, such as digital marketing and social media strategies. She assisted ICSC in producing a publication titled, Leisure & Lifestyle Retailing, as well as Sponsorship Opportunities in Shopping Centers. She has served ICSC as chair of the Certified Marketing Director (CMD) Admissions and Governing Committee, as co-chair of the ICSC Fall Conference, as Maxi chair, and as an instructor for ICSC Schools and the ICSC University of Shopping Centers, all of which earned her the ICSC Trustees Distinguished Service Award. As an award-winning marketer, Ms. Davidson received the prestigious Maxi award 14 times. She holds a degree from El Camino College.
Carolyn J. Feimster, CRX, CMD
Ms. Feimster assists Woodcliff clients in areas involving tourism and conventioneer marketing. Woodcliff starts out by assessing the client’s potential to expand market share from tourists, transients and conventioneers, and upon an affirmative determination, Ms. Feimster creates and implements a program to capture sales from this lucrative market that cannot be ignored in most parts of the country. Tourism-related shopping expenditures in the United States account for $325.2 billion annually, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Working with other Woodcliff consultants, Ms. Feimster’s primary focus is on developing results-oriented tourism programs for shopping centers, cities, urban retail districts and other commercial properties, attractions and organizations. She is the founder and president of Attica, Ind.-based CJF Marketing International. For more than three decades, Ms. Feimster has been administering tourism training programs and seminars for developers, municipalities, shopping center associations, development agencies and retailers all over the world, and has represented entities at tourism trade expositions. Prior to CJF, Ms. Feimster headed corporate marketing for shopping center legend Jim Rouse, who is seen as the pioneer developer of tourism-oriented retail projects and is credited with the early origins of specialty leasing. Before Rouse, she oversaw marketing for Turnberry Associates, where she helped lay the groundwork for the flagship Aventura Mall since its grand opening in the 1980s. Ms. Feimster was twice elected as president of the New York City chapter of SKÅL International, a travel and tourism organization. ICSC trustees honored her with the ICSC Trustees Distinguished Service Award and the Shop America Alliance organization recognized her as the Shopping Tourism Person of the Year. Her tourism programs have been recognized by ICSC with several Maxi awards for marketing excellence and Shop America Salutes Innovation awards for her work with China’s Hainan Airlines, the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism and Federal Realty Trust’s Outlets at Assembly Row, a project that also was awarded Best in Show in 2016. Ms. Feimster graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor of science degree in journalism and communications.
John M. Genovese, CRX, CDP, CSM, CLS, CMD
Mr. Genovese brings extensive development, redevelopment and entitlement experience to Woodcliff clients. Mr. Genovese is currently the president and CEO of GENCO Realty Group, a Los Angeles-based boutique real estate investment firm specializing in value creation residential and mixed-use development opportunities in Southern California and provider of global retail and mixed-use consulting services. Immediately before GENCO, he was senior vice president of development for Westfield Corporation where he led the re-development of the retail portion of the iconic World Trade Center site in New York City. With more than 25 years of experience in real estate development, business management, leasing, retail operations, marketing, finance and accounting combined with an architectural design, planning and construction background, Mr. Genovese has created world class, timeless mixed-use environments for live, work, play and shopping that are economically viable for long-term ownership horizons. Prior to Westfield, he was executive vice president of development for Macerich for 14 years heading up the development, design, construction and tenant coordination functions. Before that Mr. Genovese was senior vice president of real estate for Equity Properties and Development Company, a retail management and development company owned by Sam Zell, chairman of Equity Group Investments. Mr. Genovese has served ICSC as an active volunteer involved in such projects as chairman of the CenterBuild Conference, dean of the School of Development, Design and Construction at the University of Shopping Centers and instructor at ICSC Schools. Mr. Genovese serves on the Board of Overseers for the College of Architecture of the Illinois Institute of Technology and previously served on the board of directors for the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. He holds a master's degree in business administration from Northwestern University, and a bachelor of architecture degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology, College of Architecture.
Gordon T. "Skip" Greeby, Jr., P.E., CRX, CDP
Mr. Greeby brings to Woodcliff an extensive network of professionals specializing in project management, development management, and tenant coordination. He is a licensed Professional Engineer registered in Illinois. Mr. Greeby is founder and chairman of the Greeby Companies, Inc., based in Chicago with offices in Lake Bluff, Ill., Boston, Orlando, Atlanta and Los Angeles. Mr. Greeby works with a circle of highly experienced construction professionals located in about three-dozen major metropolitan areas throughout the United States providing project management, tenant coordination, and other owner’s representative services for the site analysis, team assembly, design and construction of more than 400 million square feet of retail, high-rise office, corporate headquarters and industrial development. Prior to founding the Greeby Companies, he served for nine years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was an instructor in the department of engineering at the United States Military Academy at West Point. A former ICSC trustee and chair of the ICSC Professional Development Committee of the ICSC Board of Trustees, he has served as chair of the ICSC U.S. Design and Development Awards Committee, as an instructor for ICSC Schools all over the world, as a dean of the School of Development, Design and Construction at the ICSC University of Shopping Centers, as co-chair of both, charter ICSC Certified Development, Design and Construction (CDP) Admissions and Governing Committee and charter Certified Retail Property Executive (CRX) Admissions and Governing Committee, and as chairman of the CenterBuild Conference. He has also been an instructor at CoreNet Global. He is a recipient of the ICSC Trustees Distinguished Service Award. He received his bachelor of science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He also received two master of science degrees in civil engineering—one in construction management and the other in soil mechanics—both from Stanford University.
Debra Hazel
If you are seeking to redefine your corporate communications strategies, devise a public relations program or hold a news conference for a project launch, Ms. Hazel can handle the assignment for you while collaborating with the Woodcliff team. Ms. Hazel is the founder and principal of North Las Vegas-based Debra Hazel Communications, a media specialist with a focus on international retail and commercial real estate. There she works with clients around the globe while continuing to write about the retail real estate industry for various publications. She employs specialized knowledge and relationships with media to provide her corporate clients with a global business perspective on their communications, and is frequently called upon by other firms in need of her expertise. Among her current and past clients in retail and real estate are Starwood Retail Partners, the Massimo Group, Fung Business Intelligence Centre, Faith Hope Consolo/Douglas Elliman Real Estate Retail Group, CI Design, Stanbery Development, First American Title, the Breton Group, Primestor, Nakheel Shopping Malls, Reed Midem and NEST International. Prior to her present role, she shouldered nearly two decades of reporting and analyzing the expansion of chain retail and shopping center formats for U.S. trade magazine Chain Store Age, and served as editor and later editor-at-large for ICSC's monthly magazine Shopping Centers Today. She continues to write and provide industry analyses for various leading trades. She is the author of ICSC’s book Mixed-Use Development: The Impact of Retail on a Changing Landscape. She edited ICSC’s textbook for design and construction professionals and a guide to urban development, as well as articles for MAPIC’s Preview magazine, Chain Store Age, Real Estate Forum, The Mann Report and GlobeSt.com’s Counter Culture blog. She is also the author of Around the World in 80 Malls, a blog that showcases her international real estate expertise. Ms. Hazel was named to Otso's 2022 Women of Commercial Real Estate’s most influential women owners, dealmakers, creators and innovators in commercial real estate. She was graduated from Long Island University where she received dual majors, a bachelor of arts degree in journalism and a bachelor of arts degree in English with a minor in music.
Kenneth S. Lamy, CRRP, CRX
Mr. Lamy can offer Woodcliff clients various financial management services including examinations of customized retail sales and lease compliance (tenant sales audits, revenue share and data verification), ancillary revenue (specialty leasing), restaurant financial analyses, and retail property rent/sales analytics. As an added benefit, Woodcliff clients can access EXETER™ Retail DataHub, a technology platform that aggregates key retail real estate data and provides benchmark reports by MSA, helps automate retail tenant sales reporting and delivers store, property and portfolio-level reports to landlords. Mr. Lamy is the founder, president and CEO of New Orleans, Louisiana-based The Lamy Group, Ltd., and DataPoint International, LLC. As a subject matter expert on the financial aspects of retail leases, Mr. Lamy has been admitted as an expert witness in court proceedings. He holds ICSC’s Certified Retail Real Estate Professional (CRRP) and Certified Retail Property Executive (CRX) designations. As a devoted ICSC volunteer, he received ICSC’s prestigious Trustees Distinguished Service Award where he continues to serve the marketplaces industry as co-chair of the CRRP admissions and governing committee and has served as an ICSC Ambassador, ICSC faculty member including dean of ICSC University of Shopping Centers, Louisiana state director and government relations chair. He has also volunteered for the National Association of Real Estate Companies (NAREC), Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), Urban Land Institute (ULI), and National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT). Mr. Lamy graduated magna cum laude from St. Edward's University and earned his master of business administration degree from Tulane University, where he later served on the advisory board for its executive education program. He has also developed curriculum and taught for the University of Colorado—Boulder Leeds School of Business Real Estate Center.
Steven Levy
Mr. Levy can offer Woodcliff retailer clients his broad experience involving retail tenant representation with emphasis on value-oriented retailers and factory outlet retailers. In 1998, Mr. Levy founded Levy Commercial Realty, LLC, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, serving as the principal broker and chief manager. His areas of concentration include retail/restaurant tenant representation and site selection, real estate investments, consulting services, and developing and implementing real estate strategies for local and regional operators to globally recognized brands operating nationally and internationally. His involvement includes strategic planning and implementation of national and international rollouts of new retail concepts, and leasing on behalf of the landlords. Mr. Levy also offers consulting services, such as property evaluation, negotiation, transaction management, and lease workouts. In his tenant representation role, Mr. Levy has developed working relationships with some of the most prominent retail property landlords, including Simon, Westfield, Taubman Centers, Boston Properties, General Growth Properties, Tishman Speyer, and Macerich. Mr. Levy also has broad retail experience with airport and transit facilities and has worked on expansions of airport stores in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT), and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). He has worked on retailer expansions in key international markets, such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Mexico and Canada, in addition to the United States. Prior to Levy Commercial Realty, Mr. Levy was an attorney with Memphis-based Borod & Kramer, P.C., where he focused on commercial real estate as well as complex civil litigation, and before that he was the principal broker and vice president of Olswanger & Michel, Inc. Mr. Levy is a licensed attorney in the State of Tennessee and was admitted to the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Federal District Courts of the United States, the City of Memphis and Shelby County Courts. He was graduated magna cum laude with his doctorate of jurisprudence degree from the University of Memphis School of Law, and received his bachelor of arts degree from Vanderbilt University following his education from Leeds University in Leeds, United Kingdom.
Gregory T. Maloney, CRX, CSM
Mr. Maloney is the CEO of Lauderdale by the Sea, Florida-based GTM Associates, LLC, where he serves as a retail advisor to investors, developers, asset managers, lenders, special servicers and bondholders. His specialty includes regional enclosed mall makeovers, lifestyle centers and mixed-use assets. Until recently, he served as president and CEO of JLL Americas Retail, a unit of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated, a global commercial real estate services company. In that capacity, Mr. Maloney delivered management, leasing, marketing, development, tenant representation and strategic consulting services to clients of the firm. During his two-decade tenure, he directed more than 15 company acquisitions including Shelter Bay Retail Group, Starwood Retail Partners, Ivanhoé Cambridge and Poag Shopping Centers, accounting for more than $100-million of top line revenue for JLL. Additional responsibilities included receivership practice for all asset types, including office, industrial, retail, hotel, undeveloped land, multifamily, healthcare, and senior housing where he acted as receiver for more than 175 properties, and, in some cases, helped dispose of the assets. Prior to JLL, Mr. Maloney held significant positions with ERE Yarmouth Retail, Inc., Compass Retail (a subsidiary of Equitable Real Estate Management, Inc.), Equity Properties and Development Company, Homart Development Company and Sears Roebuck & Company. He has been an active volunteer for ULI’s Commercial and Retail Development Council (CRC), and ICSC, where in 2015, he was elected to the prestigious ICSC board of trustees after earning his Certified Retail Property Executive (CRX) and Certified Shopping Center Manager (CSM) designations and serving as a faculty member. He earned his bachelor of science degree from Milton College in Milton, Wisconsin.
James E. Matanky, CRRP, CRX, CLS, CDP, CSM, CMD
Mr. Matanky brings to Woodcliff expertise on open-air property potential assessment, and development and redevelopment services, such as site and feasibility studies, planning, zoning, and municipal code compliance. Mr. Matanky is currently chief executive officer of Chicago-based Matanky Realty Group and heads the development and brokerage arms of the company. The company employs experts in development, construction, marketing, management, law, accounting, insurance and acquisition services working on Matanky-owned properties and for third-party fee management. The company also provides retailer practices training and brokerage representation for retailers. Mr. Matanky has been involved with ICSC's Illinois program planning committee, has chaired the ICSC North American Ambassador program, has served as ICSC Midwest divisional operations chairman, has volunteered for ICSC Global Public Policy through its congressional contacts initiative in Washington, D.C., and Illinois state lobbying and P3 (Public-Private-Partnership) Retail program. He regularly participates as a panelist for the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and has been chairman of the City of Chicago Special Service Area (SSA) #13 Stockyards Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council. He participates in the advisory panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He has worked with the City of Chicago as a mentor for retail redevelopment and has served on the Chicago Building Department Commissioner’s advisory panel. He was a board member of the Chicago Association of Neighborhood Development Organizations and headed their real estate committee, and was an officer of the West Humboldt Park Family & Community Development Council. Mr. Matanky was honored as the Chicago Neighborhood Developer of the Year twice for his work in Chicago’s underserved communities. He was also the recipient of the Chicago Good Neighbor Award for his development on the West Side, which is one of the three major sections of Cook County's Chicago hub. He is vice president of the Jewish Community Center of Chicago, and he serves on the board of governors of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a multidisciplinary institution of higher learning and research. Mr. Matanky received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the College of Law at the University of Illinois. He was graduated with honors from the University of Illinois with degrees in finance, accounting and law, and earned an honors graduate degree in law from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.
Alan B. McKeon
Mr. McKeon joined Alexander Babbage, Inc. as president and chief executive officer in 2004 and continues to head the highly regarded global research firm, which is based in Atlanta. Since joining the company, Mr. McKeon has led the acquisition of Stillerman Jones & Co., the oldest research company specializing in retail real estate and created TruTrade®, a location-based analytics SaaS platform that uses massive mobile data to determine the true drivers of geographic and retail productivity. Mr. McKeon has also expanded the company’s capabilities beyond retail and shopping centers to include arts and entertainment, food service, banking and financial, health care, and major league sports. Mr. McKeon and his team offer Woodcliff clients a broad spectrum of research and analytics services for investors, lenders, developers, marketers and retailers, in which his team provides decision-making tools to maximize the net operating income of retail real estate. Mr. McKeon started his career in brand research with the Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) in the United Kingdom and later managed Nielsen’s (NYSE: NLSN) retail space analytics throughout Europe before coming to the U.S. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and management science with honors from the University of Manchester, England. Mr. McKeon is a member of ICSC, the member-based organization for the advancement of marketplaces where he has served as a frequent speaker at ICSC industry conferences and has served on the faculty of the ICSC University of Shopping Centers previously held at the campus of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the prestigious board of directors of the Alliance Theatre housed in Atlanta’s Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center.
Jack Nugent, CRRP
Mr. Nugent and his associates bring lease accounting and examination expertise to Woodcliff clients who are in need of conducting thorough due diligence prior to a disposition, or those who need due diligence prior to an acquisition or simply for ongoing asset management purposes. He can direct the lease administration functions that a shopping center owner may want to outsource. Mr. Nugent has been in the commercial real estate industry since 1987. He is presently a director for NEWMARK’s Global Managed Services division, which provides acquisition due diligence, lease audit and a wide array of back-office accounting and lease administration-related functions. Newmark Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NMRK) is a commercial real estate advisory and services firm headquartered in New York City. Previously he served as director for Meridian Realty Consultants, Inc. of Philadelphia responsible for the operations of its Greater Atlanta office, where his major focuses were on due diligence, lease audit and review, property transitioning, and property management consulting. He has previously served as controller for Atlanta-based Faison & Associates, LLC, director of lease accounting for the management company of DeBartolo Realty Corporation prior to its merger with Simon Properties Group, and principal at Lashner, Rush & Associates. Mr. Nugent has worked with many of the leading owners and managers of commercial real estate in the United States on long-term consulting assignments, providing expert testimony on common area maintenance administration and billing and related issues involving industry standard practices. He has served on the board of directors of the Atlanta chapter of the National Association of Real Estate Companies (NAREC) and served as the national NAREC financial management committee chairperson involved in such areas as cash flow forecasting and management, budget process streamlining, software alternatives and updates, risk management, lease transaction analysis, organizational restructuring, human capital solutions, cost controls and other topics of interest to real estate financial professionals. He is a member of the ICSC faculty where he has taught at ICSC Schools, the University of Shopping Centers, and ICSC's Finance for Non-Financial Professionals program. He was also the visiting professor at the China Institute for Retail Real Estate Education (CIRREE) in Shanghai. He is a graduate of Temple University with a degree in accounting, and is a certified public accountant.
Bill Rose, CRX, CSM
Mr. Rose is senior managing director of Institutional Property Advisors, a division Marcus & Millichap, Inc., where he is responsible for executing strategies relating to selling, buying and financing commercial real estate. Utilizing the strength of the Marcus & Millichap network of more than 80 offices across North America, Mr. Rose can assist Woodcliff clients in maximizing value from selling and acquiring shopping centers and mixed-use properties. His extensive expertise and unique modeling for monetizing potential asset value helps sellers while his relationships with buyers – both independent and institutional investors – is a plus for Woodcliff clients. For more than two decades, Mr. Rose has developed extensive relationships and experience in retail real estate that includes serving as the national director of Marcus & Millichap’s retail group, where he led a service line of 450 investment sales professionals nationwide. Previously, he was a managing director at HFF, Inc. (before being acquired by JLL), where he was active in debt origination, structured finance and investment sales. He also spent 13 years at TrizecHahn as director of development leasing and management. Over his career, he has closed more than $3 billion of real estate transactions. Mr. Rose has been active with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and ICSC, having served as ICSC western division operations chair, ICSC California state director, and ICSC Western Conference chair. He earned his Certified Retail Property Executive (CRX) and Certified Shopping Center Manager (CSM) designations from ICSC. Mr. Rose received his Bachelor of Science degree majoring in real estate and finance from the University of Colorado Boulder and serves on the CU Real Estate Center International Advisory Board.
Michael E. Rulli, CRX, CSM, CMD
Mr. Rulli evaluates underwriting analyses for Woodcliff clients who represent investors and lenders considering an acquisition of retail properties to opine on assigned cap rates and leasing assumptions, and he can qualify pro forma returns based on the period before and after income stabilization. He is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Dallas-based MER Interests, Inc. where he has consulted on such notable mixed-use properties as the Village at Fairview, the Village at Allen and Uptown Village at Cedar Hill in North Texas. Previously, he was chairman and chief executive officer of Coyote Management, LP, an organization with ownership interest in several regional shopping malls in the south central area of the United States. Mr. Rulli has held key positions in the shopping center industry for more than three decades. Formerly, he was with Marathon U.S. Realties, Inc. (MUSRI) as the top executive of its Dallas-based U.S. retail portfolio. MUSRI represented the U.S. interests of North American commercial real estate owner and developer of retail projects and high-rise office buildings, Marathon Realty, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Pacific, Ltd. Prior to MUSRI, Mr. Rulli held a high-level post with the Herring Group, heading up property management, asset management and marketing, and before that he was with the Hahn Company and May Centers. Mr. Rulli, a member of the Texas Real Estate Council, has been active with ICSC throughout his career and served as a trustee of the association, as ICSC state director for North Texas and Oklahoma, and ICSC state operations chairman for North Texas. He also served ICSC on both, the Certified Marketing Director (CMD) Admissions and Governing Committee and the Certified Shopping Center Manager (CSM) Admissions and Governing Committee, chairman of the Maxi Awards and has been a faculty member of ICSC Schools and the University of Shopping Centers. He did his undergraduate and graduate studies at Portland State University where he majored in psychology.
Ronald F. Simkin
Mr. Simkin brings to Woodcliff extensive experience in value-oriented and factory outlet retail experience and contacts. He has 35 years of experience in developing, leasing and management having worked for over 20 years with Belz Enterprises, and is currently the chief executive officer of the Simkin Group headquartered in Germantown, Tennessee. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated the ability to develop a factory outlet shopping center from the predevelopment stage through final leasing. His portfolio with Belz included predevelopment and leasing in seven outlet malls in the United States, one in Canóvanas, Puerto Rico (The Outlets at Route 66 Mall, which was formerly known as Belz Factory Outlet World) and one in partnership with Urban Retail Asia, where he assisted with the leasing of the Shanghai Fashion Center in Shanghai, China. His tenant relationships are extensive and include close to 100 retail chains. He has also built relationships with local governments and stakeholders in Memphis, St. Augustine (Fla.), Las Vegas, Pigeon Forge (Tenn.), Orlando and Webb County, Texas. His developer relationships include a who's who list, such as Simon Premium Outlets, General Growth Properties, Paragon Outlet Partners, Craig Realty Group, AWE Next Fashion Outlets, Taubman Centers, Westfield, Macerich, Kimco Realty Corporation, DDR, Aronov Realty, Horizon Group Properties, Poag Shopping Centers and Tanger Outlets. The latter two comprised a joint venture where Mr. Simkin worked recently with both companies in developing the Tanger Outlets Southaven in Mississippi. Prior to Belz, Mr. Simkin was executive vice president responsible for real estate operations at Toy King Distributors Inc., a retail toy chain based in Orlando, which he helped expand from 12 stores to 76 stores operating under the names Toy King and Toys & Gifts Outlet in the late 1970s and 1980s. Mr. Simkin is a licensed real estate broker in Mississippi and Tennessee, the current president of the non-profit Shelby County Soccer Complex, and vice president of the Council of Developers of Outlet Centers & Retailers (DOC&R), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to meeting the needs of the factory outlet industry. He is active with ICSC and Value Retail News (VRN) as a member of the convention program planning committee.
R. Keith Thompson, CRX, CLS
Mr. Thompson works with Woodcliff shopping center clients seeking to expand their tenant mix from apparel-based to entertainment, dining, hospitality and other contemporary internet-proof uses and services. Woodcliff begins the process with sound research centered on the customer, entertainment and movie theater business, and conducts a void analysis to determine what is needed in the market and what entertainment tenants can be attracted to the project for maximum market draw and income potential. If there’s potential for bringing in a strong cinema, bowling and dining concept, another amusement use or a hotel, Mr. Thompson and his team set out to create the redevelopment plan for the property to maximize its entertainment appeal as well as help draw the appropriate theater entertainment tenant. He can handle details including prospect contact, structure lease terms and tenant improvement allowance, lease negotiation, lease execution, construction and opening. Mr. Thompson’s skills in this area are well known for more than two decades. He started as the key real estate executive overseeing theater expansion of Regal Entertainment and grew the company from 14 to 400 theaters of all types and sizes. Then Mr. Thompson launched his own theater chain in 2001, Phoenix Theaters. He went on to found Hemisphere Property Group in 2011, where he leveraged his theater experience in developing entertainment-oriented properties. Since then, he has added theaters, entertainment and dining to many properties, helping ownership and investors optimize their asset value and improve the viability of their portfolios by transforming retail developments into true mixed-use entertainment centers. He is currently based in Kingsport, Tenn., where he serves as the managing partner of Entertainment Real Estate LLC, as well as a principal at Chrysolite Management Group, a commercial real estate company that represents retailers and landlords. Mr. Thompson has been active in trade associations supporting both the commercial real estate sector as well as the theater exhibiting trade. He served on the ICSC board of trustees and has taught for ICSC’s University of Shopping Centers for many years at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School campus. He graduated from Centre College with a bachelor of science degree in management and economics.
Sarah Vasquez, CRX, CSM, CPC, ARM
Sarah Vasquez is a change-leading executive and business coach with 30+ years of experience. She has a proven track record of building culture, coaching and developing empowered teams, combined with creating organizational structures that maximize profitability across multifamily, retail and other CRE asset classes. She is currently the managing director of SV Management Consulting, LLC, based in Alexandria, Va. Ms. Vasquez began her career as an accountant and progressed to serve as a mall manager, vice president of management, senior vice president, executive vice president and president with well-known companies, such as Lendlease, The Yarmouth Group, Westfield Corporation (now Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield), The Howard Hughes Corporation and District Wharf, a privately-held mixed-use development in Washington, D.C. Her expertise includes setting vision and strategy for management, operations, security, tenant coordination, lease administration and finance. Ms. Vasquez has played a key role in EBITDA growth as well as acquisitions, dispositions and redevelopment strategies. She has been instrumental in connecting dots across all functions and building empowered teams while addressing complex operational, leadership, cultural and strategic challenges to allow Woodcliff clients to achieve measurable results. Ms. Vasquez is credentialed by the International Coaching Federation as a Certified Professional Coach (CPC) and Associate Certified Coach (ACC). As a long-term volunteer, she served on various boards and committees, including the Real Estate Roundtable’s Homeland Security Task Force and its Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee. She earned her Certified Shopping Center Manager (CSM) and Certified Retail Property Executive (CRX) designations through ICSC and her Accredited Residential Manager (ARM) designation through IREM. She received her bachelor of science in finance from Santa Clara University.