In December, ICSC announced its latest 4 Under 40 — an annual recognition honoring individuals whose leadership, volunteerism and mentorship are shaping the future of the Marketplaces Industry. United by a passion for both the business and the people behind it, these honorees offer a glimpse of what’s next for ICSC and the broader community. Meet the honorees:
Billy Burke
Director, Eastdil Secured
Commercial real estate wasn’t something that was on Billy Burke’s radar when he was a finance student at the University of Colorado Boulder. Yet at 37, Burke already has played a key role in the execution of more than $10 billion in retail and mixed-use commercial real estate transactions, including equity sales, financings and recapitalizations.
READ THE FULL C+CT PROFILE: Billy Burke Helps Power Some of Retail’s Most Complex Deals
Photo courtesy of Eastdil Secured
Katie Grissom
Global Head of Retail Investment, Nuveen Real Estate
Katie Grissom’s role at Nuveen Real Estate wouldn’t shock anyone who knew her growing up. Her father, whom she characterized as entrepreneurial, routinely gathered Grissom and her sister Saturdays to teach finance. Among discussions on the weighted average cost of capital, returns basics and other topics, the daughters were asked to evaluate real businesses, debate their merits and decide whether to invest portions of their weekly allowances in individual stocks. “At the time, I didn’t fully appreciate what he was teaching us but looking back, those conversations fundamentally shaped how I think about risk, value and long term decision making,” recalled Grissom.
READ THE FULL C+CT PROFILE: How Katie Grissom’s Early Finance Lessons Paved the Way to Global Retail Leadership at Nuveen Real Estate
Photo courtesy of Katie Grissom
Veronica Kamara
Partner, KLNB
Veronica Kamara’s family of seven was squeezed into a two-bedroom condo, but when her dad became a partner at his law firm and her mom’s business took off, they finally started looking for a new home. The residential broker made an impression on the 9-year-old. “I just thought the broker was so cool,” said Kamara. “That moment became such a core memory for me.” She loved the idea of matching people with the right spaces and the fact that a physical structure could change someone’s life.
Since starting at KLNB in Tysons, Virginia, in 2012, Kamara has executed more than 500 leasing and sales transactions, and she became the firm’s first partner who is a person of color — both feats that surely would have impressed her 9-year-old self.
READ THE FULL C+CT PROFILE: Running Her Own Race: Veronica Kamara’s Ascent in Commercial Real Estate
Photo courtesy of Veronica Kamara
Stephanie McGowan
Managing Director, Blackstone
Stephanie McGowan has risen through the ranks from entry-level analyst at Blackstone to a real estate group managing director overseeing U.S. retail and office investments for the alternative asset management giant. The New York-based executive says it all began when someone took an interest in her career back when she was a student at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “I started college thinking I would go into public policy or law, but then someone suggested that I apply to the business school,” McGowan recalled. “I reflect on that moment a lot. If I hadn’t had that exposure early on, I would never have ended up where I am and had this incredibly fulfilling career journey.”
READ THE FULL C+CT PROFILE: Stephanie McGowan Shapes Blackstone’s Bet on Necessity Retail
Photo courtesy of Stephanie McGowan
—Beth Mattson-Teig, Joe Gose, Rebecca Meiser and Joel Groover