James Taylor
ICSC Chairman, 2024 | CEO, Brixmor Property Group, New York, NY, United States
James “Jim” M. Taylor was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Brixmor Property Group in May 2016 and to the company’s Board of Directors in June 2016. Jim brings more than 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry.
Prior to Brixmor, Mr. Taylor served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer for Federal Realty Investment Trust, where he was also responsible for sourcing and evaluating business development and strategic opportunities for Federal Realty’s east coast portfolio and for operational oversight of its southeast portfolio. Before Federal Realty, Mr. Taylor was a Senior Managing Director and the head of real estate investment banking at Eastdil Secured/Wells Fargo. Earlier in his career, Mr. Taylor practiced corporate and securities law at the law firm of Hunton & Williams LLP, with a focus on equity REITs, and worked as a senior accountant for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Mr. Taylor is the Chairman of ICSC and serves on the Executive Board of Nareit. He is also a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI).
Angele Robinson-Gaylord
ICSC Vice Chairman, 2024 | SVP, Store Development Americas, Starbucks Coffee Company, Seattle, WA, United States
Angele Robinson-Gaylord has been helping retailers and developers create and implement strategies to grow and protect their real estate portfolios for over 15 years. Currently, she serves as Senior Vice President, Store Development Americas for Starbucks, leading a management team supporting 17,000+ retail locations in the United States and Canada.
Prior to joining Starbucks, at Rite Aid and IKEA, Angele led Store Development teams that oversaw site acquisition, design, construction and portfolio management for their retail portfolios. She formerly worked at McDonald’s Corporation in the U.S. Restaurant Development division, where she supported real estate issues for existing restaurants.
Before McDonald’s, Angele practiced law for over fifteen years in litigation and commercial real estate. Angele holds a B.A. in political science from Stanford University and a J.D. from George Washington University School of Law. She is also a proud 2009 graduate of Project REAP, a market-driven education and professional development program that serves as a bridge between talented minority professionals and commercial real estate companies looking for talent. Angele serves on the board for ICSC, the ICSC Foundation, Project REAP and Success Academy.
Andrea Drasites
Senior Managing Director, Real Estate Group, Blackstone, New York, NY, United States
In her role as Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate Group at Blackstone, Ms. Drasites is responsible for the asset management and oversight of retail, gaming, digital infrastructure, and
tradeshow investments in the US including ShopCore, Edens, QTS, Phoenix Towers and International Market Centers. Prior to joining Blackstone, Ms. Drasites was responsible for asset management, acquisitions, and dispositions at Equity One, Inc. She began her real estate career at Woolbright Development.
Ms. Drasites received a BA in International Business from Rollins College and an MBA from the University of Florida. Ms. Drasites is a leader in the Blackstone Diversity & Inclusion Task Force and a member of the University of Florida’s Real Estate Advisory Board as well as the ICSC Board of Trustees and Executive Board. She is a Founding Member of the Board of Core Giving.
David Henry
Co-Founder, Peaceable Street Capital, Greenwich, CT, United States
David B. Henry is the retired Vice Chairman (2001–2016) and CEO (2009–2016) of Kimco Realty Corporation, a NYSE REIT that is North America’s largest publicly traded owner and operator of open-air shopping centers. Prior, Mr. Henry was Senior Vice President & Chief Investment Officer at GE Capital Real Estate, where he spent 23 years, responsible for pension advisory activities and investment policies and strategies in the U.S. and international markets. He was also chairman of the Investment Committee and a member of the Credit Committee.
Mr. Henry graduated from Bucknell University with a B.S. in Business Administration and received his M.B.A. from the University of Miami. He currently serves on the boards of Healthpeak Properties, Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Starwood Real Estate Income Trust, and Fairfield County Bank. He has served on the boards of VEREIT, Inc., from September 2015 to November 2021, and Columbia Property Trust from January 2016 to December 2021.
Mr. Henry is the Co-Founder of Peaceable Street Capital, a preferred equity lender for income-producing commercial real estate properties. He served as the 2011–2012 Chairman of ICSC and is a former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of NAREIT and a former member of the Executive Board of the Real Estate Roundtable. Mr. Henry received NAREIT’s 2016 Edward H. Linde Industry Leadership Award and currently serves on the real estate boards of New York University, Bucknell University, Baruch College, ALTO Real Estate Funds, Grupo Patio, Orangewood Partners, and Pine Tree, LLC.
David G. Krueger
SVP, Growth and Development, ULTA Beauty, Inc., Bolingbrook, IL, United States
David Krueger is Senior Vice President of Growth and Development at Ulta Beauty, the largest beauty retailer in the United States with more than 1,350 stores, 350 Ulta Beauty at Target shops and 14 million square feet of retail. In his role, Mr. Krueger is responsible for leading Ulta Beauty’s store development strategy, site selection, lease negotiation, construction, remodeling, maintenance, energy management and corporate real estate planning. Prior to joining Ulta Beauty, Mr. Krueger was Vice President of Real Estate at Carter’s and Senior Vice President of Corporate Real Estate at Calere's (Brown Shoe Company).
Mr. Krueger received his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his MBA from Cardinal Stritch University.
Marty Mayer
President & CEO, Stirling Properties, Covington, Louisiana
Marty Mayer joined Stirling Properties in 1986 and has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since 2002. Under his leadership, Stirling Properties, located in the Gulf South, has continually grown as one of the most diversified full-service commercial real estate companies in the country.
Mr. Mayer is affiliated with numerous industry, business and charitable organizations, as well as economic development and entrepreneurial movements across local, regional and national levels. He has served in many roles for ICSC, including Chairman of PAC, Vice President of Southern Development, Special Committee on Public Policy, and Chairman of the Open-Air Center Committee. He has also served on ULI’s Small Scale Development Council–Black Flight and Silver Flight as past Chairman.
Mr. Mayer holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and an MBA in finance from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Kenton H. McKeehan
Chief Investment Officer, Big V Property Group, Charlotte, NC, United States
Kenton McKeehan is the Chief Investment Officer of Big V Property Group. Mr. McKeehan joined the company as Chief Revenue Officer in August 2021. Prior to Big V Property Group, Mr. McKeehan oversaw Hines’ retail activities worldwide including acquisition, disposition, retail and mixed-use development, redevelopment and asset management. Mr. McKeehan also worked for MG Herring and LaSalle Partners overseeing retail leasing activities and spent time working for himself as a developer, restaurant consultant and leasing advisor.
Mr. McKeehan has experience across all retail asset classes including grocery-anchored centers, power centers, lifestyle centers, malls and complex mixed-use assets on behalf of some of the largest institutions in the world.
Jodie W. McLean
CEO, EDENS, Washington, DC, United States
Jodie W. McLean is Chief Executive Officer of EDENS, one of the nation’s leading private owners, operators and developers of retail real estate. With a tenure of more than 25 years, she has been a key player in EDENS’ growth and expansion to its current marketplace leadership, capitalized by blue chip investors and assets valued at $6.5 billion.
McLean is responsible for EDENS’ strategy to move the portfolio to major urban centers and first-ring suburbs, creating a portfolio of assets that are the center of community life. She was named Chief Investment Officer in 1997, President in 2002 and CEO in 2015. Overall, she has been responsible for the development, redevelopment, acquisition and disposition of more than $20 billion in retail assets.
McLean serves on several boards, including Cushman & Wakefield, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Wofford College and Milhaus. She is also a Trustee of ICSC, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and The Real Estate Round Table. McLean is a member of the Liberty Fellowship (Aspen Institute), Class of 2009. A native of Chicago, IL, Jodie McLean holds a B.S. in Finance and Management from the Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, and a degree from South Carolina Honors College.
Glenn Rufrano
ICSC Past Chairman, 2024 | Former CEO, VEREIT | Chairman, ICSC Foundation, New York, NY, United States
Mr. Rufrano was most recently Chief Executive Officer of VEREIT, prior to its merger with Realty Income in November 2021. While at VEREIT, Mr. Rufrano reconstituted the Board of Directors, formalized the VEREIT management team and introduced a business plan to guide the Company’s strategy.
Prior to VEREIT, Mr. Rufrano served as the Chairman and CEO of O’Connor Capital Partners and was among the founders of O’Connor in 1983. During his career, Mr. Rufrano also served as President and CEO of Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., CEO of Centro Properties Group, an Australian public LPT and as CEO of Centro Properties Group U.S.
Mr. Rufrano has served on the Board of Directors for Ventas, Inc.; Trizec Properties, Inc.; Criimi Mae Inc.; and General Growth Properties. He currently serves on the advisory boards at NYU’s Real Estate Institute and at The Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute Advisory Board at Baruch College. Mr. Rufrano currently serves on the Dean’s Council for the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts’ Advisory Board of Governors. He is a former trustee of the Urban Land Institute. He also serves on the Board of New Alternatives for Children. Mr. Rufrano earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University and Master of Science in Management and Real Estate from Florida International University.
Michael J. Shanahan
SVP, Real Estate, Construction, Store Planning, Store Design & Innovation, Burlington Stores Inc., Burlington, NJ, United States
Michael J. Shanahan is the Senior Vice President of Real Estate, Construction, Store Planning, Store Design & Innovation for Burlington Stores, Inc., since May 2022. He formerly served as the Senior Vice President of Real Estate, Construction and Lease Administration. Prior to his roles as SVP, he served as Vice President of Real Estate from 2009 to March 2019. From 2000 to 2008, Mr. Shanahan held various leadership roles in Real Estate, Construction and Facilities. He started his career at Burlington Stores in Operations where he held various positions of increasing responsibility before becoming part of the Store Development Team. In addition to his ICSC affiliation, Mr. Shanahan personally serves on the board of Run for ALD, Inc., a non-profit 501c3 that has donated over $265,000 to the Kennedy Krieger Institute for research efforts.
Arturo Sneider, CRX, CLS
Co-Founder & CEO, Primestor Development, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, United States
Arturo Sneider is the founding partner/CEO of Primestor Development, Inc. His responsibilities include acquisitions, project inception and design, capital structuring and corporate management. With a strong focus on largely underserved communities, Primestor’s diverse portfolio has maintained an approximate ninety-five percent occupancy rate in approximately eighty projects.
Since 1990, Mr. Sneider has acquired and transacted in dozens of properties and projects located in CA, IL, NV, FL and AZ, ranging in size and costs from under $1MM to over $100MM, with an aggregate cost basis of approximately seven hundred and fifty million dollars.
Mr. Sneider is a member of YPO, Board Member/Director of the LA County Capital Asset Leasing Corporation. He has been an advisor to the city of LA’s Economic Development Dept. as well as a board member of the city’s Development Industry Advisory Council. Mr. Sneider was born in Mexico City and resides in Los Angeles.
John (J.P.) Suarez
Former EVP, Chief Administration Officer & Regional CEO, Canada, Chile and Massmart, Walmart International, Bentonville, AR
JP Suarez retired from Walmart where he acted as the EVP, Chief Administration Officer and Regional CEO, Chile and Massmart for Walmart International. JP led the teams responsible for Technology, Supply Chain, Global Leverage and Supplier Relationship Management. He also served on the board of Massmart, Walmart’s publicly held subsidiary in South Africa. Prior to this role, JP was the President of Walmart’s Realty Division and was responsible for leading all of Walmart’s Realty functions, including site selection, prototype design, construction, store maintenance, fixture and equipment procurement and portfolio management. JP has also been responsible for Business Development in Walmart’s International Division and looked after M&A activities, real estate, and global format development. He has also been the General Counsel for Walmart International and U.S. Sam’s Club and was the SVP and Chief Compliance Officer and served as the interim CEO for Walmart Canada. JP served five years as a board member on the University of Pennsylvania Law School Board of Overseers.
JP’s previous experience includes serving as President Bush’s Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance at the EPA and as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey. He was also the Director of N.J. Division of Gaming, where he oversaw New Jersey’s casino industry. JP has a B.A. in English and Drama from Tufts University, as well as a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School where he served as an Articles Editor for the Law Review. JP is married and has three children.