CEO
The Science Project
Jeremy has been at the forefront of the retail industry for the last 15 years. He has helped to guide companies including Nike, Calvin Klein, and Simon Malls through the ever challenging retail landscape. Currently the CEO and Chief Strategist of The Science Project, he has been
featured as an expert in the future of retail by publications like WWD, Business of Fashion, and NPR. Jeremy is a former high school science teacher -who is responsible for the bulk of the NYC High School environmental science curriculum. Jeremy has shared his deep knowledge of retail at conference including ICSC RECon Global Shop, and CES.
Chief Operating Officer -Retail
Sterling Organization
Bob Dake serves as Chief Operating Officer of Retail for Sterling Organization. Mr. Dake is responsible for and oversees the firm’s retail real estate operating assets. He leads the leasing, lease administration, asset management, property management, property marketing, accounting and construction teams for a growing portfolio
of retail real estate assets. Mr. Dake sits on all of the firm’s retail fund Investment Committees. Prior to joining Sterling, Mr. Dake served as Chief Operating Officer at ShopOne and was responsible for leading all operational matters, including leasing, property management, construction, marketing, and corporate services. Mr. Dake also served as Executive Vice President of Leasing for ShopOne prior to his promotion to COO. Mr. Dake has also held senior positions at Brixmor Property Group (NYSE: BRX) and Equity One, Inc. As VP of National Accounts at Brixmor, he managed relationships and leasing activities with major retailers across the firm’s national portfolio.
Mr. Dake is a Trustee of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and serves on the organization’s New York Next Generation committee. In 2020, Mr. Dake was recognized as one of ICSC’s 4 under 40 honorees. Mr. Dake holds a BA from Miami University of Ohio and a Certificate in Real Estate Finance and Investment from NYU, Schack Institute of Real Estate.
Director of Site Location
Ahold Delhaize
Currently the Director of Location Research for Ahold Delhaize USA, which is comprised of the Site Location, Competitive Intelligence, GIS and Portfolio Strategy teams. Our focus is delivering the retail storing strategy that
generates the highest return on capital. Our team also tracks and distributes the competitive info for strategy decisions, maintain a portfolio model to guide the best capital expenditure on existing locations and supply geographical insights and
solutions. We utilize data, analytics, and systems to deliver fact-based decisions. Prior to joining Ahold Delhaize in 2002, Christian worked 10 years in consumer research and site location at Shaw’s supermarkets. In his free time, you can find Christian in the woods mountain biking or looking for his lost golf balls around his home in Mooresville, NC.
Vice President of Research
Simon
Clay Hallman is the Vice President of Real Estate Research for Simon Property Group. Simon, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is an S&P 100 company and the largest owner of shopping centers in the United States.
Clay has been with Simon for over 12 years and in his current role supports leasing and development for all of Simon's U.S. assets, including Regional Malls, Premium Outlets and Mills centers. Prior to joining Simon, Clay worked in Area Research at May Company Department Stores in St. Louis. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Wittenberg University and a master’s degree from Miami University (Ohio). Clay is currently a member of the Urban Land Institute, Real Estate Roundtable, International Council of Shopping Centers, and ICSC's North American Research Task Force.
Senior Advisor
Trinity Commercial Group
Clint joined Trinity Commercial Group (TCG) and opened TCG’s 4th Florida office in Jacksonville, FL in April 2023 where he will lead tenant representation across North Florida. Prior to joining TCG, Clint spent nearly 20 years in various corporate commercial real estate roles leading
market strategy and expansion, site selection, lease negotiation, design and construction, asset management, and real estate accounting and finance. Clint commenced his real estate career in 2005 when he joined Regency Centers in a real estate accounting position where he spent 8 years learning grocery-anchored real estate. For the last decade, Clint has led real estate for regional grocers such as Southeastern Grocers (Winn-Dixie) and Earth Fare. Most recently, Clint executed Florida expansion under HCA as Vice President of Real Estate for MD Now Urgent Care, Florida’s largest and fastest-growing urgent care provider, and recently transitioned to HCA’s master broker for urgent care across Florida.
Vice President of Data Sales
Walgreens
David is an energetic, partner-focused executive with industry-recognized expertise in market research and analytics for a multibillion-dollar enterprise and breadth of experience spanning retail, real estate, pharmacy, and healthcare.
David is a growth strategist who builds and strengthens applied advanced analytics and modeling capabilities to drive purposeful, profitable expansion; facilitate new alliances with data-driven evidence; and steer fully aligned planning processes. David is a talent champion and mentor committed to creating workplace cultures of accountability, advancement, and success.
Analytics & Insights Leader -VP of Research
Brixmor
Leading research efforts on behalf of Brixmor's leasing, transactions and finance teams, David has developed a growing program that provides systems and resources across the company. Regularly testing and developing tools to be
used to advance Brixmor's core tenets, David is a retail real estate research leader who seeks to provide first-to-market and best-in-class capabilities & resources to generate revenue and improve the bottom line.
Head of Advisory Services
MTN Retail Advisors/Creditntell
Doug Munson founded MTN Retail Advisors in 2004 and served as President over the past 18 years and through MTN's recent acquisition by Creditnell in November 2022. Doug's current role is Head of Advisory Services at Creditnell. Doug has specialized experience in identifying and validating potential retail location sites, including
assessing the overall viability of retail shopping centers. He began his grocery career in 1986, working at the store level in various capacities. In 1995, Doug was recruited into Smith's Food's Site Location/Real Estate department where he developed skills in locating and validating supermarket locations. In 2000, Doug was recruited by Giant Food Stores as Director of Site Location, where he helped develop real estate strategy in Pennsylvania and Maryland for the Giant banner. In 2003, he then joined Phillips Edison & Company as a Development Director, leveraging his knowledge of real estate strategy from the developer perspective. In his role as Head of Advisory Services, Doug continues his role in facilitating site location services to numerous retailers, landlords and instituional investors.
Doug holds a Bachelors of Science degree and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Utah and is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and National Grocers Association.
Head of Product Innovation & Marketing
Creditntell
As Head of Product Innovation & Marketing, Gregg’s focus is to provide enhanced strategic insights into industry trends, market dynamics, and consumer shopping behavior leveraging best-in-class data and analytics. Prior to his current role, Gregg spent 15 years at The Shopping Center Group
creating and implement strategies for organizational structure and human capital, data, analytics, social platforms, website, GIS, mobile technology and branding. Prior roles include 15 years in restaurant operations, consulting, marketing and site selection, including owning and operating a quick-casual restaurant group in Orlando, Florida. A graduate of Boston University with a degree in Business Management, he received his MBA from the University of Florida (Go Gators!). Gregg, and his wife Elena, are the proud parents of two amazing boys.
Head of Product Development
MTN Retail Advisors/Creditntell
In this role, Jake Johnson will focus his efforts on supporting current tools, reports and processes that assist clients in decisions related to grocery anchored development, acquisitions, and investment. Further, he will also work
directly with MTN's internal team in building real estate strategy for its grocery retailers and strategy for the grocery-anchor investment community. Johnson has 12 years’ experience building real estate strategy for grocery retailers and strategy for the grocery-anchor investment community, previously serving in leadership roles at Target, Southeast Grocers (Winn-Dixie) and BJ's Wholesale.
Associate
CBRE
Jessica Herrera was born and raised in El Paso, Texas and earned her Bachelor's degree in Government from the University of Texas at Austin and her Master's degree in Business Administration with a concentration in International Business from the University of Texas at El Paso. In her previous role, she was the Director of Economic
Development for the City of El Paso. Jessica recently transitioned in the fall of 2021 and now serves as an Associate in CBRE’s El Paso office and is focused on sales and leasing of commercial properties. Over the past 15 years, she has worked in economic development at the state, city and international level(s) and has experience and knowledge of public-private partnerships, real estate, redevelopment, and business recruitment and retention.
President/Owner
Gravitec Development
Jim Puffer is the founder and owner of Gravitec development, Inc. He has been involved in supermarket research for over 40 years and has been the author of a variety of professional papers, as well as a guest speaker at
a number of professional groups. He organized and built the “Store Location Conference”, now called the “Gravisite” Conference. His educational background includes a B.A. in Psychology, and his graduate studies focused on Applied Mathematics, with particular interest in the convergence of non-linear matrices.
Owner, JSylvia Advisory Services
James J. Sylvia (Jim) is a proven 35+ -year real estate executive and is recognized as an industry leader in the retail and supermarket sectors. He is currently the owner of JSylvia Advisory Services, a strategic consulting company specializing in real estate development,
portfolio planning, mergers & acquisitions, and general management. Jim is an investor/owner of several real estate development and business ventures and is an Independent Director of ShopOne Centers, a private shopping center REIT based in New York. He also sits on the Advisory Board of Stop and Compare, a small chain of grocery stores serving urban neighborhoods in the Boston metropolitan area. Prior to launching his consulting and real estate ventures in early 2018, Jim was the Real Estate and Development Officer for Ahold USA, a market leading $28B supermarket and e-commerce company that operated over 800 supermarkets, 200 fuel facilities and 200 grocery pick-up points primarily located in the eastern US. Jim also led the real estate and development projects for Peapod, Ahold’s ecommerce arm which was the nation’s leading online grocery shopping and delivery service.
Jim had been with the Ahold USA companies for over 23 years and was responsible for their long-term real estate strategy and geographic expansion. He led key major supermarket chain acquisitions and managed the Company’s real estate portfolio which included over 60 million square feet of commercial space with 1,200 third-party leases. Jim also managed all in-store, 3 rd party, revenue-generating ventures such as banking, restaurants, and kiosks. Jim was responsible for the execution of an annual capital budget of over $1 Billion spread across 300 major projects per year. His leadership responsibilities included the development and management of a fully vertical real estate team of over 225 people in the functional areas of Location Research/Analytics, Construction, Format, Store Design, Engineering and Energy Management. Jim also completed a major restructuring of the Purchasing group within Ahold USA responsible for negotiating the contracts for all support services for the Company. This group had an annual operating budget of over $3B. From 2014 to 2017, Jim was instrumental in launching Ahold USA’s new venture group, Fresh Formats LLC. This separately dedicated, entrepreneurial team was responsible for developing new store formats in the US. During this time, Jim led the development and opening of several test concept stores including an entirely new urban, small format brand called bfresh, which has led to further generations of small formats by Ahold - Delhaize including the Heirloom Markets now open in Philadelphia. Jim has served or held leadership positions in numerous real estate industry groups and is a frequent speaker and panelist at industry events including ICSC conferences and private real estate company programs. Jim has also been a guest lecturer at the Harvard Business School, the Yale School of Management and the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation addressing topics ranging from store network strategy to trends in grocery retailing and e-commerce.
Jim resides just outside of Boston in Newton, MA with his wife of 35 years, Lori. He enjoys coaching youth baseball, skiing in the White Mountains of NH and spending time with his 3 grown children.
Senior Vice President, National Director Research Services
Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services
John Chang serves as the National Director of Research Services for Marcus & Millichap. He is responsible for the production of the firm’s vast array of commercial real estate research publications, tools and services. Under his leadership, Marcus & Millichap has become a leading source
of market analysis, insight and forecasting, and the firm’s research is regularly quoted throughout the industry and in mainstream business media. John oversees a team of dedicated real estate research professionals who produce the firm’s more than 1,000 annual market research publications and conference presentations. These detailed reports, analyses and presentations integrate economic and financial market trends with insights on all major commercial property types including: Hotels, Industrial, Manufactured Housing, Multi-family, Office, Medical Office, Retail Multi-Tenant, Retail Single-Tenant, Self-Storage and Seniors Housing. John is a seasoned industry analyst who has been quoted in numerous publications and is an active member of the NMHC Research Foundation Advisory Committee, the ICSC North American Research Task Force and the NAIOP Research Foundation. He regularly presents at a wide range of conferences and events hosted by industry-leading organizations such as the NMHC, NAIOP, ULI, CCIM, ICSC,SSA and numerous others. John joined Marcus & Millichap in April 1997 as a Research Manager in the Seattle office. After holding executive marketing and e-business positions with premier residential real estate firms in the Pacific Northwest, he rejoined Marcus& Millichap in November 2007 as the head of its Research Services division. John was elected as Vice President in 2010, advanced to First Vice President in 2013and promoted to Senior Vice President in 2018.
Head of Advisory Services
MTN Retail Advisors/Creditntell
John Tippetts joined MTN's predecessor company as a Principal in 2005, and was integral in the conversion to MTN Retail advisors in 2011. John has been in the grocery industry since 1982 starting as a courtesy clerk with Smith's Food and Drug while attending college.
His knowledge of site location and consumer research began in 1998 as a former Senior Site Location analyst for Kroger. He was a Store Director for Smith's Food and Drug during his 17 years with the company. John brings integral retail-grocery specific insights and relationships to the table for MTN's clients. He has weathered many storms and his expertise in intelligence location and market analysis serves as part of the cornerstone of MTN's offering. John has a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Arts in Organizational Management. John enjoys spending time with his family, fishing, movies, music, and rare opportunities to relax.
Senior Vice President -Development
The Sembler Company
Josh Beyer is Senior Vice President of Development for The Sembler Company. Beyer is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Development Department and oversees the leasing activities for the company, with a primary focus on retail shopping center development
throughout the southeastern United States. Beyer has developed over fifty retail properties totaling more than 2.6 million square feet.
Beyer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Clemson University and is a registered professional engineer in the State of Florida. Josh is a member of the I.C.S.C., a former member of the Board of Directors for Goodwill-Suncoast, a member and Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Foundation for Dreams, Inc., and a member of the Board of Directors of the Palma Sola Botanical Park Foundation, Inc.
President of Real Estate Services
Creditntell
Soon after attaining his BA in Entrepreneurship from Hofstra University, Josh joined Creditntell in September of 2011. Over the course of the next two years, he utilized his skills to introduce new marketing initiatives and create new product offerings, with a concentration in the retail real estate segment, earning a promotion to Chief Production
Officer. Through his diligent efforts with key players in this growing customer base he has been able to innovate a new array of services and networking events tailored to meet this diverse industry's specific needs and applications. Equipped with extensive real estate expertise and an expansive network, Josh was appointed President of Real Estate Services and now leads the company's efforts with this major sector.
Market Analyst
Ahold Delhaize
Kevin is a 35+ year veteran of location research specializing in Fuel, C-Stores and Supermarkets with varied experience at in all phases of the research process. Kevin has been responsible for reviewing expansion, remodel, replacements, and new store projects. He has been involved with store network development in new and
existing markets. Kevin is experienced in conducting rationalization (closing) analysis to maximize volume from remaining retail locations, and developing databases with regards to outlet locations and volumes. He is skilled in the use of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) for displaying and analyzing the data and an expert in sales forecasting systems for the retail industry including Gravity, Analog, and Regression Modeling, GIS and use of BAG.
Director of Real Estate Market Research
Ulta Beauty
Currently, Kevin is leading a team of three in all aspects of real estate market research, including GIS functions and market analytics. He is responsible for development of sales forecasting models and strategic planning of all
current and future potential locations and store formats, including recently announced partnership with Target. Kevin provides current research analyses and updates to Executive Committee at monthly meetings. Kevin is a cross-functional partner providing customized analyses and dashboarding for many internal departments by leveraging analytics platforms (Alteryx & Tableau) and ESRI GIS mapping software.
CEO
Spatial.ai
Lyden Foust is the cofounder of Spatial.ai, the creator of the first geographic social media segmentation. Prior to founding Spatial.ai, Lyden was an Ethnographic Research consultant for brands like P&G, JnJ, Intel and an adjunct professor of Ethnography at Miami University.
Global Retail Research
Madison Marquette
Meghann has passionately dedicated her 20+ year career in retail real estate to various facets of the industry including deal-making, development, research, and academic pursuits. She powerfully aligns her comprehensive expertise with creative and critical thinking to provide
strategic client and investment solutions, research strategies, and cutting-edge thought leadership. As a forward-thinking and resilient problem solver, Meghann adapts quickly to the structural and cyclical shifts in the industry as retail revolutionizes at record pace and becomes increasingly interrelated across sectors. She effectively synthesizes quantitative and qualitative data, market insights and emerging trends into actionable insights and practical business application.Meghann is a perceptive leader who cultivates solid relationships with a proven track record of uniting cross-functional and global teams to achieve results and team success. She is dedicated to educating, inspiring, and empowering retail professionals.
VP of National Accounts
ShopeCore Properties
Mr. Puline joined ShopCore in October of 2016 as Vice President of National Accounts. He has over 15 years of real estate and shopping center experience. He is responsible for the strategic direction, coordination and execution of the ShopCore National Account Program.
Mr. Puline joined ShopCore in October of 2016 as Vice President of National Accounts. He has over 15 years of real estate and shopping center experience. He is responsible for the strategic direction, coordination and execution of the ShopCore National Account Program.
Previously, Mr. Puline served as Senior Vice President of Leasing for DLC Management Corporation,. overseeing and leading the leasing and redevelopment teams in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions. During his tenure, he successfully redeveloped and re-tenanted dozens of value-creation retail projects by cultivating relationships and negotiating leases with various national tenants, including Walmart, Kroger, Publix, TJX Company, Ross, Lowe’s, LA Fitness, Dick’s Sporting Goods, The Fresh Market, and Planet Fitness. Prior to DLC, Mr. Puline was an Associate at Baldwin Brothers, Inc., where he was responsible for the leasing, acquisition, and development of Baldwin owned commercial properties throughout the United States.
Mr. Puline is a graduate from the Pennsylvania State University at University Park, with a degree in Real Estate, and a graduate of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law. Mr. Puline is also an active member of Innovating Commerce Serving Communities (ICSC) having previously served on the RECON Planning Committee from 2013-2016, as well as having earned the designation of Certified Leasing Specialist (CLS).
EVP/Managing Director Tenant Advisory Services
The Shopping Center Group (TSCG)
Nichole Popovics joined TSCG in 2021 as EVP & Managing Director of Tenant Representation of the state of Florida, with an additional responsibility to develop business in the states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina.
With over 18 years in the industry, Nichole brings deep retail real estate knowledge and valuable relationships. A graduate of Florida State University with a degree in Business Real Estate, Nichole Popovics is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), and a very active member of Ladies in Commercial Real Estate. She is a regular guest speaker at Florida State University’s annual real estate program conference and enjoys serving her community on numerous non-profits including past efforts on behalf of the Junior League of Tampa and the Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
Nichole enjoys spending time with her family, playing golf and rooting for her Seminoles.
Manager of Site Location Research
Wegmans
Rob has been with Wegmans Food Markets for 29 years. After working as a produce clerk during college, he spent three years working in a Produce Management program until a position in the Real Estate Department opened up. Rob has been in Real Estate since 2002; first as a Site
Analyst and then Manager of Site Location Research (2016). In this role, he is in charge of sales forecasting, GIS, competitive intelligence and supports several other groups with data and analysis. He studied Biology and Geography at SUNY Geneseo. Rob and his wife Kristen have three children and one grandson.
Research Analytics
Kroger
Ryan Hilton has been in the Retail Industry for almost 30 years with a career starting at Safeway Stores, INC. After 10 years, eight in management and nine stores throughout Oregon and Washington with a brief stint at Walmart, Ryan changed career paths to learn the research side of the business. He was a market analyst
in 2004 with Retail Research Group, Inc until he eventually joined Kroger in 2010 as a Research Analysts at the Fred Meyer campus in Portland, OR. IN 2014 Ryan’s family relocated to Cincinnati, OH with the goal of opening a second research department at Kroger’s headquarters. Ryan’s family incudes his wife Jessica, sons Kyle & Luke, and daughter Lucy.
Head of Advisory Services
Creditntell
Ms. Malinowski is the Head of Advisory Services for Creditntell’s locational data group as of October 2022 and has over 15 years of experience in commercial real estate research and marketing. Her knowledge and passion for data mining and research, specializing in locational data, is
complemented by her intuitive and creative marketing capabilities in branding, corporate positioning, sales strategy, and collateral. Ms. Malinowski began and honed her career with best-in-class REITs Regency Centers and Federal Realty serving their B2B leasing and asset management teams objectives. Most recently, Ms. Malinowski has been a consultant lending her expertise to clients across commercial real estate, retail, as well as other sectors. Ms. Malinowski is a member of ICSC, having served for several years on its Mid-Atlantic Planning Committee. Ms. Malinowski lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and is a mom to five sons and a grandson. In her free time, Ms. Malinowski is an avid wine enthusiast traveling to many of the world’s wine regions and is WSET certified in wine and spirits.
AVP
F&D Reports
F&D Reports is the premier financial information and consulting company specializing in credit solutions to manufacturers and wholesalers/distributors operating in all food and drug channels of distribution. The focus of F&D's
analysis is to deliver key time-sensitive intelligence to today's busy credit executive in order to support highly informed decisions. Monitored industries include food, drug, casual dining and mass merchandising. F&D’s comprehensive coverage of both private and public companies, combined with unparalleled analytical support services, are a critical component to the successful management of risk in these turbulent economic times.
