The younger Glimcher joined the predecessor company of Glimcher Realty Trust in 1991, and since it went public a few years later, he has held a variety of positions there, including (in order) director of lease administration, VP of leasing, SVP of leasing, SVP of leasing and development, and EVP. He became a member of the REIT's board of trustees in 1997, and in 1999 became its president, a title he will retain as well as being CEO.

Glimcher is a storied presence in the retail real estate realm, with roots going back to a company founded by Herbert Glimcher during the Eisenhower administration as a lumber and building supply business. By the late 1960s, the company had evolved into a retail developer, building properties for such expanding entities as Kmart and McDonald's, as well as smaller retail properties of its own.

At the time of Glimcher Realty's IPO 11 years ago this month, however, the company's focus had changed to the ownership of regional malls. Through a twin strategy of acquisition and development in the decade-plus since it went public, Glimcher Realty has come to own 25 enclosed regional or super-regional malls (out of its 41 properties), totaling 21.8 million sf GLA. Its roster includes Polaris Fashion Place in Columbus, OH (1.6 million sf), University Mall in Tampa, FL (1.3 million sf), Jersey Gardens in Elizabeth, NJ (1.1 million sf), and Eastland Mall in Charlotte, NC (1.1 million sf).