Whitney Burns, 30
Director of Marketing
Hines
Washington, DC
As director of marketing of CityCenterDC in Washington, DC, Whitney Burns oversees all of the marketing, public relations and events for the retail portion of the project. This includes: planning and execution of creative marketing and media buys, running all of the social media channels in house, managing press inquiries and generating press buzz, planning a robust calendar of marketing activities to generate increased foot traffic, sales for the retailers and restaurants and increasing brand awareness. She does this through avenues such as Uber appreciation events, Washington Area Concierge Association tours, hosting special events for community arts and fashion organizations and more. Burns assists each retailer and restaurant on their opening events and initial media buys and supports retailers on a day-to-day basis with social media efforts, press inquiries and coverage, and event promotion and management. She coordinates all of the marketing and social media efforts made by the apartment and condominium uses of CityCenterDC to ensure a level of continuity of the brand. Burns launched CityCenterDC's first ever retail marketing campaign, establishing the brand as the district's only luxury retail destination.

Giancarlo Carriero, 33
Director, Leasing
Tricom Real Estate Group
Dallas
Giancarlo Carriero's current responsibilites are to build and maintain trusting relationships with the retail tenant community, which will assist Tricom in leasing space and achieving target occupancy. Carriero manages Tricom's leasing resources to successfully target the desired tenants, underwrites new purchases from a leasing perspective, assists the acquisitions/asset management vice president with leasing metrics and oversees Tricom's property marketing. Carriero has achieved $64.1 million in lease transactions since 2010, including big box retailers such as Big Lots, LA Fitness, Burkes Outlet, Dave & Busters, Marshalls, H&M, Payless, Victoria's Secret, American Eagle Outfitters, Sally Beauty Supply and Old Navy. Of his chosen market, Carriero says: “There are tangible results you can touch, see and feel. After studying political science and philosophy in college, that became important to me. It's also such a vibrant public industry where you get to build relationships and make an impact in communities.”

Parker Carroll, 30
Managing Director, Net-Leased Investment Group
Coldwell Banker Commercial
Austin, TX
Parker Carroll pioneered the creation of the Coldwell Banker Commercial Net Leased Investment Group and launched the first office in Austin before the age of 27. His extensive commercial real estate knowledge, standout marketing presence and specialized investment real estate experience, coupled with his steadfast work ethic, make Carroll one of the most sought after real estate professionals in the industry. Carroll's mission is dedicated to the highest level of integrity, exemplary client service, innovative strategies and servant leadership. Caroll is the managing director of the Austin Office for Coldwell Banker Commercial. In addition to maintaining one of the highest levels of production among all sales professionals in the industry, he is responsible for day to day operations, strategic planning, business development, recruiting, and employee development for his team. Carroll is a significant contributor to the outstanding achievements of his company, Coldwell Banker Commercial Rick Canup Realtors, including being the number-one Coldwell Banker Commercial office in Texas and the number-five Coldwell Banker Commercial office in the US in 2014.

Garrett Colburn, 34
Senior Vice President & Market Leader
SRS Real Estate Partners
Newport Beach, CA
Garrett Colburn is the market leader of his rapidly growing Southern California SRS office, and SRS continues to excel as the largest retail-only brokerage firm in the country. Since joining SRS in late 2011, Colburn has transacted on over 2.3 million square feet of retail space totaling more than $200 million in value. He is consistently recognized as one of the top retail leasing brokers in the country. and a top producer within SRS Real Estate Partners. Colburn's clients also recognize him as an industry leader; just last year he received the National Broker of the Year Award from Planet Fitness for completing 16 new deals within the year.

Ryan Condren, 31
Managing Director
CPEX Real Estate
Brooklyn, NY
Condren is the managing director of CPEX's New York retail leasing team, one of the most active retail leasing teams in Brooklyn. He is currently marketing over 40 properties for lease in New York City totaling more than 475,000 square feet of retail space. Since joining CPEX when it was founded in 2008, Condren has completed over 100 leases totaling more than 450,000 square feet, with an aggregate value in excess of $425 million. This includes Brooklyn's largest retail lease of 2014, an agreement with Bed Bath and Beyond for over 100,000 square feet at Liberty View Industrial Plaza in Sunset Park. He has also helped introduce several prominent retail tenants to the Brooklyn market, particularly in the Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill marketplace. In that area, Condren has helped open the first Brooklyn location for such tenants as J. Crew, Urban Outfitters' subsidiary, Free People, the Sliding Door Co., the Bar Method, Marine Layer and Benefit Cosmetics, all since 2013. Several of those leases were signed on Court Street, where he has negotiated 13 leases since starting at CPEX.

Jared Epstein, 35
Vice President & Principal
Aurora Capital Associates
New York City
Jared Epstein leads the company's acquisitions and leasing. Epstein completed two of the largest deals in New York last year: a $300-million, 55,000-square-foot flagship lease to Nike in Soho and a $200-million, 70,000-square-foot flagship lease to Restoration Hardware in the Meatpacking District. Also in 2014, he structured a massive development joint venture with Vornado at a prized development site on the corner of 15th Street and Ninth Avenue in Manhattan and sourced and structured the purchase of joint venture interest in 10 buildings in the Meatpacking District with the Gottlieb Estate. Epstein has completed nearly $2 billion of transactions in 10 years. In addition to the deals mentioned above, he has leased flagship space to Victoria's Secret, DSW, Express, Lacoste, Sephora and Bed Bath and Beyond. Epstein has led his company to become one of the largest owners in Soho and the Meatpacking District.

Brian T. Finnegan, 34
Executive Vice President, Leasing
Brixmor Property Group
New York City
Brian T. Finnegan was appointed to executive vice president of leasing for Brixmor Property Group in November 2014, further establishing himself as one of the commercial real estate and shopping center industry's brightest young professionals. At just 34, Finnegan is responsible for overseeing the leasing activities of Brixmor's expansive 87-million-square-foot, 521-property portfolio, the largest wholly owned grocery-anchored portfolio in the US. Brixmor is one of the largest publicly traded REITs focused on the shopping center sector, with a market cap of more than $7 billion. Finnegan works closely with Brixmor's senior management team to execute its growth strategy and participates on quarterly earnings calls with research analysts and investors. Prior to this promotion, Finnegan quickly rose through the ranks during his 10-year tenure with Brixmor, holding a number of leadership positions. At 25 he was functioning as a regional VP and assumed the role of SVP at 28, where he was tasked with managing Brixmor's Western portfolio in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas.

Rob Franks, 34
Senior Vice President, Retail Brokerage
JLL
Dallas
Rob Franks is focused on tenant representation in Texas, with a client roster that includes Guitar Center, T-Mobile, Urgent Care for Kids, IO Metro, Blue Goose Cantina, Taco Ocho, Aw Shucks, Carvana, Shinola and Filson. Franks was intimately involved in creating JLL's portfolio optimization business over the past four years, which accounts for over $3.5 million in revenue for the firm. Franks has secured national representation of multiple clients, including EZ Corp., which last year made a major office transaction in Miami and Chicago; he is spearheading four major EZ Corp. projects throughout the globe in addition to retail locations in the south. Franks was the first JLL retail tenant rep broker in Texas with a team that has now grown to over 14 colleagues.

Samantha Hollack, 34
Sr. Manager, Real Estate & Financial Planning
American Eagle Outfitters
Pittsburgh, PA
Hollack is considered a pillar of the AEO real estate group. She has the rare talent of being able to analyze and synthesize large amounts of data and then step back to ensure it aligns with the big picture. According to company executives, her command of both the minutiae and the macro, while keeping the proper perspective on what the organization is working to accomplish, sets her head and shoulders above her peer group who often excels at one of the two disciplines, but rarely both. Hollack has created a short-term renewal decision-making tool for executives—including store financial performance information, competitors in the mall, mall health, radius to nearest AE and potential expense savings if the store was terminated—allowing the company to hit its targeted closure figures previously reported externally. She also manages the annual rent plan of over $425 million and aligns the real estate team on the difference between cash rent and rent expense for financial statement impact, changing the way the company looks at individual real estate decisions.

Nicholas Howell, 32
Vice President
Vornado Realty Trust
New York City
As vice president of retail leasing for one of the largest REITs in the United States, Nick Howell has extensive retail expertise in both the US and United Kingdom, having worked on high-profile transactions and developments in London, Miami, New York and Washington, DC. This experience gives him a competitive advantage over his counterparts and has laid the foundation for him to succeed as a future leader in the industry. Howell leases and asset manages Vornado's extensive urban retail portfolio. Vornado is the largest owner of street retail in Manhattan, with some three million square feet. Howell's primary responsibility is to execute new leases and renewals. However, he also works closely with the development and captial market teams on leasing strategies, valuations and tenant mix advice.

Chad Kurz, 27
Associate Vice President
Matthews Retail Group of Colliers International
El Segundo, CA
Chad Kurz has consistently been ranked one of the top investment sales brokers in the country; more specifically, he has consistently ranked as one of the top net lease brokers for Colliers International, based on number of transactions. Kurz's extensive real estate knowledge combined with his willingness to “outwork” his competitors has resulted in his involvement in over 100 transactions in 2014. Kurz teamed up with Kyle Matthews several years ago to form the Matthews Retail Group which is the number one retail investment sales team across all Colliers platforms. At just 27 years old, Kurz is a managing partner of the Matthews Retail Group and the mentor to 10-plus brokers. Since he joined the Matthews Retail Group, he has helped grow the team from three members to 30-plus staff and brokers. Transaction volume has increased by 425% and gross revenue has increased by 370%. Kurz is a managing partner and key decision maker for the growth and direction of the Matthews Retail Group; he is in charge of recruitment, new agent training and mentorship for new agents.

Bryan Ley, 33
Managing Director
HFF LP
Los Angeles
Bryan Ley co-leads the retail investment sales team on the West Coast for HFF, with a focus on retail shopping center sales. He also has experience arranging joint-venture equity for his clients in their development, acquisition and recapitalization needs. Ley, who oversees five team members in Los Angeles, has completed in excess of $2 billion of shopping center sales and joint-venture equity transactions since 2010. He is passionate about retail and is always eager to learn more about the retail operating business. Ley is intrigued with the growth of tenants and the development business and feels that knowing how tenants work, and how clients operate, assists him in his daily duties of selling major shopping centers.

Leah Maurer, 31
Director
Cushman & Wakefield | NorthMarq
Minneapolis
As a director of the retail capital markets team at Cushman & Wakefield | NorthMarq, Leah Maurer represents institutional and private capital clients in the acquisition, disposition and strategic planning of investment real estate. She has an emphasis on retail properties from large, institutional-quality assets such as power centers and grocery-anchored centers, to neighborhood strip centers and single-tenant assets. At CWN, Maurer is a rising star. Every day she demonstrates to clients how they can maximize their commercial real estate investment. A savvy financial expert, she focuses her practice on providing retail clients sophisticated CRE consultation to maximize their investment returns and value. Additionally, Maurer is an active volunteer leader in both the CRE industry as well as in the community. To date, she has completed more than $480 million in investment sale transactions involving more than 3.3 million square feet, and has been promoted three times during her nearly nine-year tenure at CWN.

Carly Li, 27
Senior Analyst
Taubman Co.
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Carly Li is involved in both strategic analysis and market research for Taubman Co,'s portfolio. She is charged with identifying and analyzing corporate strategic initiatives and trends in economic and market conditions. This includes preparing portfolio analysis, economic assessment and addressing strategic questions raised by the Taubman board. She also gathers competitive intelligence and monitors market activities for the company. Li also performs market research to identify and analyze markets and sites in which to develop. She also acts as an ambassador in research for communication between the US and Asia divisions of the company. During her five years at the company, Li has helped approval, leasing and development of US shopping centers with an aggreggate asset value of more than $3 billion, as well as five Asia shopping centers with a total asset value of $6 billion. She also played a role in the underwriting of a $600-million acquisition deal. Li has played important roles in various redevelopment and improvement projects.

James Mitchell, 24
Senior Vice President
CBRE Inc.
Orlando, FL
James Mitchell focuses his business model on site acquisition, disposition and transaction management for national and regional users of retail real estate. As a specific focus within this model, he specializes in tenant representation of large retail anchors, junior anchors, outparcel tenants and inline users. Additionally, he specializes in surplus property disposition for many of these clients. Mitchell also provides landlord advisory services to retail developers and large institutions to assist them in their full development process from initial land acquisition to full lease up and eventual exit sale. Currently, he represents over 1.2 million square feet of institutional grade retail product as well as several ground-up new retail developments. Over the past 14 years, Mitchell has executed over $500 million in transactions on behalf of his clients. These clients include such national retailers as Fifth Third Bank, McDonalds, SunTrust Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Exxon Mobil, Kohl's and Office Depot.

Tim O'Connell, 29
Assistant VP and Director of Digital Marketing & Communications
Retail Properties of America Inc.
Oak Brook, IL

Tim O'Connell is responsible for RPAI's corporate branding, content development and digital marketing initiatives, including the layout and design of advertisements, event collateral, and presentations to the board of directors, shareholders, investors and corporate retail partners. He is also responsible for the development of the user experience and digital content strategy on RPAI.com. In 2011, O'Connell was honored with the ICSC John T. Riordan Professional Education Scholarship Award. During the past year, O'Connell has had the opportunity to teach several courses within the ICSC Education program, one of the youngest industry professionals to do so.

Jason Olt, 33
Vice President
Bucksbaum Retail Properties
Chicago
In his role at Bucksbaum, Jason Olt handles the underwriting, capital structuring and due diligence of the firm's development projects and asset acquisitions. He manages the underwriting, capital structuring and due diligence process for development projects and asset acquisitions. He is also involved in all aspects of the development process for all Bucksbaum projects. At Bucksbaum, Olt has helped secure investments and financing of projects with a total value exceeding $500 million. Previously he was a senior associate at Behringer Harvard, which grew from $140 million in real estate assets under management to over $6 billion under management during his tenure. Olt's work was critical to this growth as he negotiated over $600 million of unsecured corporate financing and facilitated the new origination or assumption of more than $1.5 billion of transaction-related CMBS debt. At Bucksbaum, he is applying his experience to retail and mixed-use developments with over 1.3 million square feet of retail and over 400 apartment units under construction or completed since 2012.

Erin Patton, 35
Senior Director and Vice President, Investments
Marcus & Millichap
Columbus, OH
Erin Patton heads up the Patton, Wiles, Fuller group of Marcus & Millichap which she has grown to include 11 people (eight agents, a financial analyst, a marketing coordinator and a transaction coordinator). She is responsible for representing buyers and sellers in the acquisition and disposition of retail shopping centers throughout the Midwest region, and net-leased assets throughout the country. Her clients have grown to include several publicly traded real estate companies, traded and non-traded REITs, regional and national developers, private investment funds and high-net worth individuals. Since 2004, Patton has transacted over 200 properties, totaling $785 million in sales dollars and 11.5 million square feet throughout 22 states. In 2014 alone, Patton and her team closed 50 deals, totaling $227 million in sales dollars and 2.85 million square feet throughout 10 states.

Nate Paul, 28
President & CEO
World Class Capital Group
Austin, TX
Nate Paul is the president, CEO and sole owner of World Class Capital Group. He leads all of the firm's investment activities and oversees the strategic direction of the firm. The firm's current portfolio spans 15 states nationwide and is valued at approximately $1 billion. Paul is a self-made real estate scion who has amassed a national portfolio of real estate assets, all by the age of 28. Retail is the anchor of his portfolio and his current retail ownership portfolio consists of 3.5 million square feet nationwide. World Class is the largest retail property owner in downtown Austin—where the firm is headquartered. His firm has pulled off several blockbuster deals—including the November 2014 acquisition of a 1.2-million-square-foot retail center portfolio from Kimco Realty Corp.

Christopher Ressa, 31
SVP, Northeast and Midwest Leasing
DLC Management Corp.
Tarrytown, NY
Chris Ressa is currently in charge of leasing about nine million square feet of shopping center space, leading a team of eight people. He is a constant point person on transactions and spearheads different departments in the organization such as legal, construction, and property management to have them successfully work together to execute projects. Ressa is on a subgroup that is focused on promoting the company's success and is leading the charge at DLC to start its first internship programming. Ressa also sits on the executive board of 11 people, where he is the team's youngest member by seven years. He was promoted to a management position at DLC to run the Midwest leasing department. The previous year, the department completed nine new lease transactions. In Ressa's first year, the team executed 50 new lease transactions.

Jeffrey Schostak, 32
Vice President
Schostak Brothers and Co.
Livonia, MI
Jeffrey Schostak oversees all ground up development and redevelopment for Schostak Brothers and Co. This includes net lease build-to-suit as well as retail and industrial re-development and acquisitions, including grocery anchor developments. He also negotiates purchase/sale agreements, leases, letters of intent and all related agreements necessary within the industry. Schostak has taken the lead role in approximately $100 million worth of transactions, including the acquisition and redevelopment of a one-million-square-foot industrial plant, the acquisition and redevelopment of a prior Home Depot building and the sale of a 60-acre tract to an industrial user—all of which were completed in a two-year span.

Ryan Sciullo, 34
First Vice President
CBRE
Washington, DC
Based in the firm's Washington, DC office, Ryan Sciullo is a member of CBRE's National Retail Investment Group, which is comprised of the top retail investment sales professionals across the country. He is responsible for developing and maintaining key client relationships, marketing the team's assignments and execution of the team's business objectives. Throughout Sciullo's ten-year career at CBRE, he has been involved in the sale of over 125 transactions comprising more than $3 billion of investment real estate. In 2014 alone, he was involved in 45 transactions totaling over $1 billion of retail investment sales. One of CBRE's top 20 retail investment sales professionals in 2014, Sciullo has been a faculty member for the past two years at ICSC's University of Shopping Centers at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the DC Real Estate Group, an exclusive organization for young professionals in the real estate industry.

Katie Singer, 33
Vice President
DTZ Retail - Terranomics (DTZ)
Burlingame, CA
Katie Singer, vice president, has been involved in commercial real estate leasing since she joined present DTZ Retail-Terranomics as an administrator in 2004 (then Terranomics). However, her career as a real estate services provider did not begin until the latter part of 2006. Singer currently specializes in both local and national tenant, and local and REIT landlord representation, assisting tenants in achieving effective roll-outs throughout the greater Bay Area retail market, as well as project leasing of all types of retail properties throughout Northern California. In her relatively short career as a services provider, Singer has brokered more than 280 lease and sale transactions, with a total consideration of $216 million. More notably, in just the past three years, which is about a third of her career, Singer has transacted approximately 175 deals of over $145 million in total consideration. In observing the retail market, Singer says, “It's been an extremely busy past few years, and retail rents keep rising. It's becoming incredibly competitive for tenants to secure leases, and landlords are increasingly selective in wanting to make sure the tenants they choose are special.”

El Warner, 35
Associate Vice President
Colliers International
Los Angeles
El Warner oversees the newly created National Retail Investment platform at Colliers, handling the production as well as the financial underwriting components of each deal. Operating as the CFO within the team, Warner is also responsible for building relationships and business development. Warner was part of the team that closed the Family Town Center at Taylorsville for $74.8 million in 2014, accounting for the largest retail transaction for Colliers in Southern California. Warner came to Colliers from CB Richard Ellis in 2011. In his first year, Warner's team closed the largest retail transaction regionally, and the group has received top performer awards annually since 2011. He has sold $515 million in the last four years and currently has $145 million in escrow. Warner has sold several million square feet of both shopping centers as well as malls. He is able to compete in this highly competitive shopping center market by leveraging his financial knowledge, which is key in understanding mall operations.