CHICAGO—In another move toward becoming a global leader in retail real estate services, JLL has tapped retailing veteran David Zoba as chair of its global retail leasing board. As chair of the board, which JLL formed in 2012 to strengthen its international retail service delivery, Zoba will unite the firm's Asia Pacific, Europe and Americas experts in the sector.

He'll also counsel growing brands entering foreign markets and connect them with retail's top landlords in North America, Europe and Asia. Zoba will advise JLL's client base on the nuances and hurdles of site selection, the construction process, lease terms and variances in legal regulations from country to country.

It's a counseling agenda that Zoba is well prepared to tackle. In a career spanning 30 years, he's been on both the landlord and tenant sides of retail, although he began his real estate career in law. Most recently, he served for six years as SVP, global real estate and store development at Gap Inc., retiring from that position earlier this year.

Zoba steered the global real estate course for Gap Inc.'s various brands, and he sees many other retailers following suit. “There hasn't been a lot of price inflation in apparel for a while,” he tells GlobeSt.com. “As a result, a lot of retailers have maxed out in their home countries. Plus, with the growth of omni-channel and in particular e-commerce sales, they've sliced their home markets in a number of ways.”

As a result, says Zoba, “I don't think anyone is very bullish on having all of their growth occur in their home markets. Now there are differences; there are younger brands in North America and China and Japan that still have a lot of runway for growth. But the more mature brands are really starting to look overseas.”

Earlier in his career, Zoba was SVP and counsel of real estate for what was then Limited Brands (now L Brands). During Zoba's time there, chairman and CEO Leslie Wexner was “a reluctant internationalist,” who believed the best use of his company's resources and executive focus was on domestic growth for its brands.

Now, however, “he has come to see that it's a big, interconnected world out there,” Zoba says of his onetime boss. L Brands' global footprint runs to 942 international stores as of this past May, with brands such as Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works represented through both franchised and company-owned stores.

As for overseas retailers looking in, “You've got this enormous prize”—the North American market, says Zoba. “Time has shown that the US is a tough nut to crack. It's still the biggest prize in the world, but not without its challenges.”

Adds Naveen Jaggi, who joined JLL from CBRE this past December as president of JLL Americas Retail Brokerage, “From my perspective on the real estate services side, whether it's inbound to the US or outbound to Asia, most retail companies today are looking at the US as the most prized market. But when they look outside the US, whether it's China or Europe, they need to find a partner that can help them navigate all of those geographical challenges. Every country is different, every culture has its own nuances.”