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About ChainLinks

National.

National Coverage.

Our national composite of innovative specialists communicate efficiently to provide meaningful and enduring solutions for our clients.

Local.

Local Expertise.

We have assembled the best team in every MSA who operate with optimal precision to exceed the client’s expectations.

Execute.

Execute Boldly.

Our collaborative culture, mutual trust of our clients, and infectious energy enable us to exceed the client’s greatest expectations.

By the numbers

Annual statistics we are proud of.

6,000+

real estate transactions

1979

year founded

 

we represent

1,500+

retailers

3,000+

 

landlords

750+

retail broker specialists

50+M

square feet leased or sold totaling

$8.5+B

in consideration

56

offices across the United States

[Source: 2023 data]

Leadership

Board of Directors

Headshot of Ted Gildea

Ted Gildea

Atlantic Retail

Headshot of Brain Kerr

Brian Kerr

Hanna CRE – Pittsburgh

Susan Ahlheit

TSCG – Nashville

Headshot of Steve Cutter

Steve Cutter

Lockehouse Retail Group

Headshot of Joe Dougherty

Joe Dougherty

Metro Commercial

David Fazio

The Retail Connection

Lee Ann Fineberg

Lee Ann Fineberg

EPSTEEN & ASSOCIATES

Steve Frishman

Mid-America – IL

Courtney Key

SullivanHayes Brokerage

David Merisko

Mattis Partners

Patrick Willett

pace properties

Teams

National collaboration with local insight.

Tenant Representation
Tenant Representation
Landlord Representation
Landlord Representation
Property Management
Property Management
GIS/Technology/Marketing
GIS/Technology/Marketing
Restaurants
Restaurants
Women of ChainLinks
Women of ChainLinks
2nd Generation
2nd Generation
High Streets
High Streets
Hospitality
Hospitality
Retail Logistics
Retail Logistics
Senior Living
Senior Living
About Chainlinks

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Headshot of Ted Gildea

Ted Gildea

Atlantic Retail
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Ted Gildea joined The Dartmouth Company in 2004 as a tenant representative. He currently services the following tenants: Carmax, Lifetime Athletic, JoAnn’s Fabrics and TopGolf. Ted has a track record of uncovering off-market opportunities for his tenants in areas that typically have high barriers to entry for retailers. Ted’s tenant requirements have taken him throughout New England and the tri-state area, allowing him to hone his expertise in these markets. Ted is a graduate of The College of the Holy Cross and holds a CIS from the University College Cork.

Headshot of Brain Kerr

Brian Kerr

Hanna CRE - Pittsburgh
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Brian joined Langholz Wilson Ellis (now Hanna Commercial) in 1996. With over 45 years’ experience in retail real estate, Brian focuses in regional and national tenant representation, site selection and expansion. Utilizing the firm’s leading-edge information systems and support, Brian specializes in creating and executing the market penetration strategy to meet the needs of his clients. Brian actively represents clients in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.

Brian has assisted many retail and restaurant clients including Costco, Kohl’s, LA Fitness, Walmart, Trader Joe’s, The Fresh Market, American Freight, Lowes, Pet Supplies Plus, Staples, Vitamin Shoppe, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Bonefish Grill, and Playa Bowls.

Prior to joining the firm, Brian was Senior Vice President at The Galbreath Company and for nine years prior to that, he was a principal in The Kerr Group. Brian began his real estate career with The J. J. Gumberg Co. in 1978.

Susan Ahlheit

The Shopping Center Group
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Susan Ahlheit is Executive Managing Director of Operations for TSCG. Susan is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company alongside the COO and the management of the administrative and marketing teams.  She joined TSCG’s Nashville office in 1995 in an administrative role and has since held the positions of Divisional Office Manager and Operating Partner prior to her current position. She has a degree in Business Administration and holds a real estate license in Tennessee and Kentucky. Susan is past president of CREW Nashville, actively involved with CREW Network, and a board member for Leadership Dickson County Alumni Association. Susan is passionate about helping young women succeed at TSCG and throughout the industry.

 

Susan is married and has two daughters. She and her family hobby farm raising registered Angus and Belted Galloway cattle and a host of other small farm animals.

Headshot of Steve Cutter

Steve Cutter

Lockehouse Retail Group
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Steve, a graduate of the University of Oregon is co-founder of LRG Investors, LLC and Principal owner/Founder of Lockehouse Retail Group, Inc. and Lockehouse Property Management Group, Inc. Lockehouse, launched in 2005 with Steve and one other person, has evolved to become a dominant retail brokerage company in the Bay Area representing companies such as Target, Trader Joes, Top Golf, along with millions of square feet of listings. Steve says “The culture of Lockehouse that we established from day 1 and the people within the organization is what makes us special. We value our clients above all else and relentlessly strive to see them succeed.”

Being nimble and entrepreneurial, the Lockehouse team has continued to broaden its services which include: Tenant Representation, Landlord Representation, Investment Sales, Property Management, Consultation, Entitlement and Construction management Services and Development Services.

Steve currently sits on the board of The Okizu Foundation, which is a camp in the western U.S. for children with cancer, their siblings and families. Steve is an avid fly fisherman, mountain biker, skier/snowboarder, triathlete and most importantly Dad and Husband.

Headshot of Joe Dougherty

Joe Dougherty

Metro Commercial
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As Executive Vice President of Brokerage Services and Principal in the firm, Joe specializes in tenant and landlord representation on a national and regional scale. His professional experience has taken him throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Joe has been a member of the Metro team since 2006 and is based out of our Plymouth Meeting office. His active owner clients are Brixmor, Cedar Realty Trust, Goodman Properties, Kimco, LNR Partners, Post Brothers, Regency Centers and Time Equities.

Joe also serves on Drexel’s Presidential Real Estate Advisory Board and Lebow College of Business Real Estate Board.

As of December 31, 2020, Joseph has completed over 876 lease and sales transactions with a gross aggregate value over $1.50 billion and 11.950 million square feet in the Mid-Atlantic United States, mainly in Metro Philadelphia.

David Fazio

The Retail Connection
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David Fazio is an Executive Vice President and Partner at The Retail Connection, with over 20 years of expertise in retail real estate. Recognized as a national leader in retail tenant representation and strategic advisory, David represents several best-in-class clients, including Nordstrom Rack, The Container Store, Tesla, Life Time Fitness, PetSmart, World Market, and Lowe’s.

Fazio’s community involvement is highlighted by his ongoing work with The Real Estate Council [TREC], where he previously served as a Board Member and participation in TREC’s Mentorship Program. Additionally, David leads the retail leasing team for the inaugural Dallas Catalyst Project.

Recognized by Chain Store Age as a National Top 10 Under 40 in 2019, David has also contributed to award-winning teams honored by DCEO and the Dallas Business Journal for Best Retail Deals and Developments.

David earned his bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University.

Lee Ann Fineberg

Lee Ann Fineberg

EPSTEEN & ASSOCIATES
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As one of the top producers at E&A, Lee Ann specializes in expanding National Retail, Entertainment and Restaurant concepts as well as representing Landlords in merchandising their centers. In her career Lee Ann has completed 1,000+ transactions valued at $2B working with a range of clients including Starbucks Coffee, Michaels, Blink (Equinox), Aspen Dental, Darden Restaurants, TopGolf, Mixt Greens, Dollar General, Farmer Boys, Vision Works, Dollar General, 99 Cents Only, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, The Habit, Sally Beauty Supply, Pacific Dental, Luna Grill, Costco Landlord Division, GMS Properties, and Sage Development. Lee Ann’s vast knowledge of the territory and retail real estate makes her an invaluable asset to her clients. Her expertise enables her to provide unparalleled service to her clients while assisting them to achieve their optimal goals. Due to her strong work ethic and ability to cultivate long-term relationships within the industry, she has been placed in multiple leadership roles within ICSC, ChainLinks and Epsteen. Lee Ann founded the ChainLinks Women’s Division and the successful Mentorship Program and sits on the Board of ChainLinks. As an Active member of the ICSC, she was Chairman of the 2020 ICSC Long Beach Idea Exchange. Her commitment to women in business extends to her role as a Mentor for WoMentoring in Los Angeles which is a community-building program that develops women’s skills, confidence, and local network through an integrated and empowering nine-month process. She graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Finance and has her Master’s of Business Administration from Pepperdine University.  
Headshot of Geoffrey Mackler

Geoffrey Mackler

H&R Retail
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Native to Baltimore, Geoffrey attended McDonogh School & University of Florida before joining H&R Retail in 1999. Thereafter, he attended University of Baltimore Law School at night and became the youngest partner in the history of H&R Retail in 2005. Throughout Geoffrey’s distinguished career, he has established himself as a leading retail broker and industry expert in the Washington, DC, and Baltimore regions having completed nearly 1.000 transactions totaling over 10.6M SF.

Geoffrey’s comprehensive market knowledge stems from his extensive experience in landlord representation, new development, tenant representation, and value add redevelopment. His career highlights include facilitating the market entry for H&M, LA Fitness and Chase Bank as well as new developments such as The Boro, The Station, and Belmont Chase. Geoffrey’s completed transactions exceed a total consideration of $1.2B.

Steve Frishman

Mid-America - IL
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EXPERTISE

Steve Frishman joined Mid-America Real Estate in 1988 and in 2002 became a Principal of the firm. Mr. Frishman has been the recipient of the Top Retail Broker of The Year Award from both the Chicago Sun Times and Crain’s Chicago Business.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Mr. Frishman’s concentration within the restaurant industry has resulted in a long list of successful market rollouts including the following tenants: Outback, Chili’s, Maggiano’s, Fleming’s Steakhouse, Buffalo Wild Wings, Famous Dave’s BBQ, Chickfil–A , Portillo’s, Noodles & Company, Roti, Sonic, Five Guys, MOD Pizza, Nando’s and many others.

He has completed transactions with several national anchor tenants including Kohl’s, Best Buy, Value City, Lowes, Dick’s, Von Maur and Home Depot. Mr. Frishman has been successful in the entertainment field having completed transactions with the following chains: AMF Bowling, Kerasotes Theaters, Sony Theaters and Marcus Theaters.

Mr. Frishman has had a diverse career that includes the leasing of some of suburban Chicago’s largest retail centers, including The Glen Towncenter, Prairie Market of Oswego, Westridge Court and Merrillville Crossing.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Steve is a Chicago native and graduate of the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He has served as the head of the Restaurant Council for the Chain Links Organization and has also been a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) since 1988.

Headshot of Brian Shorter

Brian Shorter

SullivanHayes Brokerage
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Brian Shorter is the Managing Partner and Designated Broker of SullivanHayes Brokerage Company. He has multifaceted expertise in retail real estate both locally and nationally with a focus on strategic expansion of retailers and landlord representation in development, acquisition and disposition. Over the past five years, Brian has leased over 1.7 million square feet in transactions totaling nearly $220 million. During the same time period, he has sold over $88 million dollars of commercial real estate.

Courtney Key

SullivanHayes Brokerage
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I specialize in retail, land leasing and sales, and represent a diverse range of clients. My expertise lies in long-term strategy, strategic rollouts, site selection, and negotiation. On the tenant side, I work with anchors, pad users, and shop tenants including national tenants such as Chase Bank, McDonald’s, Ross Dress for Less as well as regional and local tenants such as Denver Beer Co., Torchy’s Tacos, Salon Republic and Heyday Facial Bar. Alongside long-term relationships, we enjoys first to market expansions such as Call Your Mother Deli, Rivian and Roof Top Cinema Club. For landlords, Courtney handles leasing for mixed-use urban developments in areas like RiNo, Cherry Creek, and Downtown Denver, as well as suburban power centers, lifestyle centers, long-term land development projects spanning 15-20+ years and strategic shopping center sales and acquisitions. Our role is dynamic and fun as it involves full integration with the market, understand changing trends and patterns, and a deep understanding of our clients businesses’ to effectively help execute on long-term goals for expansion, development or disposition. 

I have a genuine love for people and the most incredible team at SullivanHayes. I am eternally grateful for her partners who build her up every day, and constantly teaches her, and infuse joy into what could be the mundane. The right team chemistry is an intangible and true superpower. We have a great mix of personalities and team up in a variety of ways to hone our perspectives and skillets. I love going to work every day and hopes my passion for the business and our great city translates to our clients.

 

David Merisko

Mattis Partners
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People who know David would probably say he is known for being positive, energetic, and a little off the wall (especially in the mornings, when such traits seem to irritate people the most). Having fought through the tough real estate climate in Arizona, David learned firsthand the importance of diligent, almost painstakingly annoying follow up.  He has since parlayed this work ethic with extensive retail tenant representation and project leasing experience.

He is passionate about real estate, and has been since he was young. At the ripe age of 15, he would have told you he wanted to be a commercial real estate broker, even though he didn’t know what it was. He enjoys looking at properties almost to the point that it is unsafe for him to drive.

Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife Katie (who knows more about signage, access, and traffic patterns than any spouse should). His idea of the perfect day would be fly fishing in the morning, a round of golf in the afternoon, and his mom’s lasagna for dinner.

  • Arizona State University: Double Major in Real Estate and Finance, Magna Cum Laude
  • Commercial Leasing Update: Arizona Rookie of the Year
  • Completed 700 + Real Estate lease and sale transactions

Patrick Willett

Pace properties
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Patrick is the Managing Director – Brokerage at Pace Properties. Patrick’s focus is tenant representation, landlord representation, and property disposition services for clients. With over 20 years’ of experience in commercial real estate, he specializes in providing strategic consulting services to assist retailers in their store rollouts in St. Louis, Kansas City, and neighboring markets in Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois. Pat was named a CoStar Power Broker in 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2021. He was also named a “40 Under 40” Honoree by the St. Louis Business Journal in 2020.

Pat has assisted many retail and restaurant clients including Andretti’s, AT&T, Bibibop Asian Grill, Carter’s, Duluth Trading, The Edge Fitness Clubs, Gordon Foods Services, Home Goods, Mattress Firm, Marshalls, Meow Wolf, MOD Pizza, Pacific Dental Services, PetSmart, Salon Lofts, Shake Shack, Shoe Dept., Sierra Trading Post, TJ Maxx, TOCA, Top Golf, Tuesday Morning, and Ulta Beauty.

Mr. Willett works with many national and local landlords, including Baldridge Properties, Breihan Properties, Covenant Real Estate Management, Drury Development, Goldberg Properties, Kimco Realty, Kin Properties, Koch Development, Land Dynamics, McDonald’s, Quattro Development, Select Strategies, The Kroenke Group, Wall Development, and Viking Partners.

Patrick is a member of Innovating Commerce Serving Communities (ICSC), St. Louis Honor Flight, America’s Heartland Remembers 9/11, and the National Association for Children of Alcoholics. He is also the Kelley Charitable Foundation Chairperson for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America.

Patrick is a graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Real Estate. He is a native of the St. Louis area and resides in Sunset Hills with his wife, Amy, and their two children, Irie and Caroline.

Tenant Representation

With over 1,500 tenants exclusively represented throughout North America, the Tenant Representation team is comprised of ChainLinks brokers from coast to coast who collaborate on best practices and the latest trends in the marketplace. This group harnesses the national platform’s collective knowledge to ensure our clients remain ahead of their competition.

Team ContactS

Ray Jones

tscg
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Email

Andrew Murmes

Atlantic retail
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Email

Landlord Representation

The Landlord Representation team consists of targeted retail brokers who collectively oversee more than 4,000 properties consisting of 300,000,000 square feet of retail space throughout North America. The team provides a platform to collaborate and enhance offerings for our clients ensuring the highest level of service.

Team Contacts

Seth

Seth Biggerstaff

VERITAS REALTY
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Email

Kyle Wilcox

NEWMARKET COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ADVISORS
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Property Management

The Property Management team focuses on the intricacies of operating a shopping center. This group shares best practices, optimal technologies, cost-saving strategies, operational experiences, and tenant relationships.

Team Contact

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Brad Lefkowitz

Mid-America Real Estate Group
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Email

GIS/Technology/Marketing

This team is comprised of graphic designers, GIS specialists, and marketing experts from all of the individual offices. They interface to ensure all marketing materials are created with the most current technologies with clear, meaningful information. Further, this group works with third-party technology firms specializing in various services, including but not limited to mobile phone data and CRM, thus ensuring ChainLinks is at the forefront of the market.

Team Contact

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Jessica Pence

The Retail Connection
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Email

Rachel Shor

The Retail Connection
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Email

Restaurants

This team consists of restaurant-focused professionals from every market in the country who focus on all aspects of the sector, from local start-ups to national rollouts. They address multiple needs in the sector, including but not limited to deal structure strategies and funding.

Team Contacts

Tyler Quinn

TSCG
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Email

Sebastian Restifo

H&R Retail
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Email

Women of ChainLinks

The ChainLinks Women’s team is dedicated to inspiring, educating, and supporting women in retail real estate. Its core values are based upon connecting, mentoring, and empowering women for the betterment of ChainLinks and the overall real estate community.

Team Contact

Harper Sigman

H&R RETAIL
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Email

Kate Grewe

PACE PROPERTIES
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Email

2nd Generation

This team connects the younger generation of brokers within ChainLinks to address topics unique to them. In addition, seasoned brokers participate in this group to provide mentorship. This platform provides a venue for young brokers to form genuine relationships with other brokers throughout the country to ensure a successful career.

Team Contacts

Austin Hersh

Austin Hersh

h&r retail
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Email

Connor Wiemann

pace properties
Email

High Streets

The High Street Retail Team focuses on Landlord and Tenant representation in most of the United States most prominent urban corridors throughout our major cities. Rodeo Drive, South Beach, 5th Ave and more – all of our professionals focus on the unique retailers looking for top tier space in the urban core.

Team ContactS

Megan McCraney

Megan McCraney

TSCG | Atlanta
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Hospitality

The Hospitality team addresses all aspects of the real estate process, from site selection to the sale of existing hotels and all points in between. This group remains ahead of the curve by sharing information regarding different hotel brands, their requirements, logistics, and the evolution of each brand into the future.

Team ContactS

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Greg Shields

Spartan Partners CRE
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Charles Creigh

NEWMARKET COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ADVISORS
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Retail Logistics

Members of Retail Logistics are involved in the leasing, investment sales, or development process for industrial real estate across the country. 

The Retail Logistic Council is an intimate peer group within the ChainLinks Network that provides our members a place to develop deep relationships, exchange knowledge, and conduct business. Our focus is on retailers and their ever-expanding demand for e-commerce & last-mile logistics space. 

Team Contacts

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Christina Strickland

NEWMARKET ADVISORS

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Robbie Scholes

NEWMARKET ADVISORS


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Senior Living

The ChainLinks Senior Living team brings formidable local expertise to the senior housing realm. Its roster of brokers in all regions of the country work on development, valuation, acquisition, and disposition transactions, as well as mixed-use projects with a senior housing component. This team is an invaluable resource for savvy senior housing developers and investors because they leverage their considerable experience to advise on location, demographics, competition, and deal terms.

Team Contacts

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David Dobek

SullivanHayes Brokerage
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Email