Women in Retail: 24 trailblazers for 2024

Our fourth annual showcase of senior female leaders includes those who are having a profound impact on the physical retail environment and leading the next generation of destinations and investment.

While the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is clear in terms of creating diverse leadership, the list as ever continues to be a reminder that there is still a very long way to in terms of ensuring better leadership representation across the BAME community in both retail and real estate.

Our list will no doubt cause many of you to think of others we may have included, so please do let us know who you think we should feature in future articles.

The new retail equation: 24 for 2024

Cindy Andersen, managing director, Ingka Centres

Ingka Centres has reinvested in real estate after the first urban Livat format opened in Hammersmith, London. Since then there have been further projects in San Francisco, Toronto, Paris and Brighton, plus Indian and Chinese projects. as it mixes between major lifestyle centres and downtown formats. Andersen – a long-time IKEA executive and frequent MAPIC speaker – has constantly reaffirmed the company’s commitment to physical shopping, while the Ingka Group has invested heavily in sustainability across its businesses.

Giny Boer, CEO, C&A Europe

Giny Boer joined C&A Europe as CEO in January 2021, replacing Edward Brenninkmeijer, the outgoing CEO of C&A Europe and CEO of C&A, who stepped down from both roles on 31 December 2020. Boer says she is passionate about supporting women in leadership positions, “sharing the lessons I learned and working towards a future in which leadership is never a question of gender, but solely about talent and delivering results”. Birgit Kretschmer, CFO, plus COO Minette Bellingan, Betty KieB, chief communications officer, and Fareen Abdullah, chief people & culture officer, are also on the board.

Dee Corsi, chief executive, NWEC

Dee Corsi took over as head of London West End BID, NWEC, in September 2022 and has had a big role on her hands to help reinvigorate the UK capital, notably Oxford Street. NWEC has been heavily involved in a range of improvement projects and in lobbying for tax-free status to be reinstated for goods bought by foreign nationals.

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Helen Dickinson, CEO, British Retail Consortium?

Helen Dickinson is a well-known lobbyist for UK retail and was appointed as the chief executive of the BRC in?2012. Dickinson leads the team and sets the strategic direction of the BRC, which has more than 5,000 members, which make up around 60% of the UK’s retail market share.

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Inês Drummond Borges, chief transformation officer, Sonae Sierra

Inês Drummond Borges joined Sonae Sierra in 2021 to take charge of the company’s commercial, cultural and digital transformation. Previously, she was marketing director for Portugal and Spain at Worten, Sonae’s electronics retailer, where she played a central role in the design and delivery of the company’s digital transformation process, from 2015. Ana Guedes de Oliveira is executive managing director, asset management. Since 2009, she has managed the company’s real estate development area, and is also a member of the sustainability committee. In 2002 she took charge of the company’s investment management activities.

Judith Everett, executive director, purpose, sustainability and stakeholder, The Crown Estate

Judith Everett joined The Crown Estate in 2013, and sits on its group leadership team as executive director of purpose, sustainability and stakeholder. In this role, she is focused on driving forward The Crown Estate’s commitments on Net Zero. Prior to joining The Crown Estate, she worked with Shell, Scottish Enterprise, Columbia Threadneedle Investments and AstraZeneca.

Joanna Fisher, CEO, ECE Marketplaces

As CEO of ECE Marketplaces, Joanna Fisher has been responsible for the entire shopping centre business of the ECE Group since January 2021. For more than 20 years, the management of shopping centres has been her core business at ECE and she is a regular speaker at MAPIC events, while she is an advisory board member at MEC Metro-ECE.?

Rita-Rose Gagne, CEO, Hammerson

As CEO of UK-based retail developer Hammerson Rita-Rose Gagne has been repositioning the REIT and divesting no-core assets, after spending nearly 14 years with Canadian investor Ivanhoe Cambridge. She has overseen a major transformation of the Hammerson business, which has consolidated its retail assets and diversified its portfolio.

Michelle Gass, president and CEO, Levi’s Strauss

Michelle Gass has been LS&Co’’s president and CEO since the start of 2024. She is also on the company’s board of directors. She joined in 2023 as the company’s president, responsible for leading the Levi’s brand and the company’s global digital and commercial operations until the board of directors appointed her CEO in 2024. Prior to joining LS&Co, she was CEO of Kohl’s.

Kajsa Hernell, managing director, Nordic Council of Shopping Centers

Kajaa Hernell has been managing director of the Nordic Council of Shopping Centers since 2018, after working across a range of industries, most recently with Stockholm-based Sveriges Textilhandlare, supporting the Scandinavian fashion sector.

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Laura Hines-Pierce, co-CEO, Hines

Laura Hines-Pierce is co-CEO of Hines, working with chairman and co-CEO Jeff Hines to help shape strategy and manage key risks. She is a member of the firm’s executive committee and a member of the investment committee. She joined Hines in 2012 and her responsibilities included zoning and entitlement, plus relationship management with equity partner Ivanhoe Cambridge.

Annette Kroger, CEO North and Central Europe, Allianz Real Estate

Annette Kroeger is CEO of North and Central Europe at Allianz Real Estate Germany with responsibility for Allianz’ real estate investments within the market area of Germany, Austria, CEE, Nordics and Ireland. Having joined Allianz RE in 2009, she became head of acquisitions in 2011 and in 2015 she was appointed CEO of Allianz Real Estate Germany.

Daniela Lauret, chief development officer, Klepierre

Daniela Lauret learned the retail business through design and master-planning, working for the French office of Wimotte & Associates before spending a decade at global practice Chapman Taylor. In January 2021, she took over as chief development officer at French real estate giant Klepierre.

Lonneke L?wik, CEO, INREV

Listed investment organisation INREV has been led by Lonneke L?wik since December 2021. At the helm of the Amsterdam-based group, Lowik has led research from INREV and other property groups to try and determine the level of DEI activity within the real estate industry and to promote the advancement of women in senior board positions.

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Sara Lucas, chief executive, Grosvenor Property Europe

Sara Lucas is responsible for leading, implementing and growing Grosvenor’s investment and development activities in Europe and is based in Paris. Before being appointed CEO in 2019, she led the portfolio management activities of Grosvenor’s European business. Prior to joining Grosvenor in 2011, she worked at the Royal Bank of Scotland where she was director in the real estate finance department. Prior to this, she was a director of Savills France.

Susie McCabe, co-CEO, McArthurGlen

Susie McCabe earned her stripes in retail, a long-time executive with Polo Ralph Lauren – where at points she was focused on its outlet business – before joining Under Armour as its SVP of global retail. Now she is co-CEO of designer outlet giant McArthurGlen Group as the business looks to build on easing travel restrictions.

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Kathleen McCarthy, global co-head of real estate, Blackstoneatalie Massenet, board member, Everlane

Kathleen McCarthy is the global co-head of Blackstone Real Estate, the largest owner of commercial real estate globally. McCarthy focuses on driving performance and growth for Blackstone’s real estate business. She previously served as global COO of Blackstone Real Estate.

Amy O’Brien, global head of responsible investing, Nuveen

Amy O’Brien leads a 20+ member team and is responsible for creating a holistic responsible investment vision and unified framework across Nuveen and TIAA. The framework establishes the firm’s overall philosophy in investment decisions and new product development.

Christina Ofschonka, managing director fund management, AEW

Christina Ofschonka is a managing director and senior fund manager at AEW, based in Frankfurt. She has overall responsibility for the management of AEW’s pan-European core funds, including fund strategy, portfolio construction and client relationships. Prior to joining AEW in 2016, Ofschonka worked as a portfolio manager at Alte Leipziger..

Sophie van Ooosterom, global head of real estate, Schroders

Sophie van Ooosterom has worked across a number of major investment groups, including Lehman Brothers, Silverpeak Real Estate Partners and, more recently CBRE Global Investors. In January 2021 she joined Schroders as global head of real estate.

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Claudia Plath, CFO, ECE Group

Claudia Plath has been CFO of ECE since 2013. Her career at ECE began in 1996 as a controller. After five years, she took over management tasks as team leader in controlling in 2001. From 2004 onwards, she led the asset and corporate controlling division including the national subsidiaries. As managing director finance, Plath has been responsible for accounting, controlling, risk management, corporate finance, and asset management for all shopping centres since 2013.

Caroline Puechoultres, chief customer and retail officer, URW

Caroline Puechoultres is a seasoned retail professional, with a career history that spans Intermarche, Kaufman and, most recently, French grocery giant Carrefour. Now she is in charge of customer strategies, data digital and marketing at one of the world’s largest retail real estate groups.

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Sabina Reeves, chief economist and head of insights & intelligence, CBRE Investment Management

Reeves is global chief economist and global head of real assets research for CBRE Investment Management. She is responsible for the firm’s 30-member real assets research team and has a specific role in selecting the economic scenarios and macro risk assessments that power the firm’s forecasts. Kim Hourihan is CIO at CBRE Investment Management, after joining the company in 2007. In her previous roles with the firm, she served as CIO for the Americas Direct real estate business, as an executive managing director and fund manager, and as the portfolio manager for two international sovereign wealth fund clients with total AUM with the firm of more than $4bn.

Chin Yean Cheng, CFO, CapitaLand Development

Chin Yean Cheng is CFO of CapitaLand Development and oversees the functions of financial accounting and reporting, treasury and taxation. Yean Cheng was previously the general manager of CLA Real Estate Holdings, where she oversaw the company’s corporate functions and asset management. Also among the management, Goh Ah Moi is chief development officer and Lorraine Ng chief corporate officer.