Contis to Become Senior Executive Vice President at Simon Property Group
INDIANAPOLIS, March 16, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --
Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE: SPG), the country's largest owner, developer and manager of high quality retail real estate, announced today that retail real estate veteran David Contis, age 52, will become a senior executive vice president and president of the company's mall platform. Contis will join SPG on Monday, May 2.
Contis is currently the president of real estate for Chicago-based Equity Group Investments (EGI) and reports directly to EGI founder and Chairman Sam Zell. In this role, Contis provides asset management and strategic counsel to Zell regarding his domestic and international real estate investments.
"David spent 16 years working for Equity and came back five years ago to help us reorganize our real estate operations," Zell said. "His contributions have been many. He thrives onbeing in an operating position and will be a valuable contributor to Simon. His leaving Equity will not terminate his extensive and long standing relationship with me and my family."
"Our long-tenured management team has demonstrated industry leadership and we continue to build our management strength to grow our business," said David Simon, Chairman and CEO of SPG. "With over 30 years of real estate experience and 20 years overseeing mall portfolios, both public and private, David will reinforce this enviable position which we have worked so hard to achieve. David will be a great addition to SPG and I look forward to working with him closely."
"Throughout my career," Contis said, "I have been fortunate to work with David Simon and his team. I have always been impressed with the people at Simon and am delighted to become part of such an extraordinary company."
Rick Sokolov, president and COO of SPG said, "I welcome David to our executive team."
Simon Property Group
Simon Property Group, Inc. is an S&P 500 company and the largest real estate company in the U.S. The Company currently owns or has an interest in 393 retail real estate properties comprising 264 million square feet of gross leasable area in North America, Europe and Asia. Simon Property Group is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and employs more than 5,000 people worldwide. The Company's common stock is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol SPG. For further information, visit the Simon Property Group website at www.simon.com.
SOURCE Simon Property Group, Inc.
