Chris Igwe

Biography: Chris Igwe is one of the world’s leading authorities on global retail and highly sought after for his passionate views, deep knowledge and great insights. Based in Paris, he is special advisor to global brands, owners and investors on strategic matters at his own consultancy firm, Chris Igwe International. He is also Managing Partner at More Or Less, a company which represents exclusively tenants in their portfolio and lease-related problems. Chris is Co-Chair of the ULI Europe Retail and Entertainment Council and a member of the European leadership of ULI. From 2007 to 2015 he was Senior Director EMEA and Head of Retail, France at CBRE, and before that, Head of Real Estate Europe at Gap, and prior to that Head of Real Estate Europe at Foot Locker Europe. Chris was also Managing Director Europe for ICSC. Retail clients have included 7 For All Mankind, Aesop, Costco, Disney, Farrow & Ball, Fossil, Hard Rock Café, Michael Kors, Nike, Sunglass Hut, Swarovski, TUMI, Vapiano. Landlord clients have included AEW, Apsys, Deutsche Bank, Eurodisney, FREO, Grosvenor, Inter Ikea, Value Retail, Unibail Rodamco. Chris is an international speaker, former Jury Member for ICSC, RLI, CNCC, and a long-standing Steering Committee Member and Conference Master of Ceremony (2011 – 2019) for MAPIC. He has also lectured for ICSC, UK’s Bayfield Training, EFAP MBA in Paris and Abu Dhabi Paris Sorbonne University. He is a Chartered Civil Engineer, holds a BSc in Civil Engineering and an MSc in Geotechnical Engineering. Chris was recognised by his peers as a recipient of the “2014 ICSC Award for Outstanding Service to the Research Community”. Chris is multi-lingual and enjoys being a coach and mentor to young professionals. Chris was honoured by being appointed to become a Global Governing Trustee of ULI in June 2020. Chris is Co-Author of "Secrets of Working Across Five Continents: Thriving Through The Power of Cultural Diversity", Emerald Publishing (Nov. 2020) www.sowa5c.com