Chris Byers joined CenterCal in 2010 with more than 20 years of experience in commercial real estate. Ms. Byers oversees leasing of the growing portfolio of mixed-use centers and development projects for the Intermountain Region.
 

Prior to joining CenterCal, Chris worked as Director of Real Estate and was responsible for the strategic development and growth for national retailers such as Chico’s, White House Black Market, Soma, and Coldwater Creek. Her valuable relationships and experience from the retail side of the business has given her a unique view and perspective into the successful merchandising and leasing strategies across the CenterCal portfolio.
 

Ms. Byers attended the University of Utah and has been a member of ICSC for over 25 years. Chris was born and raised in Salt Lake City and is married with two children.

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, LEASING

CHRIS BYERS

Sean Dennison is CenterCal Properties’ Senior Vice President and General Counsel, overseeing the company’s legal affairs. In this role, Sean is responsible for structuring, negotiating and closing acquisitions, dispositions, property-secured financings and leasing transactions for CenterCal’s portfolio. He is also responsible for dispute resolution and the management of CenterCal’s trademark assets. Significant accomplishments at CenterCal include (1) the acquisition, development, construction, financing and leasing of the Village at Totem Lake, a major mixed-use project located in Kirkland, Washington involving multiple condominium associations and public-private elements; (2) the joint venture, acquisition and financing of 2nd & PCH, a newly-constructed retail center in Long Beach, California; and (3) the acquisition, development, construction, financing and leasing of Mountain View Village, an approximately 90-acre master-planned project comprised of 3 integrated phases, each with a different product type and financing structure. 

Mr. Dennison has been in commercial real estate for the past 21 years when he began as an Associate at ShawPittman LLP (now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman) in Washington, DC. Since then, he has been with The Lerner Corporation, a leading Washington-area developer; The Gap, Inc., a leading retailer; Stanbery Development, LLC, a lifestyle center developer; and Federal Realty Investment Trust where, just prior to coming onboard at CenterCal, he spent 6 years working on projects such as Santana Row, Third Street Promenade, Plaza El Segundo and The Point.  

Mr. Dennison is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, is active as an annual speaker in ICSC and is a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL). Mr. Dennison and his wife live in Hermosa Beach with their two children and their Labrador.

GENERAL COUNSEL

SEAN DENNISON

Gary Hall has held the position of Vice President, Community Center Leasing for CenterCal Properties, LLC since 2011. Mr. Hall is responsible for co-captaining the Leasing Department efforts of a dynamic and growing portfolio of mixed-use and promotional power centers. He has had the good fortune to work on all but one of the assets within the CenterCal portfolio. 

Prior to joining CenterCal, Mr. Hall’s real estate career began as a Real Estate Manager for Albertsons. During his tenure there, Mr. Hall worked on multiple grocery store expansion projects and was part of the team that originally rolled out the fuel center program throughout the organization.  After leaving Albertsons, Mr. Hall joined the development side of the business as Director of Leasing for several development companies based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Mr. Hall received his Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Finance from Boise State University and has been a member of ICSC for over 24 years. He lives in Meridian, Idaho with his wife and overly needy Sheepadoodle. He also has two children currently attending college.

VICE PRESIDENT, LEASING

GARY HALL

Peter Houck is Senior Vice President of Properties for CenterCal Properties, LLC. Mr. Houck brings over 22 years of retail, office and mixed-use management experience to CenterCal and is responsible for overall asset management, property operations and financial results for the portfolio. Over the past 9 years with CenterCal, Mr. Houck as led 14 project Grand Openings, expanded the Property Management team, created an Asset Management function and enhanced the operating platform to meet the needs of CenterCal’s growing portfolio.  Additionally, Mr. Houck oversaw the implementation of several new technologies including Yardi, ReMapp, and Datex, creating the high performance management platform that is in existence today.  

Mr. Houck previously worked for Related Urban in management roles at premier assets including Time Warner Center in Manhattan, CityNorth in Phoenix and Anaheim GardenWalk. Prior to joining Related Urban, Mr. Houck held the role of General Manager with Brookfield Properties, overseeing 700 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago followed by 75 State Street in Boston. With Urban Retail Properties, Mr. Houck held management positions at Louis Joliet Mall, Fox Valley Mall, 730 North Michigan Avenue and Water Tower Place in the Chicagoland area.

Mr. Houck received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from University of Iowa and is an active member of ICSC.

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, PROPERTIES

PETER HOUCK

Paul Kurzawa joins CenterCal Properties as Chief Operating Officer based out of the corporate office in El Segundo, CA. Mr. Kurzawa brings over 27 years of international experience working in the commercial real estate and entertainment business where he has held several leadership roles with both developers and operators, including Blackstone/Equity Office, Dreamworks Animation, Caruso Affiliated and Westfield. He has been directly involved in the development of several iconic projects including Fashion Valley in San Diego, Westfield Century City and Valley Fair, the Americana at Brand in Glendale as well as Willis Tower in Chicago.  Most recently, Mr. Kurzawa has held the position of Executive Vice President – Director of Operations for Unibail Rodamco Westfield in Los Angeles, CA. There he was responsible for development and delivery of the overall strategic financial operating performance for URW’s $24 billion US real estate portfolio comprised of retail, office, residential and land holdings.
 

Mr. Kurzawa earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and Public Policy from Australia National University in Canberra, Australia. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children. He loves the outdoors and enjoys hiking, golf and skiing. 

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

PAUL KURZAWA

Shawn Mitchell joins CenterCal Properties as Vice President, Information Systems and will be working remotely from Phoenix, AZ. Shawn is an accomplished technical leader with twenty years of experience delivering results for medium-sized and Fortune 100 clients alike.

Shawn comes directly from Vestar in Phoenix, AZ where since 2016, he has worked as their Director of Information Systems. There he was directly responsible for all technical facets of the organization including applications, security, procurement, vendor management, VOIP infrastructure, and server/network management for a dispersed user base in twenty offices over seven states. From 2014-2016, Shawn was employed as Application Development Manager for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona as the IT leader responsible for the resourcing, vision and support of multiple Agile teams supporting 100+ applications. From 2012-2014, Shawn worked as Solutions Director for Brookfield Asset Management in Scottsdale where he headed up a team of senior resources responsible for the technical product management with 25MM in yearly capital spending. Shawn also held the positions of Director of Systems Analysis with Prudential Financial from 2009-2012; Integration Architect from 2007-2009 also with Prudential; Solutions Architect for Two Connect in Melbourne, Australia from 2006-2007; and Software Engineer for Camstar Systems, Charlotte, NC from 2000-2006.

Shawn received a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems from Appalachian State University and an Advanced Project Management certification from the Stanford Center for Professional Development. Shawn enjoys spending time with his wife and two young daughters, is an avid sports fan and fitness enthusiast. 

VICE PRESIDENT, INFORMATION SERVICES

SHAWN MITCHELL

John Nahas joins CenterCal Properties as President, Southern California based out of the corporate office in El Segundo, CA. John comes to us directly from Regency Centers where since 2016, he held the position of Vice President, Investments in Southern California.  In this role, John led the formation of market strategy and was responsible for the acquisition, design, entitlement, leasing and construction of retail and mixed-use assets.  John also led Regency’s REmix innovation committee which pursued strategic initiatives relative to its business plan.

Previously, John was Senior Manager, Investments for Regency Centers and managed a cross-functional regional development team in its execution of re/development projects throughout Regency’s Southern California portfolio.  Prior to joining Regency in 2015, John served as Vice President at CoastOak Group, a privately held real estate development and investment management company.  At CoastOak, he was responsible for the evaluation of domestic and international investment opportunities, with a focus on residential communities.

With more than 15 years of industry experience, John has led the development of over $500 million of retail and residential projects.  He earned his Master’s in Real Estate Development degree from the University of Southern California, and his B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.

John is an avid skier and scuba diver and enjoys exploring the great outdoors with his wife and daughter.

PRESIDENT, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

JOHN NAHAS

Craig Ramey joins CenterCal Properties as President, Pacific NW and Bay Area based out of the Bridgeport Village office in Tigard, Oregon. Craig comes to us most recently from Regency Centers where he held the position of Managing Director of the Pacific Northwest, Northern California, and Colorado. While there, Craig was responsible for overseeing the formulation, growth, and management of property development and investment business in these markets. 

Previously, Craig was Senior Vice President and Senior Market Officer for Regency Centers for over 20 shopping centers in Oregon and Washington, totaling 1.6 million square feet. He joined Regency as Senior Vice President of Investments in 1998 through the merger with Pacific Retail Trust. Since then he has initiated the development or redevelopment of 25 shopping centers, worth a total cost of more than $650 million. He was appointed Senior Vice President and Senior Market Officer in 2009. Craig has also served as Senior Vice President for MBK Northwest, a division of MBK Real Estate, based in Irvine, CA.

Craig earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Oregon State University and is a Certified Public Accountant. He enjoys spending time with his wife and four children, skiing in central Oregon, golfing and hiking. 

PRESIDENT, PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND BAY AREA

CRAIG RAMEY

Brent Taravella joins CenterCal Properties as Chief Financial Officer based out of the corporate office in El Segundo, California. Mr. Taravella comes to us from Caruso Affiliated, Los Angeles, CA, where from 2018 – 2020, he held the position of Senior Vice President, Finance and was a key member of the executive staff that defined and executed company strategies across a portfolio of real estate assets which included retail, office, residential, restaurants, and a luxury hotel. Previously, from 2015-2017, Mr. Taravella worked as Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for McCourt Global in New York City, a privately owned alternative asset investment management firm, with holdings in real estate, finance, sports, and media.

At McCourt, he was responsible for finance and operations including oversight of finance and accounting, tax, business development, FP&A, compliance, legal, risk management, and human resources for the global business operations. From 2012-2015, Mr. Taravella worked as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer for iHeartMedia (formerly Clear Channel) in New York City where he was responsible for the financial operations of iHeartRadio, iHeart Networks (Premiere Network and Total Traffic & Weather Network) and the Katz Media Group. Prior to that, Mr. Taravella worked for Fox Television Stations in New York City from 1998-2012 as Vice President, Finance & Administration for Fox Stations Sales where he was responsible for budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, risk management, and creating an environment with strong internal controls for 13 offices with combined billing ranging from $700 million to $1 billion annually.

Mr. Taravella received his Bachelor of Business Administration/Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin, and his MBA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Mr. Taravella is also a Certified Public Accountant. He is a huge movie buff, lives in Culver City, CA, and is married with three teenagers and Stella the dog.

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

BRENT TARAVELLA

Craig Trottier rejoins CenterCal as President, Intermountain, based out of the Station Park office in Farmington, UT. Since 2014, Mr. Trottier held the position of Senior Vice President, Retail Leader with Trammell Crow Company in Houston, TX.  Preceding that, from 2008-2014, Mr. Trottier was Vice President, Development with CenterCal Properties. During that time, Mr. Trottier led the successful development of Station Park as well as The Village at Meridian in Meridian, ID.  With more than 30 years’ experience in commercial real estate development, Mr. Trottier has held key leadership positions within the public and private sectors as well as national REITs.

Mr. Trottier’s expertise spans throughout all phases of real estate development where he takes projects from concept to cash flow. He has effectively assembled and led development teams throughout the country and been responsible for the development of almost $2 billion of completed retail and mixed-use projects. He has also leased millions of square feet of retail and office space to world class tenants. Craig received his Associate of Science, Sales and Retailing and Bachelor of Science, Finance Degree’s from Weber State University in Ogden, UT and his MBA in Marketing and Finance from Utah State University in Logan, UT.

Mr. Trottier, his wife and their 3 sons relocated from Texas back to Utah.

PRESIDENT, INTERMOUNTAIN

CRAIG TROTTIER