Known to the nation as Mary, Queen of Shops, Mary Portas has made an indelible mark on British retail. Starting her career as a Saturday girl at John Lewis, she soon became a window dresser at Harrods and then Topshop. In 1989, Mary was appointed Creative Director of Harvey Nichols, and is largely credited with turning the department store into a leading modern fashion destination. In 1997, Mary left Harvey Nichols to launch Portas, a fully integrated creative agency and consultancy for retailers. Working on an international level, the business advises clients from every continent, covering every sector of the industry, from mass market brands to high-end luxury, from online to real time. Distinguished by an unrelenting focus on customers and the cultural trends that shape their lives, Mary and her diverse team of strategists, designers and creatives offer made-to-measure services, creating bespoke ecosystems that marry intelligence, instinct and AI.

Specialist in Shopping Centre, high street retail portfolios and development.

Adrian's 30 year career has resulted in immeasurable experience and a strong track record in the retail sector, specialising in investment, development, strategic advice as well as fund and joint venture structuring. Since 2007 Adrian has bought or sold over 50 shopping centre investments, with a value totalling £2.6 billion.

Key clients include Hermes, LaSalle Investment Management, Aberdeen Asset Management, Scottish Widows, Standard Life Investments, Threadneedle, Henderson Global Investors, Meyer Bergman , Legal & General, Centros, LBG, IBRC and Land Securities plc.

He has also provided investment advice on niche London schemes such as Battersea Power Station, Whiteleys Bayswater, St Albans, St Christopher’s Place, Greenwich Peninsula, Brunswick Centre Bloomsbury.

Previously Adrian built and headed the UK Retail investment teams at both Churston Heard and JLL

Mario C. Bauer is an entrepreneur and advisor to Vapiano. For almost a decade he was

responsible at Vapiano as an executive for international growth & partnerships. He and his team have

opened and continue to operate over 200 restaurants in 33 countries around the globe.

“All we do, we do with love to refresh your life” is the vision of Vapiano ‐ a fresh casual, front cooking

Pasta – Pizza – Bar lifestyle concept within a Mediterranean ambience.

While growing up in his family’s restaurant in Austria, Mario developed an entrepreneurial

mindset from a young age by founding several startups such as Bagel Station (bagel & coffee shop

concept) or Papernomad (sustainable ipad sleeves). His current adventure is Curtice Brothers, an

organic boutique ketchup cooked in Tuscany (www.curticebrothers.com), where he can live up to this

credo, that in life only two things matter “Love & Food”.

Mario has a true international mindset, and is constantly travelling around the world. His harbor is a

houseboat in Amsterdam, where he and his girlfriend enjoy feeding the ducks in the morning and

hosting friends from around the world.

At present, she joint leads the asset management team and oversees the estate management, property management, placemaking and regeneration initiatives at Argent’s King’s Cross development. This is a major mixed use scheme in central London. Before joining Argent six years ago, Anna worked for the planning and development team at Arup leading a number of planning and regeneration projects for the public and private sector.

Maybe* is a platform that eliminates the gap between how shoppers want to shop and how retailers are able to connect with them.

...coming soon!

Taylor McWilliams is the Managing Partner of Hondo Enterprises, a property investment, development and asset management company specializing in opportunistic and value-add transactions in Central London. Hondo was formed in 2013 after Taylor spent 6 years working for Atlas Capital where he was a Director and responsible for all UK investments including property operations, asset management and acquisitions. Atlas’ portfolio consists of over $2.5 billion of residential, commercial, developmental land, and hotel real estate assets in New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C. and London. While at Atlas, Taylor was responsible for the acquisition, refurbishment and releasing of nearly a million square feet of prime City office accommodation including 20 Gracechurch Street, Cannon Bridge House and Vintners Place. He was also able to successfully restructure over £300 million of financing post-recession secured against these assets. Hondo Enterprises’ portfolio includes the 120 bedroom Curtain Hotel and members club, the 21 story mixed use Relay Building in Aldgate, a development portfolio of NCP car parks and the recent acquisition of Brixton Market.

...coming soon!

Ellen Lewis, Vice President - Ellen Lewis joined Meyer Bergman as Asset Manager in 2012, spearheading Meyer Bergman’s retail marketing and commercialization efforts across the portfolio. She has vast experience within the lifestyle sector, with expert knowledge in luxury retail. Her focus is to develop and implement shopping centre marketing strategies that improve the customer shopping experience and dwell time, increase traffic and retailer conversion, which ultimately enhance income streams leading to increased asset value.

Ellen previously worked for Jones Lang LaSalle for five years as Retail Marketing & Commercialisation Director, where she significantly grew the division’s turnover in excess of £1million, managed a team of eight, and oversaw account management for Aviva, Standard Life Investment, Grosvenor, Scottish Widows, LaSalle Investment Management, and Meyer Bergman.

Ellen has been instrumental in driving marketing campaigns that reinvigorated leasing activity at challenged schemes and created the world’s first pop-up store floor within a shopping mall. She was recognized for her contributions with the award of the 2010 European Leaders Award for delivering outstanding contributions to Jones Lang LaSalle’s Retail Business and EMEA.

Ellen has over 16 years of retail marketing experience, previously working with brands including Royal Exchange London, Matthew Williamson, Agent Provocateur, Bourjois Cosmetics, Clarins (Australia), Eton Town House Group and Millennium Hotels.

James is a KLM Partner with over 30 years of experience in retail property. He has advised on a wide range of projects including London Estate Strategies, Shopping Centre asset management, High Street developments and retailer expansion and portfolio strategies.

Clients include The Pollen Estate, City of London, The Bedford Estates, Hunter REIM, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, Norges Bank Investment Management, Redevco, Catalyst Capital. James has worked closely with major retailers such as H&M, Jones Bootmaker, Kiko Cosmetics, Ferrari, Boggi and Swatch.

Current projects include 100% prime boutiques on New Bond Street, Estate strategy and leasing for Savile Row and Cork Street, Mayfair, City of London Corporation's Tower Bridge developments and the Hanningtons Estate in Brighton.

James’s passion for retail property comes from the diverse and constantly varying challenges it delivers and most of all the great friendships made. Out of the office James is a keen road cyclist and occasional triathlete – combining both with an appreciation of a good pint with friends.

Charlie has a broad experience of over 8 years working in property on behalf of well known retailers, landlords from his time as Head of retail at Grosvenor estate and large start ups such as Deliveroo where he helped start the new Deliveroo Editions concept.

He is now Head of UK Business Development at the Storefront, an international marketplace for short term retail. It is known as the 'air b n b' for retail. He manages landlord partnerships and helps match their prime spaces with quality brand requests.