Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani will be the keynote speaker at this year’s ICSC New York Dealmaking event, Bisnow has learned.

Jason Richter, a principal at Hudson and Capricorn Asset Management who will be chairing the event this year, called Giuliani’s attendance “a major coup,” saying “he’s no doubt one of the city’s greatest mayors and all-around citizens, and from a leadership perspective, it will be very exciting to hear what he has to say.”

The event will be held on Dec. 7 and 8 this year, so Giuliani will be speaking shortly after the general election in November. Jason says he’ll likely spend at least some time discussing “the next president’s likely impact on the real estate business, both nationally and here in New York.”

ICSC’s New York event is expected to draw about 10,000 attendees this year, and Jason says the planning committee is working on expanding that. If all goes according to plan, Jason says, the New York event could reach the size of ICSC’s flagship RECon event in Vegas, which draws roughly 36,000 attendees annually, in just a few years.