TEAM

Founder and Principal

James Chung

Over the course of his career, James has represented more than 100 national and regional tenants and landlords, many of them Fortune 500 companies, and has transacted more than 15 million square feet across nine Bay Area counties — some of the most coveted real estate in the world. With over a billion dollars in total lease consideration and sales in his locker of experience, James is relentlessly focused on delivering consistency, creativity, and transparency to his clients: he focuses on service, not fees, regardless of deal size. He views great retail brokers as “traffic engineers”: “I can tell you every make and model of cars driving by a particular intersection in San Francisco or San Jose, because I’m on the streets watching what’s happening,” he says. “Now more than ever, that information is critical. We know who’s in the market, and why they’re doing it — and that gives our team a unique edge to consult at a very high level and to communicate how market conditions are changing.”

Econic’s roster of clients has included everything from well known brands like adidas, Sur La Table, Starbucks Coffee, 24 Hour Fitness, Capital One, Chase Bank, US Bank, Party City, PGA Superstore, Salon Republic, Darden, Hmart, MOD Pizza, AT&T, Hibbett Sports, Save Mart Companies, Living Spaces, Inspire Brands, WellBiz Brands, Sutter Health, Fidelity, Cinepolis, and Kids Care Dental to Michelin star chefs and restaurants like Iron Chef Morimoto, Protégé, Back Of The House, and Orchard City Kitchen. Chung’s agency work on behalf of national REITs and property developers includes such names as Federal Realty, Hunter Properties, Kimco, Black Rock, Balboa Retail Partners, TRC, CIM, Jamestown, Donahue Schriber, and Keenan Land Company.

James is a sought-after speaker, writer, and subject matter expert in retail and commercial real estate and contributes regularly to the Silicon Valley Business Journal, San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News. He’s also been named Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2012, ASVB (Association of Silicon Valley Brokers) Broker of the Year in 2015 and 2016, and among Chain Store Age’s “Power Four.” He is a longtime and deeply invested member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), which he served as State Director from 2014 to 2017.

Executive Director

Josh Shumsky

Josh Shumsky joined The Econic Company in 2023 as an executive director and brings more than 11 years of commercial real estate brokerage experience to his role. Before joining Econic, Josh represented clients in lease and sale transactions at a large global CRE brokerage, where he was consistently recognized as a top producer. He has also worked in-house at retailers including Pacific Sunwear and Orchard Supply Hardware and has cultivated a deep understanding of what truly matters to retailers in site selection and expansion strategies.

From the outset of his career, Josh has focused first not on the individual transaction, but on developing and solidifying long-term client relationships. He prides himself on the ability to evaluate a shopping center or client rollout on both a macro and micro level, asking the nuanced questions, from day one, required to effectively assist clients in achieving their goals and objectives. More than a brokerage relationship, this approach has made Josh an integrated partner working collaboratively with key decision makers and stakeholders across the retail real estate industry.

Josh’s national client list includes Brixmor, Brookfield, Epic Real Estate Partners, Sand Hill Properties, Republic Urban Properties, Equity Residential, Tharaldson Hospitality and Dunkin. In addition to project leasing, his sales experience includes such lifestyle and grocery anchored projects as Bay Street Emeryville, @First Shopping Center, JCPenney at Shops at Tanforan, La Fiesta Square and Lafayette Mercantile in Lafayette, Calif., and Hamilton Marketplace in Novato, Calif. He is actively involved in leading industry organizations, and is currently the ICSC Membership Chair for Northern California.

Senior Director

Kyle Goni

Kyle Goni is a Senior Director at The Econic Company specializing in representing national and regional retail tenants and regional shopping centers. With a pulse on local and national markets, Kyle gets creative in sourcing opportunities in finding the perfect match for tenant and ownership. Prior to joining the firm, Kyle represented both tenants and landlords alike in deals across California and the United States at Lockehouse Retail Group, a boutique CRE brokerage in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Kyle’s past and present client list includes Target Corporation, Life Time, H Mart, Kohl’s, Amazon, Visual Comfort & Co, Nick The Greek, KinderCare, Limon, Vitality Bowls, Crumbl, and The Breakfast Club. He has worked on behalf of national Landlords including Regency Centers, National Retail Properties, Sandhill Property Company, The Hanover Company, Valley Oak Partners, Kairos Investments, Prometheus, Healthpeak, Tallen Capital Partners, Sares Regis, Lyon Living, and LRG Investors. He has successfully helped Nick The Greek with their national expansion and has completed 36 deals for the brand in six different states to date.

Kyle is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and has worked in the commercial real estate industry for over a decade.

Director of Transactions and Marketing

Marisa Delgado

Marisa Delgado is the Director of Transactions and Marketing at The Econic Company. With over 14 years of retail experience, Marisa specializes both in agency and occupier representation, oversees all marketing communications, public relations and promotional activities. Marisa is integral in all facets of the transaction, from LOI negotiations to tenant coordination, in addition to being the backbone of all of Econic’s assets totaling over 15 million square feet. Moreover, she strategically manages and aids the development and roll-outs of Econic’s roster of national and regional tenants.

Marisa’s passion for excellence, professionalism, expertise and leadership all play a pivotal role in ensuring a successful experience for all of Econic’s business partners and clients.

Executive Director

Matt Sweeney

Matt Sweeney has been a retail real estate specialist since 2006 and joined The Econic Company as an Executive Director in 2023. His extensive knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area market and depth of experience working in the retail development industry has allowed him to artfully meet the needs of both tenants and landlords alike, earning him a reputation as a trusted advisor who always prioritizes the long-term interests of his clients. He has successfully negotiated hundreds of lease and sale transactions with national tenants, regional and local retailers, property owners and investors, developers and institutional REITs and multifamily owners with retail portfolios throughout the greater Bay Area.

Matt’s landlord clients include Brookfield Properties, Brixmor, Invesco, Kimco Realty, Hunter Properties, UBS, Carmel Partners, Dollinger Properties, Sand Hill Property Co, Prometheus, Equity Residential, Essex Property Trust, and Fairfield Residential. He has represented a wide range of retail tenants including CVS Pharmacy, Wells Fargo, Bassett Furniture, Grocery Outlet, Crunch Fitness, Great Clips, Bonchon Chicken, Golftec, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Firehouse Subs.

Some of Matt’s high profile development projects include:

● Almaden Ranch, a 350,000 SF destination retail center anchored by Bass Pro Shops, Total Wine & More, Guitar Center & Ulta.

● Main Street Cupertino, a 17-acre mixed use project including 130,500 SF of lifestyle retail 260,000 SF of Class-A Office, a 180 room hotel and 120 apartments.

● Pleasanton Gateway, a 129,000 SF neighborhood shopping center anchored by Safeway and CVS.

● Village at San Antonio, a major mixed-use development at the border of Mountain View, Palo Alto and Los Altos, including 120,177 square feet of urban ground floor retail and restaurant space, anchored by a 10-screen Showplace ICON Theatre, a 167 room Hyatt Centric Hotel, and 456,000 SF of Class-A office space.

Director

Megan McArthur

Megan joins The Econic Company with five years of real estate experience, specializing in national and local landlord and tenant representation. Her real estate career began as an administrative assistant, where she honed her skills in navigating deal processes, conducting market research, brand marketing, and handling legal documents. Within two years, she joined brokerage, specializing in retail.

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Megan possesses a comprehensive understanding of the market and its surrounding trade areas, enabling her to cater to the unique needs of her clients and their businesses. Megan’s Landlord clientele include but is not limited to Brookfield Properties, Jay Paul Company, Sand Hill Property Company, Brixmor, and Prometheus. Megan has also represented national and local businesses such as Five Guys, AFC Urgent Care, Limon Salon, and more.

Executive Director

Mike Conroy

Mike Conroy joins the econic company as a Director and brings a strong background in both national and regional tenant and landlord representation. His successful occupier experience includes household names such as AT&T, Door Dash, European Wax Centers, Chick-Fil-A, Citibank, Circle K, Five Below, Gelsons, H&R Block, Tokyo Central and Xponential Fitness Brands to name a few. His prestigious Landlord clientele include national REITS such as Balboa Retail Partners, Bixby Land Company, Harvest Properties, Kimco Realty, Regency Centers and TA Realty.

Being a San Jose native, Mike is able to leverage his lifetime of intimate knowledge and institutional relationships, adding a unique value proposition to the transaction.

Executive Director

Mike Costa

Mike Costa joins the econic company as an Executive Director and brings over 40 years of commercial real estate experience to the team. Synonymous with Bay Area retail real estate, Mike has successfully represented both Landlords and Tenants in the market ranging from institutional ownership groups to household national brands with names like Chic Fil A, 24 Hour Fitness, Party City to Regency Centers, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo and Hudson Pacific to name a few. Moreover, Mike has significant sales experience transacting treasured assets like El Paseo de Saratoga, Target in Dublin, United Artists in Redwood City, Knight Ridder in San Jose and more.

Mike’s body of experience brings an unparalleled depth of knowledge to the real estate process that makes him a highly sought after representative for all sides of the transaction.

Executive Director

Nicole Key

Nicole Key started her real estate career in property management and leasing for family-owned properties while in college and officially joined the industry upon graduating in 2011. From 2011 to 2017, Nicole established herself as a pillar in retail leasing and investment sales and in 2017, joined Cushman & Wakefield as a Managing Director of Retail Services to expand the company’s retail platform into the Central Valley. In February 2023, Nicole moved to The Econic Company where she opened the firm’s first Central Valley office.

Nicole has 12 years of experience in commercial real estate with an extensive background in investment sales, leasing, valuation, entitlements, escrows, asset management, and strategic advising. Her expertise includes financial analysis and modeling; investment advising for value appreciation, wealth management, and estate planning; procuring buyers and sellers for commercial investments; assessing and recommending solutions to reposition properties; effectively negotiating and advising throughout leasing assignments; and project managing developments and entitlements alongside her clients.

Nicole’s abbreviated tenant client list includes Chase Bank, Bank of Stockton, Dutch Bros. Coffee, Carl’s Jr, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Wienerschnitzel, Popeyes, Burger King, and Chevron. Her landlord/investor clients include Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (ROIC), The Krausz Company, Red Mountain Group, Brixmor, and Grupe Huber Commercial. She is currently leasing projects including College Square in Stockton, Union Crossings in Manteca, Spreckels Park in Manteca, Vintner’s Square in Lodi, and West Valley Mall in Tracy.

Senior Director

Nicole Lyon

Nicole Lyon is a Senior Director at the econic company and specializes in both Tenant and Landlord representation. She strategically assists national and regional tenants in achieving effective roll-outs throughout the entire Bay Area in addition to project leasing of all retail asset classes throughout Northern California.

Her distinguished landlord clientele include but are not limited to Hunter Properties, Blackrock, Federal Realty, Kimco, Regency Centers, TRC, and numerous other private and national REITs and developers. Nicole has created a niche in curating Tenant mixes in ground-up developments or upgrading existing Tenant merchandising mixes. Her current Leasing portfolio includes high identity projects like CityLine Sunnyvale, The Pruneyard in Campbell, Old Town Los Gatos, Westgate Center in San Jose, and many more. Moreover on the occupier side, she represents well known brands such as Dave’s Hot Chicken, Humphry Slocombe, The Boba Guys, Back of the House restaurant group, Gen Korean BBQ to name a few.

Prior to becoming a broker, Nicole managed nearly 1,000,000 square feet of retail property around the Bay area. As a property manager, Nicole worked closely with her Landlord clientele and their Tenants. This unique experience gave her a profound understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities faced by Landlords and retailers alike. In 2018, Nicole was awarded Connect Media’s prestigious Next Generation award.

Executive Director

Sean O’Carroll

Bay Area native commercial real estate broker Sean O’Carroll joined Econic in 2023 and brings more than three decades of experience in retail leasing and sales to his role. Prior to joining The Econic Company, he was an integral member of the retail leasing and sales teams at Cornish & Carey / Newmark for 23 years.

Sean is behind some of Northern California’s most highly visible deals for high-profile, national credit tenants like Ulta Beauty, Verizon Wireless, Panera Bread, Crunch Fitness, Wells Fargo, Grocery Outlet, Sprouts Farmers Market and Chase Bank. He takes a purposeful and thorough approach to retail leasing and strives to truly understand the core strategies and goals of his clients. Buoyed by a network of strong relationships and intimate knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area market, he curates a thoughtful and intentional execution strategy to implement and expand locations on behalf of tenants.

Over the past three decades, Sean has become deeply connected with major institutional and private owners such as UBS, Sandhill Properties, Essex Real Estate Trust, and DPI and is recognized as a key player in the commercial real estate community. He is well respected for his ability to both expertly and creatively negotiate complex deals while maintaining integrity on behalf of all parties. Sean has been recognized by industry professional organizations for his achievements and has received numerous accolades over the years. He is currently a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the Association of Silicon Valley Brokers, where he was awarded Retail Broker of the Year.

Sean’s extensive experience and deep knowledge of the Northern California retail real estate market make him an invaluable asset to his clients. His commitment to providing exceptional service and delivering well calculated results has made him

Executive Director

Stephen Rusher

Stephen Rusher joined The Econic Company in October 2023. He has built his business over 15 years, representing institutional landlords and tenants within Northern California’s Class A space market. Throughout his career, he has successfully closed transactions totaling over $400 million and has represented some of the industry’s most significant stakeholders.

Stephen has played a pivotal role in the merchandising and positioning of iconic retail assets in the Bay Area, including Town Center Corte Madera, Bay Street Emeryville, Serramonte Center, and The Streets of Brentwood, which received the SF Business Times 2008 Retail Development of the Year award. With a rich background in the food and beverage sector, he has collaborated with Michelin and James Beard award-winning concepts, elevating the dining experiences at his projects.

Among his esteemed clientele, Stephen has partnered with First Washington, Sierra Pacific Properties, UBS, Jamestown LP, Clarion Partners, TRC Retail, Boston Properties, Finn Capital, Regency Centers, and Heitman Capital Management, representing some of the most prominent landlords in Northern California.

Noteworthy transactions in Stephen’s portfolio include:

● With his expertise in the local trade area, Stephen was able to procure the right site for Vineyard Vines in establishing their flagship store in Walnut Creek.

● Worked in close partnership with Heitman Capital Management at Town Center Corte Madera to creatively and strategically transform a CPK/PF Changs into Sephora and Flores.

● Strategically positioned Vintage Oaks Novato which ultimately attracted Nordstrom Rack.

●Stephen was entrusted by the Bay Area retail holdings of the Vice Chair of the James Beard Foundation to guide them through various food and beverage concepts.

● Orchestrated the opening of the flagship Arhaus in Corte Madera.

● Major contributor to the sale of Bay Street – Emeryville.

● Provided his expertise to facilitate numerous deals with renowned national lifestyle brands such as Apple, Sephora, Nordstrom, Lbrands, ULTA, Crate & Barrel, and REI.

Associate

Shelby Swanson

Shelby Swanson specializes in both Landlord and Tenant representation throughout the greater Bay Area here at the econic company. After joining the Commercial Real Estate industry in 2018, she immediately set out to service her clients by utilizing her extensive familiarity of the retail world, coupled with her intimate knowledge of the Bay Area, being a Bay Area native herself. Throughout her career, Shelby has been invited to speak on various panels and presentations including ICSC Next Generation and ICSC Local Northern.

Shelby’s landlord and tenant clientele includes established brands and ownership groups, but not limited to Miracle Ear, GameStop, Gong Cha, Kumon, Baskin Robbins and F45 as well as Essex Property Trust, Inc., Shea, LaSalle, Hudson Pacific Properties, First Washington Realty and many other national and regional landlords and tenants. As a Bay Area native, Shelby has a deep understanding of the greater Bay Area retail landscape which enables her to offer her clients a curated approach to their real estate objectives. Shelby is deeply committed to her clients and understands that her role is critical to their success.

Shelby has been the recipient of the Power Broker award in years 2020 and 2021.

Associate

Jacob Ackman

Jacob is a dynamic and accomplished business professional. Raised in the Bay Area, Jacob’s career began in San Francisco, where he spent 4 years working in the SaaS (Software as a Service) industry. He quickly established himself as a top performer with his unique ability to customize solutions to meet the complex needs of his clients.  Jacob was drawn to the immense opportunity in the commercial real estate industry and made a bold decision to bring his experience in providing creative and comprehensive solutions to the retail sector.  With only a couple years under his belt, Jacob has already built solid relationships with well known landlord and ownership groups such as Kimco Realty and Red Mountain Group as well as some highly branded tenants like Dutch Bros. Coffee, Popeyes, Carl’s Jr., Subway, Bagel Street Café, Etc.

Jacob’s determination, work ethic and passion for the industry has put him in the fast track to success, making a name for himself as a rising star in the field.

Associate

Ron Cruz

Ron E. Cruz, CCIM joined The Econic Company’s ranks as an Associate in 2023. Ron’s real estate practice involves using an algorithmic and data backed approach in advising clients on acquisitions, dispositions, and the leasing of commercial real estate.

Ron’s landlord and investment clientele range from, REITs, investors, developers, institutional and private ownership groups with names such as UBS, AvalonBay Communities (NYSE: AVB), Essex Property Trust (NYSE: ESS) Dollinger Properties, DPI Retail, and Village Investment Partners. Ron’s occupier experience includes the expansions and relocations of popular brands: One Medical, Panera Bread, Crumbl Cookies, Cold Stone, Quick Quack Car Wash, and Little Caesars.

Prior to joining Econic, Ron worked at Newmark’s San Jose office where he specialized in the sale and leasing of retail properties throughout Silicon Valley. Ron joined as a full time Associate while finishing his senior year of undergraduate studies at San Jose State University (SJSU). While enrolled full time at SJSU, working under Newmark, and prior to graduating, he was also able to achieve the prestigious Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation, recognizing him for his advanced and specialized knowledge in the disciplines of commercial and investment real estate, an honor held by fewer than 6.0% of the nation’s commercial brokers. During his tenure at Newmark, he was working with a leading retail brokerage team, transacting on over 222,000 SF of lease and purchase transactions valued at over $75 million in consideration.

Prior to joining Newmark, Ron was working with various brokers at the Northern California Chapter CCIM Institute, where he specialized in multifamily and net lease acquisition underwriting and investment sales. He is actively involved in leading industry organizations and currently on the Board of Directors for the CCIM Institute’s Northern California Chapter.

Chief Operating Officer

Carol Chung

Carol Chung brings decades of experience in business development, sales and marketing to her role as Chief Operating Officer at The Econic Company. Prior to joining the company, Carol was a multi-unit franchise operator and early adopter of a well-known brand in the health, beauty and wellness space. In her current role, she oversees Econic’s strategic initiatives, branding, hiring and retention, and back-of-the-house operational functions.

Carol was part of The Econic Company’s initial core team when the company launched amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and brings a purpose-driven approach to developing, refining, and executing the firm’s mission and vision for the future, both with respect to clients and internal company culture. She is focused on creating a compelling team of brokers and staff who are empowered to solve clients’ unique challenges with creativity, grit, and connection. In her role as a strategic advisor, Carol implements and distills initiatives and operational processes that allow Econic to serve clients in a nimble, people-focused way.

Operations Manager

Kristine Thorp

Administrative Assistant

Paramie Kim