PRINCIPALS
Bob Champion
President
champ@championdev.com
Bob Champion is the founder and President of Champion Real Estate Company, which he established in 1987. He is a nationally recognized expert in shopping centers, vertical retailing, public-private partnerships and mixed-use development with retail, residential, office and entertainment components.
From 1987 to 1992 he supervised the development, renovation or repositioning of $200 million in shopping centers including neighborhood centers, community centers, entertainment centers and regional malls located in California, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado.
In 1992, Mr. Champion founded Champion Realty, Ltd to provide asset management and work out services and has completed $250 million in workouts for institutional clients like Chase Bank and government agencies including the FDIC. That same year he co-founded Wilson Commercial Real Estate with Christopher Wilson to provide leasing and sales brokerage to our clients and investors. Since its inception, Wilson Commercial has leased over 5 million square feet of space and participated in the sale of over $750 million in investment properties.
In 1994, Mr. Champion pioneered vertical retail development in prime, urban in-fill locations in California with the development of the One Westside vertical power center and since then has developed over a dozen major, vertical retail projects.
In 1996, Mr. Champion created the retail/mixed use project development class for the MRED program at USC and in 1998 pioneered urban mixed-use development with the development of Gaslamp CitySquare in downtown San Diego. Since then, his development group has completed $350 million in mixed-use development, including retail, apartment, residential condos, office and office condos.
In 2004, Mr. Champion created the Urban Icons division of the development group specializing in the restoration and adaptive re-use of historic properties including the Sam Fox office building, which won the California Historical Society's Preservation Award.
In addition to his duties at Champion Real Estate Company, Robert Champion is professor at USC teaching development in the MRED graduate degree program and has been a professor at UCLA, ICSC University and the CRA University. He has been a featured Speaker at the annual conferences for ULI, ICSC, and CRA and for Apartment Finance, RealShare and Real Estate Trends. He has been married for 24 years to his wife Marjorie and they have four children and two grandchildren. He is an avid golfer, runner and weight lifter.
David Lichterman
Chief Financial Officer
dlichterman@championdev.com
David Lichterman has been Chief Financial Officer of Champion Real Estate Company® since 2004. His real estate experience spans 20 years as a developer, CPA and attorney. As a real estate executive, some of his accomplishments have included:
With Universal Studios Recreation Group in Hollywood, expanded and transformed CityWalk's tourist-oriented tenant mix by procuring a critical mass of branded, leading edge retailers, restaurants and entertainment concepts, resulting in previous attendance records being shattered.
With Mann Theatres in Los Angeles, developed over 20 multiplex theaters, a $175 million expansion of the chain in the western US.
With General Growth Company in Chicago, oversaw the financial management of a $300 million development phase portfolio of regional shopping centers and office buildings with all projects opening on-time and within budget.
As a CPA with Ersnst & Young and Laventhol & Horwath in Detroit, and in his own commercial law and consulting practices, Mr. Lichterman has provided a diversity of legal, financial, tax and other investment services to an array of real estate clientele. He continues to provide these services to Champion and their affiliated companies and has developed the systems and procedures necessary to operate at a competitive advantage. In addition, he has worked with our numerous capital providers and partners to provide exceptional project and accounting reporting. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Law School.
Christopher Wilson
President, Wilson Commercial Real Estate
cwilson@wcre.com
Christopher Wilson, co-founded Wilson Commercial Real Estate with Bob Champion in 1992. Since that time, Mr. Wilson and his team have leased more than five million square feet of retail and commercial space and participated in the sale of over $400 million retail and commercial properties. Mr. Wilson graduated from USC in 1982 and received his Masters in Business Administration from Pepperdine University in 1985. He holds a California Department of Real Estate Broker license.
Mr. Wilson is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). He has served on its Southern California Program Committee since 1996 and served as the ICSC California State Chairman and a member of the ICSC's San Fernando Valley Local Program Committee. He has served as the Chairman of ICSC's Western Division Conference in Palm Springs, the Southern California Idea Exchange in Long Beach, the Co-Chair of ICSC's California Alliance Program and was formerly ICSC California State Government Relations Co-Chair. He is also a frequent speaker at ICSC and other retail industry programs. Mr. Wilson is an ad hoc professor at the USC Lusk School of Business in the MRED program teaching shopping center planning and development.
Parker Champion
VP of Acquisitions & Leasing
pchampion@championdev.com
Parker Champion holds dual roles at Champion Real Estate Company (CREC) and its affiliate, Wilson Commercial Real Estate (WCRE). At CREC, Mr. Champion is VP of Acquisitions & Leasing, and at WCRE, he represents Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) in its store expansion program.
Prior to his current engagements, Mr. Champion developed and implemented comprehensive marketing and leasing programs for WCRE's eight million square foot retail portfolio. Prior to working at WCRE, he was a member of the marketing team for Bascom Group, a private equity firm in Orange County, California, specializing in value-added multi-family investments.
Mr. Champion graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science
in Policy, Planning and Development.
He is an active member of the University of Southern California Los Angeles alumni network and is also a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
Greg Beck
VP of Development
gbeck@championdev.com
Greg Beck is responsible for the acquisition and development of Champion Real Estate Company's projects in Southern California. At Champion he has completed 5 mixed-use development projects in San Diego, Pasadena, and Burbank, totaling over $200 million in value. In recent years, Greg managed Champion's operating assets and led an acquisitions team that produced Champion's recent acquisitions. While his expertise is development management, Greg has experience in the acquisition of off-market investments, financial underwriting, feasibility analysis, leasing, lease and property management, and marketing.
Prior to joining Champion Real Estate Company, Greg completed Park Laurel, two luxury condominium towers on Balboa Park in San Diego for Roel Construction Company.
Greg graduated from the University of California Berkeley and the University of
Southern California Masters of Real Estate Development program.
