Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
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52 S C T / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 N E W S M A K E R S and trade publisher today called Hough- ton Mifflin Harcourt. In the year he left, in 1980, Riordan also completed the Ad- vanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. Though Riordan knew little about commercial real estate when he joined ICSC, he was keen to listen to mem- bers, and he encouraged them to be- come active in the development and delivery of programs and services. Ri- ordan said that this "partnership with the member-owners" distinguished ICSC from many other trade groups. "John was no shy leader," said Re- becca L. Maccardini, a principal of RM- Resources and an ICSC past chairman. "He was very strong, but he always understood that the organization, in the long run, is only as strong as its volunteers. He always valued the role that members and volunteers play." In 1986 Riordan succeeded ICSCs longtime head of staff, Albert Sussman, to become executive vice president. The title was later changed to president. Under Riordan, ICSC rolled out a large number of initiatives — many of them a reflec- tion of the industry's increasingly diverse constituency and its growing level of so- phistication and geographic reach. New conferences, publications, educational programs and professional designations were introduced. Research, public re- lations and government affairs took on greater importance. In 1989 ICSC opened its first Washington, D.C., office. "John did what a good leader of an organization should do: He worked closely with trustees and took their input, but he also had his own vision," said Drew Alexander, president and CEO of Weingarten Realty Investors and an ICSC past chairman. "He always talked about the importance of having a good product that played well in the market. The quality of programming — educational programs, meetings and such — very much contributed to growth in membership, revenues and the prestige of the organization." An eloquent public speaker, Riordan steered ICSC through periods of signif- He was very strong, but he always understood that the organization, in the long run, is only as strong as its volunteers" " icant growth and also kept the organi- zation financially sound during difficult times. "John kept ICSC very sound finan- cially," said Maccardini. "He provided consistency, vision and solid leadership." Throughout his career, Riordan remained committed to his first love, education. Firm in his belief that ICSC should strive to continually raise pro- fessional standards in the industry, he worked to strengthen and expand its educational offerings. In 2003 one of ICSC's flagship educational programs, the School for Professional Develop- ment, was renamed the John T. Riordan School for Professional Development. This rigorous, weeklong program (to- day called the John T. Riordan School for Retail Real Estate Professionals) is offered in the U.S. and abroad. Attendees master core concepts, share ideas and identify successful strategies. The ICSC Foundation awards a number of schol- arships to the school in Riordan's honor. Riordan also expanded ICSC's in- ternational reach. Under his leadership ICSC created regional meetings in Latin America and Asia and in 1990 held its first World Congress of Shopping Cen- ters (predecessor to the Retail Real Estate World Summit), in Hong Kong. In 1993 ICSC opened an office in Asia (in Singa- pore), and the following year it hired a director of international programs. In the '90s Riordan also brokered a merger between ICSC and its indepen- dent European affiliate. This deal and ICSC's other international initiatives were helped in no small way by his ability to speak multiple languages and to bridge cultural differences. "John always tried to be understood by people for whom English is not their mother tongue," said Courtois-Suffit. "He always made you feel comfortable and gave you the sense, very quickly, that he considered you somebody close to him." Indeed, Riordan related well to in- dividuals at all levels of organizations and counted many industry executives among his closest friends. "John was good at talking to the president of the largest developer in the country and at dealing with rank-and-file workers," said F. Kemper Freeman Jr., who traveled the world with Riordan while serving as chairman of ICSC from 1994 to 1995. Freeman is chairman and CEO of Bel- levue Square Managers, Bellevue, Wash. Riordan had a good sense of humor, one that he could turn on himself. When he retired from his position as ICSC vice chairman, the association's senior staff teased him by showing up to a meeting in New York City wearing T-shirts em- blazoned with "Teacher Gone Wrong" across the front. Riordan was delighted. "John had incredible integrity in every sense of the word and an ability to laugh at himself and take some kidding," said Alexander. "He also recognized that he was there to serve the industry and the ICSC membership." Outside ICSC Riordan was active in several organizations. He was the Thomas G. Eastman chairman of the MIT Center for Real Estate from 2001 to 2003. He also served on the advisory boards of the MIT Center for Real Estate; the Samuel Zell & Robert Lurie Real Es- tate Center at the Wharton School; and the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College (City University of New York). He served on the Ivanhoé Cambridge board for slightly more than a decade and was also a director at GGP (then called General Growth Properties). He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Mary; six children: Sheila, Patrick, Aidan, Meghan, Brendan and Caitlin; and 13 grandchildren. n