The trustees of the International Council of Shopping Centers, Inc. (ICSC) are pleased to announce that the Council has presented three shopping center professionals with its Distinguished Service Award: Yvonne Court, Ph.D., partner and head of retail, research and consultancy, European Research Group, Cushman & Wakefield, London, U.K.; the late Robert L. Sorensen, Jr., SCSM, former vice president, regional centers, The Irvine Company, Irvine, Calif., and George J. Walsh III, Esq., partner, Thompson Hine LLP, New York, N.Y. The awards, which recognize the special contributions of distinguished leaders in the shopping center industry, are given during ICSC's annual Spring Convention, held May 20-23, 2007, in Las Vegas.
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Dr. Yvonne Court
Yvonne Court, Ph.D.
Dr. Court received the ICSC Distinguished Service Award for her work as a member of the ICSC European Advisory Board and North American Research Advisory Task Force. Additionally, Dr. Court received this award by acting as a frequent speaker at ICSC meetings, a contributing writer to ICSC research publications and as a faculty member at the European Retail Property School. Dr. Court also has distinguished herself as an active member and past chair of the European Research Group. She has been a member of ICSC since 1999. Dr. Court has a wide range of experience in both academic and private sector property research, having been involved with a broad variety of projects on a pan-European and global basis.
Projects that Dr. Court has recently managed include retail property consultancy studies throughout Europe, particularly in the UK, Denmark, Germany, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, USA and Asia. These have involved projects for leading retailers, developers and investors, including English Partnerships, Bellway Homes, Bouwfonds MAB, Multi Development, Land Securities, Sonae, ING, DeTe Immobilien, Chartwell Land, Sovereign Land and Wilson Bowden.
Dr. Court has also worked in close co-operation with pan-European and global retailers and retail financial services operators considering expansion, such as Foot Locker, Lego, Tommy Hilfiger, Pepe Jeans, Diesel, Estee Lauder Group, The North Face, Sbarro, H3G, Disney Stores, TK Maxx, Harley Davidson, Game Stores, The Gap, Ikea, RBS and Deutsche Bank. She has also completed work for the UK Department of Trade and Industry on retailing and franchising in central Europe as part of a major campaign to encourage British retailers to invest in the region.
Robert L. Sorensen, Jr., SCSM
Mr. Sorensen received the ICSC Distinguished Service Award for his work as a chairman of the Certified Shopping Center Manager (CSM) Committee, a CSM Committee member, dean of the ICSC University of Shopping Centers School of Asset Management, instructor for the ICSC University of Shopping Centers, and Fall Conference chairman. Mr. Sorensen distinguished himself as a frequent moderator, panelists and speaker at ICSC conferences and conventions. He had been a member of ICSC since 1980.
George J. Walsh III, Esq.
Mr. Walsh received the ICSC Distinguished Service Award for his work as chairman of ICSC's Law Committee; as well as for his work as a faculty member for many of ICSC's educational p
