ICSC appoints Alexander Otto as new European chairman

Alexander Otto, CEO of shopping centre specialist ECE, has been appointed as the new chairman of the International Council of Shopping Centers European advisory board.

The appointment was announced at the ICSC European conference in Berlin on Thursday.

Otto succeeds Marcus Wild, CEO at SES Spar European Shopping Centres. Otto: 'I am looking forward to this new challenge and am very honoured to succeed Marcus Wild who has done a great job as ICSC’s European chairman over the past three years.'

Defining the main goals for the ICSC during the next years, Otto said: 'We need to continue our efforts to turn ICSC into a truly international platform in order to meet the needs of a globalised industry. Transparency is becoming more and more important. Defining standards for shopping centres and collecting and publishing data about the European shopping centre industry should therefore be a focus of ICSC's research. Last but not least it is vital for the organisation to speak with "one voice" and to strengthen cooperation with the EU.'

Founded in 1957, ICSC has more than 55,000 members in over 90 countries. The membership includes shopping centre owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, retailers and brokers, as well as academics and public officials.