Nearly 40 Years at ICSC: What Has Changed—and What Still Matters

By Paul Rutledge | Extended Reach USA

Technology has transformed the convention experience. But as we prepare for ICSC in Atlanta, relationships, trust and sound real estate fundamentals remain at the heart of the business.

My career in commercial real estate began in 1975. As a young assistant mall manager with the DeBartolo Companies, I began attending ICSC events while I was still learning the shopping center business—and discovering just how much relationships mattered.

Over nearly 40 years of attending ICSC conventions, I have watched both the organization and our industry change considerably. The way we communicate, present properties and connect with retailers would have been difficult to imagine when I first walked onto a convention floor.

This year, I look forward to bringing that experience to ICSC@SOUTHEAST, taking place October 19–20, 2026, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The event offers another opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, meet retailers and explore the possibilities that begin when people sit down together.

The surroundings and tools may be different from those early conventions, but the reasons for attending remain remarkably familiar.

Before Digital Connections, There Were Personal Ones

In those early years, cell phones, email, social media, QR codes and digital property presentations were not part of our daily business lives. Computers did not play anything close to the role they do today.

Face-to-face contact was essential. Who you knew—and the reputation you built—could make a significant difference in your career. Deals often began with a personal introduction, developed through repeated conversations and gained momentum over lunches, dinners, convention meetings and handshakes.

ICSC provided a place for those relationships to begin and grow. It brought mall owners, developers, retailers, brokers, lenders, architects and other industry professionals together under one roof.

For a young professional, simply walking the convention floor was an education. Listening to experienced people, watching how they approached an opportunity and observing how they conducted business taught lessons that could never have come from a textbook.

My involvement in ICSC eventually extended beyond attending. Over the years, I served as a roundtable leader, speaker, board member and convention chair. Those experiences gave me an appreciation not only for the business conducted at these events, but also for the work that goes into bringing the industry together.

Technology Has Changed the Experience, Not the Purpose

Technology has made attending ICSC more efficient and productive. QR codes, digital contact-sharing platforms such as Popl and the ability to communicate directly through text messages have changed how we work on the convention floor.

Today, we can exchange complete contact information in seconds, send property materials immediately, confirm meetings while walking between booths and follow up on an opportunity before the convention has even ended.

Those tools are valuable. But so are the handshake, the smile and the conversation about your children—or even your dog.

Technology can make an introduction easier. Personal connections help build the trust needed to move a negotiation forward.

There is a real difference between calling someone you have never met and calling someone you recently spent time with at ICSC. The second conversation does not begin from scratch. You already have a shared experience, a familiar voice and the beginning of a professional relationship.

The tools have changed. The value of knowing the person on the other end of the call has not.

Looking Ahead to ICSC in Atlanta

For me, the opportunity in Atlanta extends beyond presenting a property or exchanging a business card. It is a chance to step outside our day-to-day markets and have a broader conversation about where retail and commercial real estate are heading.

ICSC describes its regional events as gatherings focused on making connections, advancing deals and exploring the spaces where people shop, dine, work and gather. That regional focus is particularly relevant when considering how an opportunity in one market might fit a retailer’s plans across the Southeast.

For those of us representing Florida properties, I see Atlanta as an opportunity to bring those listings into that wider discussion. Which retailers are considering additional markets? What does their next location need to provide? Where might an existing building, a redevelopment opportunity or a new project fit their plans?

Those are conversations I want to have in person. A property presentation can communicate the dimensions, demographics and asking terms. A direct discussion can help reveal whether the opportunity actually fits the operator.

This year’s schedule also provides opportunities to connect beyond the traditional exhibit-floor meeting. Monday’s program includes a Developer Showcase and an optional downtown Atlanta walking tour with stops including Centennial Yards and South Downtown Atlanta. Tuesday features Dealmaking & Retailer Central in Building C of the Georgia World Congress Center, along with a networking reception.

I appreciate that combination of structured business time and opportunities for less formal conversation. Sometimes a scheduled meeting moves an existing deal forward. Other times, an unexpected introduction gives you a reason to look at a property differently.

My goal is to arrive prepared to present our opportunities—and equally prepared to listen.

An Old Dog Can Still Learn New Tricks

More recently, I had the pleasure of participating in a social media panel.

Yes, an old dog can still learn new tricks.

Our discussion included the 13-channel marketing approach we use to expand exposure for our clients. At this stage of my career, I find it exciting to explore tools that allow us to present properties differently, reach more people and create new opportunities for conversation.

The platforms may be newer, but the objective is familiar: connect the right people with the right opportunities.

That approach carries into convention preparation and follow-up. Digital marketing can introduce a property before a meeting, support the conversation while we are together and keep relevant information accessible afterward. The personal meeting gives that communication context.

Experience and a willingness to adapt belong together. The relationships and judgment developed over a career become more valuable when you remain open to better ways of working.

What Still Matters

The venues, technology, retailers and methods of communication have changed. At its core, however, the business still depends on many of the same fundamentals: understanding yield, recognizing opportunity, providing direction, building relationships and doing the work necessary to follow through.

Those are the qualities I intend to bring to Atlanta.

I look forward to reconnecting with longtime friends, meeting new people and learning about the retailers and real estate opportunities being presented. Just as importantly, I look forward to the conversations that cannot be fully planned—the introduction between meetings, the question that leads to a new possibility or the familiar face with an unexpected opportunity.

After nearly 40 years of attending ICSC conventions, I remain enthusiastic because there is always something new to discover.

The lasting value of ICSC is its ability to bring people together. That was true when I started, and it is what I look forward to finding again in Atlanta.