James Bieri's involvement with retail real estate began in 1970 when he was a student at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. During this time he joined Santa's Corner, the first national temporary tenant, and was instrumental in ensuring its early success, as he was primarily responsible for real estate. He also participated in merchandising, pricing, personnel and store design decision-making.

After graduating with a BA in Business Administration, he remained active with Santa's Corner, expanding it from an 11-store company to a 350-store company, while earning a Juris Doctor from Detroit College of Law.

Mr. Bieri entered private law practice in 1975, forming a legal association with Melvin S. Bernstein and Gary Bethune. In 1994 Stanley Ames joined the firm and it continues today as Bieri & Ames.

While practicing law, Mr. Bieri was also Executive Vice President and General Counsel to the National Mall Monitor, a shopping center publication; it became the leading publication in the shopping center industry. The magazine was sold in 1985 to the Canadian publishing giant Maclean Hunter Media Inc.

Bieri & Associates became the Bieri Company in 1979 to meet the non-legal consulting needs of the law firm's national retail clients. From inception, the new Bieri organization has been actively involved in retail real estate analysis, site selection, and lease negotiation as well as factory outlet evaluation.

Mr. Bieri is a member of various professional, educational and civic organizations including the American Bar Association and its Commercial Leasing Subcommittee, State Bar of Michigan and its Commercial Leasing Subcommittee, International Council of Shopping Centers, Urban Land Institute, Detroit Land Institute, in which he serves as Program Committee Co-Chair, and is an active member of the Detroit Athletic Club and the County Club of Detroit. Mr. Bieri is a frequent speaker at retail real estate events and is an often quoted retail real estate expert in various publications.

Stanley Ames graduated cum laude from the University of Toledo College of Law in 1987 and began working with the law firm of Schwartz, Kelm, Warren & Rubenstein. During his five years there, Mr. Ames worked primarily in the Real Estate Division, concentrating on commercial leasing and general business law. A majority of his time was spent negotiating leases for the Limited, Inc., The Art Works, Art Explosion and The Steak Escape as well as other regional retailers.

In February 1992, Mr. Ames became General Counsel and Director of Real Estate and Franchise Development for Escape Enterprises, Inc., the franchisor of the Steak Escape restaurants. While with Escape Enterprises, Mr. Ames directed the growth of the company from a 70-unit chain to 110 stores nationwide and completed the sale of a Master Franchise in Singapore. He was also instrumental in helping the company evolve its franchise concept from one that was almost exclusively located in food courts in regional malls, to one that is now expanding in airports, strip centers and other non-traditional locations.

Commencing in November 1994, Mr. Ames joined Bieri Company as General Counsel and became a named member of the law firm of Bieri & Ames performing legal services for the retail clients of Bieri Company. The diversified business experience Mr. Ames gained in his prior positions has been drawn upon extensively since joining the company.

Mr. Ames is a licensed Real Estate Broker, is a member in good standing with the Michigan Bar Association, and is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers.

In 1973 shortly after acquiring a degree in architecture, Mr. McPhail joined The Taubman Company in Store Planning where he was responsible for tenant store design. Soon thereafter, he joined the Leasing Department, where he and his managed group consistently met or exceeded corporate goals in occupancy and income for the company.  

For over 10 years, Mr. McPhail was responsible for the third party management and leasing at Taubman, which included the GMPT portfolio (recently sold to The Mills) and Renaissance Center . Strong income streams and high levels of maintained occupancy enhanced the cap rate of this portfolio prior to being sold.  

At The Bieri Company, Mr. McPhail will provide senior leadership on the company’s project leasing and national tenant representation.  

Mr. McPhail is a graduate of Lawrence Technological University, is a licensed architect and builder, and member of the ICSC.

Alyssa Gates graduated with a BS in Merchandising Management from Michigan State University in 1999. During this time, Ms. Gates gained over six years of retail experience as a buyer, merchandiser, manager, and visual specialist. Ms. Gates has worked with such retailers as Coulier Metropolis Skiwear, Boyne Country Sports, and Mettler's Retail Group.

Upon graduation, Ms. Gates worked for Compsat Technology, a company specializing in computer backup systems. There she was a sales representative for the company and focused on creating business models for growing companies.

In July 2000, Ms. Gates joined Bieri Company as a Leasing Agent. The diversified business experience Ms. Gates gained in her prior positions has been drawn upon extensively since joining the company. To date Ms. Gates has worked with many clients including Tommy Hilfiger, Lindt Chocolate, Gymboree, Movado, Moosejaw, Cosimos Pizza, Mark Shale, Terrazzo, and Crane & Co.

Ms. Gates is a licensed Real Estate agent in Michigan and a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Alex Bieri graduated from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana with a BA in Industrial Management in 2000. While attending college Mr. Bieri worked for Bieri Company, Fitzgerald Finishing and Whirlpool Corp. gaining first hand knowledge of retail operations, business consulting and leadership. He supplemented this experience by being President and Treasurer of Delta Tau Delta.

Upon graduation from Purdue, Mr. Bieri became a catalog/retail financial analyst at RR Donnelley in their Chicago corporate office. In this position he managed contracts and provided analysis for over $80 million in annual catalog sales. In November 2002 he moved to RR Donnelley’s Northeast sales region where he worked directly with over 100 catalog/retail customers such as Talbots, J Jill, Staples, Yankee Candle, Country Curtains, Casual Male, Ross Simons and IKEA.

In September 2004, Mr. Bieri joined Bieri Company as a Project Manager and immediately began working on site selection for Yankee Candle and Jos. A Bank. He has been involved in site analysis for Country Curtains and Brighton Collectables as well and is actively involved in Bieri Company’s many landlord initiatives.

Mr. Bieri is a licensed Real Estate Salesperson in Michigan and is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers. He is also an intermediate member at the Detroit Athletic Club.

Rebecca K. Atkinson earned her Michigan Real Estate license and is a licensed Real Estate agent with the Bieri Company. For over two years she has been applying her knowledge of retail managerial, commercial and residential real estate to her role at the Bieri Company.  Rebecca has a great understanding of the intricate inter-workings of the business.

As an executive assistant to the director of leasing, Rebecca excelled in conducting market research analysis, researching prime property locations as well as mapping and obtaining necessary demographics for current and potential new clients.  She is currently focused on the Bieri Company’s landlord initiatives.  Rebecca completed course work at Ferris State University.