Carol Gies, President
Carol Gies founded 4Insights, Inc. in 2002 to help clients develop retail revitalization and development strategies based on state-of-the-art market assessment. Her industry experience includes senior level management in the retail, restaurant, entertainment, shopping center and tourism/ hospitality industries.
Previously, Carol was Vice President of Marketing, Research, Center Planning, Technology and Strategic Investments for The Taubman Company, the developer/manager of 30 of the nation’s premiere regional shopping centers in 14 states. In that post, she researched 36,000 consumers over four years and pioneered use of consumer Lifestyle Segmentation for tenant mix planning. As VP Marketing and Research for The Levy Restaurants, Carol directed consumer research, branding and marketing for 51 foodservice concepts, launching restaurants for Steven Spielberg in the U.S. and Europe; and the highest grossing restaurant in Walt Disney World, FL. Carol also served as VP Branch Store Marketing for Bloomingdale’s New York, directing 14 stores in eight states for market analysis and strategy.
Carol earned her MBA from the Eli Broad Advanced Management Program at Michigan State University. She works with the International Council of shopping Centers on market assessment education, and is on the faculty of the University of Shopping Centers Institute at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. 4Insights, Inc. also produces conferences on mixed-use development at The Real Estate School of DePaul University, Chicago. She is a frequent national conference speaker and author of professional articles on the topic of market assessment for retail planning.