Conor Flynn

CEO, Kimco Realty

As a rising star at one of the nation’s largest shopping center operators, Conor Flynn has scrambled his way up the career ladder at Kimco. Starting out in 2003 as an asset manager, he assembled a future CEO’s resume, holding a series of hands-on operating positions including president of the western region, chief investment officer, and chief operating officer. In 2014 he added the titles chief information officer and president. In January 2016, he was named chief executive officer and appointed to the real estate investment trust’s board. Today, Flynn helms a REIT whose market capitalization exceeds $10 billion and whose total capitalization is about $16 billion. He proved himself ready to make the tough decisions that needed to be made during the quarters when Kimco went about restructuring its portfolio, shedding $5 billion of underperforming properties in order to develop more profitable ones. Flynn holds a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Yale University and a Master’s degree in Real Estate Development from Columbia University. He is a licensed real estate broker in California and a member of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), the Real Estate Roundtable, the Urban Land Institute and a trustee of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Rich Moore, an analyst with RBC Capital, credits Flynn with spearheading Kimco’s development program. “Conor,” he says, “has grown up in the business and … has a great deal of respect at the firm. You can tell that the other executives … respect what he’s doing.”