GREG SEMBLER

CHAIRMAN & CEO, THE SEMBLER CO., ST. PETERSBURG

Greg Sembler dove into the world of shopping centers in grade school as he watched his late father — Mel Sembler, who founded his namesake real estate company in 1962 — work on deal negotiations. After studying economics and finance at the University of Pennsylvania, Greg officially joined the family business. As a retail real estate developer, owner and third-party services provider, Sembler Co. has worked on more than 350 projects and 8 million square feet of leasing, plus property management and investments throughout the Southeast. Greg helped the company expand into Puerto Rico, building a portfolio of neighborhood shopping centers as well as build-to-suit projects, and then became CEO in 2020. He’s an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the ICSC Florida Government Affairs Committee. He also supports the Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg, a private middle school designed to provide educational opportunities to children of low-income families.