Edward M. Kobel

PRESIDENT & COO, DEBARTOLO DEVELOPMENT, TAMPA

A Pittsburgh native, Kobel joined the U.S. Army to help support his single mother. He worked in counterintelligence for the Army. After his military service, Kobel entered the real estate world. Today, he leads DeBartolo’s investment strategy, execution and capitalization efforts. The company has underwritten a development pipeline of more than $4.6 billion since 2003. Before becoming chief operating officer at DeBartolo Development, he was a partner at Fortis Advisors in Scottsdale, Ariz., an affiliate of DeBartolo Property Group, where he managed more than $600 million in real estate projects. Prior to Fortis, he founded retail developer and renovator Trinity Development with offices in Colorado Springs, Denver, Phoenix and Chicago.