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Urban Renaissance Group Chief Investment Officer John Bliss Retires

Seattle-based Urban Renaissance Group LLC (URG) announced that real estate industry veteran and partner John Bliss (pictured above) is retiring from his role as CIO at the end of 2020. Current URG Managing Director and longtime employee Matthew Simo will take on the CIO responsibilities in January 2021.

Simo

URG’s Patrick Callahan says, “As an integral member of our executive team for many years, John’s leadership has been critical to URG’s growth and current position in the marketplace. From leading major acquisitions to creating a stellar investments team, we’re beyond grateful for his invaluable contributions to the company.”

Since joining URG in 2009, Bliss has been responsible for overseeing $5.4 billion in investment and development activities. Bliss will join the URG board in 2021.

Simo has served as an integral member of URG’s team since the company was founded in 2006. His promotion to CIO represents a natural evolution since starting as an Associate in 2006.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Dennis Kaiser

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About Dennis Kaiser

Dennis Kaiser is Vice President of Content and Public Relations for Connect Commercial Real Estate. Dennis is a communications leader with more than 30 years of experience including as a journalist and in corporate and agency marketing communications roles. He is responsible for Connect’s client content operations and is involved in a range of initiatives ranging from content strategy, message development, copywriting, media relations, social media and content marketing services. In his most recent corporate communications roles, he led a regional public relations effort across Southern California for CBRE, played a key marketing role on JLL’s national retail team, and was responsible for directing the global public relations effort at ValleyCrest, the nation’s largest commercial landscape services company. In addition to his vast commercial real estate experience, Dennis has worked on communications and launch strategies for a number of residential projects such as Disney’s Celebration in Florida, Ritter Ranch in Palmdale California (7,200 homes, 22,000 acres), WaterColor in Florida and PremierGarage in Phoenix. Dennis’s agency background included firms such as Idea Hall and Macy + Associates. He has earned an outstanding reputation with organization leaders as a trusted advisor, strategic program implementer, consensus builder and exceptional collaborator. Dennis has developed and managed national communications programs for Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, both public and private. He’s successfully worked with journalists across the globe representing clients involved in major-breaking news stories, product launches, media tours, and company news announcements. Dennis has been involved in a host of charitable and community organizations including the American Cancer Society, Easter Seals, BoyScouts, Chrysalis Foundation, Freedom For Life, HOLA, L.A.’s BEST, Reach Out and Read, Super Bowl Host Committee, and Thunderbirds Charities.

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