About Us

Celerity Center Management is a full service, integrated commercial real estate organization that delivers results for our clients.  Affiliated with Horizon Group Properties, Celerity has been established to provide third party owners of real estate assets the highest level of service available in the industry. Core competencies include Property Management, Development, Construction Management, Asset Management, Leasing, Marketing, and Accounting. We specialize in outdoor shopping center environments.  Celerity delivers integrated services to clients that save money, increase traffic, and generate sales.  

Let the Celerity shopping center management team build value for you.   

 GARY SKOIEN

Executive Leadership
Gary Skoien leads the Celerity organization. Gary is Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Horizon Group Properties, Inc. He has served in this capacity since June 1998. In this role he transformed the company from a focus on turnarounds of distressed shopping centers to a development of some of the premier outlet shopping centers in the U.S. From 1993 to 2005 he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of The Prime Group. From 1992 to 1994 Gary served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Retail Division of PGI which went public as Prime Retail, Inc. in 1994.  In this role, he oversaw strategic planning, development and management of the rapidly growing division. From 1983 to 1991, Gary was the Executive Director of The Illinois Capital Development Board, and from 1980 to 1983, he was an Assistant to the Illinois Governor. Gary is the former chairman of the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University, former Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Civic Federation,  and a former member of the board of Prime Retail, Inc. (NYSE)  Gary received his 

A.B. CUM LAUDE from Colgate University and received his Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan.

 PAUL SCHAFFER

Leasing

Paul Schaffer is leading the leasing team for Celerity Center Management. Over the past 33 years Paul has leased over 2,000,000 square feet of retail shopping center space and has been involved in the leasing or development of 21 factory outlet centers and multiple community shopping centers throughout the United States. He is currently involved with the leasing of five existing outlet centers and 4 community centers in Tennessee. Paul earned his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1987. He is a licensed real estate broker in the state of Tennessee and a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers.

ANDREW PELMOTER

Leasing 

 Andrew Pelmoter has an extensive track record of success in leasing retail shopping centers to national, regional, and local tenants. Andrew is Executive Vice President of Leasing for Horizon Group Properties and has been with the company since February 1999. Prior to his employment with Horizon Group Properties, Inc., Andrew was Director of Leasing for the predecessor company.  This company owned 44 centers comprised of over 10 million square feet of leasable space.  Prior to joining Horizon Group Properties, Inc., Andrew was employed for 11 years with The Mills Corporation, where he was Director of Leasing and Lease Administration. 

JAMES HARRIS

Leasing

 James Harris leads Celerity Center Management efforts in restaurant leasing and alternative revenue agreements. He is the Managing Director of Business Development for Horizon Group Properties, specializing in restaurant leasing and business development. James has worked for more than two decades in the shopping center industry and has been involved in the development, leasing and operation of more than 50 shopping centers, both domestically and internationally. James has worked for leading retail and shopping center developers including Federated Department stores and the Taubman Company. He served as COO of McArthur Glen and President of Ariel Preferred Retail Group. James received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Seattle University.

TOM RUMPTZ

Development and Construction

 Tom Rumptz manages landlord construction, tenant coordination, permitting, and development and redevelopment work for Celerity Center Management clients. Tom has served as Executive and Senior Vice President of Real Estate at Horizon Group Properties since June 1998.  Tom’s role with Horizon Group Properties, Inc, includes responsibility for development, construction and disposition of residual land.  Tom has worked with municipalities, consultants and contractors to develop five high quality shopping centers with an average size of 367,000 square feet, and nine expansions totaling over 2.1million square feet. He has also led design and contractor teams for multiple renovations, restaurant and retailer buildouts. For eight years prior to his employment at Horizon Group Properties, Inc, Tom worked for the predecessor company, Horizon Group, Inc., where he held many different positions including Controller, Vice President of Finance, and most recently, Vice President of Real Estate.  Prior to working for HGPI, Tom served as Manager of Investment Real Estate for Foremost Insurance.  Tom received his MBA from Grand Valley State University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.  Tom is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and possesses a State of Michigan real estate license. 

Gina Slechta 

Marketing

Gina Slechta manages marketing initiatives, programs, events and advertising for Celerity clients.. Ms. Slechta, SCMP is the Director of Marketing and has been with Horizon Group Properties, Inc. since 1999. She has held executive marketing and management positions for over 35 years with some of the top shopping center developers in the United States. Prior to joining HGPI, Ms. Slechta was President of Creative Events and Productions, a full service-advertising agency specializing in retail and commercial properties. The firm provided marketing, temporary tenant leasing and special event services for companies in the shopping center industry including Heitman, Simon Group, Dial Properties, The Lund Company and First Management. Ms. Slechta was a regional marketing director for Westfield Group (ASX:  WDG) directing marketing efforts for 6 regional malls totaling over 5.8 million sq.ft..  Prior to Westfield Group, she was VP Marketing for Dial Companies. Responsibilities with Dial included overseeing the corporate and day to day marketing for 2.3 million sq.ft. of regional and middle market shopping centers in 17 states.  She was a General Manager/Marketing Director for Poag & McEwen and helped to develop the branding for the first lifestyle centers to be built in the United States. Ms. Slechta has served on regional boards for ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers) for over 25 years and served as ICSC Director of Marketing for Iowa and Nebraska for three terms. During her last term, she helped research and write “Business Development for Small and Mid-Sized Counties”. This was a partnership of  ICSC and NACO, National Association of Counties.   

DAVID TINKHAM

Accounting, Finance, and Reporting

David R. Tinkham manages accounting, finance, IT, and client reporting for Celerity Center Management clients. David has served as Chief Financial Officer  of Horizon Group Properties since June 1998. For fifteen years prior to his employment with Horizon Group Properties, Inc., David was responsible for capital markets access, treasury, accounting, tax, insurance, investor relations, information technology and SEC compliance at The Chicago Dock and Canal Trust where he served as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining The Chicago Dock and Canal Trust, he was a Senior Tax Accountant at Arthur Andersen & Co. David received his Masters of Management degree from Northwestern University and a Bachelors of Business Administration in Accounting  with CUM LAUDE from The University of Michigan. David is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Urban Land Institute.