Michael Berne

President, MJB Consulting

Michael Berne is the Founder and President of MJB Consulting (MJB), an award-winning, New York, NY and Berkeley, CA-based retail planning and real estate consultancy hired by a wide range of private, public and quasi-public/non-profit sector clients across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. to undertake market analyses, devise tenanting strategies and spearhead implementation efforts. 

Although based in the U.S., Michael is well-versed in the specifics and nuances of the Canadian retail landscape.  He has worked extensively across the country, with past and present consulting assignments, for example, in Downtown Toronto (Yonge Street), Downtown Kitchener, Downtown Winnipeg, Saskatoon (“Cultural Crescent” of Downtown, Broadway and Riversdale) and Downtown Dartmouth, among others.  

 A regular speaker at the International Downtown Association’s (IDA) annual and regional conferences, Michael has also given keynote addresses to the the Business Improvement Areas of British Columbia (BIABC) and presented multiple times to the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) / Ontario Business Improvement Areas Association (OBIAA) as well as Artspace Canada.   

A former Board Member of the IDA and Vice Chair of its Executive Committee, Michael has served on IDA’s Canadian Issues Task Force, where he was affectionately referred to as an “Honorary Canadian”.   

The author of the widely-read "Retail Contrarian" blog, Michael has penned numerous articles for the Urban Land Institute's (ULI) Urban Land magazine and contributed a chapter to a recently-published book entitled “Suburban Remix: Creating the Next Generation of Urban Places" (Island Press, 2018).  

Michael has lectured at Penn and UC Berkeley, and he is regularly quoted in high-profile publications such as the Financial Times, the Washington Post, TheStreetand the Ottawa Citizen.  

A born and bred New Yorker, Michael is a graduate of Columbia University (Columbia College) in New York City and Cambridge University (Gonville & Caius College) in the U.K.   

Website: www.consultmjb.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michael-berne-9179442/