Our People

William J. Beckeman
President & CEO

  

Bill Beckeman founded Linear Retail Properties, LLC in 2003. As President and CEO, he is responsible for overall management of the company and fulfillment of the firm’s investment objectives.

Bill has 25 years of diverse investment real estate experience as an owner/operator as well as in asset management, brokerage, property management and research functions. He has actively participated in over $1 billion of real estate transactions. Prior to starting Linear Retail, Bill was a partner at Finard & Company, LLC (now known as KeyPoint Partners), a fully-integrated commercial real estate services company. During his 13-year tenure there, he grew the firm’s third-party property management business, launched and managed the firm’s investment brokerage services, and developed the company’s retail research capabilities. He also managed Finard’s corporate marketing activities and served as editor and author of the monthly Finard Retail Review as well as the firm’s market research reports. Before joining Finard & Company, Bill served as an asset manager for John Hancock Properties, responsible for a $300 million commercial real estate portfolio including the 100-story John Hancock Center in Chicago.

He started his professional career as a structural engineer working for Boeing Commercial Airplane Company on the design of the Boeing 757 commercial jet and then moved to Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation where he worked on nuclear power plant structural design and project management.

Bill graduated from MIT’s Sloan School of Management with an M.S. in Management, concentrating in Finance and Real Estate. Additionally, he holds a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Clarkson University. He is a former president of BOMA Boston, a licensed Real Estate Broker and Professional Engineer (PE). Bill currently serves on the Downtown Boston Building Improvement District Neighborhood Advisory Board.

Bill is an avid (and occasionally decent) golfer who also has amateur interests in writing, photography, wine and politics. He and his wife enjoy exploring new restaurants in Boston, especially when their two daughters join them.

    

Joel is a Partner at Linear Retail and is head of Leasing. He joined the company in 2004 overseeing leasing and asset management until company growth led him to focus primarily on leasing.

Joel has worked for 24 years in the commercial real estate industry focusing on retail and office properties primarily in the Greater Boston region. His experience includes leasing, asset management and investment sales.

Before joining Linear Retail, Joel was the Regional Director of Asset Management and Leasing at Wellsford Commercial Properties Trust, Vice President of Portfolio Investments at Atlantic Retail Properties, Asset Manager at Finard & Company and Portfolio Manager/Assistant Vice President at Citicorp Real Estate in New York.

Joel holds an M.B.A degree in Finance from New York University, School of Business and a B.A. in History from Oberlin College. He is a supporter of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston. Joel enjoys spending his free time with his wife and two boys and is an avid cyclist and New England Patriots fan.

  

Deepa joined Linear Retail in September 2004 as Controller and was named CFO in 2010. As CFO, she is responsible for overseeing all financing, accounting and human resource activities. She most recently has been named Partner, as of December 2011.

Deepa has over 20 years of finance and accounting experience within the real estate and investment industry, recently as Portfolio Controller for MacFarlane Urban Realty Company (MURC) in San Francisco, California. There, she was responsible for the accounting, internal audit and financial reporting operations of their real estate portfolio in excess of $500 million. She also assisted with financing and acquisitions. Prior to joining MURC, she was the Assistant Vice President and Controller at Thornburg Mortgage Inc, a $17 billion mortgage REIT in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Deepa graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major in Accounting from the University of Madras, India and a masters degree in Finance with high distinction from Bentley College in Massachusetts. She has also completed the Certified Public Accountants Examination from New York State.

Deepa seeks to develop the muli-faceted, well-rounded persona like her colleagues at Linear Retail and to that end; she plans to pursue her athletic, artistic and altruistic interests through her Avatar on Second Life. Until such time, she is content with finding release from life’s everyday pressures with wry humor.

  

Mark joined Linear Retail Properties in February 2006 as Vice President – Construction and Development. He is responsible for all construction activities for Linear Retail’s growing portfolio of shopping centers. He also oversees the development of targeted retail sites as well as redevelopment of existing assets.

Mark has over 25 years of experience in commercial real estate development and construction, primarily for retail and office properties in New England and New York. He has been involved with development activity projects totaling nearly $300 million in cost. His experience includes all aspects of construction and project management for new and existing properties, including permitting, acquisition due diligence, engineering and design.

Before joining Linear Retail, Mark was a Real Estate Development Manager for S.R. Weiner & Associates – WS Development, where he managed the development of 5 shopping centers totaling 2 million square feet. Prior to S.R. Weiner, he worked at Greenberg Farrow Development as a Real Estate Development Manager, where he was responsible for the development of 11 Home Depot locations totaling nearly 1.5 million square feet. Previously, he worked for Browning Ferris Industries, Roy F. Weston Consulting and Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation.

Mark holds a B.S degree in Civil Engineering from The University of Massachusetts, Lowell and is a Registered Professional Engineer (PE). He is a member of ICSC and is a past recipient of the American Consulting Engineers Council (ACEC) Excellence Award for Concept and Design for facility development. Mark led Linear to receive the “Go Green” Award 2010 presented by the City of Cambridge for the CVS / Trader Joes development on Alewife Brook Parkway.

Mark enjoys spending his free time with his wife and their two children. He coaches soccer and hockey and enjoys family events including skiing, boating and travel.

  

The first five years of Jim’s time at Linear Retail were spent in acquisitions, where he was involved in the sourcing, underwriting, and closing of over 50 retail properties. When the market changed in 2009, Jim moved to the Asset Management and Leasing side of the business. Jim oversees many of Linear’s properties in Boston, as well as in the northern suburbs and New Hampshire.

Before joining Linear Retail, Jim had a broad commercial real estate background, including mortgage banking at Goedecke & Co., senior housing advisory work at Peacock Associates, and analyst positions at PaineWebber Properties and Tishman Real Estate Services. Overall, Jim has over 15 years of real estate experience.

Jim holds a B.A in Government from St. Lawrence University and an M.B.A with a concentration in Finance from the William E. Simon School at the University of Rochester. Additionally he has completed real estate coursework at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

When Jim isn’t busy maximizing the value of his properties, he is in the mountains somewhere with his wife and four boys. He likes to spend whatever spare time is left skiing, biking, kayaking, camping, playing golf…anything in the outdoors. As part of his outdoor pursuits, Jim has raised almost $30,000 for the Jimmy Fund in the past three years while riding in the Pan Mass Challenge.

    

Bryan joined the Linear Retail Leasing and Asset Management team in 2011. Previously, Bryan was Vice President of Acquisitions & Development at Crosspoint Associates in Natick, Massachusetts, where he was responsible for developing and managing the strategic process and criteria for acquisition and executing and managing the approval, design, permitting and construction process of new and existing properties.

Bryan is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. He is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, where he serves as the New England Director of Government Relations. He is also a member of NAIOP and the Urban Land Institute and serves as a Director on the board of Pathways to Wellness in Boston.

Bryan, his partner and their dog live in a farm house they are renovating and constantly on the verge of completing. He enjoys traveling, gardening, beekeeping, woodworking, cycling and sailing.

  

As a Leasing Representative at Linear Retail, Evan is responsible for sourcing new tenants for the company’s diverse portfolio of New England retail properties. Prior to joining Linear Retail, Evan was the Area Sales Manager for The Regus Group, where he was responsible for managing the sales and leasing process for the New England market. In addition, he managed new location openings and local marketing efforts.

Before Evan became involved with commercial Real Estate, he worked in numerous capacities within the Hospitality Industry, which included managing sales and operations for companies such as Starwood Hotels & Resorts and ARAMARK Corporation.

Evan holds a B.S. in Management from the University of Massachusetts, with a focus in Hotel and Restaurant Management.

In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his family. He is an avid music and food junkie with a passion for trying new wine. He is also a former Boston DJ and wine sommelier. You can sometimes still find Evan behind a set of turntables.

    

Diana is Linear Retail’s Marketing and Social Media Manager. She handles the company’s corporate marketing, public relations, website development and social media initiatives. With six years of experience in the Shopping Center Industry, this New Englander has been listed under Movers and Shakers – Business people on the move by AllBusiness.com and The Patriot Ledger.

Prior to Linear Retail, Diana worked for 5 years at WS Development – S.R. Weiner & Associates. There, she started in the corporate marketing department and oversaw corporate and shopping center marketing at numerous centers. She worked on the Grand Opening for Legacy Place, Wareham Crossing, Mansfield Crossing and later worked as Marketing Coordinator for Derby Street Shoppes in Hingham, MA where she ran the marketing department and implemented their first ever social media plan.

She holds a B.A. in Communication and an Associate Degree in Applied Science for Community Leadership, both from the University of New Hampshire. She also studied Public Relations and New Communication Technologies at Bond University in Queensland, Australia. She was a scholarship recipient of ICSC’s John T. Riordan School for Professional Development Institute for advance marketing coursework. She has attended countless marketing and social media seminars all over the country. Diana is certified in InDesign, Visio and SitesUSA.

Diana’s forever love is music; going to shows, learning about new musicians and playing guitar. She also enjoys exploring Boston, boating in the summer, snowboarding in the winter and everything Fall.

Amy is a Portfolio Accountant at Linear Retail. In this position she is responsible for various duties supporting the CFO and overseeing the financial aspects of the third-party property management services. She has also contributed to the creation and maintenance of the company’s property and tenant database.

Amy has over 7 years of finance and accounting experience within both the property management and clinical trial industries. Prior to joining Linear Retail, she was the sole accountant for 15 Homeowner’s Associations at Mountain Resorts Association Management (MRAM) in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. In this position she was responsible for all of the accounting required for the homeowner’s associations including budget creation and financial report preparation.

She is a graduate of Clark University with a Political Science degree and concentrations in Economics and Mathematics.

She’s visited 46 of the 50 American states and when she’s not planning a road trip, she enjoys hiking with her two dogs (who have also visited most of the same 46 states), reading, skiing and playing tennis.

As Office Manager, Katie wears many hats at Linear Retail. She is responsible for the overall day-to-day operations of the office while assisting the marketing department. This “Jill” of all trades brings over 20 years of experience in office management including IT, marketing and accounting.

Previously, Katie was an Executive Administrator and Personal Assistant to the Branch Manager at Robert Half International while Supporting the Accounting and Human Resource (including insurance) departments. Before that, she worked at the Reading Advocate newspaper where she performed desktop publishing, graphic design and wrote articles for the paper.

Katie is a graduate of The University of New Hampshire with a Business Management degree. She also studied marketing at Bentley College and graphic design as well as desktop publishing at Middlesex Community College and communications at Capella University.

She has a passion for creativity and loves to paint scenic landscapes. She reminisces often about her backpacking trip across Europe for two months, where where she was able to view and paint the beautiful valleys, vineyards, water canals and architectural buildings of some of the most revered lands in Europe.