Michael Berne is one of North America’s leading retail experts and futurists. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he sees his role not only in terms of grasping the contours and dynamics as they exist today, but also, anticipating the shifting trajectories, second-order effects and paradigm shifts that await us tomorrow.
As the Founder and President of MJB Consulting (MJB), Michael has amassed nearly 25 years of experience in conducting market analyses, developing retail visions, devising revitalization strategies, recommending tenanting schemes, advising on site plans, guiding land use / zoning policies and spearheading implementation / recruitment efforts on behalf of BID's / BIA's, municipalities, developers and others across the U.S., Canada and the U.K.
Michael is a regular presenter and keynote speaker at industry conferences, including those of the International Downtown Association (IDA), the World Towns Leadership Summit, the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the National Main Street Center, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the American Planning Association (APA) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), as well as the Silicon Valley Economic Development Alliance (SVEDA) and the California Downtown Association (CDA).
Michael has lectured in the graduate programs at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Pratt Institute and the City University of New York (CUNY). He has co-taught IEDC’s “Economic Development Fundamentals 101” course. He has served on expert advisory panels for both the IEDC and ULI. He has been quoted often in high-profile publications such as the Financial Times, Planning, Governing, CoStar, TheStreet, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post and Bloomberg Businessweek, among others.
In addition to his widely-read “Retail Contrarian” blog, Michael has penned numerous articles for magazines such as the San Francisco Business Times, Shopping Center Business, the Journal of Urban Affairs, IEDC’s Economic Development Journal, CNU's Public Square, the Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal, ULI’s Urban Land as well as Dow Jones & Co.’s MarketWatch, among others.
He has contributed sections to two recent books, Suburban Remix: Crafting the Next Generation of Urban Places (edited by David Dixon and Jason Beske; Island Press, 2018) and Main Street’s Comeback (written by Mary Means; Hammondwood Press, 2020).
Michael served two terms on IDA’s Board of Directors (2009 - 2015), including two years as a Vice Chair of its Executive Committee (2013 – 2015). He also chaired IDA’s Top Issues Council on Diverse Retail Mixes in 2017.
Before founding MJB, Michael worked on market studies and commercial revitalization for a planning consultancy, leasing and acquisitions for an urban retail developer, and policy analysis for a citywide elected official.
He received a B.A. degree from Columbia University (Columbia College) in New York City, and an M. Phil degree from Cambridge University (Gonville & Caius College) in the U.K.
Born in New York City, Michael currently splits his time between offices/residences in Berkeley's Elmwood neighborhood and Manhattan’s Union Square.