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It’s not just a place to shop.
That’s what Jeramy Burkinshaw, general manager of The Mall at University Town Center says. “One of the things that we’ve tried really hard to do this year is reach out to the community and give people a reason to come to the mall other than just shopping.”
With Mother’s Day, holiday, health and children’s events, the mall is trying to reach out to specific demographic groups, he says. “What we’ve learned is as you have great events at the mall, it becomes the community mall. We’re trying to win the hearts and minds of shoppers in our community, and then we become their default mall of choice.”
Burkinshaw came to UTC in December 2016. Previously, he was operations director for another Taubman Co. property, City Creek Center in Salt Lake City.
As a general manager, his responsibilities include developing community relationships and partnerships, which he says is one of his favorite roles.
Burkinshaw says each day he tries to find balance in his workday. There are “more than enough meetings to go around,” he says, and he tries to strategically schedule time to go out in the mall to interact with guests and merchants. “I really want to get to know their experience, why they are there, what we can improve on.” He says some of the best ideas for improvements have come out of these conversations.
There are several metrics the mall uses to measure success, Burkinshaw says, including numbers like sales per square foot, but there’s another measure that’s important to him, too. “In my mind, it’s how the guests experience the center. Do they feel an affinity toward the center?”
— Grier Ferguson
Name: Jeramy Burkinshaw
Age: 39
City of residence: Bradenton
Employer: Taubman, The Mall at University Town Center
Title: General Manager
Birthplace: Salt Lake City, Utah
Years on the Gulf Coast: 8 months
Marital status/children: I am married to my beautiful wife, and we have three wonderful children
Alma mater/degree: University of Phoenix and University Of Utah. Go Utes!!
Best place to network: Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance Meetings, www.lwrba.org
Messy desk or clean workspace: Somewhat messy, but I know exactly what’s on my desk and where to find it
Eat lunch out or at your desk: Both. We try and eat as a team as often as possible, but I find myself eating at my desk often to because I always have to finish up “one more thing.”
Best business lesson ever learned: Be grateful for the opportunities given to you and create similar opportunities for others as often as possible.
Weirdest job you’ve ever had: When I was 15, I vacuumed and swept the floors at a local middle school.
A website that makes your job easier: Google
App you use the most: Waze. Being somewhat new to the area, Waze is the only way I get anywhere.
One thing you do everyday: Ask our team what I can do to help them or what can I do for them.
Community group you’re most involved with: There are so many worthwhile groups in the Sarasota/Manatee area that I haven’t settled on just one community group and chose to participate in several.
Favorite off-hours activity: Snowmobiling, or anything in the snow. I may need to develop some new warm weather hobbies though.
Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: Warren Buffet to get his perspective on investments and acquisitions, and my brother-in-law Brandon Savage who passed away while on an adventure with me in 2003.
What you would be doing if you could pick another career: Entrepreneur. I have always been enamored by the idea of creating and growing my own business. It still may happen.
Top item on your bucket list: Spending an extended period of time traveling with my wife through Europe.
Your happy place is: Anywhere with my family
Your biggest fear: Inaction. If you don’t act, you will never succeed.
Favorite Ted Talk: Dan Gilbert: The Surprising Science of Happiness
Skill you’d like to learn: Patience. I can get wrapped up in my own timeline and expectations and I need to remember to be patient with others and their individual circumstances.
Who would play you in a movie about your life: I would like to think it would be Chris Hemsworth or Channing Tatum, but it would likely be David Schwimmer.
Describe yourself in three words: Detailed, observant and family-man
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