Antoine FREY is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FREY, a leading player in the French and European retail real estate sector. As a developer, investor, and asset manager, FREY is a publicly traded real estate company listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, specializing in the development and operation of open-air shopping centers.
More than just a real estate company, FREY is committed to reinventing commercial spaces by combining economic performance with environmental and social responsibility. A pioneer in sustainable retail parks, the group introduced the Greencenter® concept in 2008, establishing a new standard for eco-friendly and high-quality retail environments. FREY then revolutionized the sector once again with Shopping Promenade®, a new generation of open-air shopping centers designed as vibrant community hubs, enhancing urban life and strengthening social ties. Convinced that retail plays a fundamental role in urban diversity, social connection, local economic resilience, and the environmental transition, FREY’s mission is clear: restoring retail as a service for the common good.
In July 2024, FREY accelerated its European expansion by acquiring ROS Retail Outlet Shopping, the 5th largest outlet operator in Europe, marking its entry into the designer outlet market. Under the leadership of Antoine Frey, the company has taken bold steps to align business growth with societal impact. In 2021, FREY became the first real estate investment trust in France to adopt Entreprise à Mission status and the first publicly traded French company to earn B Corp certification—a testament to its dedication to a more sustainable and socially responsible future.
Lars Jähnichen has over 29 years of professional experience in the retail property sector. Until 2016, the industrial engineer was managing director at Unibail Rodamco Germany, where he was responsible for asset management and, together with his teams, managed a shopping centre portfolio with a total rental area of approx. 850,000 sq m. During this time, he developed and successfully implemented several revitalisation concepts. He and his teams also developed, planned and realised several shopping centres, including the Pasing Arcaden in Munich, which has also received several international awards.
His core areas include the development, planning and implementation of revitalisation concepts. As an expert in letting management and real estate consultancy, Lars Jähnichen ensures that retail properties are future-proof. This includes the strategic and operational development of properties as part of urban districts. As managing director of IPH, he is responsible for the areas of consultancy, letting and technology. He and the various teams at IPH developed and successfully implemented many leasing concepts, for example ZAM, one of the largest urban district developments in Europe, or at the HUMA Shopping World, the first shopping and outlet centre combination under one roof. Lars Jähnichen also highlights current market developments as well as positioning and leasing topics in specialist articles and lectures.
Impressive intuition for market developments
“Antoine Frey and Lars Jähnichen are a great asset to our Advisory Board. Due to their personality and enthusiasm for the industry, both are personalities who shape and further develop our industry,” says Reinhard Winiwarter, Publisher, and Managing Partner of ACROSS Magazine. “More importantly, they have an impressive sense of trends and market developments from which we will benefit on the ACROSS Advisory Board and beyond. We look forward to working even more closely together.”
About the ACROSS Advisory Board
The ACROSS Advisory Board was established in mid-2016. From day one, the Board’s stated goal has been offering its topic formulation expertise. Over the years, the board has not only grown, but it has also become more interdisciplinary, just like the retail real estate world itself. In addition to shopping center managers, the board includes architects, retail experts, financial experts, PropTech professionals, consultants, and outlet managers. The mix of expertise from the various areas that our industry has to offer makes the ACROSS board unique. That is not only because the mixed-use asset class is rising, but also because collaboration and embracing innovative approaches are essential to our business. The ACROSS Advisory Board is currently comprised of 31 members. That allows us to monitor current trends and changes within the industry closely and to be able to classify them.
