Company

Management Team

  • Michael Mugel
  • Chief Executive Officer & Founder

Red Mountain Retail Group is led by Michael Mugel. Michael's entrepreneurial spirit, keen business sense and his unique ability to "find and create great deals" inevitably led him to founding Red Mountain Retail Group in 1999. As founder and CEO, Michael has driven the success of RMRG including continuous growth in equity, profit and cash flow.

In 2000, Michael set out an aggressive business plan to grow RMRG which has proven successful with both portfolio size and value nearly doubling year after year. At the same time, Michael has stayed committed to his core values of property enhancement that add value to communities, crafted with sound economic and design principles.

Providing numerous opportunities for his partners and staff to grow and enjoy the prosperity of RMRG ranks high amongst Michael's long list of accomplishments. Michael earned his degree from University of San Diego in Business Administration.

  • Carl Roude
  • Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel

Carl Roude is the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel for Red Mountain Retail Group, where he is responsible for overseeing all of the Company's operational aspects as well as providing legal advice to the Company and its subsidiaries.  Carl also oversees the Company's strategic planning in order to advance the Company's vision.

Prior to Red Mountain, Carl’s was a member of the real estate department of a nationally recognized law firm, and provided strategic and legal advice to various clients, including REITS, Fortune 500 companies and major real estate developers. These clients’ projects included the development of major development projects, the purchase and sale of regional retail centers and commercial office building portfolios and overseeing various mixed use projects, including the redevelopment of the Tustin Marine Air Corps Station and Anaheim GardenWalk. Carl also spent 10 years as the chief transactional attorney for a major automotive company’s North American operations, overseeing all corporate and real estate matters in the United States and Canada. 

Carl is a member of the California Bar and a graduate of Boston University Law School. He has been a speaker at various industry conferences and at internal corporate events.

  • Michelle F. Bell
  • Chief Financial Officer

Michelle joined Red Mountain Retail Group in 1999 and was a vital part of developing the company vision, where she continues to champion it in her current role as CFO. Her extensive knowledge and understanding of the real estate industry and real estate taxation offers RMRG the ability to effortlessly complete complicated and challenging transactions. Throughout Michelle’s tenure, she has been responsible for acquisitions, dispositions, finance, accounting, taxation, corporate compliance and investor relations.

Michelle graduated from California State University Fullerton and earned her CPA from Arthur Anderson & Co. Her real estate industry experience where she held positions extends to Donald L. Bren Company, Bren Investment Properties, Inc., First City Industries, Inc., B & B Custom Builders, GVD Investments, Inc. and Resource Capital Group.

  • Lori J. Gast
  • Senior Vice President of Operations

Red Mountain is proud to announce the hiring of Lori J. Gast to the position of Senior Vice President of Operations.  

As the Senior Vice President of Operations, Lori J. Gast oversees the daily operations of Red Mountain Retail Group as well as provides leader for the Leasing, Property & Asset Management, Development, Entitlements and Marketing divisions.

With more than 25 years of industry experience in the Western US, Ms. Gast is the founder of Gast Retail Group, which specializes in investment opportunities, tenant representation and consulting. Aside from her own company, Ms. Gast has held a variety of leadership positions in the real estate departments of companies including Pentz & Partners as a Senior Sales Associate; Marketplace Properties as the Vice President of Leasing and Development, and GVD Investments as the Vice President and Director of Leasing.

Ms. Gast holds a BS from California State University Fullerton and is a licensed Real Estate Broker. In addition, she is a Certified Leasing Specialist and an active participant with ICSC, CREW and ARCE workshops, conventions and activities.

  • Kristin Ambrose
  • Vice President of Leasing

Kristin is a senior member of the management team at RMRG and is responsible for leading a team dedicated to leasing shopping centers within the RMRG portfolio to generate revenue and maximize the ROI of every property. In addition, she is responsible for implementing the vision set for each asset including the creation of marketing plans and maintaining low vacancy rates.

Kristin has over 19 years experience in commercial and retail real estate including: strategic planning, financial management, leasing, acquisitions and dispositions.

Prior to joining RMRG, she was Director, Leasing & Asset Management for Center Trust, Inc., where she was responsible for leasing and asset management of eleven neighborhood and community shopping centers in Southern California with total aggregate annual revenues in excess of $27 million. She was also responsible for development and direction of regional teams, including on and off site leasing, brokers, legal, property management, development and construction.

Kristin also has expertise in marketing and leasing large portfolios of high and mid-rise office buildings and retail centers through Southern California. In addition, she implemented business plans including marketing budgets and property forecasts as well as for redevelopment/value-add opportunities.

She is graduate of University of Southern California and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.

Professional Associations

California Real Estate License
Member, International Council of Shopping Centers
Member, Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives

  • Eric Nelson
  • Vice President of Entitlements

Eric A. Nelson is Vice President of Entitlements for Red Mountain Retail Group, where he is responsible for any and all issues that require governmental review(s), approvals and day to day oversight of the Entitlements Team. Today, this team consists of four entitlement managers that process all of the necessary approvals through the governmental process. Additionally, this dedicated team works closely with neighborhood groups and community members during the approval process to insure all concerns are addressed. 

Preceding Red Mountain, Eric worked as a broker with a national real estate brokerage firm and earned rookie of the year along with several other distinct awards. While working as a broker, Eric struck one of his first deals with Red Mountain Retail Group. He was ultimately hired in early 1999 as Red Mountain’s fifth employee. 

Throughout the first few years with Red Mountain, Eric created what is now known as TBI, Inc., Red Mountain’s in-house design and construction department. During that period, Eric was responsible for all phases of the construction process, including entitlements, permit and actual construction. 

From the beginning, Eric has always been intrigued with the entitlements process and collaborative effort that is required to gain all the necessary approvals for the development and re-development of shopping centers. As Red Mountain grew, Eric shaped the entitlements department and has since handed off his role in design and construction to another devoted team to enable him to focus his time and effort on the entitlements portion of the business. 

In addition to his roles and responsibilities at Red Mountain, Eric participates on several boards and committees and belongs to the following professional organizations. 

Board Memberships:
City of Phoenix Camelback Core Streetscape Committee – Voting Member
Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce Development Task Force
ULI Education Committee
T.H.I.N.K. – Board of Directors 
Builders Industry Association – Government Affairs Committee
Maryvale Revitalization Corporation - Board of Director
City of Costa Mesa – Law Block Grant Committee – Past Member
City of Costa Mesa – Human Relations Committee – Past Member

Industry Membership:
International Council of Shopping Centers
Urban Land Institute
American Planning Institute
Building Industry Association
United States Green Building Council

  • Susan Rounds
  • Director of Marketing

Susan joined Red Mountain Retail Group in 2004 and is responsible for the foundation and subsequent growth of the Marketing Department and the Red Mountain Retail Group brand. Her innovative group is responsible for all aspects of marketing at RMRG, including the infamous Client Appreciation Party held each year in Las Vegas at the ICSC trade show.

With an extensive background based in the high-tech industry, Susan brings a fresh perspective on Marketing to the real estate industry. Her passion and commitment to growing the Red Mountain Retail Group image is displayed not only through trade shows, ad campaigns, press releases and the website, but also through her work on the internal Vision Committee.

Susan is a graduate of the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University with a BS in Management. She is also a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, as well as the Business Marketing Association.