Vice chair of the board and chief financial officer for CBL & Associates Properties, Inc., John Foy ('65) has worked in the field more than 30 years. It was not a career he had in mind when he first entered the job market.

"A friend of mine (Charles B. Lebovitz, chairman of the board and chief executive officer for whom the company is named), his father and his first cousin, had a company, Independent Enterprises," Foy says. "They needed an in-house lawyer. I was the first non-family member. We built shopping centers."

Born in Monroe, Mich., Foy has called Chattanooga home since he was 5 years old. He received his secondary education degree in history from Austin Peay. He went on to the University of Tennessee College of Law, earning his jurisdoctorate in 1967. He returned to Chattanooga, worked six months for Provident Life Insurance Company and then served six months in the U.S. Army Reserve.

That was in 1968. Within a year, he embarked upon his career path. He is responsible for the company's financial services, including construction and permanent financing for new shopping center projects, lender relationships and investor relations. He is one of three internal management directors who oversee the company along with four outside directors.

"In the real estate profession, there is usually one more outside director than internal," he says. "It gives independence to the board and gives the shareholders security that the three running the company report to the other four."

Within a year of Foy's joining Independent Enterprises, a company merger birthed Arlen Shopping Centers Inc., a company traded over the counter on the New York Stock Exchange, which again merged to create ARDC.

When the company went public, Foy learned the financial side of operations from the late Jay Solomon, who also served as head of the General Services Administration (GSA) under President Jimmy Carter.

"He and I were close," Foy says about Solomon. "He was my mentor."

In 1978, Foy and four others left Arlen in 1978 to form CBL & Associates. In 1993, CBL went public as a real estate investment trust traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company makes its money much like homeowners make money from home equity: After Foy makes arrangements for construction loans from banks, the mall tenants pay rent to CBL. The rent pays the debt service on the loans, with some profit going to CBL. As a public company,

CBL must report quarterly to its stockholders. That means Foy coordinates budgets five years in advance. Why?

"It takes five years to build a mall from start to opening. It takes two years just to build them."

And it can take years to build relationships with retailers, relationships the Lebovitz family has built since the early 1960s.

Building those relationships means when companies such as Sears, JCPenney and Dillard's, want to locate in a certain area, they come to CBL & Associates first. But who decides what other stores will go in?

"For example, say Dillard's or Sears wants to locate in Clarksville and build a mall. Dillard's says it would like to see a Sears and Penney's in the same mall, and we work them into it," Foy says.

Why does store, such as Sears, open under the same roof with a Dillard's?

"The stronger the tenant, the more people are drawn to the mall," Foy explains, " so they don't mind the competition. Look at car lots--they cluster themselves because comparison shopping is a way of life. We build a tenant mix to draw people to the mall."

Foy also points out companies carry different lines of merchandise.

"Dillard's carries Polo, Sears doesn't. Everybody tries to differentiate their merchandise and customer service. Sears has focused on appliances and tools--and now fashion to compete with Dillard's."

That's why, in the well-known Sears commercial, the singers harmonize about "the softer side of Sears"--as opposed to the hard side, such as tools and appliances.

Malls also draw customers by offering entertainment. "We put theatres in our malls. In Atlanta, we have a NASCAR virtual reality. We balance food, entertainment and merchandise for an overall appeal," Foy says.

CBL uses market research and demographics when deciding where to build. The leasing team looks at what tenants to bring into a proposed mall, and those tenants decide the type of mall they want--all under one roof, a community center or a power center.

For example, in Douglassville, Ga., an Atlanta suburb, the company opened a 1.2 million-square-foot mall in October, a $117 million project. A mega-mall. But, in Morgantown, N.C., Belks, Penny's, Goody's and a supermarket wanted a community center.

Foy says, "A regional mall wouldn't work there."

The company focuses on middle markets, such as Huntsville, Ala., Nashville, Hattiesburg, Miss., Longmont, Colo., Cheyenne, Wyo., and College Station, Texas--places where CBL has developed and still owns and manages regional malls.

"Hattiesburg merchants were losing money to New Orleans and Jackson (Miss.) because Hattiesburg didn't have a major shopping center. The city encouraged CBL to come in. Seventy percent of those cities open their arms to us because we generate tax dollars."

Some states, however, are concerned about a mall's impact on the environment. To get past that hurdle, CBL responds to those concerns.

"In Cortlandt, New York, we built a power center there. We gave land for an ice skating rink and park so the center became environmentally sensitive."

The company has several ongoing projects. Construction is underway in Muskegon, Mich., for a new mall, while a 1.2 million-square-foot mall will open in Myrtle Beach, S.C. this year. CBL soon will redevelop Parkway City Mall in Huntsville, Ala. The firm has six other community centers under construction, all slated to open in 2000.

"We build five to six community centers each year and remodel our existing malls every 10 years," Foy says.

The revitalization, remodeling and expansion, while pleasing to the shopper, hits the bottom line. CBL's annual report states: "They help us maximize the returns from these properties. By increasing our franchise position, we can continue to increase customer traffic, which in turn drives tenant sales and ultimately rental growth."

Today, CBL rules in Nashville: In 1998, the company dominated areas where it had malls and centers, CBL developed, owned and managed CoolSprings Galleria and CoolSprings Crossing, which opened in 1991. The mall was a top performer, and Nashville was the fastest growing market area in Tennessee.

There were four malls in the Nashville area CBL didn't own--until July 1998, when it acquired Hickory Hollow Mall, Rivergate Mall, two associated centers and one community center. CBL now controls more than two-thirds of one of the hottest markets in the country.

"It's a management-intensive business," Foy says.

Foy estimates he is on the road three to four days per month visiting shareholders and prospective financing sources. "It's a people business and it's management--we keep the mall space occupied and pay dividends to shareholders."

According to Karen Benson, Foy's administrative assistant, Foy keeps it all under control.

"He's a brilliant man; he doesn't forget a thing," she says. "He can remember a business deal he made at Provident 30 years ago or the name of a German investor. John has his finger on every aspect of the business. He knows the cash flow, which tenant is leaving, which is coming in. He's a mastermind. When he's on the road, he checks on the malls.

"He's here six days a week, and the only reason he's not in on Sundays is because his wife won't let him. Even then, there are some Sundays he does come to the office."

Foy's wife, Trish, owns and runs a women's clothing store in Chattanooga.

Benson says he was quick to jump on e-commerce seeing it as a challenge he wants to meet head on. His vision, to combat the possible loss of sales through e-commerce. "The Internet is a tool we have to integrate into the shopping center experience, making the shopping center the place where customers pick up the merchandise. We have to provide a personal reason to come as opposed to impersonal shopping on the Internet."

Foy jogs four miles a day for enjoyment. "He says, "There's enough competition in the business world without running in competition. In running, I compete against myself to make myself better. I'm not an athlete--I run for health reasons, and it helps me focus."

John Martin ('64), vice president of corporate relations for CBL, has known Foy since both were students at Austin Peay.

Martin describes his longtime friend and co-worker as a "caring, strong-willed workaholic who is a stranger to no one--that's John's nature."

That's Foy--he's been taking care of business, every day, for more than 30 years. And that means a better shopping experience coming soon to a location near you.