Debra Hazel Communications was founded in 2005, built on decades of reporting, analysis, and relationship-building within the global retail and real estate industries.
With nearly our decades of experience, Debra Hazel brings a depth of market knowledge that informs every engagement. Her background as a journalist, editor, and industry analyst provides clients with clarity, context, and credibility in how they communicate their work.
Debra began her career in the late 1980s as a reporter covering the expansion of chain retail and shopping center formats in the United States and abroad. As retail evolved through cycles of growth, consolidation, and reinvention, she chronicled those shifts from the front lines.
As Editor and Editor-at-Large of the International Council of Shopping Centers’ monthly magazine Shopping Centers Today, Debra traveled extensively to report on international retail and commercial real estate markets. Her work at Chain Store Age magazine chronicled the growth and the evolution of major retail companies in America and beyond, capturing the early globalization of retail, including the expansion of leading U.S. brands beyond their regional roots and the entry of European and Asian retailers into North America and other global markets.
That first-hand experience continues to inform her perspective today.
After nearly two decades in journalism, Debra founded Debra Hazel Communications to bring her editorial discipline, market insight, and industry relationships to corporate clients operating in complex real estate and B2B environments.
Today, she works as a consultant’s consultant, partnering with leadership teams, advisory firms, developers, and agencies to shape communications strategy, messaging, and thought leadership. Her work helps organizations place their stories within the broader context of market forces, industry trends, and global real estate dynamics.
If you’re looking for a communications partner who understands your industry—and knows how to tell its story—we should connect.
