Karie Najemnik Armstrong
BUSINESS CONSULTANT

Karie Armstrong joined the Orange County SBDC team of consultants in April 2011. She has spent the last 22 years helping retailers, service providers, restaurants and entrepreneurs successfully launch and grow their businesses in a wide variety of retail environments and markets. Her extensive back ground stems from shopping center management, marketing and development, as well as retail operations and manufacturing. Ms. Armstrong has worked for some of the nation’s leading shopping center developers throughout southern and northern California including Simon Property Group, Macerich, The Mills Corp., Jones Lang LaSalle, Heitman Retail Properties, The Hahn Company and Centremark. Skilled in managing a wide variety of projects and diverse teams, Ms. Armstrong has an industry reputation for embracing project opportunities and collaborating across boundaries. In all markets she has successfully paired with Chambers of Commerce, Economic Development departments and other government leaders and organizations to strengthen the area commerce and quality of life for the surrounding communities.

Ms. Armstrong earned her CMD (Certified Marketing Director) and SCMD (Senior Certified Marketing Director) designations in 1997 and 2003 respectively and her SCSM (Senior Shopping Center Manager) designation in 2005 from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).

Throughout her career, Karie has amassed a large number of marketing and advertising awards for print, radio and outdoor campaigns as well as overall marketing strategies. Her vast experience in mixed-use, multi-ethnic, urban and various socio-economic markets paves the way for a deep understanding of how to successfully research, identify and penetrate core customer bases for positive sales growth. She has extensive experience writing successful business plans, property proformas, and sales projections as well as assisting owner-based retailers to grow their businesses into viable permanent tenants. This significant practical experience will translate well into helping businesses prepare their business plans, revenue projections and marketing plans.

Ms. Armstrong is a fourth generation southern Californian, married, with two sons and a foster son. She attended California State University, Northridge as a pre-med student on a springboard diving scholarship.