INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Simon®, a global leader in retail real estate, announced today that Krystal Zell has been named senior vice president of marketing.  In this newly created role, Zell will oversee the field marketing organization for all Simon Malls, The Mills® and Simon Premium Outlets® and will also be responsible for the company's customer experience, loyalty and tourism centers of excellence.

Zell served as Vice President of Starwood Preferred Guest at Starwood Hotels & Resorts where she led the loyalty strategy, business development and operations for Starwood's award-winning Starwood Preferred Guest and B2B loyalty programs. Earlier in her career, she served as a consultant for Bain & Company, specializing in retail innovation, multi-channel marketing and retail supply chain optimization.

Zell holds a B.A. in Political Sciences and Economics from Rice University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

"Krystal's impressive experience in hospitality and loyalty, combined with a track record of delivering industry-leading marketing and experiential programming, make her ideally suited to lead our field marketing team," said Mikael Thygesen, Chief Marketing Officer for Simon. "We are very pleased to welcome her to Simon."

About Simon 
Simon is a global leader in retail real estate ownership, management and development and a S&P100 company (Simon Property Group, NYSE:SPG). Our industry-leading retail properties and investments across North America, Europe and Asia provide shopping experiences for millions of consumers every day and generate billions in annual retail sales. For more information, visit simon.com.

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SOURCE Simon