NEW YORK CITY- Ben Johnson, the veteran industry journalist who for a decade served as editor of the National Real Estate Investor and Shopping Center World magazines, has joined the editorial staff of GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum. As a columnist for both products, which are both owned by ALM’s Real Estate Media Group, Johnson will provide a regular column focusing on the inside trends shaping the institutional investment market.

In addition to the experience mentioned above, Johnson also authored the first biography of legendary billionaire investor Sam Zell, published by Penguin in December 2009. "I've been covering the institutional investment market for many years now, and it’s great to be able to share that experience with Globest.com and Real Estate Forum readers," says Johnson.

In addition to his magazine work, Johnson has worked for some of the industry’s best-known firms. Today he is vice president of marketing, editorial and content services at Cole Real Estate Investments, based in Phoenix. Previously, he was publishing director at CoStar Group, before which he was the director of real estate marketing with Atlanta-based Wells Real Estate Funds. Johnson also was publisher of a leading technology magazine for the public accounting profession at Cygnus Business Media. Prior to joining Cygnus, Ben was the director of custom publishing at American Airlines Publishing, an in-house division of American Airlines, where he led the creation of a dozen new print and digital custom publishing programs for firms in the financial services, healthcare and travel industries.

He is an active member of the Urban Land Institute, the Real Estate Council, the International Association of Business Communicators and the National Association of Real Estate Editors.