Taubman Centers Inc. is assigning the role of chief financial officer to Simon J. Leopold, treasurer and executive vice president, capital markets, on Jan. 1.
At that time, Leopold succeeds current cfo Lisa A. Payne, who will continue as vice chairman until leaving the company in March. Payne has been with the Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based shopping center development and management company since 1997. Earlier, she was a vice president of Goldman, Sachs & Co.’s investment banking division.
Robert Taubman, chairman, president and chief executive officer, cited Payne’s “focus on balance-sheet strength enabling the company to successfully weather the Great Recession while retaining its cash dividend. The company had sufficient resources to avoid issuing equity at an inopportune time, driving shareholder value creation.” In recent years, she led the company’s cross-functional innovation team.
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Leopold joined Taubman in 2012 and has been responsible for Taubman’s capital markets and financing activities, corporate tax and treasury, and real estate acquisitions and dispositions. Last year, he was the architect of the $1.4 billion sale of seven Taubman shopping centers to Starwood Capital Group. Taubman, as of June 30, had a 12-month trailing mall tenant sales per square foot of $818.
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“When we welcomed Simon to the company a few years ago, it was to ensure a strong succession plan for the cfo role,” said Taubman. “Through the Starwood transaction and numerous other business matters, Simon has proven to be a prudent yet progressive leader.”
Prior to joining Taubman, Leopold spent 13 years as a managing director in the real estate investment banking groups at Deutsche Bank, Keefe Bruyette & Woods and UBS. He has also worked in urban planning and economic development in New York City.