Leadership Defined by Experience and Expertise

As President & CEO for Macerich, Jackson Hsieh guides one of the nation’s leading retail real estate companies with high-quality properties in many of the best U.S. markets. 
 
Mr. Hsieh brings powerful leadership experience in both real estate and investment banking to Macerich, where he took the reins at a critical juncture in the company’s evolution: Macerich marked 30 years as a public company in 2024. 
 
Prior to joining Macerich, Mr. Hsieh was President and Chief Executive Officer of Spirit Realty Capital beginning in 2017, where he led the successful merger of Spirit with Realty Income Corporation through an all-stock transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $9.3 billion. 
 
Before Spirit, Mr. Hsieh spent decades as a high-level global banking executive, including roles as Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley and Vice Chairman and Sole/Co-Global Head of UBS’s Real Estate Investment Banking Group.
 
Mr. Hsieh is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, and he earned a master’s degree in architecture from Harvard University. He is also a member of the Nareit Advisory Board of Governors and the CNBC CEO Council.

Mr. Hash was elected our Independent Chairman in 2018 and has served on our Board as an independent director since 2015. Mr. Hash was the co-founder of Renaissance Macro Research, LLC, an equity research and trading firm focused on macro research in the investment strategy, economics and Washington policy sectors, and served as its President and Chief Operating Officer from its inception in 2012 until his retirement in April 2020. 

Mr. Hash is a member of the board of directors of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., a publicly traded REIT, where he serves as the lead independent director, chair of the compensation committee, and a member of the audit committee. He is also lead director of Nuveen Global Cities REIT, Inc. and is a member of the audit committee. 

Between 1993 and 2012, Mr. Hash held various leadership positions with Lehman Brothers (and its successor, Barclays Capital), including Global Head of Real Estate Investment Banking from 2006 to 2012, Chief Operating Officer of Global Investment Banking from 2008 to 2011, Director of Global Equity Research from 2003 to 2006, Director of U.S. Equity Research from 1999 to 2003, and Senior Equity Research Analyst from 1993 to 1999 covering the Real Estate Investment Trusts sector.

Mr. Hernandez is the Executive Chairman of Inter-Con Security Systems, Inc., a global provider of security and facility support services to governments, utilities, and industrial customers. He previously served as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1986 to 2021 and President from 1986 until 2018. Mr. Hernandez is a member of the board of directors of Chevron Corporation, where he serves as chair of the compensation committee. 

Mr. Hernandez serves on the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Commission on Opportunities After High School. He is a member of the board of trustees of the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, the Harvard College Visiting Committee, and the Harvard University Resources Committee. He earned his bachelor’s degree in government and economics from Harvard University and received his law degree from Harvard Law School.

Mr. Hirsch is a principal of Anzu Partners, an investment firm focusing on industrial and life science technology companies, serving as a consultant and executive-in-residence, in the roles of Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of Anzu Special Acquisition Corp I from October 2022 through September 2023. He was a principal of Cascade Acquisitions Holdings, LLC, the sponsor of a special purpose acquisition company, Cascade Acquisition Corp. and served as its chief operating officer and chief financial officer from November 2020 through May 2022. From 2003 to December 2016, Mr. Hirsch held several senior positions at Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C. (“FCM”), an investment firm that manages capital on behalf of institutions and individuals, including Managing Member of the Real Estate Group from 2009 to December 2016, Managing Director from 2007 to 2008 and Legal Counsel from 2003 to 2006. He was a consultant to FCM from January 2017 through March 2020. Mr. Hirsch graduated from Yale Law School with a J.D., and summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought from Amherst College.

Ms. Laing’s career has included chief financial officer roles at several real estate operating companies and REITs. She served as chief financial officer of American Homes 4 Rent, a REIT investing in single-family rental homes, until her retirement in June 2018. Most recently, she was interim chief financial officer for Alexander & Baldwin, a public REIT investing in commercial properties in Hawaii, from November 2018 to May 2019. Prior to American Homes 4 Rent, she was chief financial officer and corporate secretary for Thomas Properties Group, Inc. and chief financial officer for New Pacific Realty Corporation and Arden Realty. Ms. Laing serves as the audit committee chair of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc., also serving on its nominating and governance committee. She also serves as the independent board chair of CareTrust REIT, in addition to serving on its compensation committee and sustainability committee, and serves on the board of directors of Alexander & Baldwin, one of Hawaii’s leading owners and operators of grocery-anchored strip retail centers, and is chair of its compensation committee and serves on its audit and nominating and corporate governance committees. Ms. Laing holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Oklahoma State University and is still active with the university, serving as a trustee of the Oklahoma State University Foundation.

Ms. Lowenthal is the President and sole principal of Granadier Co., a real estate firm focused on the development and redevelopment of multifamily and mixed-use properties in Southern California. From January 2005 to March 2022, she served as Executive Vice President of Development for Combined Properties, Incorporated, where she led the national acquisition and development team in mixed-use, retail, residential and hotel projects in highly valued infill markets, primarily in Southern California and the Washington, D.C. area. She was Executive Vice President of Development at the Bond Companies from 2000 to 2004, leading the design and development teams in mixed-use, residential and retail projects.
 
Ms. Lowenthal serves on the board of directors of Los Angeles Tourism and Convention and the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management Ziman Center for Real Estate. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and an MBA with concentrations in finance and real estate from the University of California, Los Angeles.

A seasoned retail REIT executive, Mr. Murphy served for more than a decade at Phillips Edison & Company (PECO), one of the nation’s largest owners and operators of grocery-anchored neighborhood shopping centers. Mr. Murphy served as PECO’s President from 2019 until 2024. He was the company’s CFO for six years prior to becoming President in 2019. Mr. Murphy was elected to the Board of Directors of PECO, a NASDAQ-listed REIT, in July 2024. He currently serves as a Senior Advisor to Fifth Wall, the largest venture capital firm focused on the global real estate industry. He is also a Director of CoreCivic, a NYSE-listed, diversified government solutions company, where he serves on the Audit and Risk committees and chairs the Nominating and Governance committee.

Before joining PECO in 2013, Mr. Murphy worked for 28 years as an investment banker and held senior leadership roles at Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank. He was the Global Head of Real Estate Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank, where his team executed over 500 transactions, representing total transaction volume over $400 billion, and a Vice Chairman at Morgan Stanley.

Ms. Stephen served as Executive Vice President, Investments for The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited ("Cadillac Fairview"), one of North America's largest real estate companies, from October 2002 to December 2011 and as Senior Vice President, Investments for Cadillac Fairview from May 2000 to October 2002, where she was responsible for developing and executing Cadillac Fairview’s investment strategy. Prior to joining Cadillac Fairview, Ms. Stephen held the position of Director, Real Estate with the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada, from December 1999 to May 2000, as well as various portfolio manager positions from September 1995 to December 1999.

Ms. Stephen serves as chair of the board of trustees of Slate Retail Real Estate Investment Trust and serves on its audit, compensation and investment committees. Ms. Stephen also serves on the board of directors of Enwave Energy Corporation, a dominant energy solutions provider, serving as chair of the human resources and compensation committee.

Tom Birdsall leads technology, cyber security and privacy efforts for Macerich. He is responsible for core infrastructure and data center activities, end user and service desk support, IT procurement and inventory management. 

He joined Macerich in 2006 and has nearly 30 years of experience in information technology. Prior to joining Macerich, he worked as a systems engineer and systems engineer manager for a Scottsdale-based managed IT services organization. 

Mr. Birdsall holds the Certified Information Privacy Manager certification from the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

As Senior Vice President of Leasing, Jamie Bourbeau is responsible for the strategic planning, expansion, merchandising and leasing across the Macerich portfolio. A seasoned professional, Ms. Bourbeau has developed and fostered unparalleled relationships and knowledge of retail real estate leasing. 

Prior to Macerich, Ms. Bourbeau was the Executive Vice President & Director of Leasing for AWE Talisman, where she led the outlet merchandising for all of AWE’s Fashion Outlet Brand projects; most recently was the delivery of Fashion Outlets of Chicago, a Macerich partnership. With more than 12 years of experience in the outlet industry, Ms. Bourbeau also served as Manager of Real Estate at Polo Ralph Lauren in New York City where her responsibilities included new stores, renewals, expansions and re-positioning of existing stores for the 120-store outlet division. While at Polo, Jamie was awarded the 2005 Leadership Award.

Ms. Bourbeau has served as a panelist at ICSC and VRN events, and is currently on the board of directors for the Developers of Outlet Centers and Retailers (DOC&R). She is also co-chair of the 2014 VRN Fall Outlet Leasing and Marketing Convention Program Committee. Ms. Bourbeau earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Marketing, from Northern Arizona University.

As Senior Vice President of Leasing, Eric Bunyan oversees Macerich’s East region consisting of some of the company’s largest redevelopments. His expertise includes leading large-format leasing, inline leasing and redevelopment, as well as facilitating key deals with retail-compatible uses such as residential, self-storage, medical, office, entertainment and grocery.

Mr. Bunyan has been with Macerich for more than 15 years with direct responsibilities at multiple high-profile assets across the country. He played a leading role in the re-leasing of key department store spaces in the New York City area, including the 280,000 square-foot, four-level former Sears at Kings Plaza, as well as ground-up leasing of Green Acres Commons.

An Upstate New York native, Mr. Bunyan earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from St. Lawrence University.

As Senior Vice President of Leasing for Macerich, Kimberly Choukalas is instrumental in setting leasing and merchandising strategies for the Arizona region and other dominant assets in the portfolio. Ms. Choukalas establishes and manages the leasing strategy for eight Arizona properties, including Scottsdale Fashion Square, Chandler Fashion Center and Kierland Commons, as well as properties in Missouri and Texas. She builds strategic relationships with several key retailers throughout the portfolio, in addition to executing deals.  
 
Ms. Choukalas has extensive experience in ground-up leasing and redevelopment leasing of key regional shopping centers, including the 2018 development of the luxury wing of Scottsdale Fashion Square and its 2023 redevelopment. In addition, she directs redevelopment leasing at Chandler Fashion Center and South Plains Mall and has led ground-up merchandising and leasing for Twenty Ninth Street in Colorado and Chandler Fashion Center and SanTan Village, both in Arizona.  
 
Ms. Choukalas holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Arizona State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. She has served as a faculty member for ICSC’s John T. Riordan Schools for Retail Real Estate Professionals and as an ICSC panelist, teacher and presenter supporting professional growth in the retail real estate industry.

As Senior Vice President of Leasing, West Region, Melissa Freas negotiates leases with a large array of tenants, including brands with local, national, international or digital presence.

Ms. Freas joined Macerich in 2001 and leads the team responsible for leasing, merchandising and analyzing redevelopment opportunities in major markets in California, Colorado and Oregon. She is an integral part of solidifying Macerich regional town centers for ongoing success by bringing in concepts that speak to the unique customer in each market.

Ms. Freas earned an MBA from St. Mary’s College of California and a B.A. in Marketing and Fashion Merchandising from the University of Hawai’i.

As Senior Vice President, Finance, Howard Garfield manages the Company’s finance operations, with primary responsibility over capital markets and FP&A.

Prior to joining Macerich, Mr. Garfield held senior financial positions for publicly held real estate companies, serving as Treasurer and Chief Accounting Officer at the lodging REIT, CorePoint Lodging, Inc.,  as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer at the multifamily REIT, Monogram Residential Trust, Inc. and as North American Chief Financial Officer at the global real estate firm, MEPC Ltd. Mr. Garfield has also served as Chief Financial Officer for privately held owner developers, Hillwood Properties and Harwood International. Mr. Garfield began his career with the public accounting firm Deloitte, where he was a manager focused on real estate companies.

Mr. Garfield earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Honors from the University of Texas at Austin. He has served on the financial leadership committees of NARIET, the Real Estate Roundtable and the National Association of Real Estate Companies. Mr. Garfield currently serves on the Investment and Endowment Committee for the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.

As Senior Vice President of Leasing for Macerich, Zack Gaskell oversees leasing activities at properties along the West Coast, with an emphasis on the greater Los Angeles area. In addition, Mr. Gaskell handles strategic relationships with national and international retailers, seeking large-scale expansions throughout the Macerich portfolio.

Mr. Gaskell has been with Macerich for 15 years with direct responsibilities, including merchandising, leasing and asset management, at various Macerich properties. He’s played a leading role in bringing first-to-market retailers to the West Coast, managing relationships with some of the nation’s top retailers and executing hundreds of deals portfolio-wide. 

Mr. Gaskell earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Iowa.

As Senior Vice President of Real Estate Services, David Hofmeister manages and oversees development and redevelopment in Macerich’s East Region portfolio.

Mr. Hofmeister joined Macerich in 2012 and has more than 30 years of experience in real estate, land planning and entitlements. He oversees design, construction and tenant coordination services, along with advancing project entitlements and approvals. He played a leading role in the development of the 30-story Vita residential tower at Tysons Corner Center and the redevelopment of the four-story former Sears store at Kings Plaza. 

Mr. Hofmeister earned a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Clarkson University in New York. He is a registered professional engineer (P.E.) and a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).

Kurt Ivey has been a key leader in Macerich’s marketing area since 2012, focusing on initiatives to reinvent the customer experience, increase asset value and lead sales support for the company’s high-quality, national real estate portfolio. In addition to guiding all corporate and property-level marketing strategy, Mr. Ivey also oversees corporate communications and research activities for Macerich. 

Prior to Macerich, Mr. Ivey amassed a wealth of experience in retail real estate, including senior leadership roles with Simon Property Group, Madison Marquette, The Mills Corporation and The Rouse Company. He has led due diligence and transition teams for dozens of acquired shopping centers and is a regular speaker and panelist for industry conventions and the Wharton Baker School of Retailing.

Mr. Ivey earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing/Journalism from Texas A&M University.

As Senior Vice President of Specialty Leasing, Ted Kaminski guides specialty leasing efforts for Macerich throughout the portfolio nationwide.

An industry veteran of over 30 years, Mr. Kaminski joined Macerich in 2018 and directs lease programming for the common area, including permanent long-term kiosks, retail carts and pop-up retail activations, as well as temporary inline retail shops. He works in close concert with members of the executive team to develop the overall leasing strategy and tactics to ensure delivery of the company’s financial and merchandising goals.

Mr. Kaminski earned a B.A. in Communications and English from Temple University. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and has been awarded numerous Visual Victories Global Awards by ICSC, recognizing exceptional specialty leasing agents.

As Senior Vice President of Asset Management, Alic Kelso advances asset management strategies on behalf of Macerich. His role includes return analysis/pro forma modeling on leasing and development projects, transactions, business and strategic planning, budgeting and forecasting, workouts and other organizational initiatives.

Before joining Macerich Mr. Kelso was Vice President /Co-Head of Asset Management at Spirit Realty Capital where he led a team responsible for a $5B + portfolio comprised of over one thousand retail and industrial properties. In this position, he oversaw leasing, development funding, workouts and bankruptcies in addition to sourcing and negotiating new acquisitions and dispositions. Mr. Kelso has also held positions as the Senior Vice President of Portfolio Management at Rosewood Property Company, Vice President of Asset Management at Realty Income and Director of Portfolio Management for Spaulding & Slye Investment. Additionally, Mr. Kelso served as an Officer in the United States Marine Corps where he held various Command and Staff assignments domestically and abroad. 

He holds an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth, a Masters in Finance & Investment from the University of Edinburgh Business School as well as a Masters in Real Estate from Georgetown University where he continues to teach. Mr. Kelso earned his B.A. from St. Lawrence University.

As Senior Vice President of Leasing, Aaron Keswick oversees Macerich’s national large-format group, consisting of portfolio-wide anchor and big-box lease transactions. He also works with our anchor stores on all project and lease approvals.

Prior to joining Macerich, Mr. Keswick served as Vice President of Leasing for CIM Group, a national real estate private equity firm, where he oversaw leasing for their shopping center portfolio. Prior to CIM Group, Mr. Keswick served as a Senior Leasing Agent at Regency Centers, overseeing leasing for approximately 30 grocery-anchored shopping centers across Southern CA. 

Throughout Mr. Keswick's career, he has worked on a wide range of asset classes, including Regional Malls, Lifestyle Centers, Grocery-Anchored Centers, Power Centers, Urban Mixed Use Projects and High Street Retail. In addition to retail transactions, Mr. Keswick also has a depth of transaction experience with non-traditional uses, including Healthcare, Automotive, Hospitality, Office and Educational uses.

Mr. Keswick received his Bachelor of Science degree in Regional Development from the University of Arizona.  

Neal Kleinman joined Macerich in 2012 and has nearly 30 years of progressive experience in property and asset management. He manages relationships and budgets and negotiates contracts with all national operating vendors, from janitorial and environmental to vertical transportation and security. He also oversees all aspects of real estate taxes, including tax appeals nationwide as necessary and ensures accurate budgeting of tax expense across the Macerich portfolio. 

Mr. Kleinman manages the annual capital budgeting process to determine critical needs and dollar requirements on a property-by-property basis. Additionally, he works closely with the company’s sustainability group on utility expense control, utility futures purchasing and capital projects furthering Macerich’s sustainability and double materiality goals.

In his prior roles at Macerich, Mr. Kleinman held oversight of up to 25 regional malls, lifestyle centers and attached office buildings throughout Arizona and California and worked closely with marketing and operational partners to create and improve programs ranging from capital expense reporting to the standardization of various operating metrics to expense control initiatives. 

He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego and his Master of Business Administration degree from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

As Senior Vice President of Business Development for Macerich, Petra Maruca oversees Business Development, Media and Sponsorships on behalf of the Macerich portfolio. Ms. Maruca is responsible for developing strategic partnerships, sponsorship sales and the Macerich Media Network. Over 15 years, Ms. Maruca has worked closely with the Macerich executive team to develop the company’s ancillary income strategy and has grown business development at Macerich into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. She has built B2B and B2C platforms across industries such as beverage, technology, financial services, healthcare, automotive and education. She has formed strategic alliances with for-profit and non-profit companies such as HGTV, PBS, Coca-Cola, Toyota, General Motors, Klarna and Bank of America and has crafted multiple business-to-business technology & telephony alliances.  

Prior to Macerich, Ms. Maruca served nearly nine years at The Mills Corporation as the Group Vice President of Partnership Marketing & Sales. Her primary responsibilities included developing and managing the partnership marketing & sponsorship program for The Mills portfolio in North America and Europe. She also served as an Advertising Sales Executive at The Washington Post for eight years.

Ms. Maruca is a member of Chief, the Women’s Executive Leadership Network. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Tulane University and a Certificate in Business Administration, Management & Policy from the Georgetown University Professional Development Program.

Brad Miller joined Macerich in 2006 and has held progressive responsibility in positions in asset management and property management across the organization. He plays a key role in driving the company’s budgeting and forecasting processes to generate net operating income (NOI) growth. 

Mr. Miller’s current role includes financial underwriting, return analysis/pro forma modeling, managing joint venture partner relationships, and executing business and strategic planning for the Western retail portfolio. He has implemented several new forecasting systems and has been on financial planning and analysis panels at both Argus and Oracle conferences.  

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

As Senior Vice President of Real Estate Services for Macerich, Scott Nelson manages development and redevelopment in the company’s West Region portfolio in partnership with SVP Garrett Newland. 

Mr. Nelson’s responsibilities include overseeing the design, construction, and tenant coordination processes along with advancing project entitlements and approvals. Among recent high-profile projects for Mr. Nelson is the ongoing redevelopment and densification of Scottsdale Fashion Square, Macerich’s market-dominant luxury property in Arizona. 
 
He has more than 18 years of experience in real estate and management consulting. Prior to his career at Macerich, Mr. Nelson was with Ernst & Young’s Management Consulting firm, where he collaborated with Fortune 500 companies to implement business best practices. 
 
Mr. Nelson earned an MBA from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from Emory University. 

Garrett Newland is Senior Vice President, Real Estate Services, for Macerich, where he focuses on development and redevelopment projects in the West Region in partnership with SVP Scott Nelson. 

Mr. Newland oversees design, construction, and tenant coordination activities, and spearheads work to secure entitlements and approvals for his projects. Among recent high-profile accomplishments is Macerich’s major redevelopment and expansion of Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek, CA. Mr. Newland currently leads team efforts on several major redevelopment projects for Macerich in Arizona and California.

Mr. Newland, who joined Macerich in 2005, has more than 30 years of experience in real estate, economic development and project management. He previously served as Economic Development Director for the City of Chandler, AZ, Economic Development Manager for the City of Mesa, AZ, and Vice President of Business Development for the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. 

Active in the business community, he is currently on the Board of Directors for Valley Partnership, and is an involved member of Urban Land Institute, International Council of Shopping Centers and the Arizona Association for Economic Development.

Mr. Newland holds an MBA and Bachelor of Arts degree in Government, both from New Mexico State University.

As Senior Vice President of Design and Construction, Sean O’Connor oversees the technical execution of Macerich’s portfolio of redevelopments. His responsibilities include overseeing the design, preconstruction and construction process nationwide.

Mr. O’Connor, who joined Macerich 19 years ago, has more than 27 years of experience in the real estate design and construction industry. With direct responsibilities at all assets across the country, he played a leading role in the design, preconstruction and construction of key redevelopments, including Scottsdale Fashion Square, Green Acres Mall, Tysons Corner Center, Los Cerritos Center and FlatIron Crossing.

Mr. O’Connor earned a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a concentration in structural and architectural engineering from Duke University.

Kayode Ola applies his strong real estate experience to help advance asset management strategies and activities for Macerich. His role includes return analysis/pro forma modeling on leasing and development projects, transactions, business and strategic planning, budgeting and forecasting, workouts and other organizational initiatives.

Immediately prior to joining Macerich, Mr. Ola was Vice President/Co-Head of Asset Management at Spirit Realty Capital, Inc., where he worked from 2016 through 2024. At Spirit, he was responsible for a $5B+ portfolio comprising > 30MM SF of retail and industrial properties. He oversaw real estate activities including leasing, expansions, development funding, bankruptcies and workouts. Mr. Ola also sourced and structured Spirit’s various sale/leaseback transactions and led the company’s disposition efforts. Previously, Mr. Ola was an analyst at NYC-based Vero Capital.

He holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a Master of Science degree in Real Estate, Finance and Investment from New York University. Mr. Ola earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Real Estate from the University of Lagos, Nigeria.

As Senior Vice President, Senior Development & Leasing Counsel, Nancy S. Rendos co-manages the Legal Leasing department in partnership with SVP Kathryn Sherwood and serves as legal liaison for the Company’s active slate of development and redevelopment projects. 

Ms. Rendos joined Macerich in 2004 and provides legal counsel for many high-profile projects, including Fashion District Philadelphia in Center City Philadelphia, as well as for remerchandising former anchor parcels.  

Ms. Rendos earned a J.D., with honors, from George Washington University – National Law Center, Washington, D.C. and a B.A., with high honors, in Economics and German from the University of Iowa. She is admitted to practice law in Minnesota and Colorado and is also a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).

As Senior Vice President, Senior Leasing Counsel, Kathy Sherwood co-manages the Legal Leasing department and serves as legal liaison for Macerich lease negotiations.

Ms. Sherwood has been with Macerich for 25 years and is located in the Dallas regional office, where she negotiates leases, assists in setting policies that impact leases and supervises outside counsel in negotiating leases on behalf of Macerich.
 
Kathy earned a B.A. from Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School. 

As Senior Vice President of Information Technology, Michael Slavin is responsible for executing key strategic initiatives that maximize technology and business process solutions as well as overseeing the continuous improvement of all transactional systems. Mr. Slavin worked as a group controller for Macerich prior to his current position.

Prior to joining Macerich in 2000, Mr. Slavin became a certified public accountant with Coopers & Lybrand. He also held CFO positions with a commercial and residential property management company in Santa Monica, Calif. and a world-class ski resort in Lake Tahoe, where he helped orchestrate the development of a pedestrian alpine village in Squaw Valley, California.

Mr. Slavin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Loyola Marymount University and currently serves as chairperson on the finance committee of a local, non-profit organization.

As Senior Vice President of Property Management, Ashley Venable oversees the real estate operating platform, including property management, national operations, capital planning, property and digital marketing, security, energy management, and revenue-generating programs and services.  

Ms. Venable brings extensive experience leading large-scale retail and mixed-use assets for premier owners, operators and institutional investment portfolios. With a proven track record of driving operational excellence, NOI growth and asset value enhancement, she is recognized for aligning property operations cross-functionally and across corporate strategy, elevating customer experience and optimizing efficiency.

A Northern Virginia native, Ms. Venable earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from George Mason University, where she was a Division I women’s basketball full-scholarship NCAA athlete. Ms. Venable continued her educational accomplishments, earning a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Real Estate Finance at Virginia Commonwealth University.  

As Senior Vice President, Senior Development, Joint Venture and Real Estate Counsel for Macerich, Alison Wais is responsible for handling complex company real estate transactions, including structuring, negotiating and advising on all aspects of joint venture transactions, retail and mixed-use redevelopments, REAs and other anchor documentation, shopping center and outparcel sales and acquisitions.  In addition, Ms. Wais manages a team of in-house attorneys, paralegals and outside counsel concerning such transactions.

Ms. Wais was the Associate General Counsel for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield from 2019-2022, where she was responsible for handling company real estate transactions and advising on development and redevelopment projects. With 20 years of experience, Ms. Wais also served as a Senior Associate of the Real Estate Capital Markets Group for Goodwin Procter LLP, working on structuring, negotiating, documenting and advising on complex real estate transactions.

Ms. Wais is is admitted to practice in California and Massachusetts and is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers. Ms. Wais earned her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and her Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School.

Mr. Zecchini joined Macerich in 1985. His primary responsibilities as Chief Accounting Officer of the Company include direction of the accounting department, overseeing all accounting functions associated with the Company's portfolio and Macerich's public company financial reporting requirements.