Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/448937
benefited from his insights and extraordinary energy. I can't think of anyone more suited to leading our organiza- tion in the coming year." E v e n b e f o r e L e b o v i t z joined CBL, he cultivated an early enthusiasm for the in- dustry, working summer jobs during his years at Stanford University at such companies as JMB Realty Corp., Tram- mel Crow Co., and — between college and Harvard Business School — Goldman Sachs. "I had this magnetic attraction to real estate," he said, noting that he has also taught college courses on the subject. Lebovitz has been active in ICSC since the very beginning of his career. Shortly after gradu- ating from Harvard Business School and setting up CBL's Northeast office, in Boston, he was invited by past ICSC Chairman Stephen Karp, now chairman of New England Develop- ment, to get involved in ICSC and be- come the organization's state director for Massachusetts. He was subsequently named ICSC's Eastern divisional vice president and has also served as an ICSC state operations chairman, an ICSC trustee and on the Executive Commit- tee. Lebovitz has also been an active ICSC faculty member. "ICSC really has been the facilitator for so many relation- ships that I've been able to develop over the years in the business," Lebovitz said. "By volunteering, by working, that's how you get to know people." The industry today is quite changed from the one the elder Lebovitz pre- sided over as ICSC chairman. "At the time my dad was chairman, there was still a wave of new development," Lebo- vitz said. "I don't think any of us had heard of Amazon then." Thus today ICSC faces a different set of imperatives. For instance, now that Amazon.com and e-tailing are part of the daily conversation, ICSC must keep the pressure on Congress to enact a law allowing states the right to require online retailers to collect sales taxes, just as is required of brick-and-mortar stores. "It's just mind-boggling that it can't get through Congress," he observed. Some things have changed little, how- ever. ICSC remains as important a con- duit for education, business connections and advocacy today as ever, Lebovitz says, even as the industry has evolved. ICSC should also do all it can to toot the industry's horn when it comes to shopping centers' contribution to so- ciety, Lebovitz says. "There are so many positives that shopping centers add to the economy, to communities, to indi- viduals," he said. "I just think we need to do all we can to get that story out there." And it is very much an international story these days. "Through my travels, I've just been amazed at the vitality and the level of innovation in shopping cen- ters around the world," said Lebovitz, an avid traveler. "Some of the most impres- sive projects that I've seen are outside of the U.S., and I've learned a lot through traveling and visiting projects in other parts of the world." Lebovitz, 54, does not spend all his spare time in malls, though, and his philan- thropic activities are many. He is a trustee of Milton (Mass.) Academy. He is a former direc- tor, campaign chairman and committee chairman for the Combined Jewish Philanthro- pies of Boston and received that organization's Edwin Sidman Leadership Award in 2014. He was president of the Jewish Family & Children's Service from 2000 to 2002 and president of Congregation Or Atid, in Wayland, Mass., from 2010 to 2012. He is also a former member of the Trust Board of Boston Children's Hospital. An avid cyclist, Lebovitz won a silver medal and a bronze medal competing in the international Maccabiah Games last year. In addition, he has completed the annual Pan-Mass Challenge fundraiser for cancer research these past 15 years and the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race these past eight years. As chairman, Lebovitz would suc- ceed Robert F. Welanetz, CRX, CSM, global retail real estate adviser to the Blackstone Group. "Stephen's vast industry expertise, coupled with his extensive ICSC vol- unteer experience, makes him uniquely qualified to lead this organization, given the many changes the industry and the association are facing in today's dy- namic retail environment," said Drew Alexander, president and CEO of We- ingarten Realty Investors and chairman of ICSC's Nominating Committee of the Board of Trustees. Lebovitz lives with his wife, Lisa, in Weston, Mass., and they have four children. SCT F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5 / S C T 47 L e b o v i t z w o n a s i L v e r a n d a b r o n z e i n c y c L i n g e v e n t s a t t h e M a c c a b i a h g a M e s L a s t y e a r .