Jackson Hsieh

When Jackson Hsieh assumed leadership of mall operator Macerich in March 2024, he quickly realized that the company, which had posted losses for five straight years, lacked a comprehensive strategy, mission statement or clear set of values.

He assembled what he would call the Path Forward Plan, an establishment of company priorities and a strategy for turning Macerich in the right direction.

Now, the strategy is beginning to bear fruit.

“We leased 7 million square feet of space last year. That was a company record,” said Hsieh of 2025 leasing figures that were an 85 percent increase over the year prior. “Our Path Forward Plan involves 1,000 new leases being signed and stores being opened. That’s about 25 percent of the entire number of units we have in our portfolio.”

Macerich showed signs of progress anywhere you looked in 2025. The company opened 1.3 million square feet of new stores, including 416,000 square feet in the fourth quarter alone. Macerich also has early commitments on 80 percent of 2026 tenant lease expirations, with another 16 percent in letters of intent — “an unprecedented level of visibility this far in advance and an important element of de-risking our renewal pipeline,” according to the company’s 2025 annual report.

Hsieh noted the company’s acquisition of the Crabtree mall in Raleigh, N.C., calling the purchase “critical.” He also called attention to the nine anchor deals Macerich has signed with Dick’s House of Sport, the experiential offshoot of Dick’s Sporting Goods. But perhaps the most fulfilling aspect of the company’s new direction, and a large part of the reason for the company’s current success, is the buy-in from Macerich employees.

“I think people realized pretty early on that no idea is a bad idea,” said Hsieh. “There’s been this real openness to change, and it’s infectious throughout the company. So I would say that I started it, but it’s now down throughout the organization, with people making changes to improve our productivity.”

Hsieh notes that the company’s average sales per square foot is already “north of $900 a foot,” which Hsieh credits to new stores from retailers such as Apple and Alo.

All of this has Hsieh looking forward to a growth-positive 2026.

“We’re at a tipping point that’s going to really build momentum in our institutional ownership,” said Hsieh. “There are a lot of shareholders waiting for that inflection point, and I think that’s happening this year.”