Patty Bender

Patty Bender is a retired Executive Vice President who enjoyed a successful leadership career with Weingarten Realty Investors, a national REIT traded on the NYSE. During her thirty-three-year tenure, she directed the Leasing, Marketing and Market Research departments. Ms. Bender was responsible for the net income of 300 shopping centers and directed all transactions in existing assets, re-developments and new developments. Her team’s responsibilities included anchor and shop tenant replacement, re-merchandising, and repositioning assets to maximize cash flow. In addition, her team directed the company’s brand positioning, corporate marketing, public relations, social media programs and web site development.

In addition, Ms. Bender was particularly focused on the design and development of the lifestyle centers owned by Weingarten Realty. Specifically, she directed the development of Centre at Post Oak and the Village Arcade, and the redevelopment of the River Oaks Shopping Center, all located in Houston.

During Ms. Bender’s tenure at Weingarten, she developed and implemented training programs for the sales team.  Each training course was developed by Ms. Bender and covered topics such as Sales Motivation, Leadership & Team Management, Cold Calling Methodology, Customer Development, Retail Strategies and Market Analysis.

Prior to joining the company, Ms. Bender was a Senior Fashion Buyer at Foley’s Department Store. This experience served to enhance her understanding of the shopping center business from a retail perspective.

Ms. Bender holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing/Management from the University of St. Thomas and a Bachelor of Science Degree from Westchester University.  She is a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) “Fellow”; also, she holds a Texas Real Estate Broker’s License, a Certified Property Manager Designation (CPM), and is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers.

In 2009, Rice University asked Ms. Bender to develop a Real Estate course for the Jones Graduate School of Business. Since that time, she served six years as an Adjunct Professor teaching her course entitled “Marketing Based Project Analysis”.

In 2011, she was asked to join the Francesca’s Collection Board of Directors, where she serves on both the Compensation and the Nominating & Corporate Governance committees.  In addition, she served on the Board of Uptown Houston for 20 years, chairing the Uptown Marketing Committee, and currently serves on the Board of the Texas Gulf States Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.