Steve Lieberman
CEO, The Retail Connection
Dallas, TX 75201
CEO and Co-Chairman of The Retail Connection LP
Phone (214) 572-8400
CEO and Co-Chairman of The Retail Connection LP
Property Types
Retail
Markets
Austin, Boston, Dallas/Ft Worth
Bio
Steven A. Lieberman is the CEO and Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Retail Connection, a real estate advisory, brokerage and investments firm exclusively focused on retail.
TRC represents more than 300 of the leading national retail and restaurant chains in the country, over 28 million square feet of properties for its clients, and operates investment services platforms including Connected Development Services, Connected Acquisition Services, and Connected Capital. The firm also provides asset and property management through its Connected Management Services division.
Lieberman is a nationally recognized leader in the commercial real estate industry consistently named as one of the Top Retail Brokers in the U.S. and the top retail broker in the DFW Metroplex. He is a visionary pioneer of retail data mining and tenant representation who transformed how landlords and tenants work together and built the top retail real estate brokerage and development firm in the state.
Prior to forming The Retail Connection, Lieberman was President of The Weitzman Group. In 1986, he began his real estate career with Henry S. Miller | Grubb & Ellis where he rose to Vice President and head of the company’s North Texas Commercial Retail Division.
Early in his career, he recognized how inefficient the retail real estate market is, how valuable information can be and how invaluable the retailer is, particularly in markets with replaceable real estate. The potential influence that could be derived by generating unique data and representing leading retail chains was all the inspiration he needed. He went to work developing models and systems to capture and deliver information much more effectively.
He broke from the prevailing brokerage practice of representing properties to become laser focused on representing every retailer he could and developing direct relationships with the leading property owners in the market, becoming an early pioneer of retail tenant representation. In an industry that was built on the principle of scarcity and at a time when Texas was red-lined per the Savings and Loan crisis, Lieberman’s business development talent and abundance mentality led to his aggressively building teams and sharing information, exponentially leveraging his capacity. The strategy became the nucleus of his business going forward. His unprecedented tenant rep career and ultimately, The Retail Connection evolved out of this focus.
Today, TRC has over 110 employees and represents more than 300 retail and restaurant clients and more than 28 million square feet of retail projects. It has four offices statewide — in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin, leading its clients through Texas, Southwest, and North America retail markets putting together approximately a billion dollars in transactions annually.
The company’s investment services platform, Connected Investments Services [CIS], extends the reach of its clients’ expansion programs by virtue of the enhanced scope of solutions delivered to meet their needs and is one of the most prolific retail developers and investors in the Southwest.
Focused exclusively on tenant-driven collaborations, TRC|CIS-led joint ventures have acquired, redeveloped and developed over five million square feet of shopping centers to date. TRC has a strong management operation and its Connected Capital group has seen three of its first eight portfolio companies successfully go public.
Lieberman leads by example, annually putting together approximately a million square feet and a hundred million dollars in transactions for premiere clients including Bed Bath & Beyond, Nordstrom Rack, Jo-Ann’s, Sports Authority and PetsMart.
Lieberman and TRC have received notable accolades including his receipt of North Texas’ highest commercial property sector recognition, the Stemmons Service Award from the North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors and Real Estate Professionals and the company’s being named as one of DFW’s Best Places to Work by the Dallas Business Journal; Top 100 Places to Work by the Dallas Morning News; Fastest Growing Companies SMU | Cox School of Business; DFW’s Largest Commercial Real Estate Brokerages; DFW’s Largest Commercial Developer; Best Retail Leases; Retail Deal of the Year, Best Development; Retail Broker of the Year; Dallas 500 | Most Powerful Business Leaders of DFW; and Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Lieberman is active in several professional organizations including the International Council of Shopping Centers [ICSC], The Real Estate Council [TREC], and he is a former Board Member of The North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors, the Alzheimer’s Association, and Legacy Senior Communities.
In addition, Lieberman is active in numerous community and charitable organizations. He currently serves on the Boards of Baylor Health Care System Foundation and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
