<P> William J. Lippincott was elected chairman and chief executive in 1972 . His obituary in The New York Times read: "In his years as president and chairman, Lord & Taylor moved beyond its traditional territory in the northeast to open stores in Atlanta, Houston and Dallas and four stores in Illinois ." A management shakeup ousted him in 1976 . </P> <P> Under the leadership of CEO Joseph E. Brooks during the 1970s, the company aggressively expanded into Texas, Illinois and Michigan; in the early 1980s, South Florida saw 11 stores opened in quick succession . The chain partially withdrew from the oil - shocked Texas and southern Florida markets in 1989--1990 after its 1986 acquisition by May . Under May, the majority of the upscale Hahne & Co., Wanamaker's, and Woodward & Lothrop chains were converted to Lord & Taylor . </P> <P> Starting in June 2000, Jane Elfers served as Lord & Taylor's second female president . She was replaced in October 2008 by former Neiman Marcus executive, Brendan Hoffman . According to HBC executive chairman, Richard Baker, her contract had expired . A third female president, Bonnie Brooks, took over in 2011, and a fourth female president, Liz Rodbell, took over in 2013 . </P> <P> Owner May Department Stores was acquired by Federated Department Stores, now Macy's Inc, on August 30, 2005 . On January 12, 2006, Federated chairman, president, and CEO Terry Lundgren announced that Lord & Taylor would be sold by the end of the year . In a move that took advantage of valuable real estate, Federated announced on March 10, 2006 that seven conflicting Lord & Taylor locations would either close or downscale into Macy's . (Christiana Mall, Delaware; Water Tower Place, Illinois; Northshore Mall, Massachusetts; Fairlane Town Center, Michigan; West County Center and St. Louis Galleria, Missouri; and Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania .) The legendary Center City, Philadelphia store, former flagship of the John Wanamaker chain, opened after a one - month renovation as Macy's City Center on August 1, 2006 . On June 22, 2006, it was announced that NRDC Equity Partners, LLC would purchase Lord & Taylor for $1.2 billion after Federated converted and closed the seven locations that they had previously announced, the sale was completed in October 2006 . Federated continued to service Lord & Taylor consumer credit accounts in an agreement with NRDC under the terms of its sale until mid-2007 . </P>

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