We are a woman-owned* real estate industry focused executive search and consulting firm with 20+ years of real estate industry and executive search experience. Founded by a former Partner of a well respected boutique executive search firm, we bring a deep knowledge and perspective on talent needs and organizational challenges that our real estate clients face.
Through collaboration, transparency, and our core values, we leverage our deep and expansive real estate referral network to quickly and successfully fulfill our clients’ organizational needs without compromising quality or integrity. Our team has keen knowledge of the talent market as well as the industry’s forces and progression. We help clients to pivot in real time to adjust to current external and internal conditions, resulting in successful placements and completion of assignments.
Prior to founding Leo Search Partners, Neda was a Partner at highly respected boutique real estate focused executive search and organizational consulting firm with a national practice. Throughout her search career, Neda has successfully led and executed on high-profile search engagements for C-suite and senior leadership roles, including divisional leads, as well as mid-level positions across real estate sectors and various disciplines. Notable assignments include COO for a privately held organization; National Head of Development for a publicly traded company; General Counsel and a full legal team build for a privately held/family-owned organization; Head of Human Capital, US for an international company; and countless others.
Prior to her career in executive search, Neda spent 15+ years within the real estate industry across C-suite legal and operational roles for well-established and vertically integrated real estate investment, development, and construction firms. Throughout her extensive career in both executive search and the real estate industry, she has built numerous successful teams in a variety of disciplines within real estate companies. Each placement and team build assignment has further enabled her clients (and her former firms) to build on their successes, achieve their goals and progress towards significant growth and prosperity.
Neda is an active member of ULI-New York. She is currently a member of the DE&I Committee and co-chairs the subcommittee on Partnerships. Neda is a former member of ULI-New York District Council Executive Board, and the outgoing Co-Chair of ULI-NY Program Steering Committee from July 2020 to June 2022. Neda has been a mentor to the upcoming generation of real estate professionals though ULI-NY Mentorship program since September 2020, and she is also a frequent presenter or panelist at a variety of industry conferences. Neda is also the Co-Founder of the Real Estate Alumni Club for the University of Rochester, formally launched in October 2022.
When not working with or on behalf of clients, Neda spends time with her family and their rescued rat terrier mutt, Lucky, who never tires of wanting a good scratch. During recreational periods, you can find Neda on the tennis court, running, stand up paddleboarding, on the Peloton trying to beat her prior records, or learning a new hobby. She enjoys business books and the Harvard Business Review, Psychology Today, and multiple podcasts such as Adam Grant’s Work-Life, NPR’s How I Built-This and others.
Neda earned her Juris Doctorate from Temple University School of Law, Cum Laude, and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with High Honors from University of Rochester, Cum Laude.
Leo, means lion and refers to our founder’s Persian heritage where women in the ancient Persian empire (currently Iran) refer to their women as “Shir Zans” or Lionesses. This accolade is used to refer to trailblazing women who are courageous, fierce, resourceful and unafraid in charting a new course in the name of progressiveness, equality and human rights. These Lionesses have been fearless warriors who fought alongside male counterparts in defending their values and country. In more recent times, these Lionesses have been politicians, attorneys, doctors and activists for democracy and justice. Lionesses refer to all the brave and strong women who not only exist in the Persian culture and society, but also throughout the world and our communities.
They are our inspirations at Leo Search Partners to always do good and do right, be ethical and operate with the highest level of integrity.