The CEO of homebuilder Taylor Morrison got the job amid the 2007 housing crisis. It prepared her for the challenges of a COVID-era housing boom and interest rate hikes

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- At home. Sheryl Palmer became the CEO of Taylor Morrison in 2007. "It wasn't the best time," she remembers. Taylor Morrison, after all, is a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based builder of new homes—and was caught up in the housing crisis.

When she got the CEO job, the company had almost $2 billion in revenue and about 1,500 employees; it hit a low of a little more than 600 staffers as it struggled to make it through the recession. "It was a really rough time," Palmer admits. "We had to go backwards before we could grow."

After making it through the recession, Palmer took Taylor Morrison public in 2013. Today the company is No. 457 on the Fortune 500 with $8.2 billion in annual revenue. It's been on the Fortune 500 for three years after growing through acquisitions, including a $2.4 billion deal in 2020 to acquire competitor William Lyons Homes. Palmer's 17 years in the CEO seat means she's far outlasted the average 4.5-year tenure of female Fortune 500 chiefs and the seven-year tenure of male Fortune 500 CEOs.

Taylor Morrison (NYSE: TMHC) Rings The Opening Bell® The New York Stock Exchange welcomes Taylor Morrison (NYSE: TMHC), today, Monday, April 10, 2023, in celebration of its 10th anniversary of listing. To honor the occasion, Sheryl Palmer, Chairman and CEO, joined by Michael Blaugrund, NYSE Chief Operating Officer, rings The Opening Bell®. Photo Credit: NYSE The enclosed content is the property of NYSE Group, Inc. or its affiliates and is protected by U.S. and international copyright and trademark laws. © 2022 NYSE Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The difficulties of the late 2000s prepared Palmer to deal with the craziness of the past few years, from the whiplash of COVID-era housing booms to hiked interest rates. The housing crisis taught her to "separate...what we're doing and what's being done to us," or to focus on the things she and the business can control rather than the market.

"Today, it's about getting back to the basics and understanding what the customer needs and delivering it," Palmer says. "The days of 'build it, they will come,' I don't really subscribe to."

Customers today are looking for prime locations again, after being willing to move to fringe markets during the peak pandemic, and want flexible spaces for family and indoor-outdoor spaces. Plus they've gotten used to higher interest rates. "The consumer has really met us halfway," Palmer says.

With the resale market locked up as homeowners hold on to low interest rates, Palmer believes homebuilders like Taylor Morrison can play an even more important role; she says the American housing market is undersupplied by at least 2 million units. "[We're in] a new normal," Palmer says. "Everyone needs shelter, and we're very undersupplied today."

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

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