Les Wexner, the billionaire whose fortune reshaped New Albany from a farming village into one of Ohio's wealthiest communities, stepped down Aug. 20, as chair of the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Board.

Wexner, 88, will remain on the board as chair emeritus, Ohio State spokesperson Ben Johnson told NBC4. Robert Schottenstein, president of Columbus-based M/I Homes, was appointed the new chair. Kara Trott, founder of Quantum Health, will serve as vice-chair.

A spokesperson for Wexner declined comment.

The move follows more than a year of absences. Wexner last attended a board meeting on May 20, 2025, and has been present for only three of nine meetings over the past two years. Two administrative law experts told NBC4 Investigates that his 33% attendance rate likely violated a state law requiring board members to attend at least 60% of public meetings in a two-year period. Ohio State disputes that interpretation, saying the law applies only to governor-appointed board members; the matter has never been tested in court.

An OSU Board of Trustees committee approved the leadership change on Aug. 20. The full board will vote in September, according to WOSU.

New Albany roots

Few names carry more weight in New Albany than Wexner's. Before the 1980s, the community had fewer than 500 residents. Wexner partnered with developer Jack Kessler to form the New Albany Company, which developed the village into a planned community and went on to manage the 6,000-acre New Albany International Business Park.

"The old saying that New Albany used to be a one-stop-sign town and then a billionaire moved to town and everything changed; that is kind of true, right?" Mayor Sloan Spalding said in a 2022 NBC4 interview about the city's transformation. "Mr. Wexner came in and started purchasing land for what was going to be his estate and then started thinking bigger."

The New Albany Company has donated nearly 700 acres for community use since its founding, including 210 acres for the school campus and 120 acres for the Metro Park. In September 2024, the Wexner family donated 25 acres to Nationwide Children's Hospital at the State Route 161 and Johnstown Road interchange.

Wexner's diminished role caps months of sustained pressure. Students and staff at Ohio State have rallied for his removal from the board and for stripping his name from campus buildings, citing his documented business relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that lasted from the 1980s until Wexner said he severed ties in 2007. Wexner has never been charged in connection with Epstein's crimes.

In February, House Oversight Committee members deposed Wexner at his New Albany mansion. "I was naive, foolish and gullible to put any trust in Jeffrey Epstein," Wexner said in his opening statement at that deposition, according to WOSU. In July, two lawsuits brought by 13 Epstein survivors against Wexner were consolidated in federal court.

Wexner's longtime attorney, John Zeiger, stepped down as chair of the OSU Board of Trustees in June. The full board's September vote will formalize the medical center board's leadership transition.