Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. Announces Changes to its Board of Directors
April 16 2018 - 8:00AM
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc.
(NASDAQ:WHLR) (“Wheeler” or the “Company”), a fully-integrated,
self-managed commercial real estate investment company focused on
owning and operating income-producing retail properties with a
primary focus on grocery-anchored centers, announced today that
effective immediately, its Board of Directors has elected John
Sweet as Chairman of the Board, appointed two new directors,
and accepted the retirement of two existing board members.
Mr. John Sweet has served on the WHLR Board since
2016 and has more than 40 years of public company and capital
markets experience. He is the Co-Founder and previous Chief
Investment Officer for Physicians Realty Trust (NYSE:DOC) before
retiring on December 31, 2016. Mr. Andrew R. Jones, CFA, who is
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of North Star Partners, LP and
Mr. Sean F. Armstrong, CFA who serves as Principal and Portfolio
Manager of Westport Capital Partners LLC have accepted positions as
members of the Board.
Conversely, after serving seven years on the Board,
Mr. William W. King has retired from the WHLR Board, along with Mr.
Kurt Harrington, who has resigned after serving three years on the
Board. These changes are effective immediately. The Company’s Board
is now comprised of eight members, which include seven independent
Board members and one non-independent Board member.
“Over the last two years, John Sweet has been
instrumental in providing public company and capital markets
expertise. As the Company embarks on its latest transition, his
leadership and experience managing publicly-traded real estate
investment trusts (REITs), should provide the executive management
team with the counsel required to execute on the Company’s renewed
business strategy,” stated David Kelly, President and Chief
Executive Officer. “Additionally, Andy’s and Sean’s expertise
within the real estate industry and the financial markets will add
a new facet of expertise and perspective that we expect will help
us maximize shareholder value going forward.” Mr. Kelly concluded,
“Finally, I would like to thank Will King, one of our original
Board Members, for his service over the last seven years and Kurt
Harrington for his contributions over the last three years. We wish
them well with their future endeavors.”
Full biographies on the Chairman of the Board and
new Directors are as follows.
Mr. John Sweet, has forty years of
investment banking and corporate finance experience. Mr. Sweet is
the co-founder and previously held the title of Chief Investment
Officer at Physicians Realty Trust (NYSE:DOC) a self-managed
healthcare real estate investment trust, up until December 31,
2016. Prior to founding Physicians Realty Trust in 2013, Mr. Sweet
was a Managing Director for the privately owned, full-service,
specialty investment firm, Ziegler. While at Ziegler, Mr. Sweet
assisted in the financing and then management of a medical office
building investment fund which became the initial core portfolio
for Physicians Realty Trust. In 2002, Mr. Sweet also co-founded
Windrose Medical Properties Trust, a publicly traded medical office
REIT that was sold to Healthcare REIT, now Welltower, in 2006. John
has been involved at a senior financial level in publicly traded
and private companies, family offices and investment banking firm
over the course of his career. He has also served on the boards of
philanthropic and charitable organizations and was in the Army from
1968-1970. Mr. Sweet received his Bachelor’s degree in Business
Administration from St. John Fisher College and an MBA from
Rochester Institute of Technology.
Mr. Andrew R. Jones, CFA, is
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of North Star Partners,
LP. Since its founding in January 1996, North Star has been
an alternative investment program that is dedicated to value
investing and focuses on the small-cap sector of the U.S. equity
markets. Prior to the formation of the Partnership, Mr. Jones
was a Managing Director at Tweedy, Browne Company, LP. Mr.
Jones is a former director of Certus Bank, NA, Cornell Companies,
Inc. and Chem Rx Corporation. He is a Chartered Financial
Analyst and is a member of the New York Society of Securities
Analysts. Mr. Jones received a BS in Finance from Ithaca
College and an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago.
Mr. Sean F. Armstrong, CFA serves
as Principal & Portfolio Manager of Westport Capital Partners
LLC. Mr. Armstrong has over 24 years of real estate
investment experience across the spectrum of property types,
including retail shopping centers. He has had direct
experience in the asset management for both transitional and
stabilized properties, including new development. Prior to joining
Westport in 2006, Mr. Armstrong was a Managing Director at Oaktree
Capital Management and one of the real estate group’s senior
professionals. Mr. Armstrong was formerly a director of Lodgian,
Inc., a Delaware corporation listed on the American Stock Exchange.
Mr. Armstrong graduated with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering magna
cum laude from the University of Southern California, where he was
elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He went on to earn an M.B.A. in Finance
magna cum laude, also from the University of Southern California.
He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
About Wheeler Real Estate
Investment Trust, Inc.Headquartered in
Virginia Beach, VA, Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. is a
fully-integrated, self-managed commercial real estate investment
company focused on owning and operating income-producing retail
properties with a primary focus on grocery-anchored centers.
Wheeler’s portfolio contains well-located, potentially dominant
retail properties in secondary and tertiary markets that generate
attractive risk-adjusted returns, with an emphasis on
grocery-anchored retail centers. Additional information about
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. can be found at the
Company’s corporate website: www.whlr.us.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release
may contain “forward-looking” statements as defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When the Company uses
words such as “may,” “will,” “intend,” “should,” “believe,”
“expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate” or similar
expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters, it is
making forward-looking statements. The Company’s expected results
may not be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from
expectations. Specifically, the Company’s statements regarding the
Company’s ability to: (a) execute its business plan and (b)
maximize shareholder value are forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance
and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of
which are beyond the Company’s control, are difficult to predict
and could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements.
For these reasons, among others, investors are cautioned not to
place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements in this
press release. Additional factors that could cause the
Company’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed
or forecasted in forward-looking statements are discussed in the
Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
which are available for review at www.sec.gov. The Company
undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward‐looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the
date hereof.
CONTACT:Mary JensenInvestor
Relations(757) 627-9088mjensen@whlr.us
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