CLEVELAND, April 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Forest City Realty
Trust, Inc., (NYSE: FCEA and FCEB) today announced the appointment
of Z. Jamie Behar, CFA, and the
nomination of Craig Macnab, two
highly qualified and accomplished real estate executives with
significant board experience, to serve on its Board of
Directors.
Behar will join the Board effective immediately and will fill
the vacancy created when Bruce C.
Ratner, executive chairman of Forest City's New
York subsidiary, stepped down from the Board at the end of
2016. The Board has nominated Macnab as an independent director to
succeed Stan Ross, who will not
stand for re-election at the Company's upcoming Annual Meeting of
Stockholders.
Behar brings to the Board more than 35 years of experience in
investment management and financial analysis with a focus on real
estate, together with significant experience serving on boards.
Behar is the former Managing Director, Real Estate &
Alternative Investments, at GM Investment Management Corp, where
she was responsible for managing real estate and alternative
investment portfolios totaling approximately $12 billion at peak value.
Macnab is a seasoned executive with more than 35 years of
experience in the real estate industry and investment banking and
management. Macnab has served as chief executive officer of
National Retail Properties, a publicly traded REIT with a market
capitalization of approximately $6.5
billion, since 2004, and the chairman of its Board of
Directors since 2008. He will retire from his roles at National
Retail Properties, effective April 28,
2017.
"We are thrilled to welcome these two outstanding real estate
professionals to our board and we look forward to benefiting from
their significant industry experience," said James A. Ratner, chairman of the Board. "In
addition to their deep knowledge of our industry and impressive
board-service credentials, the appointment of Jamie Behar and the nomination of Craig Macnab reflect our ongoing commitment to
best practices in corporate governance and increased board
independence."
"As a management team, we look forward to capitalizing on the
fresh insights and viewpoints these new directors are expected to
bring to the Board as we continue to execute on our strategy to
ensure long-term growth at Forest
City," said David J. LaRue,
president and chief executive officer. "Both Jamie and Craig have
unique perspectives on the real estate business and a wealth of
experience in organizational and investment strategy, as well as
outstanding leadership skills, and will provide Forest City with additional perspectives for
enhancing shareholder value."
Both Behar and Macnab, along with the Company's other directors,
will stand for election at the upcoming Annual Meeting of
Stockholders.
Behar and Macnab were identified through the Board's previously
announced search process, which it conducted with the assistance of
nationally recognized search firm Ferguson Partners, Ltd. With
these board actions and anticipated director elections, the
Forest City Board will be
comprised of thirteen directors, eight of whom are independent, one
of whom is the President and Chief Executive Officer, and four of
whom are members of the founding family, the Company's largest
non-institutional shareholder.
About Jamie
Behar
Jamie Behar, 59,
most recently served as Managing Director, Real Estate &
Alternative Investments at GM Investment Management Corp
("GMIMCo"). In her role at GMIMCo, Behar managed clients' private
market and publicly traded real estate and alternative investment
portfolios totaling approximately $12
billion at peak value. Behar was a member of GMIMCo's Board
of Directors, Investment Management Committee, Private Equity
Investment Approval Committee and Risk Management Committee. Behar
has served as a Board member of Gramercy Property Trust since 2015,
where she is a member of the Investment Committee and Audit
Committee, and as a director of Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.
since 2004 and chairs the Nominating & Corporate Governance
Committee and serves on the Audit Committee. She was previously
Board Chair of the Pension Real Estate Association and was a member
of the Real Estate Investment Advisory Council of the National
Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts ("NAREIT").
Behar holds a bachelor's of science degree in economics from The
Wharton School, University of
Pennsylvania, an MBA from Columbia
University Graduate School of Business, and is a Chartered
Financial Analyst.
About Craig
Macnab
Craig Macnab,
61, has been chief executive officer of National Retail Properties,
a publicly traded REIT with a market cap of approximately
$6.5 billion, since 2004 and chairman
of the Company's Board of Directors since 2008. Macnab will retire
from National Retail Properties, effective April 28, 2017. Prior to National Retail
Properties, Macnab served as president and chief executive officer
of Atlanta-based JDN Realty
Corporation. Macnab has served as a director of American Tower
Corporation's Board of Directors since 2014, and is a member of the
Audit Committee. He is also a director of Cadillac Fairview
Corporation, a Canadian commercial real estate company that is
wholly owned by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. Macnab served on
the Board of DDR Corporation from 2003 to 2015, where he chaired
the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and was a member
of the Audit Committee and Executive Committee.
Macnab holds a bachelor's degree in economics and accounting
from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and an MBA from
Drexel University.
About Forest
City
Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. is an NYSE-listed
national real estate company with $8.2
billion in consolidated assets. The company is principally
engaged in the ownership, development, management and acquisition
of commercial and residential real estate throughout the United States. For more information, visit
www.forestcity.net.
Important information
The directors, director nominees
and executive officers of the company and other persons may be
deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from
stockholders in respect of the matters to be considered at the
company's 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Information
regarding the company's directors and executive officers is
available in the company's most recent definitive proxy statement,
dated April 7, 2016, for the Annual
Meeting of Stockholders held on May 25,
2016, which was filed with the SEC on April 7, 2016, and the company's other filings
with the SEC. Other information regarding the participants in
the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and
indirect interests will be contained in the proxy
statement/prospectus when it becomes available. In connection
with the company's 2017 Annual Meeting, the company has filed with
the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 and Amendment No. 1
thereto (the "Registration Statement"), which contains a
preliminary proxy statement/prospectus. The Registration Statement
has not yet become effective. After the Registration
Statement has been declared effective by the SEC, the definitive
proxy statement/prospectus will be delivered to stockholders.
Stockholders are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus
when it becomes available because it will contain important
information. Stockholders will be able to obtain a free
copy of the proxy statement/prospectus (when available), as well as
other filings containing information about the company, without
charge, at the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and on the Investor
Relations page of the company's website at
http://ir.forestcity.net/.
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SOURCE Forest City Realty Trust, Inc.