WASHINGTON, DC—On Monday morning First Potomac Realty Trust announced that CEO Doug Donatelli and Chief Investment Officer Nicholas Smith were resigning from their respective positions. Chief Operating Officer Robert Milkovich will be assuming the role of CEO, in addition to his other responsibilities. He also joins the Board of Trustees, effective immediately. Milkovich's first piece of business will be the execution of the sale of at least $200 million in assets, he said in a prepared statement.

To outsiders these changes are unexpected. In the earnings call for the third quarter, held several days ago, there was no mention of an executive realignment. Donatelli hosted the call as usual, telling listeners that First Potomac "made solid progress," on its strategic plan in the third quarter.

But while the changes do seem sudden, the Board of Trustees had made a long and thoughtful deliberation before it came to its decisions, a spokesperson for First Potomac tells GlobeSt.com. "They felt now was the right time for a leadership transition." The spokesperson added she doesn't anticipate further changes.

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Erika Morphy

Erika Morphy has been writing about commercial real estate at GlobeSt.com for more than ten years, covering the capital markets, the Mid-Atlantic region and national topics. She's a nerd so favorite examples of the former include accounting standards, Basel III and what Congress is brewing.