BEACHWOOD, OH—Another REIT has made an upper-echelon change. Locally based DDR has appointed David J. Oakes president. The six year company veteran is also senior executive vice president and CFO and will retain the latter title.

This is the second REIT to announce a C-Suite shift in recent days. As GlobeSt.com reported last week, Walt Rakowich has stepped down from his co-CEO post at Prologis, making way for Hamid Moghadam to take full command of the industrial trust.

Oakes will continue to report to CEO Daniel B. Hurwitz, who in a statement praised Oakes' “extraordinary financial and operational talents.”

Oakes joined DDR as executive vice president of finance and chief investment officer in April 2007. He was promoted to senior executive vice president of finance and chief investment officer in December 2008, and chief financial officer in February 2010.

He serves on DDR's management, executive, compensation and enterprise risk-management committees, chairs the investment committee and is a director of Sonae Sierra Brasil, the company's publicly traded joint venture that owns and manages high quality shopping centers throughout Brazil.

Prior to joining DDR, Oakes served as senior vice president and portfolio manager at Cohen & Steers Capital Management.

DDR is an owner and manager of 459 value-oriented shopping centers representing 116 million square feet in 39 states, Puerto Rico and Brazil.