Collectively, these industry titans oversee office portfolios totaling hundreds of millions of square feet, some of which they developed and some of which they acquired. Whether they lead private equity firms or REITS, the two dozen individuals profiled here each have distinguished themselves as legends in this sector. You met eight of them yesterday. Here's the second batch, to be followed by the balance tomorrow.—With reporting by Paul Bubny, Rayna Katz, Miriam Lamey, Antoinette Martin, Carrie Rossenfeld and Amy Wolff Sorter
James R. Heistand
James Heistand first came to Parkway Properties in June 2011 as executive chairman through the company's combination with Eola Capital, having founded the latter company in 2000. Eola Capital acquired $1.3 billion of office assets backed by PSP, GE Capital, Lehman Brothers and others that included 13.3 million square feet in Florida, Atlanta and Virginia. Appointed as president and CEO of Parkway in December 2011, Heistand also served as chairman of the executive committee of DASCO, an owner and operator of medical office buildings throughout the US, from 1999 until its sale to CNL Retirement in 2004 for $241 million. Currently, he serves on the board of directors of United Legacy Bank in Orlando and is a member of the chairman's circle of the real estate advisory board for the Warrington College of Business Administration at the University of Florida.
Mitchell E. Hersh
Mitch Hersh is president and CEO of Mack-Cali and has served as a member of the board of directors and its executive committee since 1997. He oversees the company's strategic direction and long-term planning, as well as creating and implementing its capital-markets and overall investment strategies. In addition, he serves as chairman, president and CEO of Mack-Cali subsidiary Gale Co. and chairman and CEO of Roseland, the company's most recent acquisition—a multifamily developer and operator in the Northeast. Hersh has served as a partner of the Mack Co. since 1982 and as COO of Mack Co. since 1990. He is on the board of trustees of Montclair State University and NAIOP's New Jersey Chapter, is a founding member of Baruch College Newman Real Estate Institute's real estate advisory board and sits on the board of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey.
Jeffrey C. Hines
Co-owner, president and CEO Jeff Hines is responsible for overseeing international policies, procedures and day-to-day operations for Hines. He's been key to the company's acquisitions, which total more than $2.5 billion, and oversaw major expansion of its personnel, financial resources, domestic and foreign market penetration, and products and services. During his tenure, the company has grown from nearly 500 employees to more than 3,150 in 18 countries, with controlled assets valued at approximately $23.4 billion. Since joining the firm in 1982, Jeff Hines' rise to the top dovetailed with a vast expansion of its holdings, products and services along with a dramatic increase of Hines' capital base reinforcement of its commitment to sustainability. Additionally, he serves on the board of JPMorgan Chase in the Houston Region.
Jordan L. Kaplan
Jordan Kaplan is the president and CEO of NYSE-listed REIT Douglas Emmett Inc. He co-founded Douglas Emmett Realty Advisors, the predecessor to DEI. Douglas Emmett went public in 2006 in what was then the largest REIT IPO in history. The company currently employs a staff of 600 and is a prominent owner/operator of office buildings and multifamily properties in Los Angeles County and Hawaii. In California, the company's portfolio is located in nine submarkets, six of them on Los Angeles' Westside and three in the San Fernando Valley. Its Hawaii office properties are located in the Honolulu CBD, with multifamily properties in nearby suburban communities. A member of the UCLA Board of Trustees, Kaplan is a committed environmentalist and is on the board of the Los Angeles Waterkeeper, which is devoted to cleaning the Santa Monica Bay.
John Kilroy Jr.
John Kilroy Jr. has led Kilroy Realty Corp. since its 1997 IPO and also led the REIT's private predecessor since 1981. Kilroy Realty's holdings, one of the largest LEED portfolios along the West Coast, totals more than 13.5 million square feet of office properties. The firm also has more than $800 million in new office development under construction in the Bay Area and plans to commence a $375-million mixed-use project in Hollywood. In addition to his duties as president and CEO, Kilroy serves on the policy advisory board for the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and the board of New Majority Los Angeles. He is a trustee of the El Segundo Employers Association, a past trustee of New Majority California, NAREIT, the Viewpoint School, the Jefferson Center for Character Education and the National Fitness Foundation. He is also a member of the San Francisco America's Cup Organizing Committee. A competitive sailor, Kilroy has won multiple national and international sailing championships and established records in several of the world's highly contested ocean races.
Alan Leventhal
Based in Boston, Alan Leventhal is founder, chairman and CEO of Beacon Capital Partners. He carried over the CEO duties from Beacon Capital's predecessor, Beacon Properties Corp., a publicly traded REIT that was sold to Equity Office Properties in 1997. Since 1998, Beacon Capital has acquired more than 75 million square feet of office space. The company's current portfolio runs to approximately 27 million square feet of office properties in New York City, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Seattle, London and Paris, as well as its hometown of Boston, where Leventhal also chairs the investment committee at Boston University. In 2004 he received Ernst & Young's New England Entrepreneur of the year award.
Donald A. Miller
Donald Miller has served as CEO, president and member of the board of directors of Piedmont Office Realty Trust since February 2007. Under his leadership, Piedmont has become one of the five largest public office REITs in the country and, in February 2010, became listed on the NYSE. From 2003 to 2007, Miller was the head of real estate activities at Wells Real Estate Funds Inc., where he directed the firm's acquisitions, asset management, dispositions, property management and construction groups. Prior to that, he headed US equity real estate operations at Lend Lease and was responsible for regional acquisitions for Prentiss Properties Realty Advisors. Miller is also a chartered financial analyst who sits on the board of directors of Pacolet Milliken Enterprises, a Spartanburg, SC-based investment company specializing in real estate and energy, and is on the board of governors for NAREIT.
Barry M. Portnoy
Barry Portnoy is a founder of Commonwealth REIT and has served as one of its managing trustees since 1986. He also serves on the boards of Hospitality Properties Trust, Senior Housing Properties Trust, Government Properties Income Trust, Select Income REIT, the RMR Funds, Five Star Quality Care Inc. and TravelCenters of America LLC. As of March 31, 2013, Commonwealth REIT owned $7.2 billion of properties with approximately 53 million square feet located in 31 states, Washington, DC and Australia. Prior to this appointment, Portnoy served as chairman of the law firm of Sullivan & Worcester LLP.
This is an HTML version of a story that ran in the June issue of Real Estate Forum. To see the article in its original format, click here.
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