Executive Board
The Nareit Executive Board is Nareit’s policy and steering body, responsible for all long-term planning, financial budgets, investments, policy positions, and statements.
Chair Marguerite M. Nader Marguerite Nader is the President and CEO of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. Nader has been with the company since 1993 and is a member of its management committee and board of directors. Nader was President and CFO prior to her appointment to CEO. She also serves on the Board of Directors and is a member of the Audit Committee of Ventas, Inc. |
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First Vice Chair James B. Connor James Connor was named CEO in 2016, after joining Duke Realty in 1998 and serving in several leadership positions. Under Connor’s leadership, the company repositioned from a diversified REIT with holdings in the industrial, office, retail, medical, and mixed-use sectors to focus solely on industrial. Before joining Duke Realty, Connor held numerous executive and brokerage positions with Cushman & Wakefield. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and real estate finance from Western Illinois University. |
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Second Vice Chair Lisa Palmer Lisa Palmer became CEO of Regency Centers in January 2020. She has been president of the company since January 2016, and served as CFO from January 2016 until August 2019. She previously held the roles of senior vice president of capital markets, senior manager of investment services, and vice president of capital markets. Prior to joining Regency, Palmer worked as a consultant with Accenture, formerly Andersen Consulting Strategic Services, and as a financial analyst for General Electric. She received her B.A. in economics from the University of Virginia, and earned her MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. |
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Treasurer W. Matthew Kelly W. Matthew Kelly is the CEO and a member of the board at JBG SMITH. Kelly worked at JBG from August 2004 until the formation transaction and served as managing partner and a member of JBG's executive committee and investment committee from 2008 until the formation transaction. Prior to joining JBG, he was co-founder of ODAC Inc., a media software company, which he helped start in March 2000, and prior to that worked in private equity and investment banking as an analyst with Thomas H. Lee Partners and Goldman Sachs, & Co. Kelly received his B.A. with honors from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. |
Nareit Officers are also members of the Executive Board.
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Peter E. Baccile Peter Baccile became president of First Industrial Realty Trust in September 2016 and assumed the CEO position in December 2016. Prior to joining First Industrial Realty Trust, he served in various senior leadership roles during his 26-year tenure at J.P. Morgan, most recently as vice chairman of J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. He earned his B.S. degree from Cornell University and holds an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University where he was a Fuqua Scholar. |
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Thomas A. Bartlett Thomas A. Bartlett serves as president and CEO of American Tower Corporation. He previously held the positions of executive vice president and CFO. Prior to joining American Tower, he served as both the corporate controller and treasurer with Verizon Communications, Inc. He also served in numerous operations and business development roles, including president and CEO of Bell Atlantic International Wireless, where he was responsible for wireless activities in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Bartlett earned a B.S. in engineering from Lehigh University and an MBA from Rutgers University. |
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Tamara D. Fischer Tamara Fischer has served as an officer of National Storage Affiliates since its inception in 2013 and currently serves as president and CEO. She is also a member of NSA’s board of trustees and serves as chairman of the PRO Advisory Committee. Before joining NSA, Fischer served as executive vice president and CFO of Vintage Wine Trust, Inc. and as executive vice president and CFO of Chateau Communities, Inc. She is a certified public accountant (inactive) and graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a B.A. in business administration. |
Conor C. Flynn Conor C. Flynn was named Chief Executive Officer of Kimco Realty and appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors in January 2016. Flynn joined Kimco in 2003 as an asset manager and has held a variety of senior leadership roles within the Company, including President, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Investment Officer and President, Western Region. Flynn is a founding member of Nareit’s Dividends Through Diversity, Equity & Inclusion CEO Council, and he is also a member of Real Estate Roundtable, Urban Land Institute, a trustee of Innovating Commerce Serving Communities (ICSC) and a member of ICSC’s executive board. Flynn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Yale University and a Master’s degree in Real Estate Development from Columbia University. |
Leslie D. Hale Leslie D. Hale is president and CEO of RLJ Lodging Trust. Since joining RLJ in 2005, Hale has held progressively senior roles at RLJ – she was appointed to Chief Financial Officer in 2007, Chief Operating Officer in 2016 and Chief Executive Officer in 2018. Hale helped to lead the execution of the initial public offering (IPO) of RLJ in 2011 and is on RLJ’s Board of Directors. Before joining RLJ, Hale held senior positions at GE in its Commercial Finance Mergers & Acquisitions Group and its Real Estate Strategic Capital Group, and she was also an investment banker with Goldman Sachs, advising on mergers, acquisitions and corporate finance. Hale currently serves on Macy’s, Inc.’s Board of Directors, is a Howard University Trustee and is a Board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s Baltimore Branch. Hale earned a BBA from Howard University (summa cum laude), and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Goldman Sachs and Toigo Fellow. |
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Thomas M. Herzog Thomas Herzog has served as CEO since 2017 and has previously held the positions of executive vice president and CFO. Before joining Healthpeak Properties, Herzog was CFO of UDR, Inc. He has also served in various CFO and chief accounting officer roles in the real estate industry. Herzog holds a B.A. in business administration from North Dakota State University and an MBA from Iowa State University. |
Mark J. Parrell Mark J. Parrell is president, CEO, and trustee at Equity Residential. He has been CEO since January 2019, and president since September 2018. Parrell has worked in various finance capacities for Equity Residential since 1999, including as its CFO from October 2007 until September 2018. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, is a member of the Ross School Advisory Board for the Ross Business School at the University of Michigan, and is a member of the Urban Land Institute and National Multifamily Housing Council. Parrell received a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. |
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James F. Risoleo James Risoleo joined Host Hotels in 1996 and became president and CEO in 2017. Prior to becoming CEO, Risoleo led the company’s West Coast investment activities in addition to its European business activities. Prior to joining Host Hotels, Risoleo held positions at Interstate Hotels Corp. and Westinghouse Electric Corp. He received his B.S. from the Palumbo Donahue School of Business at Duquesne University and his J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law. |
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Sumit Roy Sumit Roy has served as CEO since 2018, and president since 2015. He previously served as Realty Income’s COO from 2014 to 2018, and was CIO prior to that. Prior to joining Realty Income, Roy held a senior leadership role at UBS Investment Bank, worked in investment banking at Merrill Lynch, and as a principal in technology consulting at Cap Gemini. He has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in computer science, and also holds a master’s in business administration in finance and economics from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. |
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Michael J. Schall Michael Schall is president, CEO, and a director of Essex Property Trust. He previously served as Essex’s senior executive vice president and COO from 2005 to 2010. From 1993 to 2005, he was CFO. He joined The Marcus & Millichap Company in 1986. He was also the CFO of Essex’s predecessor, Essex Property Corp. Schall received a B.S. from the University of San Francisco. |
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A. William Stein Prior to being named CEO in 2014, A. William Stein served as Digital Realty’s CFO and CIO. He has more than 30 years of leadership experience at a wide variety of companies, including GI Partners (Digital Realty’s predecessor private equity fund), the PNC Financial Services Group, and TriNet Corporate Realty Trust (now part of iStar Financial). Stein served as Nareit’s 2020 chair. Stein has a B.A. from Princeton University, a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and a MSC from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University. |
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James M. Taylor, Jr. Jim Taylor joined Brixmor Property Group in 2016, bringing more than 20 years of commercial real estate experience with him. His passion and leadership are grounded in a deep belief that retail shopping centers should do more than reflect the surrounding community: they should be an integral part of local daily life. In addition to his role with Nareit, Taylor is a trustee for the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). He holds a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Virginia, and is a trustee for the university's Jefferson Trust. |
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Owen D. Thomas Owen Thomas is the CEO and a director of BXP. He is also a director of Lehman Brothers Holdings and served as its first chairman from 2012 until 2013 when he joined BXP. Prior to Lehman, he was with Morgan Stanley for 24 years serving in a number of different leadership roles, business units, and locations. He is the global chairman of the Urban Land Institute, a director of the Urban Land Institute Foundation, a director of the Real Estate Roundtable, and a member of Nareit’s executive board. He attended and is a former trustee of Woodberry Forest School, received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. |
Nareit Officers are also members of the Executive Board.
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Steven A. Wechsler Steven Wechsler is Nareit's president and CEO. He joined Nareit in 1997 from the National Realty Committee (NRC), now known as The Real Estate Roundtable. He served as NRC's CEO from 1990 to 1997 and first joined NRC in 1983 as general counsel. Prior to joining NRC, Wechsler practiced law with Stein, Miller and Brodsky, and served as counsel to Thevenot, Murray and Scheer, a government relations consulting firm. He is a graduate of the Boston University School of Communications and the Cleveland State University College of Law. |
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Tony M. Edwards Tony Edwards is the senior executive vice president of Nareit. Before joining Nareit in 1993, Edwards was a tax partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Morrison & Foerster. From 1975 through 1979, Edwards was an attorney-adviser (tax) with the Interpretative Division of the Internal Revenue Service's Office of chief counsel. He received his B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from Lehigh University; his J.D. degree, with honors, from the University of Miami School of Law; and his L.L.M. in taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center. |
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John D. Worth John Worth is the executive vice president, research and investor outreach at Nareit. Prior to joining Nareit, Worth was the chief economist of the National Credit Union Administration from 2010 to 2015. Prior to joining NCUA, he spent nearly a decade at the U.S. Treasury where he served as the director of the Office of Microeconomic Analysis. Worth has also worked as a consultant for Welch Consulting and the RAND Corporation. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Southern California. |
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Cathy Barré Cathy Barré is executive vice president and general counsel at Nareit. Prior to joining Nareit in 2015, Barré served in key senior positions in the public and private sectors, including tax counsel for the Senate Finance Committee, a senior executive role at the IRS, and director, associate general counsel, and tax counsel for the funds at Legg Mason Global Asset Management. She earned a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and was an Olin scholar in law and economics while earning her J.D. (order of the Coif) from the University of Virginia School of Law. |
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Matthew Bechard Matthew Bechard is the executive vice president, communications and marketing at Nareit. Prior to joining Nareit in 2001, Bechard spent his career in business-to-business journalism focused on the marketing, publishing, and investment markets. He holds a BA in journalism from SUNY Plattsburgh. |
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Victor Dristas Victor Dristas is the senior vice president, operations at Nareit. Dristas has been with Nareit since January 2000 and is responsible for Nareit’s information technology, human resources, membership, and office operations activities. In addition, Dristas operates Nareit’s top level domain registry, .reit. Prior to joining Nareit, he was a systems engineer with Unisys Corporation on the U.S. Coast Guard TISCOM base. Prior to that he was an IT manager with U.S. News & World Report and helped launch their online media division. He holds a B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University and a M.S. in Information Systems from The George Washington University. |
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Roberto Diaz Roberto Diaz is the senior vice president, finance and fiscal management at Nareit. Prior to joining Nareit in 2007, Diaz held several finance and accounting positions at Marriott International. He earned a B.A in economics from Virginia Tech. He is a licensed CPA in the state of Maryland; as well as a CFA charterholder. |
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Please visit the staff page to see the rest of the Nareit staff. |
Past Nareit Chairs
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James F. Risoleo A. William Stein Sandeep Mathrani Thomas J. Baltimore, Jr. Timothy J. Naughton Edward J. Fritsch David J. Neithercut Ronald L. Havner, Jr. W. Edward Walter Donald C. Wood Bryce Blair Debra A. Cafaro Constance B. Moore Martin E. Stein, Jr. Arthur M. Coppola R. Scot Sellers David E. Simon Hamid R. Moghadam Steven Roth William D. Sanders Warren E. Spieker, Jr. Samuel Zell Steven J. Guttman Milton Cooper Stanford J. Alexander Kenneth B. Roath John P. McCann William Newman |
Advisory Board of Governors
The Advisory Board of Governors is the advisory body to the Executive Board and provides advice and assistance in all matters related to Nareit, the membership, and the REIT industry.
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Edward K. Aldag, Jr.
William C. Bayless, Jr.
Christopher J. Benjamin
H. Eric Bolton, Jr.
Byron L. Boston
Jay A. Brown
Stephen E. Budorick
Frank Cohen
Lisa R. Cohn
Victor J. Coleman
M. Colin Connolly
Mark O. Decker, Jr.
Mary Fedewa
Jason E. Fox
Jennifer F. Francis
Marc C. Ganzi
Kenneth A. Gunderman
David A. Helfand
Mary Hogan-Preusse
Jackson Hsieh
Lisa L. Kaufman
Katharine A. Keenan
John B. Kilroy, Jr.
Brian W. Kingston
John A. Kite
Theodore J. Klinck
David R. Lukes
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Joseph D. Margolis
Christopher P. Marr
Paul T. McDermott
Sheila K. McGrath
William L. Meaney
Charles J. Meyers Shankh Mitra
Diane M. Morefield
David L. Nunes
Thomas E. O’Hern
Jeffrey S. Olson
C. Taylor Pickett
Edward B. Pitoniak
Joseph D. Russell, Jr.
Benjamin W. Schall
David J. Schulte
Gregory K. Silvers
Wendy L. Simpson
Devin W. Stockfish
Jeffrey A. Stoops
Gerard H. Sweeney
Dallas B. Tanner
Diane L. Wade
Sarah J. Wade
Bonnie Wongtrakool
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Audit and Investment Committee: Best Financial Practices Council and Accounting Committee Co-Chairs: Communications Council Co-Chairs: Corporate Governance Council: Dividends Through Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DDEI) CEO Council: Dividends Through Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative Steering Committee Co-Chairs: Government Relations Committee Co-Chairs: Insurance Committee Chair: mREIT Council Executive Committee Chair: Multinational U.S. REIT Council : Public Non-Listed REIT Council Executive Committee Chair: Real Estate Investment Advisory Council Chair: Real Estate Sustainability Council Chair and Vice Chair: Social Responsibility Council Co-Chairs: |