Seritage CEO Steps Down Amid Final Liquidation Push
Seritage Growth Properties, the REIT that was formed to sell off shuttered Sears department stores, will have new leadership for the process's final stages.
Seritage CEO and President Andrea Olshan is leaving the company next month, the company announced Friday. She and the board of trustees reached a deal for her to relinquish her role and position on the board on April 11, with current board Chairman Adam Metz stepping in as interim CEO and president.
Seritage has been selling off properties after shareholders voted in 2022 to wind down the company, and its assets have dwindled since from 160 to 15, according to a release.
At this stage of the process, the board and Olshan agreed that her services were no longer needed, according to the release.
“We thank Andrea for her considerable contributions over the last four years and her tireless work on behalf of Seritage and its shareholders,” Metz said in a statement.
Olshan took over as CEO of publicly traded Seritage four years ago in 2021. She left the same role at privately owned real estate firm Olshan Properties, founded by her father, Mort Olshan, who died last month at 99 years old. Andrea Olshan still serves as chairman of Olshan Properties.
It’s unclear whether Andrea Olshan plans to return to an executive role at the family firm. Zachary Bornstein is currently Olshan Properties' CEO. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment.
In her time leading Seritage, Olshan helmed the liquidation process that has helped pay off the company's debt by $1.3B, Metz said in a statement. Last year, she secured a one-year extension of the company's senior term loan, which was set to mature in July, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
As of the third quarter of 2024, the company's most recent filing, Seritage had deals under contract to sell five assets for a total of $88M and had accepted an offer to sell a sixth asset for $30M. It estimated the rest of its portfolio could sell for up to roughly $765M.
