Camden Property Trust, one of the country’s largest publicly traded multifamily REITs, named Alex Jessett as its second-ever CEO.
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Jessett has been with the company since 1999, most recently as president and chief financial officer. He replaces Ric Campo, who had been Camden’s CEO since the company’s initial public offering in 1993.
Campo will now serve as executive chairman of the board of trust managers, which Jessett will also join, according to a Friday morning announcement from Camden.
Other leadership changes include Laurie Baker's promotion to president and chief operating officer and Ben Fraker's promotion to executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer. The two have been with Camden since 1999 and 2000, respectively.
“These changes align with Camden’s long-term succession plan and will ensure strong, effective leadership for the Company in future years,” Camden said in the release.
Keith Oden, who co-founded Camden's predecessor companies in 1982 with Campo, will continue in his role as executive vice chairman of the board.
Houston-based Camden develops, owns and operates apartments. It has a portfolio of more than 58,000 units across 15 U.S. markets, primarily in the Sun Belt.
Early this year, the REIT began exploring an exit from California by listing for sale 11 properties worth an estimated $1.5B.
The sale will allow Camden to focus on its Sun Belt markets, where it expects significant growth and sees fewer regulatory and legislative obstacles, officials said during the REIT’s fourth-quarter earnings call.
“In the last five years … 92% of our spend on political efficacy was in California,” Campo said during the call. “Once we close that portfolio, the political efficacy in the Sun Belt is pretty much zero.”
Camden also began a $750M sell-off last year and planned a similar amount of acquisitions to rebalance its portfolio away from aging properties.
The REIT upsized its Houston office last year, moving from 86K SF in Greenway Plaza to 104K SF in Williams Tower, a 64-story trophy building that neighbors The Galleria.
