Mid-America Apartment Communities, an apartment REIT with a market cap of more than $18B, will soon have a new leader for the first time in 23 years.

Eric Bolton, who has been the company's CEO since 2001, plans to retire from the role on April 1 and will then serve as executive chairman, the company announced Tuesday. To replace him, MAA has named Bradley Hill its new president and CEO.

Hill joined the Memphis, Tennessee-based REIT in 2010 and most recently served as chief investment officer. In this role, Hill oversaw the company's transactions, new development and property operations.

"I am humbled and honored to be appointed the next CEO of this tremendous organization," Hill said in a statement. "I want to thank the Board of Directors for placing its trust and confidence in me and I want to thank Eric for his example of selfless leadership and his continued guidance and support."

Before joining the company, Hill held management positions at First Tennessee Bank as vice president of commercial real estate and at Loeb Properties as vice president of development, according to his LinkedIn page.

MAA's portfolio consists of 104,469 apartment units across 16 states and the District of Columbia as of September.

At the end of the third quarter, MAA had eight communities under development, representing 2,762 units, according to its earnings report. The projects are projected to cost a total of $978M.

The REIT posted $551M in revenue in Q3, up from $542M in the same quarter last year. Its Q3 net income of $114M was up from $109M last year. The company's stock price has increased 25% over the last year, trailing the S&P 500's 32% gain but well above Nareit's index of all REITs, which has risen 12%.