The CEO of the world’s largest self-storage owner is retiring at the end of next month, paving the way for new leadership and a new home state.
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Public Storage CEO Joe Russell's pending retirement is one of several changes to the REIT’s leadership announced Thursday, including naming three co-presidents and hiring two new executives to steer the storage giant in the coming years.
“It has been an honor to lead Public Storage through a decade of transformation, accretive growth and shareholder returns,” Russell said in a news release.
Tom Boyle, the REIT’s chief financial and investment officer, will replace Russell as CEO on April 1. Russell will still consult with the company for another year as it embarks on a new strategic vision it is calling “PS4.0.”
Public Storage, which controls a 252M SF portfolio in the U.S., is also promoting Chief Administrative Officer Natalia Johnson to president and chief digital and transformation officer, and it named Chris Sambar to the roles of president and chief operating officer.
“I am deeply grateful to the board for the trust they have placed in me,” Boyle said in the release. “Our single most important focus going forward will be per share earnings and cash flow growth resulting in accelerated shareholder returns.”
The firm also hired Joe Fisher, who was most recently multifamily REIT UDR’s chief financial officer, to replace Boyle as chief financial and investment officer. He was also given the title of president, alongside Johnson and Sambar.
Ayash Basu will be the firm’s newest chief revenue and marketing officer. Basu previously worked as a partner and managing director of Boston Consulting Group.
Public Storage, which has a market capitalization of $52B, is also undergoing a different type of transition, the company announced: It has relocated its headquarters from Glendale, California, to Frisco, Texas.
The REIT said in its annual report, filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that its board approved the relocation to Frisco on Feb. 10, effectively immediately. The filing lists its headquarters as 2811 Internet Blvd.
The two-story, 116K SF office building, dubbed Technology III in the Hall Park office campus, was fully available as of April, according to an online marketing brochure.
The move comes as the company spies a “depth of talent and innovation” in the north Dallas market, it said in the release, adding that it intends to maintain a long-term presence in Glendale.
The REIT published its fourth-quarter earnings at the same time as it made the leadership announcement, beating analyst expectations with annual revenues reaching $1.2B, representing 3.3% year-over-year growth.
The REIT, which has more than 3,300 facilities across the U.S., added 13 self-storage properties to its portfolio in the final quarter of the year and delivered new developments and expansions totaling 1M SF, the company reported.
Ethan Rothstein contributed to this story.
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