Chicago-based multifamily acquisition, development and management firm Equity Residential announced key executive management changes as part of its succession planning program. David J. Neithercut, 62, the company’s president and chief executive officer since 2006, will retire as CEO on December 31, 2018, at which time Mark J. Parrell will be appointed CEO and join the company’s board of trustees. Neithercut will remain a member of the board following his retirement.
“On behalf of our board of trustees, I thank David for his many contributions to the company and congratulate him on the great success that Equity Residential has produced over his tenure,” said Sam Zell, Equity Residential’s founder and chairman. “We are pleased that after stepping down he will continue to serve the company as a member of our board.”
Parrell, 52, has been appointed president effective immediately. He has served as the company’s executive vice president and chief financial officer since 2007. From 2005 to 2007, Parrell served as the company’s senior vice president and treasurer and has held various roles in the company’s finance group since 1999.
“I have been honored to serve as a member of Equity Residential’s executive leadership since 1993 and am extremely grateful for the support of our investors, employees and board over the last 25 years,” said Neithercut. “I have worked closely with Mark during much of this time and will transition leadership of the company to him with great confidence. He is a strategic thinker, proven leader and respected colleague who, together with the company’s talented senior management team, will work diligently to deliver continued success.”
Robert A. (Bob) Garechana, 39, has been appointed executive vice president and CFO effective immediately. Garechana currently serves as senior vice president and treasurer of the company, has served as treasurer since 2008, and held various other finance roles since joining the company in 2004.
“Of a board’s many responsibilities, the constant identification and development of executive talent are among the most important,” Zell said. “Mark and Bob’s promotions are a direct result of the priority placed by our board on succession planning and are the most recent examples of a very successful and rigorous process that has served the company and its shareholders well. We congratulate them both and look forward to working with them as they and the rest of the team take the company forward.”
