CLEVELAND, March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Forest City
Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: FCEA and FCEB) today announced that
President and CEO Charles A. Ratner
will become Chairman of the Board, and will be succeeded as
President and CEO by David J. LaRue,
currently Executive Vice President and COO. The changes are a part
of the company's succession planning process and will be effective
following Forest City's annual meeting of shareholders on
June 10, 2011.
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Concurrent with the CEO succession, current co-chairmen
Albert B. Ratner and Samuel H. Miller will each become co-chairman
emeritus and will no longer serve on the board. Both will remain
active in their respective areas of the business.
"David LaRue is an experienced
and visionary leader with the broad strategic, operational and
financial acumen to direct Forest City in the next phase of its
growth and evolution," said Ratner, 69. "In 25 years with the
company, David has achieved a track record of performance and
accomplishment in virtually every aspect of the business. Just as
important, he exemplifies and embraces Forest City's core values,
including integrity, openness, community involvement, diversity and
sustainability. All of these qualities make him uniquely suited to
become our next chief executive. I look forward to my new role as
chairman of the board, and to being a resource for, and partner
with David. And we both look forward to continuing to work with Sam
and Albert."
LaRue, 49, commented, "I'm honored by the opportunity to lead
such a special company. It is both extremely gratifying and
extraordinarily humbling that Chuck, Albert, Sam and the rest of
the board have entrusted this responsibility to me. During Chuck's
16-year tenure as CEO, he has built on the legacy of his
predecessors to strengthen and grow Forest City and to solidify the
company's reputation as one of the premiere franchises in the real
estate industry. Today, having successfully come through some of
the most difficult times in our history, we are poised to take
advantage of improving conditions and renewed opportunity. I and
the rest of the management team will continue to build on the
foundation of the past to ensure the future success of Forest City,
and preserve and sustain a values-based culture of empowerment and
opportunity for associates."
Ratner noted that LaRue will be the first chief executive in
Forest City's 90-year history, including 50 years as a publicly
traded company, who is not related to the founding family. "David
is the right leader at the right time for Forest City," he said.
"We know that in our business, family is more about shared values
than about lineage. All of our senior executives, including
family members in senior positions who will report to David, are
enthusiastic and excited to have an experienced leader of his
caliber as our incoming chief executive. The entire family remains
deeply committed to Forest City's future growth and success."
David LaRue Background
LaRue joined Forest City in 1986 as a financial analyst and
advanced through a series of positions of increasing responsibility
in the company's Commercial Group, including financial manager of
the Tower City Center mixed-use property in Cleveland, vice president and later executive
vice president of real estate operations, and president and COO of
the Commercial Group. In March, 2010, he became executive vice
president and chief operating officer at the corporate level, with
companywide responsibility for all real estate operations. Prior to
joining Forest City, LaRue was an internal auditor and financial
analyst with The Sherwin-Williams Company.
LaRue is a member of the Board of Directors and Audit Committee
Chair of U-Store-It Trust. Active in professional organizations as
well as charitable and community activities, he is a Trustee of the
International Council of Shopping Centers; a Trustee, member of the
Executive Committee and Board President of the Friends of the
Cleveland School of the Arts; a Trustee and member of the Finance
Committee of the Lawrence School; and a member of the Board of
Trustees of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission.
LaRue received a bachelor's degree in business/accounting from
Wittenberg University. He and his wife,
Cindy, and their children Tessa, Anna, Andre and Paul reside in
Rocky River, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb.
About Forest City
Forest City Enterprises, Inc. is an NYSE-listed national real
estate company with $11.8 billion in
total assets. The Company is principally engaged in the ownership,
development, management and acquisition of commercial and
residential real estate and land throughout the United States. For more information, visit
http://www.forestcity.net.
Safe Harbor Language
Statements made in this news release that state the Company's or
management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or
predictions of the future are forward-looking statements. The
Company's actual results could differ materially from those
expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements due to
various risks, uncertainties and other factors. Risks and factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the
impact of current lending and capital market conditions on its
liquidity, ability to finance or refinance projects and repay its
debt, the impact of the current economic environment on its
ownership, development and management of its real estate portfolio,
general real estate investment and development risks, vacancies in
its properties, further downturns in the housing market,
competition, illiquidity of real estate investments, bankruptcy or
defaults of tenants, anchor store consolidations or closings,
international activities, the impact of terrorist acts, risks
associated with an investment in a professional sports team, its
substantial debt leverage and the ability to obtain and service
debt, the impact of restrictions imposed by its credit facility and
senior debt, exposure to hedging agreements, the level and
volatility of interest rates, the continued availability of
tax-exempt government financing, the impact of credit rating
downgrades, effects of uninsured or underinsured losses,
environmental liabilities, conflicts of interest, risks associated
with the sale of tax credits, risks associated with developing and
managing properties in partnership with others, the ability to
maintain effective internal controls, compliance with governmental
regulations, increased legislative and regulatory scrutiny of the
financial services industry, volatility in the market price of its
publicly traded securities, litigation risks, as well as other
risks listed from time to time in the Company's SEC filings,
including but not limited to, the Company's annual and quarterly
reports.
ON THE WEB
www.forestcity.net
SOURCE Forest City Enterprises, Inc.