– USA, NY – Griffin Industrial Realty, Inc. (Nasdaq: GRIF), has appointed Gordon F. DuGan as a Director and Non-Executive Chairman of its Board of Directors and Molly North as Director effective March 3, 2020.
Mr. DuGan is the former Chairman and CEO of Gramercy Property Trust, an industrial-focused REIT that was acquired by Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII in 2018.
Ms. North is the President and CEO of Al. Neyer, LLC, a commercial real estate development and design-build construction firm.
“We are delighted to have Gordon join as our Chairman. As the former CEO of Gramercy and, prior to that, W.P. Carey & Co., Gordon brings to our Board a wealth of experience within the industrial real estate sector and in the capital markets, as well as a deep knowledge of building and growing a high-performing, publicly-traded company.” said Michael Gamzon, President & CEO.
Under DuGan’s leadership, Gramercy’s enterprise value grew from approximately $400 million in 2012 to $7.6 billion, with a property portfolio of over 81 million square feet, at the time of its sale to Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII in October 2018. Over that same time period, Gramercy was the 3rd best-performing equity REIT in the United States with a 251% total return to shareholders.
“Molly is a talented and insightful business leader who, as President & CEO of Al. Neyer, oversees a commercial real estate development and design-build construction firm that, like Griffin, focuses on select geographical markets,” said Mr. Gamzon.
“Under Molly’s leadership, Al. Neyer has expanded into Nashville and Raleigh, adding to its existing headquarters in Cincinnati and its office in Pittsburgh, and has developed over eight million square feet, including more than six million square feet of industrial real estate. Our Board will benefit from her detailed insights into the real estate sector, development expertise and management experience.” he added.
Mike Danziger, Griffin’s former Chairman, will continue to serve as a Director, and Michael Gamzon will remain President and CEO, and a Director.
In connection with the appointments of Mr. DuGan and Ms. North, Griffin increased the size of its Board of Directors to nine members.
About Gordon DuGan
Mr. DuGan has over 25 years of experience in the real estate industry. Mr. DuGan currently serves as the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Blackbrook Capital Limited, a European-focused property investor specializing in sale-leasebacks and build-to-suit investments in industrial assets, since February 2020 and as Chairman of GreenAcreage Real Estate Corp., a REIT that provides sale-leaseback and construction financing to companies operating in the cannabis industry, since June 2019. Mr. DuGan served as Chief Executive Officer of Gramercy from June 2012 to October 2018. Prior to Gramercy, Mr. DuGan served as President and then Chief Executive Officer of W.P. Carey & Co., one of the largest net lease REITs in the United States, from 1999 to 2010.
“I am very excited to join Griffin’s Board as Chairman,” said Mr. DuGan. “Griffin has a strong platform in place with high-quality, well-located industrial assets and a history of executing successful developments and acquisitions. I look forward to working with Michael and the team to grow Griffin’s logistics portfolio and maximize stockholder value.”
Mr. DuGan received his B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
About Molly North
Ms. North is a well-recognized leader who currently serves as the Board Chair of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce and recently was named the national winner of Entrepreneur of The Year 2019 Award in the Real Estate, Hospitality and Construction category by Ernst & Young, LLP.
Ms. North has over 20 years of business and real estate experience, with the last 13 years at Al. Neyer. Ms. North has served as President & Chief Executive Officer at Al. Neyer since April 2015, prior to which she served as the Chief Financial Officer since July 2012. Prior to Al. Neyer, Ms. North worked at Fifth Third Bank in various roles, including commercial real estate lending, and at Ernst & Young in Audit and Global Services.
“I am honored and delighted to join the Board of Directors at Griffin and look forward to helping the Company continue to drive market expansion as well as strategic growth,” said Ms. North. “Griffin is embarking on its next growth phase, and I am happy to tap into my experience to help develop the best solutions for the future.”
Ms. North received her B.B.A degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Cincinnati Carl H. Lindner School of Business.
About Griffin
Griffin is a real estate business principally engaged in developing, acquiring, managing and leasing industrial/warehouse properties. Griffin currently owns 41 buildings totaling approximately 4.6 million square feet in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida in addition to over 3,400 acres of undeveloped land.
For more information: http://www.griffinindustrial.com
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