Santa Ana, CA-based Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE:
GBE) has named real estate veteran Thomas P. D'Arcy president and chief executive officer.
D'Arcy, 49, who will also take a seat on Grubb's board of directors, has led both public and private real estate companies during his 25-year career. He officially joins Grubb & Ellis on Nov. 16, coming from privately owned Bayside Realty Partners, where he served as principal.
D'Arcy is currently the non-executive chairman of Inland Real Estate Corp. (NYSE:
IRC), a $1.5-billion REIT where he has served as an independent director since 2005. From 2001 to 2004, D'Arcy was president and CEO of private REIT Equity Investment Group, and he previously served as chairman/CEO of Bradley Real Estate, Inc., a NYSE-listed REIT, from 1989 to 2000.
He replaces Gary Hunt, who served as interim CEO of Grubb & Ellis after Scott Peters left the position in summer of 2008. D'Arcy's hiring comes one business day after Grubb & Ellis
completed a transaction to sell 900,000 shares in a preferred stock offering to repay its credit facility. The company has battled potential delisting by the New York Stock because of recent hits to its market cap and shareholder equity levels. Also, the company last December prevailed in a proxy battle with former chairman Anthony W. "Tony" Thompson for control of the firm, the culmination of a year of personnel moves following Grubb's reverse merger with NNN Realty Advisors.
"Although the past year has brought significant challenges, the company has accomplished a great deal, including the recently completed recapitalization," said D'Arcy in a release. "This places Grubb & Ellis in a strong position to expand its leadership position in the commercial real estate industry, especially now while the market is in significant transition."
C. Michael Kojaian, chairman of the board of Grubb & Ellis, said that with the recent recapitalization, "we are confident that Tom will accelerate the execution of Grubb & Ellis' growth strategy and build long-term value for stockholders."