Camden Property Trust, one of the country's largest apartment owners, elevated its president to CEO to succeed cofounder Ric Campo as the real estate investment trust restructures its portfolio to focus more on high-growth Sun Belt states.
The Houston-based REIT said it promoted Alexander Jessett to CEO. Camden also said Jessett, who had served as president and chief financial officer since April 2024, joined Camden’s board of trust managers as part of the move.
Camden picked Laurie Baker to fill the president position and retain her chief operating officer role. The REIT said it promoted Benjamin Fraker to executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer: he previously served as senior vice president of finance and treasurer. The changes align with Camden’s long-term succession plan, the REIT said.
Camden is restructuring its portfolio as the country's multifamily market contends with an oversupply that's resulted in weakened conditions. Camden's portfolio contains 171 properties with 58,254 apartments across the U.S., and it has three complexes under development that would add a total of 1,162 units.
This year, Camden began marketing its 11 multifamily properties in California for sale, Jessett said last month during the REIT's fourth-quarter conference call. Developers have said California's regulations, a relatively high cost of doing business and uncertain renter demand have created headwinds for apartment owners.
"Obviously, the market will dictate final pricing, but preliminary indications of value and market chatter range from $1.5 billion to $2 billion," he told analysts and investors.
Camden assumes the transaction "closes midyear," Jessett said.
"Additionally, we are assuming that approximately 60% of the sales proceeds will be reinvested through 1031 exchanges into our existing high-demand, high-growth Sun Belt markets, and the remainder of the proceeds, modeled at $650 million, will be used for share repurchases," Jessett said.
The 1031 real estate exchange program, named for a section of the U.S. tax code, is designed to offer property owners a chance to convert proceeds from their sales into new properties owned or being acquired while deferring capital gains from the previous sale.
"The just over $1 billion of 2026 acquisitions from the California sales proceeds are projected to occur during the summer months," Jessett said.
As for Camden co-founder Keith Oden, he will continue to serve as executive vice chairman of the board, the REIT said.
In a research note Friday, Morgan Stanley said the market had expected Camden to promote Jessett to CEO when Jessett was named president nearly two years ago, though the move might have been made "slightly sooner than anticipated," according to a report from Investing.com.
In 2025 while serving as president and CFO, Jessett earned a total compensation package of nearly $5.2 million, according to the REIT's 2026 proxy statement filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Upon his promotion to CEO, his annual base salary increased to $775,000, effective March 24, according to another SEC filing made Friday. He earned a base salary of $646,596 in 2025.
Campo's total 2025 compensation was $8.3 million, according to the proxy statement.