HONOLULU, July 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The
Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) ("A&B") Board
of Directors announced today the promotion of Christopher J. Benjamin as A&B's chief
executive officer effective January 1,
2016. Benjamin is currently the president and chief
operating officer of A&B and president of A&B Properties,
Inc., a wholly owned real estate subsidiary of A&B.
Stanley M. Kuriyama will retire as
chief executive officer on December 31,
2015, and will continue to serve as A&B's executive
chairman of the board.
Kuriyama has been A&B's chief executive officer since
January 1, 2010. During this time,
the Company has undergone a significant transformation,
including:
- The separation of A&B's real estate and transportation
business in 2012, which created two of Hawaii's largest publicly-traded companies,
Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. and Matson, Inc.
- The investment of $1.2 billion in
Hawaii real estate, including
acquisitions such as 70% of the commercial center of Kailua from Kaneohe Ranch and the Harold K. L.
Castle Foundation, and 30 properties along Kahala Avenue from
Genshiro Kawamoto.
- The acquisition of Grace Pacific
in 2013, Hawaii's largest natural
materials and paving contractor.
- The continued expansion of A&B's development pipeline,
including commercial, residential and high rise condominium
projects on Maui, Kauai and Oahu.
With $2.4 billion in assets,
Alexander & Baldwin today is over 70% larger than it was three
years ago when it separated from Matson.
"On behalf of the entire board, I'd like to extend our deepest
gratitude and appreciation to Stan for his extraordinary leadership
as CEO of A&B," said Charles G.
King, A&B lead independent director. "In the years that
Stan has been at the helm, he conceived a new path forward for
A&B and shepherded it though transformational changes, making
it a stronger, more focused company. He has led A&B with
vision, integrity and humility, always placing the Company's
interests above his own. We are grateful that A&B will continue
to benefit from Stan's counsel and leadership through his continued
chairmanship of our board of directors."
"We are also very pleased with the succession of Chris Benjamin as A&B's new chief executive
officer. Chris has served A&B with distinction during his 14
years with the Company, including the last four as its president
and chief operating officer, and has played an instrumental role in
the Company's successes over that time," said King. "We look
forward to working with Chris during the years ahead."
Kuriyama added, "I am pleased to entrust the day-to-day
management and leadership of the Company to Chris, who brings to
the CEO position a broad skill set and breadth of experience, as
well as a deep commitment to our community. Chris has worked at
such companies as The Queen's Health Systems, General Motors, Sony,
and Booz Allen prior to joining
A&B in 2001, and has served in numerous non-profit leadership
roles over the nearly 25 years he has lived and worked in
Hawaii."
"As A&B's president and COO, Chris oversaw the investment of
$900 million in commercial
properties, development projects and other real estate investments
in Hawaii, well positioning
A&B to take advantage of the current upturn in the real estate
cycle. Chris also was instrumental in the successful migration of
A&B's Mainland commercial real estate assets to Hawaii, thereby improving the quality of our
portfolio substantially. Today, 80% of the $77 million of net operating income generated by
A&B's commercial portfolio comes from Hawaii properties as compared to 42% when
Chris took the reins, and A&B is now the second largest
commercial retail property owner in the state."
"Through this promotion to chief executive officer, the board of
directors and I express our confidence in Chris' capabilities and
our optimism about the Company's future under his leadership," said
Kuriyama.
The Board also announced that replacing Benjamin as president of
A&B Properties ("ABP") effective September 1, 2015, is Lance Parker, currently ABP senior vice
president of acquisitions & dispositions.
"With his diverse real estate knowledge and experience, Lance
will be an excellent successor to Chris as A&B Properties'
president," said Kuriyama. "Lance has contributed significantly to
the real estate business' growth and success, not only through the
real estate transactions that he has executed, but also because of
his deep integrity and inclusive approach to community building. We
are proud of his accomplishments and look forward to his continued
leadership," said Kuriyama.
Additional information follows:
Stanley M. Kuriyama, 61,
is chairman and chief executive officer of Alexander & Baldwin,
Inc. He became chairman in June 2012.
Prior to that, he served as the Company's president and chief
executive officer and on the board of directors since January 2010. Kuriyama first joined A&B in
1992 and since then has held various positions within the
organization including serving as A&B's president from
October 2008, president and chief
executive officer of A&B Land Group from July 2005 until September
2008, and chief executive officer of A&B Properties from
December 1999 to September 2008. Prior to joining A&B,
Kuriyama was a partner in the law firm of Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright, specializing
in real estate and real estate financing. He is a 1977 graduate of
Harvard Law School.
Christopher J. Benjamin,
52, has been A&B's president and chief operating officer since
September 2011, overseeing its real
estate and agribusiness subsidiaries. Before becoming president and
COO, Benjamin was A&B's chief financial officer from
February 2004 through September 2011. He joined A&B in 2001 as
director, corporate development and planning, and was promoted to
vice president in 2003. Benjamin received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1989. He currently
serves as chairman of the board of The Nature Conservancy of
Hawaii.
Lance K. Parker, 41, has
been A&B Properties' senior vice president of acquisitions
& dispositions since 2013. Parker has held several positions of
increasing responsibility at ABP since joining the company in 2004.
In his current role, Parker is responsible for the Company's real
estate acquisitions and dispositions in Hawaii and the U.S. Mainland, and also serves
as the company's principal broker. Prior to joining A&B, he was
an associate vice president with Grubb & Ellis in California, where he provided commercial
brokerage, advisory and transactional services. He is a 1995
graduate of the University of Southern
California, with a bachelor's degree in real property
management and development. He is a licensed real estate broker in
the State of Hawaii and a
Certified Commercial Investment Member.
ABOUT ALEXANDER & BALDWIN
Alexander & Baldwin,
Inc. is a Hawaii-based public
company, with interests in real estate development, commercial real
estate, agriculture, materials and infrastructure construction.
With ownership of over 88,000 acres in Hawaii, A&B is the state's fourth largest
private landowner, and one of the state's most active real estate
investors. The Company manages a portfolio comprising five million
square feet of leasable space in Hawaii and on the U. S. Mainland and is the
second largest owner of retail assets in the state. It owns and
operates the state's only sugar plantation. A&B is also
Hawaii's largest materials company
and paving contractor. Additional information about A&B may be
found at www.alexanderbaldwin.com.
ABOUT A&B PROPERTIES
A&B Properties is the
real estate subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. A&B
Properties' diverse real estate holdings include projects on
Oahu, Maui, Kauai
and the Big Island and a commercial property/investment portfolio
comprising 59 properties with five million square feet of retail,
office and industrial space located in Hawaii and on the U. S. Mainland. Additional
information may be found at A&B Properties' website,
www.abprop.com
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements in this press
release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, that involve a number of risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statement.
These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance. This release should be read in conjunction with pages
17-30 of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. 's 2014 Form 10-K and
other filings with the SEC through the date of this release, which
identify important factors that could affect the forward-looking
statements in this release. We do not undertake any obligation to
update our forward-looking statements.
Contact:
Suzy Hollinger
808. 525. 8422
shollinger@abinc.com
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150728/248129
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150728/248123
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150728/248124
Logo -
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120801/LA50085LOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/benjamin-promoted-to-ceo-of-alexander--baldwin-300120165.html
SOURCE Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.